Australian Zac Alexander fully capitalised on a last-minute entry into the qualifiers for the Delaware Investments US Open by earning a place in the qualifying finals of the fifth PSA World Series squash event of the year in Philadelphia.
The qualifying event kicked off with four matches at each of four in Philadelphia clubs, including Drexel University's Daskalakis Athletic Centre where all the main draw matches will be held on an all-glass court.
It was at the Racquet Club of Philadelphia, established in 1898, that 22-year-old Alexander produced a significant upset in beating South Africa's Stephen Coppinger in four hotly-contested games.
"I only heard on Tuesday morning that I was in the draw, after the Salazar twins (Cesar & Arturo) were apparently involved in a car accident" explained Alexander after his 7-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-9 victory over the world No34 from Cape Town in 56 minutes.
"It's not the best way to make the draw - I hope they're ok - but I'm very happy with the win," added the New York-based Queenslander, ranked 70 in the world. "Steve's a big guy, and with it being so hot and bouncy on that court it was tough to get the ball away from him."
Alexander plays Marwan El Shorbagy for a place in the main draw after the world junior champion from Egypt produced a notable upset over Czech number one Jan Koukal, ranked some 17 places above the 18-year-old.
"I've never seen Marwan play," concluded Alexander. "But it's about time I played someone younger than myself!"
It was a disappointing day for the hosts as all six US competitors fell at the first hurdle. It was at the Merion Cricket Club that US number one Julian Illingworth lost in straight games to Canadian rival Shawn Delierre, winner of last week's Nash Cup in Ontario.
Delierre, the sole North American to survive, goes on to face France's Julien Balbo for a place in the main draw.
First on the traditional court at Drexel were Australian Ryan Cuskelly and young Finn Henrik Mustonen. After a tough opening game which the Australian led throughout, Cuskelly closed out the match with increasing authority, winning 11-8, 11-6, 11-2.
"I'm pretty happy with how I played my first match for two months," said New York based Cuskelly, who was being coached by fellow countryman Rodney Martin, the former world champion and US Open champion. "He's very fit and gutsy and gets a lot back, so I was trying to control things with good length to force the openings, and in the end he started making a few errors.
"After the Australian Open I came back to enjoy the New York summer and a couple of good months training with Rod. We've been working on a few things and it's nice to see them coming together, hopefully it will continue to pay off in this tournament."
India's Siddharth Suchde enjoyed a similar style of win, recovering from 6-0 down in taking the first game against 'local' entrant Jamie MacAulay 12-10 and the next two more comfortably as the Scottish International, now based in nearby Fairmount, tired.
"It wasn't the greatest of starts," admitted Suchde, who studied at Edinburgh University with MacAulay. "I was probably too relaxed and a bit complacent, but he surprised me and played really well at the start, getting everything right.
Suchde, the world No75 from Mumbai, now faces Nicolas Mueller, the Swiss number one who beat Malaysian Kamran Khan 11-6, 11-6, 11-8.
"Tomorrow will be a really tough match," continued Suchde. "I have to make sure I'm ready right from the start!"
Then came the main event of the evening as John White, the former world number one who is head coach at Drexel, took on qualifying top seed Saurav Ghosal.
The audience had swelled as many of White's admirers and students strained to watch, and he made a good enough start, catching the young Indian out with the power of his shots and his ability to kill the ball - especially in the front right corner of the court - and taking an 8-6 lead in the opening game.
Cries of "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie" followed winning points from White, the Australian who represented Scotland before moving to coach in the US four years ago.
As the match wore on Ghosal, whose speed around court drew admiring gasps from the audience, became more and able to counter White's shot-making, and after taking the first game 11-8 courtesy of a series of White errors, took the next two - both entertaining - 11-6, 11-4 to move into tomorrow's finals.
"He's a speedy boy," said 38-year-old White of his opponent. "He gets everything back and it's hard to find a way past when you haven't played in that standard of match for a while. I enjoyed it though, it was a good match and fun for the crowd, hopefully they'll all be back for the rest of the tournament over the next few days."
World No26 Ghosal, the highest-ranked Indian of all-time, said: "I played John once before, when he was still on tour - so I knew what I was going to get. He hits the ball so hard, especially on the forehand, and you have no idea where it's going. I tried to keep it on the backhand but he found winners from elsewhere, so I just had to try to get the ball straight and as tight as I could.
"I'm pleased to get off 3/0," continued the 25-year-old from Kolkata. "He's the draw nobody wanted but I was really looking forward to playing him, he's such a fair player and a crowd pleaser - I always tell the kids in India if you want someone to look up to and emulate John White is the one to look at."
RESULTS: PSA World Series Delaware Investments US Open, Philadelphia, USA
1st qualifying round:
Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt John White (SCO) 11-8, 11-6, 11-4 (36m)
Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) bt Henrik Mustonen (FIN) 11-8, 11-6, 11-2 (44m)
Siddharth Suchde (IND) bt Jamie MacAulay (SCO) 12-10, 11-6, 11-4 (42m)
Nicolas Mueller (SUI) bt Kamran Khan (MAS) 11-6, 11-6, 11-8 (37m)
Chris Ryder (ENG) bt Graham Bassett (USA) 11-4, 11-3, 11-6 (28m)
Martin Knight (NZL) bt Peter Dylan Murray (USA) 11-3, 11-6, 11-5 (28m)
Joey Barrington (ENG) bt Iago Cornes (ESP) 11-8, 11-7, 11-8 (33m)
Simon Rosner (GER) bt Matthew Karwalski (AUS) 11-8, 11-6, 12-10 (39m)
Tarek Momen (EGY) bt Adrian Waller (ENG) 11-7, 12-10, 8-11, 11-9 (60m)
Robbie Temple (ENG) bt Joe Russell (ENG) 9-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-4 (45m)
Julien Balbo (FRA) bt Todd Harrity (USA) 11-8, 16-14, 11-7 (46m)
Shawn Delierre (CAN) bt Julian Illingworth (USA) 11-4, 11-5, 11-6 (31m)
Zac Alexander (AUS) bt Stephen Coppinger (RSA) 7-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-9 (56m)
Marwan El Shorbagy (EGY) bt Jan Koukal (CZE) 11-7, 6-11, 11-6, 11-9 (57m)
Alan Clyne (SCO) bt Christopher Hanson (USA) 11-3, 11-1, 11-3 (32m)
Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt Gilly Lane (USA) 11-4, 11-9, 11-3 (38m)
Qualifying finals line-up:
Saurav Ghosal (IND) v Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
Siddharth Suchde (IND) v Nicolas Mueller (SUI)
Chris Ryder (ENG) v Martin Knight (NZL)
Joey Barrington (ENG) v Simon Rosner (GER)
Robbie Temple (ENG) v Tarek Momen (EGY)
Shawn Delierre (CAN) v Julien Balbo (FRA)
Marwan El Shorbagy (EGY) v Zac Alexander (AUS)
Ong Beng Hee (MAS) v Alan Clyne (SCO)
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