| The Kiva Club Open is now into its main draw. The round of 16 was Thursday, and the level of play was remarkable. Here's a report on the eight matches: Noon: Top seed Chris Hanson easily defeated unseeded Mark Broekman, 11-3, 11-2, 11-2. The left-handed Hanson, who is currently No. 85 in the world, controlled the middle and forced Broekman into many early errors. Hanson lives in Greenwich, Connecticut. Broekman, who is ranked No. 215 in the world and stands 6-feet, 5-inches tall, is from Cheltenham in the United Kingdom. 1 p.m.: Italo Bonatti took more than an hour to beat Jon Geekie. Bonatti won the first two games, 11-7 and 11-8. Bonatti, from Guatemala City, Guatemala, mixed his shots well and caught the left-handed Geekie off-guard several times in the first game. In the second game, Bonatti started hitting deeper, and when Geekie attempted drops, Bonatti turned them into winners. In the third game, Bonatti took a 7-3 lead, but, facing elimination, Geekie won the next 8 points and took the game 11-7. Geekie, who lives in Lee on Solent in the United Kingdom and plays for Scotland, won the next two games, 11-7 and 11-8. Geekie increased his power and improved his shot mix. Bonatti seemed to lose concentration and gave up three strokes in the fourth game. By this time, both players were arguing lets and strokes with the referee. The final game was tense. Geekie made several unforced errors and Gould himself down 4-9. He then rallied to 8-10 before getting beat on a deep cross off a drop shot. Geekie was unseeded in the main draw, while Bonatti was seeded No.2 in the qualifying draw. He lost to Mexican Juan Gomez Dominguez, but drew a slot in the main draw as a "lucky loser" when No. 5 seed Nicholas Cabellero withdrew from the tournament. 2 p.m.: Unseeded Ahmad Alzabidi won a hard-fought victory over No. 6 seed Diego Gobbi. Alzabidi, who is ranked No. 304 in the world, won the first two games, 11-8 and 11-8, but the 203-pound left-hander seemed to tire toward the end of the second game. Gobbi, who is ranked No. 197 in the world, took next two games, 11-8 and 11-8. Alzabidi slowed the game down by making Gobbi delay his serve, but the 159-pound Gobbi remained fleet of foot and won points by tracking down and returning every shot. Alzabidi, who is from Amman, Jordan, and was ranked world No. 149 in December 2011, won the last game, 11-6. The game was tied 4-4 when Alazbidi won three straight points, including a stroke on a Gobbi drop to give him a 7-4 lead. "Yes!" Alzabidi yelled, pumping his fist at the stroke call. Gobbi, who is from San Paulo, Brasil, managed just two more points as Alzabidi steamed to the finish line. 3 p.m.: Unseeded Juan Gomez Dominguez upset No. 3 seed Babatunde Ajagbe. Gomez Dominguez, 19, won the first two games, 13-11 and 11-6, and seemed to have the match in hand. Ajagbe, a 28-year-old Nigerian, seemed exhausted, frequently bending over to gulp oxygen. (Santa Fe is 7,000 feet above sea level.) But Ajagbe made it a match, winning the third game 11-1. Gomez Dominguez, who is from Vera Cruz, Mexico, closed out by winning the fourth game, 11-8. Gomez Dominguez is ranked No. 361 in the world. Ajagbe is ranked No. 165. 4 p.m.: No. 4 seed Faraz Khan easily dispatched unseeded Maurico Sedano. Khan won in three straight games. The 22-year-old took the first game 11-6. Both he and the 24-year-old Sedano were hitting hard and deep. The second game opened with a brutal first rally that ended when Khan nailed Sedano with an attempted cross-court. The two players exchanged words, and that added an edge to the rest of the match. Khan, who is from Old Greenwich, Connecticut, than ran up a 5-1 lead. Sedano, who is from Guatemala City, Guatemala, doggedly retrieved shots, but Kahn extended his lead to 10-3 before Sedano tinned to give Khan the game. In the final game, Khan was his most creative, moving the ball around the court and taking advantage of his chances up front. Khan won the game 11-4 and took the match. Khan is ranked No. 170 in the world and Sedano is ranked No. 245. 