[Windy City Main Draw]

[1st rnd -Day1] [1st rnd -Day1] [2nd rnd] [Quarter-Finals] [Semis][Final]

Ramy Ashour, Boswell, Ricketts, Lincou Advance

Amr Mansi was taken out by fellow Egyptian Mohammed Abbas in 3. (photo:© 2007 Debra Tessier)

In a second successive day of predictable, rapid-fire action in Chicago, the first round of the Windy City Open drew to a close with another eight matches which went according to seedings, most of the results being recorded in 45 minutes or less.

Off court, the Windy City Open continues to set the standard in North America for tournament prize money, presentation and quality. At the University Club, in whose main hall the event takes place, live video feed from the matches are being piped into the internal cable system within the Club. So all TVs and video screens throughout the club - from locker rooms to dining rooms to hotel rooms - are broadcasting the event.

Also, it was agreed this evening, in a meeting between tournament referee Graham Waters, the promoters, and the players, to use the three-referee system promoted by Waters, writer Martin Bronstein and others, for the succeeding rounds of this tournament.

On court, Mo Abbas (26 minutes) and Ramy Ashour (30 minutes) led the Egyptian advance into the second round with the shortest matches of the round.

American qualifier Julian Illingworth was put out, but not before mounting a very respectable and competitive challenge to seasoned English competitor, Adrian Grant, in which he extended Grant to two tie-breaker games and staged one of the most interesting matches of the evening.

The concluding match of the evening, an intramural Canadian affair between Graham Ryding and Shawn Delierre, going in viewed as a slam dunk for Ryding, developed into a see-saw affair. Ryding however, recovered from a two games to one deficit to impose his experience and precision on Delierre in the final two stanzas, neither of which was close.

[Complete draw and results]

RESULTS:        Infor Windy City Open Squash Championship, Chicago, USA   

1st round:      [Windy City Main Draw]
THURS [1] Amr Shabana (EGY) def Dan Jenson (AUS) 11-10(3-1) 11-4 11-5 (32 min)
[12] Olli Tuominen (FIN) def [Q] Mark Krajcsak (HUN) 10-11(2-4) 11-5 11-1 11-10(3-1) (47 min)
THURS [7] James Willstrop (ENG) def [Q] Daryl Selby (ENG) 11-5 11-8 11-2 (35 min)
[13] Mohammed Abbas (EGY) def [Q] Amr Mansi (EGY) (Friday) 11-5 11-1 11-1 (26 min)
THURS [4] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) def Alex Gough (WAL) 11-7 11-8 11-9
[9] Stewart Boswell (AUS) def [Q] Tom Richards (ENG) 11-8 11-9 11-3 (32 min)
THURS [8] John White (SCO) def Mark Heather (ENG) 8-11 11-9 11-10(2-0) 11-4 (51 min)
THURS [14] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) def [Q] Stacey Ross (ENG) 11-7 11-10(3-1) 11-6 (38 min)
[10] Adrian Grant (ENG) def [Q] Julian Illingworth (USA) 11-10(3-1) 11-9 11-10(3-1) (52 min)
[6] Ramy Ashour (EGY) def [Q] Badr Abdel Aziz (SWE) 11-3 11-7 11-9 (30 min)
THURS [11] Wael El Hindi (EGY) def Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) 11-9 11-7 11-8 (37 min)
[3] Thierry Lincou (FRA) def Liam Kenny (IRL) 11-9 11-5 11-7
THURS [16] Cameron Pilley (AUS) def [Q] Scott Handley (ENG) 11-3 11-9 11-8 (38 min)
[5] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) def Rafael F Alarcon (BRA) 11-10(2-0) 11-1 11-6 (44 min)
[15] Graham Ryding (CAN) def Shawn Delierre (CAN) 11-4 3-11 5-11 11-6 11-3 (53 min)
THURS [2] David Palmer (AUS) def Davide Bianchetti (ITA) 6-11 11-6 11-8 11-9 (64 min)

Shawn Dellierre pushed fellow Canadian Graham Ryding to 5. (photo:© 2007 Debra Tessier)

Rafael F Alarcon and Anthony Ricketts in first round action (photo:© 2007 Debra Tessier)