Irish Open 2001

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Independent Squash News By Edel Costigan May 24, 2001, Dublin
(Content © 2001; Photos © 2001 Debra Tessier - Squashphotos.com)

Irish Squash Open 2001              [Current Draw]

Lots of excitement in Dublin First Round:

With the Irish Open moved into late May, the first round fell on a day of terrific Spring weather. Nobody wanted to move inside so the matches got underway an hour late. Once it started, though, the squash was exciting, energizing and entertaining. Ireland Channel 3 filmed the evening's excitement for Sports Today.

Ryan's Roar
The first round had it all - heroics of the local hero, Derek Ryan, Rodney Durbach and Paul Johnson pushing and shoving, Mark Chaloner and Peter Nicol in a post-match debate about Nationalities, and Alex Gough given a conduct stroke. And finally, after 1 AM, Australia's David Palmer had the final quarterfinal berth nailed down.

The evening belonged to Irish star Derek Ryan. At 32, Derek may be playing in one of his last Irish Opens, but he certainly has already made it an event to remember. The resourceful Ryan, who was ranked as high as 7th in the world two years ago, used the energy of the home crowd to spur on his game and take home a stirring five game victory over current world #5, Paul Price.

Derek and Price played toe-to-toe in game one, with Derek winning a nail-biter 17-16. Paul Price seemed unworried, and he regrouped, took control, and easily took the second game 15-9. At this juncture it seemed that Paul Price was going to take the match routinely. But Ryan came out strong in game three, and the whole crowd coached him through the entire third game, helping him raise his game and take a 2-1 lead. Derek Ryan's family filled up the first row--cheering Derek on.

Price quieted the crowd and Ryan with a dominating game four. Did Ryan have enough left for the final game? Again the crowd came alive in game five, got behind the local champion, and energized Ryan. Price seemed bothered by the crowd, and felt the calls were going against him, and with the score 14-11 in Ryan's favor, the crowd roared as they thought the match was over. The referee though, had awarded Price a let. The point was replayed, with the same result, and the crowd had their result.

Donuts or insults?
Alex Gough came to play against David Evans. Both players played well and entertained the crowd. The world #4, Evans, though was too strong all around for Gough, from his long reach, to his inventive angles. Gough took the first game but slowly gained in frustruation level.

To the point where, in game three, he protested a call by referee Jack Allen. "You're a donut" said Gough. "Nobody gets away with calling me a donut" said Allen, and awarded a conduct stroke to Evans.

Evans was going to take the match anyhow, and he coasted forward into round two.

Hockey or Squash?
There was no such entertainment in the match between South Africa's Rodney Durbach and England's Paul Johnson. It was never going to be a finesse match, between Durbach who charges forward by pushing the pace and Paul Johnson who looks to win by attrition. The contest rapidly degraded into a shoving match with lots of push and shoving all around. Game three alone took 35 minutes, which much of it taken up by lets and replayed points. The referee warned both players to make some rudimentary efforts to move out of each others way.

But the situation didn't improve, and Johnson kept his composure better, taking home a rough win.

Political Debate
Last November, Mark Chaloner played the match of his life against Peter Nicol, going down to the end of the fifth game before falling to Peter Nicol. This time, Nicol was too well prepared and kept complete control of the match. It was a good and entertaining match, but Nicol was always going to win.

Afterwards, in a postmatch on court interview, Chaloner was asked about Nicol's defection from Scotland to England. Chaloner was outspoken in his remarks, disagreeing with Nicol's actions. Nicol defended his move, on economic grounds, and on the hopes that it would cause a change in Scottish Squash funding programs. It was an interesting and frank discussion.

Heath Hoping for a Rebound
Martin Heath, who has had disappointing results in the past few months, falling from his high ranking point of #4 back down to #8, is hoping for a streak in Dublin, leading him into the British Open. He took one giant step forward today, getting past the very dangerous Australian, Joseph Kneipp. Kneipp, whose fortunes have been soaring over the past 12 months, couldn't overcome the attacking Heath today.

Beachill Starts Fast, Stays in Control
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day, though, was young pro Lee Beachill's strong win over world #6 Simon Parke. Parke now goes home to regroup for the British Open.

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