5 p.m.: No. 7 seed Anthony Graham defeated unseeded Dylan Cunningham in a brutally physical match that ended without the players shaking hands. The 25-year-old Graham won the match three games to one. He beat the 21-year-old Cunningham 11-8 in the first game. Cunningham, who lives in Cleveland, OH, took the second game, 11-9. Graham, who is from Woodchester in the United Kingdom, won the final two games, 11-7 and 11-9. The games were filled with jostling and complaints about jostling, and the younger Cunningham was the most aggrieved. When the match ended, he declined to shake hands with Graham. Graham is currently ranked No. 195 in the world, and was ranked No. 98 in August 2012. Cunningham is ranked world No. 326. 6 p.m.: No. 8 seed Auguste Dussourd easily defeated unseeded Sam Gould. Dussourd, a 19-year-old Frenchman, won the match in three quick games, 11-4, 11-4, 11-6. Dussourd is world No. 248. Gould, a 26-year-old from Cambridge, MA, is world No. 310. 7 p.m: Unseeded teenage phenom Jesus Camacho swept past No. 2 seed Fred Reid. Camacho, a 17-year-old from Cuautitlan Izcali, Mexico, beat Reid with finesse, speed and the ability to retrieve every shot hit at him. The game scores were 11-4, 11-5 and 11-9. Reid, a 25-year-old Canadian, made many unforced errors, which contributed to the lopsided game scores. Reid is world No. 414, and was ranked 107 in September 2013. Camacho is world No. 202. |
By Jeff Pollock
El Gancho squash pro What a great two days of squash we had at the Santa Fe Open tournament at El Gancho! And we didn't have to worry about the weather, like the tennis group. Everyone had a great time visiting and eating and playing lots of squash. Just ask the 3.0 guys and gal. We had a good group of newbies this year and they played really well. Congrats to Max and Julia, who played great during the two days. The winners and diehard players in the 3.0 division had to play four matches on Saturday, and it came down to the last match. With Ted, Joe and Dick all within a game of each other, Dick needed to win his final and fourth match of the day. Joe didn't give up easily and it went the distance with Dick outlasting Joe and taking first place. Ted played well after his first match and finished a strong second after we went to the third tie breaker to determine first and second place. Congrats!!!! Our main 5.0 event came down to Chris and Richard playing for first and second place. As always, this was a great match to watch and they didn't disappoint with their stellar play. Chris ended up the winner and Richard took second place. In the 4.0 bracket, John Bunch played his second straight year in the finals and lost to Jeff Pollock. I think John would agree, it wasn't his best game of the tournament and he has vowed to work harder and get into better shape for next year's finals! Look out field. Most of all, thanks to all who participated, to the sponsors and to El Gancho for hosting the tournament! Hope to see you all next time! The Santa Fe Open is now open for registration. The tournament will be held at El Gancho in Santa Fe, May 15 to 17.
To register, go to thesantafeopen.com. Click on the squash tab and follow the instructions. Cost to enter is $50 ($30 for juniors), and you're guaranteed three matches. El Gancho squash pro Jeff Pollack is hoping for a good draw this year, as the first- and second-place cash awards have been increased. "We will have food and snacks during the tournament with dinner on Saturday night, catered by Walter Burke catering," said Pollack. "Awesome food." Graham Sharman from Santa Fe's Kiva Club was runner up in the 75+ division of the recent U.S. National Doubles Championships. His partner was Michael Wilson. Don Mills and Richie Bell were the champions.
The Kiva's Dave Matthews finished third in the 80+ division, with partner Ted Hoffman. Dick Silbar of Los Alamos finished third in the 75+, with partner David Puchkoff. The ninth annual U.S. Century Doubles Championships was played last weekend (Feb. 20 to 22), in New York, and the Kiva Club's Dave Matthews and Drewe Williams won the Grand Champions (80+) Division for the second year in a row.
The division featured four teams, and was played round-robin style. In the final match up, Drewe and Dave beat Will Simonton and Mike McBean, 15-9, 9-15, 15-6, 15-10. Drewe and Dave lost just one game in their three matches. In the four years that the Grand Champions Division has been held, these two teams have won each year: McBean-Simonton won the first two, and Matthews-Williams won the second two. |
Got squash news?Send it to Walter Burke at walter@nmsquash.com. Squash calendarFeb. 24-27, 2022 News archives
December 2021
News categories |