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Last updated 01/06/2002
US Open Qualifying
- by Martin Bronstein
Shahier Razik in Scintillating in win over Durbach, Parke ousts Harms [Qualifying draw] [main draw]
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The
Memorial US Open - Qualifying Final
January 5, 2001 Back Bay, Boston, MA--
Martin Bronstein reporting from the Boston Racquets club, the University Club and the Harvard Club
LEAVING THE BEST TO THE END
 |
| Rodney Durbach battles hard but is upset by Canadian Shahier Razik, photo © 2002 Ron Beck |
Shahier Razik pulled out one of his best performances for a long time when he upset the form book in beating Rodney Durbach 3/1 to claim a place in the main draw. Canadian Razik is ranked 41 to Durbach's 24, but on this showing will realize his aim to be in the top twenty by the end of this year. Durbach, South Africa's top player by a long stretch, has had a good year working his way up the rankings and getting toughened up in the qualifying events. Today he seemed a little off his usual hard-nosed self and allowed the referee's decision to get to him too often. Razik, on the other hand, just got on with his game and only questioned a couple of decisions. But it was a good gripping match to finish off the qualifying with some astonishing rallies and dramatic swings of fortune.
SPAGHETTI STRINGS
The first time I saw Razik six years ago in the world junior championships,
he displayed the softest touch of all the players. He would just hold
his racket up to an oncoming ball and the resulting volley would die immediately
after hitting the front wall. I said then that his racket was strung with
spaghetti. In the interval he has learned that you can't win matches on
the pro tour with that sort of game and has gradually been adding a professional
hardness, at the expense of his fine touch. Today it all seemed to marry
together and he came out for the first game easily the better player and
had Durbach all over the place to win the first game 15-7.
HOW TO LOSE NINE POINTS IN A ROW
AND STILL COME BACK.
Razik continued in the second and took a 3-0 when suddenly his world fell
apart; Durbach hit a winner, then won a fine long rally to get to 2-3
and from then on just steamrollered over the Canadian. (Razik was born
in Egypt, moved to Canada, appeared yesterday in a French team shirt and
today in a Swedish team shirt. Either he has a nasty identity crisis or
he trades well at world championships.) Bang, wallop, smash, Durbach was
9-3 up and then ll-4 up and ready to even the match.
Suddenly Razik hit a couple of beautiful winners, (he said later that the tiredness disappeared from his legs and found his motivation again), and went on the rampage with shots and length to pull all the way back to 13-14. He lost the next rally - and the game- on a stroke and left the court telling the referee that he didn't know the rules. Referee Graham Walter is a World Class grade and on the WSF rules committee. The third game was gripping from Durbach's first backhand slam into the nick to the last point. Durbach went into a 6-1 lead and Razik seemed spent, found his shots working again and tied it at 7-7 and raced to a 13-10 lead using his entire arsenal of shots, deception and experience. Durbach would not lie down and got back to 12-13. Razik hit a tight back hand which Durbach could not scrape off the wall and suddenly it was game ball. 14-12.
Durbach still fought and tied it at 14-all. Razik called no set; he must have felt that having had two game balls denied him when strokes were given as lets, he was due for the win. And he got the game point on a stroke. To win 15-14 after 25 minutes. The fourth game was over in 10 minutes as Razik continued to move the ball around and make Durbach lunge to the front corners. Durbach's leg got heavy and his fighting with the ref took its mental toll. Razik won it 15-7 to go through to the main draw. Against Peter Nicol.
You call that justice?
PARKE ALMOST GOOD AS NEW
Simon Parke on the other hand will welcome his main draw opponent: John
White, the world number three. Parke is looking and feeling good after
four months off the circuit. In his match against the Swiss number one
Lars Harms, he reminded us all just how good he is. How precise he is
with his shots; how intelligent his shot selection and just how bloody
fast he is getting out of an awkward situation.
Remember, two years ago he won this tournament beating Nicol and Power on consecutive days. Harms played well despite losing in three, and showed that with a couple of years on the circuit he can make the top echelon. Parke controlled most of the match and got the run of the luck at points in the game that did Harms' self esteem no good at all. Parke's lobs are nigh on perfect; no matter how low the drop at the front of the court, Parke gets right under the ball and lofts it high enough for it to come down with snow on it. And four of them just died in the nick at the back wall.
"I was happy with the way I played, but I still need the day-after-day test, which is a lot different from daily training," Parke told me after the match. Showing me the scar on his ankle. "No ill effects and I'm waking up feeling Ok. There's no pain there," he said talking about the after-effects of his September operation. He is pleased about getting straight into the main draw for the Tournament of Champions in New York in two weeks. His opponent? Jonathon Power.
Stefan Casteleyn will have Paul Price in the main draw after defeating Robby Lingashi in three. He wasn't too cock-a-hoop over his win: " It's hard to say whether I played well. I would expect to beat him. I would have been very unhappy if I'd lost," he said frankly. I asked him why he plummeted down the rankings after getting to the top ten three years ago.
"Life got complicated. I got married and had a child and concentrated on being a family man. Then I moved to the West Coast and found there was not the squash there that I needed. So I moved back to Belgium 18 months ago and got back into serious training, which brought me some good results towards the end of last year. I just have to play as many tournaments as I can to get back up the rankings," he said.
The main draw starts Sunday in Sheraton Hotel, which may be John Nimick's best venue yet; it is a good compact space and he has sold out the 750 seats for the last three nights already.
[Final Qualifying Scores and Draw]
