Kiva Open: Hanson, Khan, Camacho and Alzabidi make semi-finals

Chris Hanson (left) with Italo Bonatti

Hanson (left) dominated the T vs. Bonatti

Hanson needed just 27 minutes to sweep Bonatti.

Ahmad Alzabidi with Juan Gomez Dominguez

Alzabidi (left) hitting a forehand against Gomez Dominguez.

Gomez Dominguez (left) vs. Alzabidi.

Faraz Khan (left) with Anthony Graham

Graham (left) hitting a backhand

Khan (left) defends the backhand corner.

After taking a spill in the third game, Graham (left) won just one more point.

Jesus Camacho (left) with Andre Dussourd. Camacho is 17 years old; Dussourd is 19.

The first and second games featured some bumping and grinding. That's Dussourd in the red top.

Camacho (left) taking the ball out of the back corner.

     No. 1 seed Chris Hanson and No. 4 seed Faraz Khan have made it into the Kiva Club Open semi-finals. They will be joined by unseeded Jesus Camacho and qualifier Ahmad Alzabidi.
     The semi-final matches start at 6 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 19).
 
    Hanson needed just 27 minutes to sweep past unseeded Italo Bonatti in his quarterfinal match on Friday.        
     Hanson, who is ranked No. 85 in the world, won 11-3, 11-4, 11-4. 
     He dominated the T, hitting tight rails deep and cutting off loose balls. He was patient and made very few errors, allowing Bonatti to make the mistakes under unrelenting pressure.
     Hanson, a 5-foot, 11-inch left-hander, lives in Greenwich, CT. He is coached by Australian Rod Martin, a former world No. 3. The 24-year-old Hanson also cruised through his first-round match, beating unseeded Englishman Mark Broekman, 11-3, 11-2, 11-2.
     Bonatti, a Guatemalan who is ranked world No. 267, made the main draw as a randomly chosen "lucky loser" after No. 5 seed Nicolas Cabellero withdrew from the tournament. The 28-year-old Bonatti lost to 19-year-old Mexican Juan Gomez Dominguez in the qualifying round. Bonatti's coach is Sadar Ali Khan.
     
     In a battle of two unseeded players, Ahmad Alzabidi edged Juan Gomez Dominguez in a 51-minute, four-game quarter-final match.
     The players traded the first two games, with Gomez Dominguez taking the first, 11-6, and Alzabidi the second, 11-5. 
     Gomez Dominguez dominated the first, making few errors and out-hustling Alzabidi. Alzabidi returned the favor is the second game, changing the pace, mixing fast and slow serves and hitting good drives to length.
     The third game turned into a on-court debate about lets and strokes, with both players working the referee and playing to the crowd. The debate was interrupted by complaints about the court floor being slippery, and play was delayed for a damp-mopping.
     When play resumed, Alzabidi kept altering his pace, floating lobs to the back of the court along with smashing his rails and crosses.
     Alzabidi eventually took the game, 11-8. It wasn't pretty or fluid squash. 
    The final game was similar, with Alzabidi mixing the pace of his shots and both players appealing lets. Alzabidi won, 11-7.
     The 26-year-old Alzabidi  is 6-feet, 2-inches tall and weighs 203 pounds.
     The 19-year-old Gomez Dominguez is 5-feet, 11-inches tall and weighs 141 pounds.
     Gomez Dominguez gave up 3 inches in height and more than 60 pounds in weight -- and also was lighter in his complaints to the referee.
     Alzabidi will play No. 1 seed Chris Hanson in one of tomorrow's semi-finals.
     The Jordanian Alzabidi was seeded No. 3 in the qualifying draw. He is the current world No. 304, but was ranked 149 in December 2011.
     Gomez Dominguez was the No. 5 seed in the qualifying draw. He is the current world No. 361. He is from Vera Cruz, Mexico.

  No. 4 seed Faraz Khan dispatched No. 7 seed Anthony Graham in three hard-fought games.
     Khan took the first game, 11-5. That game was filled with long rallies, with both players mixing speeds and lengths. The game lasted 13 minutes.
     Khan jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the second game. His ability to out-last Graham in rallies began to show -- and to frustrate Graham.
     Graham slowed play between points, and drew within three points at 9-6 before making two errors to lose the game, 11-6. That put him behind two games to none. The second game lasted 9 minutes.
     The third game was delayed a few minutes when Graham slipped and fell. He had been leading 5-4, but lost a point with his slip to tie the game. As he rested on the court, he joked about a let and then asked that the damp spot he created on the court be mopped. He won just one more point, and Khan took the final game, 11-6, in 11 minutes.
     Khan, a 22-year-old from Old Greenwich, CT, is world No. 170.
     Graham, a 25-year-old from Woodchester in the United Kingdom, is world No. 195. He was world No. 98 in August 2012.

     In match of young talent and wiry frames, unseeded 17-year-old Jesus Camacho defeated No. 8 seed Andre Dussourd. Dussourd is 19 years old.
     Camacho won the 1-hour, 11-minute match three games to one.
     Dussourd took the first game, 11-6. He jumped to a 5-0 lead. Camacho seemed nervous, and missed several early shots. He settled down after winning two points, but never got closer than three points, eventually losing 11-6 after 15 minutes of play. 
     There was some arguing with -- or at least making faces at -- the referee over lets and strokes during the first game, and that accelerated and became more verbal in the second.
     The second game was tied at 3-3, 4-4 and 5-5. After the three ties, the players seemed to find their rhythms and began playing through bumps and touches rather than debating. 
     Camacho switched to a higher gear, running the court and returning everything. He didn't lose another point, and took the 13-minute  game, 11-5. That tied the match at one game a piece.
     In the third game, Camacho jumped to a 3-0 lead, then made two unforced errors to make it 3-2. He then ran off four straight points to make it 7-2. Doussard finally got within two at 10-8. 
     On a ferocious 10-8 game point, Dossuord ran into Camacho trying to reach a drop shot. He hit the back of Camacho's leg with his knee. Play stopped for a few minutes as Camacho's leg was iced.
   Camacho showed no ill effects, winning the next point on a long rally along with the game, 11-8. It was a 29-minute game.
     As the fourth game started, both players clearly were tiring. With Dossourd leading 4-3, he took a spill chasing a drive to his forehand corner. Play was suspended for about three minutes, giving both players  a rest. The players then tied at 6-6, but then Camacho won three in a row with crisp play before Dussourd won a point, making it 9-7.
     The players traded points to make it 10-8, then Camacho hit a winner to take the game, 11-8 -- and the match, three games to one.
     The Frenchman Dussourd, who stands 5-feet, 11-inches tall and weighs 132 pounds, is world No. 248. 
     The Mexican Camacho, who is 5-feet, 8-inches tall and also weighs 132 pounds, is world No. 202.
     Camacho will play Faraz Khan in one of Saturday's semi-finals.