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New Event Energizes "New Space" in West Village

City Squash players warmed up the crowd at the 2006 Village Open. (photo:©2006 Debra Tessier)

The 2006 Village Open moved onto the McWil glass court this evening, at the far West end of 21st Street in Manhattan, New York. And it was the last of the four evening contests which energized the evening, as wildcard entrant Julian Illingworth fully justified his berth in the main draw, by putting up inspired opposition to Malaysia's Azlan Iskandar, before succombing to fatigue in the final frame.

This new event, was conceived of with the dual objectives of exposing a different population of fans to high level squash in New York as well as the goal of attracting a new pool of supporters for the CitySquash Urban program.

With those goals in mind, the event can already be judged a strong success, even after the first day, according to Robert Osborne, one of the enthusiast trio of visionaries who created this event. "The event is being largely supported by a group of patron/sponsors, many of whom are new to squash." Osborne told SquashTalk. "That means that all ticket purchasers this week are directly supporting CitySquash."

Information about the CitySquash program is everywhere in the venue, and presented in a very relaxed, tasteful manner.

As for the venue itself, the New Space, a multipurpose performance space at the far West End, is just the right size and shape for squash.

The court fits finely in a spare white-walled space with black ceiling and yellow edging.

The seating is arranged to hug the court, presenting places for about 200, encircling the court. The setup provides for a potential large buildup of fan energy.

Excellent quality video is broadcast onto the second floor lounge and outdoor balcony area, where refreshments are served and sponsors stuff is on display.

BEACHILL TOO STEADY FOR GOUGH

Gough took an early lead and forced Beachill into some shots out of his comfort zone. (photo:©2006 Debra Tessier)

The evening started slowly but steadily, with familiar foes, Lee Beachill of England and Alex Gough of Wales parrying with each other.

Gough pursued a plan of constantly seeking to move the ball forward while, in contrast, Beachill was trying to establish a steady, length rhythm. After the match, Gough told SquashTalk he felt just a tiny half a step slow - so he was probably hesitant to get into protracted rallying to length with the famously precise Beachill.

The first two games started out in the same fashion, with Gough taking the ball short and earning a quick 4-1 lead. In the first game, Gough's short game became a bit too aggressive, producing an inexorable string of errors, that gave Beachill the first game 11-6.

In the second, Gough made his initial 4-1 lead hold up, with a continuing barrage of judiciously placed boasts and drops that continually moved Beachill up and forced the Englishman into some shots out of his comfort zone.

The third game brought a whole new energy level and intensity by both players, and an extremely closely and well contented game went in Beachill's favor, but only as the consequence of a few fortunate turns of the spin against the glass wall.

The fourth was a carbon copy of the third, also going in Beachill's favor, resulting in a match that was much closer than the final score indicates, with the contest fully able to have gone Gough's way at several junctures in the third and fourth. In the end, it was Beachill's ability to force Gough into more protracted rallies to length that proved the difference.

MATTHEW WINS UNCOMFORTABLY QUICKLY

Qualifier Shahid Zaman looks to have taken off a few pounds since this time last season and looked capable of pushing Nick Matthew. (photo:©2006 Debra Tessier)

Qualifier Shahid Zaman looks to have taken off a few pounds since this time last season and looked capable of pushing Nick Matthew, at least during the first few points of the match. But Zaman's patience seemed to flag partway through game one. After one point of game two, Zaman took an injury break, returning to announce that he needed to retire with a racing heartbeat.

 

RAZIK BRINGS OUT NEW SPACE ENERGY
Some inspired play by Canadian/Egyptian Shahier Razik immediately put world #2 and first seed David Palmer under the pressure he's not used to seeing until later on in a tournament.

The resulting highly charged points brought out the best of the crowd, with rousing cheers after many of the fast paced, varied points showing the potential of the New Space to bring out the best of the specators.

Much of this match took place along the backhand wall, with Razik reluctant to challenge Palmer's explosive forehand for extended periods. And Razik signalled early on that he would not be giving up positional advantage or be intimidated by Palmer's shots or movement.

"He surprised me," David Palmer told SquashTalk post-match. "His reputation is as a runner, so I wasn't expecting him to be making shots out there. When he started making shots, he caught me flat footed."

Razik lost his momentum against Palmer. (photo:©2006 Debra Tessier)

But certainly, whatever the explaination given, Razik was playing tight, extremely confident squash.

