Final : Mohamed Sharaf 3-0 Sam Buckley 11/8 11/9 12/10
The eagerly anticipated final of the PVD Squash RI Open kicked off with a blistering pace set by Sam Buckley. Giving little away and controlling the first phases the Irish #1 gave himself a mini lead as it got towards the business end of the game. At 7-5 to the Irish #1 and what looked like a scoop gave the Egyptian enough of a chance to put his foot in the door winning 6 of the next 7 rallies with some sublime winners across the middle and taking the game 11/8.
The second was all Mohammed. Be it winners or errors, the game was on his terms. Perhaps not the best look at 9/8 when disagreeing with a decision, he patronizingly blew a kiss to the referee, which was unfortunate and was far aways from the level of squash he was demonstrating. Nonetheless he closed the game with another winner.
If the second was all Mohammed the beginning of the third was all Sam who played some winners of his own from the back establishing a 6-2 lead. A run of loose balls that Mohammed duly put away brought it to 5/6 but the Irish #1 got back to his rhythm securing game ball at 10/8. A body serve followed an outrageous cross court nick from the former Trinity #1 and again another to level at 10 all. With momentum with Mohammed and the finish line in front of him he duly capitalized closing the match 12/10 and with it securing his 3rd PSA title.
A big thank you to all the players for all their energy on the court. A great week here in Providence and were excited to go bigger next year!
Arthur Gaskin
Semis : It’s Ireland 1-1 Egypt !
Sam Buckley had a clear game plan and came out the blocks quick, playing at a high tempo, controlling the middle and using the hold to good effect early on to put Ali El Toukhy on the backfoot from the get go. Ali, who’s demonstrated is expansive skill sets all week, tried his best to disrupt the Irish #1s game but in the end just couldn’t live the intensity.
A chance for an all Irish final loomed as Denis Gilevski took on Mohamed Sharaf. Despite a promising start for the Irishman to lead 7/5 in the opening game, Mohamed managed to take first 11/9 which proved pivotal as the Egyptian gained in confidence coinciding with Denis quality dropping a fraction. Despite moments where you thought Denis could play his way back into the match it was the #3 seed Mohamed Sharaf that proved to good on the day, taking the match in 3 to reach the final.
Arthur Gaskin
Quarters : Irish and Egyptians advance
First off the blocks saw Sam Buckley, who’s fresh off the back of a win in Lausanne last week, take on Andrik Lim, with the latter getting off to a flyer it was the Irishman that closed out a tight first game and from there on in it was pretty straight forward for Sam.
Next up, crowd favorite with his silky skills, Ali El Toukhy took on Manuel Paquemar. A one sided first that lasted as long as the knock up, the Frenchman was going to need to adapt and do something a bit differently if he was to give himself a chance. Instead of getting sucked into a battle at the front the Frenchman worked the ball a little deeper and to good effect, winning the second and putting some work into the legs of the young Egyptian. A crucial third gave Ali the lead. To his credit the Frenchman got stuck in, producing some skillful shots of his own that even had Ali applaud, gave Manuel a game ball but in the end it was Ali that took that match with a ripper down the left wall.
Another Irishman, Denis Gilevski was next and overall was just to good for his opponent, Mateo Restrepo, who did his best to match the Harvard #2. After two one sided games, Mateo established an early lead in the 3rd and brought that to 7/4 only for Denis to claw his way back and take the third 11/8
Last match was between two clean ball strikers and giants! Mohamed Sharaf and the Hungarian Benedek Takacs. Some long fast exchanges to begin with it was the Hungarian that looked the better player and controlling most of the play, but Sharaf hung in there and kept some scoreboard pressue and upped a gear to close it out 11/9. The second, roles reversed, only the outcome was the same. A 2/0 lead was a tall order for the tall Hungarian and si it proved to be…. to tall with Sharaf closing out the match in 3.
And there you have it, probably for the first time ever we have a semi final line up with 2 Irishmen up against 2 Egyptian!
Arthur Gaskin
Round Two : Top seed downed in RI
Big upset here at the RI Open as the #1 seed was beaten by Benedek Paquemar in 4 games. Ali El Toukhy and Abdul Malik Khan provided the most entertainment of the night with Ali, whom had overcome PVDs ever improving Ben Gemma the round prior, took the match 14/12 in the 5th having saved a match ball.
Else where Sam Buckley looked strong as did his fellow Irishman Denis Gilevski, both winning in three.
The best for last!! Local PVD resident, Kincade Webster, having provided one of the only upsets of the day yesterday defeating Muhammed Noorani in 4 in his PSA debut was up against Frenchman Manuel Paquemar. Kincade had his moments and put in a great performance, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be with the American announcing his retirement soon after the match.
A great few days of squash and an awesome weekend ahead.
Arthur Gaskin
