[4] Balazs Farkas (Hun) 3-2 [2] David Baillargeon (Can) 8-11, 8-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-4 (72m)
Farkas claims Totrola title in five game thriller
We’ve had a brilliant week of squash and thankfully the final between David Baillargeon and Farkas Balazs lived up to the hype!
David started the stronger of the two finalists. He played with his usual high intensity and built an early 5-2 lead. He managed to maintain that 3 point cushion and closed out the game 11-8. The second followed a similar pattern and David once again took it 11-8. At 4-2 up in the third it looked the match could be reaching an end. With the conditions being so hot it seemed like David had a small drop off in physicality and that gave Balazs a slight opportunity. Balazs went on to win 9 consecutive points to bring one game back.
Speaking with Balazs post match he remarked that he felt he was playing too much deep in the first 2 games and that was playing in to the hands of David. From the third onwards he wanted to use his skills more, and fully utilise the four corners of the court. This is more his natural game, and it seemed like his accuracy and confidence grew from then onwards. In the 4th he managed to break away from a tight start to win 11-7… and in the fifth he stormed out to an unassailable 6-1 lead. David never gave up but Balazs ultimately closed out the match 11-4.
An amazing comeback in physically challenging conditions!! It was a high quality match and both players can be very proud of their performances. Congratulations to Balazs on winning our highest level tournament to date… and becoming the Carey Olsen Tortola Classic Champion!
Prior to the final we had a great ‘Play the Pro’ session where a good group of our juniors got their chance to get on court and challenge the pros!! Very inspirational for our juniors so a huge thank you to the professional players that offered their time!
We then had a fantastic doubles exhibition match between Team America (Andrew Douglas and Spencer Lovejoy) and The Rest of the World (Simon Herbert and Liam Marrison). The match was won by Team America 11-10 in the third!! Great entertainment.
Cheers to an amazing week of squash in the British Virgin Islands!
Semi-Finals :
Quarter-Finals :
Quarter Finals evening was another busy night here at Tortola Sports Club. It was great to have lots of our juniors stick around to watch the early matches. It’s certainly inspirational for them seeing the top pros playing on their courts (and even getting on court with them at times!) !
Liam Marrison started where he left off last night. He began with a real purpose and was finding his targets well. Good patience mixed with some nice finishes led him to an 11-3 first game win. Joeri Hapers responded well though in the second reversing the score line to level things at 1-1. Over the course of the second and third games Joeri seemed to start to read Liam’s attacks and also managed to cut balls out across the middle creating openings of his own. He moved fluently and defended well when he needed to giving Liam little to feed off. He managed to forge and maintain leads in both the 3rd and 4th closing the match out 3-1.
The following match between Farkas Balazs and Chris Binnie started with a few traffic issues especially when players were moving in and out of the front corners. With two guys over six foot there’s going to be a bit of contact… however thankfully it never escalated too much and we were treated to an intriguing match. Balazs has a very relaxed style and likes to attack regularly. Binnie likes to control the middle and also take it in when he’s created the opportunity. The first two games were shared to leave them one apiece. From the third onwards Balazs’ accuracy grew and he managed to keep his nose ahead and closed out the final two games 11-7, 11-6.
Third match on was an all-American affair with Spencer Lovejoy up against Andrew Douglas. Andrew was finding his targets right from the start and was using subtle variations to gradually apply pressure. He found particular success in the front backhand corner where he found multiple winners. He’s able to set up with very similar preparation for various shots which creates great uncertainty for his opponents. Spencer never fully got a foothold in the match, and although he got stuck in and was competitive throughout… he wasn’t quite able to find the answers to break Andrew down. The match finished 3-0 in Andrew’s favour. Impressive performance.
Final match of the evening was David Baillargeon against Simon Herbert. David was recently crowned Canadian National Champion for the 2nd time… and so came in to this event with his confidence high. Simon, although ranked around 50 places below his opponent, came on court with great belief and really took the game to David. He started off at a blistering pace hitting the ball with great severity and finding some awesome winners. This took him to 10-8 game ball. David rallied well though and played some solid points to sneak an important first game 13-11. That seemed to ever so slightly take the wind out of Simon’s sails. David was very solid over the next 2 games and managed to build leads at the start of both the games. He was relentless with his consistency and closed out the match in 3.
Tomorrow the boys who haven’t made it to the semi finals have a boat trip to look forward to around the beautiful British Virgin Islands! Whilst the semi finalists will be preparing themselves for what will be two exciting matches tomorrow evening!
Day TWO : Down to the Quarters
The Tortola Sports Club squash community once again turned out in full force and they were once again treated to a great night of squash!
The evening started with a big upset as talented young Canadian, Liam Marrison, took out the 1 seed Chris Gordon. The first game was at least 20 minutes with both players playing very patiently. Having lost to Gordon two months ago at the PanAmerican Championships it was an important confidence boost for Liam to squeeze a tight first 11-9. Another tight game followed and this time went the way of ‘Gordo’ locking us in at 1-1. After a rocky start to the 3rd, Liam then managed to gain some control of the match and managed to close out the final two games 11-6, 11-7 to secure his biggest win to date! The crowd enjoyed Liam’s style and some of his slightly more unorthodox shots!