At 10-7, Shahier's favor, in game one, on a let granted that displeased Palmer, Palmer said to the crowd, "It's the tall-man, short-man syndrome. You're falling prey to it." That threw Razik's confidence and made him start thinking too much, and before he knew it he had lost the momentum and advantage -- and Palmer stole game one 11-10(2-0). It proved to be a crucial advantage,

In game two, Razik regained his composure and surprised Palmer by reclaiming his aggressive and confident play. The match was knotted at 1-1 after Razik quickly collected game two, 11-7.

Game thee was the match. There were some excellent, tactically varried rallies, of which Razik collected his share. Palmer was now fully engaged, and moving the ball, as is his strength, up and down the walls with measured speed and accurate balls hugging the walls. But Razik, with El Hindi in his corner, was parrying with similar length, accuracy, and the occasional short ball. The battle evened at 9-9 but the fortunate bounces went Palmer's way and he had the game and the lead 11-9.

The fourth was really a formality, because Razik's resolve and momentum had been broken. He slowly fell behind and surrendered. But it was a great effort by the Canadian, and Palmer was glad to be through.

ISKANDAR TOO MUCH FOR GAME ILLINGWORTH

The fan activity, which had come alive in the Razik-Palmer contest, was multiplied several-fold as blue-clad Julian Illingworth took the court against Malaysian top-twenty player Azland Iskandar. Although reduced in numbers due to the late hour, the remaining fans, who had been awaiting favorite-son Illingworth's appearance, chanted his name as he came on court and continued their support in enthusiastic fashion throughout the match.

Julian Illingworth was buoyed by the energy and support of the late night New York crowd. (photo:©2006 Debra Tessier)

Julian Illingworth, buoyed by the energy and support, came out charging on all cylindars, leaving the calm, quiet Malaysian somewhat shellshocked at the outset. Julian was all-offense and all-attack, an approach which initially kept his opponent off ballance, and kept the noise coming from his supporters (which included almost everyone in the building). But the all-court up-tempo approach was taking its toll on Julian's legs, as Iskandar met most of Illingworth's challenges up front, and forced Illingworth into more than his share of the court movement.

Julian garnered a large initial first-game lead and reached 9-6. But he was already looking more tired than his opponent, manufacturing a few extra moments of rest after every point. And in the latter stages of the game, he was too quick to force the game forwards, a strategy which was not going to succeed against the experienced and very quick Iskandar.

After the game was knotted at nine, Illingworth saved a series of game balls, but finally fell to a perfectly placed length shot at 13-12. Illingworth needed a breather, and Iskandar looked relaxed.

The second game followed a similar pattern, with Illingworth building up a lead but then becoming too anxious to finish the points in the latter phases of the game. The second game was also extremely close, with Illingworth and Iskandar knotted at 9-9 before the Malaysian won the final two points.

But now, the American was too tired and the errors flowed in the anticlimatic third game.

The American showed that he has rapidly improved his level of play since leaving the collegiate scene last spring. His game is tighter, more confident, steadier. But he showed the same tendancy to attack too quickly that occasionally had gotten him in trouble in his collegiate contests. And his fitness level is not quite yet high enough to allow him to survive against the top tier pros. Still, it was a credible performance against the world #16 player.

While fans congratulated Illingworth on his strong showing, Illingworth wasn't satisfied with his progress.

"I wasn't happy with my performance last night," Illingworth told SquashTalk. "I have to stop the breakdowns that are happening at certain moments in the game."

Quarterfinal play resumes tomorrow evening at 6PM at the same venue.

Village Open, New York
RESULTS First Round: [Draw/Results]
AFTERNOON SESSION
Renan Lavigne (FRA) def [4] John White (SCO) 8-11 11-8 8-11 11-8 11-10(5-3)
[8] Wael El Hindi (EGY) def Borja Golan (ESP) 11-9 5-11 8-11 11-10(3-1) 11-7
[6] Stewart Boswell (AUS) def (Q) Eric Galvez (MEX) 11-10(4-2) 11-1 (retired)
[7] Olli Tuominen (FIN) def L J Anjema (NL) 11-10(2-0) 11-5 11-5
EVENING SESSION SESSION
[6] Lee Beachill(ENG) def Alex Gough (WAL) 11-6 4-11 11-8 11-8 (55min)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) def [Q] Shahid Zaman 11-4 1-0 retired.
[5] Mohd Azlan Iskandar def [WC] Julian Illingworth 11-10(4-2) 11-9 11-4
[1] David Palmer (AUS) def Shahier Razik (CAN) 11-10(2-0) 7-11 11-9 11-4

First Round Action at the 2006 Village Open.. (photos:©2006 Debra Tessier)