Czech Makes Impact
by Bruce de Wet, Jan 22, 2004 Richmond Virginia © 2004   draw/results

Rodney Durbach. photo © 2004 Bruce de Wet

Close observers will have noticed that Jan Koukal, the Prague phenom, rarely has a bad loss and has been steadily improving his performance as he makes his way through the satellite PSA circuit. Last night in Richmond, Koukal had an important breakthrough with a big win over former British Open Champion David Evans.

The first quarterfinal match delivered a fine contest that went the distance. David Evans and Jan Koukal traded games and then worked to stay in the fifth. When the dust settled Koukal had managed to eke out a 15-7, 6-15, 15-6, 11-15, 15-12 victory.

Koukal's win will reverbrate all the way back to Prague, where squash has been a rapidly growing sport for the last five years.

The 5:30 match between Paul Price and Joey Barrington delivered lengthy rallies and focused concentration from both players. Barrington blitzed through the second game after he had lost the first. The momentum swung in the third game when Price bettered Barrington’s string of 6 consecutive points by putting together his own 8 point run to close out the game. In the fourth Price was willing to trade points and at 12-all he eased away to end the game and match, 15-10, 3-15, 15-9, 15-12.

At 6:30 pm Rodney Durbach faced off against Cameron Pilley. Durbach is fresh off a good showing at the recent Dayton event and Pilley won in Calgary last week. As the action unfolded it became evident that the match was going Durbach’s way. Working the ball around, Durbach kept Pilley off his rhythm winning three convincing games 15-12, 15-9, 15-9.

The final match of the evening had Shahier Razik playing Gavin Jones. The contest was close and there were a number of extended rallies in the early going. Those in the know were whispering that Razik would outlast Jones and as the legs tired Jones was forced into more adventurous shotmaking. Razik wore down less than his opponent and won 15-13, 15-10, 15-10.

[Virginia results/draw]

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