The crowd were in loud voice when local junior Luca Reich and National Coach Adam Murrills were up against their International opponents. Luca fought well against his accomplished opponent, Spencer Lovejoy, and did his best to extend the rallies. Spencer was very solid and was giving him nothing though, and gradually he outmanoeuvred Luca. It was a great lesson for Luca in what is required for him to make that next step up.
Adam and Chris Binnie meanwhile were having a tough battle on the court next door. Chris started the better of the two however Adam gradually clawed his way back in to the game. With the help of the loud local crowd he saved two game balls but was unable to convert one of his own! Chris managed to sneak an important first 13-11. The second was another tight affair which Chris once again edged 12-10. With Adam having not played on the Professional Tour for 4 years… it was Chris who played those big points slightly better. Chris went on to close out the 3rd 11-6. Binnie is a previous Champion at this event and he’s well liked at the club with his Caribbean links. I’m sure he’ll enjoy some support of his own in his quarter final tomorrow!
The final match of the evening was an exciting affair between two Englishmen – Simon Herbert and Jonah Bryant. Simon has a very attacking style and looks to hit with power and severity. Jonah is a very skilful player and has nice variation and delicate touch. It was a very entertaining match for the crowd especially the 2nd in which Jonah saved 4 game balls before finally succumbing 12-10. Simon then closed it out 3-0. At only 16, Jonah has a very bright future in the game and is certainly one to watch over the coming years. Simon himself is only 21 and will be looking forward to trying to cause an upset tomorrow when he takes on no.2 seed David Baillargeon.
The rest of the matches went to seeding bar Joeri Harpers overturning the rankings to take down Connor Turk in 4 games.
Bring on the quarters!
Day TWO : Down to the Quarters
The Tortola Sports Club squash community once again turned out in full force and they were once again treated to a great night of squash!
The evening started with a big upset as talented young Canadian, Liam Marrison, took out the 1 seed Chris Gordon. The first game was at least 20 minutes with both players playing very patiently. Having lost to Gordon two months ago at the PanAmerican Championships it was an important confidence boost for Liam to squeeze a tight first 11-9. Another tight game followed and this time went the way of ‘Gordo’ locking us in at 1-1. After a rocky start to the 3rd, Liam then managed to gain some control of the match and managed to close out the final two games 11-6, 11-7 to secure his biggest win to date! The crowd enjoyed Liam’s style and some of his slightly more unorthodox shots!
The crowd were in loud voice when local junior Luca Reich and National Coach Adam Murrills were up against their International opponents. Luca fought well against his accomplished opponent, Spencer Lovejoy, and did his best to extend the rallies. Spencer was very solid and was giving him nothing though, and gradually he outmanoeuvred Luca. It was a great lesson for Luca in what is required for him to make that next step up.
Adam and Chris Binnie meanwhile were having a tough battle on the court next door. Chris started the better of the two however Adam gradually clawed his way back in to the game. With the help of the loud local crowd he saved two game balls but was unable to convert one of his own! Chris managed to sneak an important first 13-11. The second was another tight affair which Chris once again edged 12-10. With Adam having not played on the Professional Tour for 4 years… it was Chris who played those big points slightly better. Chris went on to close out the 3rd 11-6. Binnie is a previous Champion at this event and he’s well liked at the club with his Caribbean links. I’m sure he’ll enjoy some support of his own in his quarter final tomorrow!
The final match of the evening was an exciting affair between two Englishmen – Simon Herbert and Jonah Bryant. Simon has a very attacking style and looks to hit with power and severity. Jonah is a very skilful player and has nice variation and delicate touch. It was a very entertaining match for the crowd especially the 2nd in which Jonah saved 4 game balls before finally succumbing 12-10. Simon then closed it out 3-0. At only 16, Jonah has a very bright future in the game and is certainly one to watch over the coming years. Simon himself is only 21 and will be looking forward to trying to cause an upset tomorrow when he takes on no.2 seed David Baillargeon.
The rest of the matches went to seeding bar Joeri Harpers overturning the rankings to take down Connor Turk in 4 games.
Bring on the quarters!
Day ONE : Adam Murrills reports
A fantastic first evening at the Carey Olsen Tortola Classic saw a first round which mainly pitted our local players against the PSA players in what is the highest calibre event ever hosted in the BVI. The local crowd turned out in force with over 50 people in attendance to help open what promises to be a fantastic week of squash!
The local players did not disappoint us. They all put in strong performances and did their best to push their International opponents. Special mention should go to Dion Anselm for managing to take the first game off Mahmoud Abouelleil before finally succumbing in 4 hard fought games. 14 year old Danny Henderson put in a very promising performance against rising star Jonah Bryant. He showed good maturity and some touches of class. Jonah himself is only 16 and it will be interesting to see how he matches up against some of the well established players on tour.
Two local players progressed in the form of Luca Reich and National Coach Adam Murrills. They came through matches against Eddie Brockbank and Jonathan Addo respectively. Luca looks forward to a match up against US National Team member, Spencer Lovejoy, at 6.45pm… while Adam will be taking on 9 time Caribbean Champion, Chris Binnie, at 6pm! Hopefully tomorrow will provide another big crowd and some more loud local support!!
We look forward to another great evening of squash!
