[SL Green Men's Nationals Draw/Results]   [Women's Draw/Results]   [men's open Draw/Results]

Illingworth and Grainger are still the best.

Grainger won her second consecutive National Championship while Illingworth nabbed his third. The Atlanta crowd was treated to a mix of proven veterans and players who recently turned pro, adding up to a diverse display of American squash.

Grainger again dominated the Women’s Championships, facing off for the second time with Latasha Khan in the final. Khan had a stronger showing this year against Grainger, but the World No. 4 went on to win in three. The two are a step above in the women’s bracket and will likely be a final pairing we see more of in future championships.

After a year spent showing international audiences what an American college graduate can do, Julian Illingworth put on a superb performance in Atlanta. Penn grad Gilly Lane also had an outstanding tournament, and won the first game in his semi against Illingworth. Illingworth did not lose another game during the tournament, defeating Lane in four and Chris Gordon 3-0 in the final.

“On the whole I think it was an interesting tournament,” Illingworth said. “The younger guys did very well, with Gilly coming through, Chris making his first final, and (Ryan) Donegan doing well.”

Illingworth's performance was more than interesting - his four straight national titles match the best-of-the-best, equalled by Victor Niederhoffer in the early seventies.

Donegan lost to Preston Quick in a tough five game match in the round of 16. Michael Puertas was able to capitalize on that, and came out the winner of Quick’s next five game battle. Gordon on the other hand was making his way through the draw with a series of three game wins, and Puertas was no exception.

“I had a tremendous amount of confidence,” Gordon said of the tournament. “In the last couple of weeks my squash has come together. I was playing very well.”

Gordon did not play poorly in the final against Illingworth; Illingworth simply knew how to contain him.

“Julian did exactly what he needed to do to beat me,” Gordon said. “He played very well, very smart. He basically beat me in one area of the court. He beat me in the front backhand corner. He was just phenomenal.”

Illingworth tweaked his hamstring in his semifinal match, something he was a bit concerned about going into the final.

“I didn’t want to get into a long drawn out game” he said. “I wanted to attack first, put him under pressure and hit it tight. I wanted to shoot him off court, which I did.”

Immediately before Illingworth played for the title of National Champion, his college nemesis Yasser El Halaby played in the final of the National Open, for players who are not US citizens. El Halaby lost to John White, who is still World No. 12 despite taking on coaching duties at Franklin & Marshall.

With the US Championships serving as the last major tournament in the US this season, Illingworth and the other top US players will play the remainder of their tournaments overseas. Depending on what happens in the next 12 months, we might be speaking about some of the top players in the world competing for a National title.

All three marquee finals matches were won in straight games.

US National Men's Closed (SL Green)
Finals: [1] Julian Illingworth (NY) def [2] Chris Gordon (NY) 11-3 11-3 11-3

US National Open
Finals: [1] John White (AUS) def [2] Yasser El Halaby (EGY) 11-3 11-7 11-8

US National Women's Closed
Finals: [1] Natalie Grainger (DC) def [2] Latasha Khan (WA) 9-4 9-2 9-3

	Enter your search terms Submit search form
	Web www.squashtalk.com