Reigning champion Nick Matthew aims to add to four Swedish titles
By Squash Mad Reporter
Finland’s Olli Tuominen, the 35-year-old World No.30, lived up to his billing as the top seed in qualification at the 2015 CASE Swedish Open, getting past Australian Rex Hedrick 3-2 to book his place in the main draw where he will face defending champion Nick Matthew.
Tuominen (right) saw an early two-game advantage go to waste against Hedrick but regathered himself in the fifth and deciding game to go through 11-6, 11-5, 12-14, 9-11, 11-2 after 81-minutes of competition and he is joined in the main draw by fellow qualifiers Joe Lee, Tom Richards and Shaun Le Roux – the second, third and fourth seeds, respectively.
The 34-year-old Matthew is looking forward to adding to his four Swedish Open titles. He told the Sheffield Star: “I don’t know what it is that brings the best out of me in Sweden. It is a great place to go and play squash. The promoter is Fredrik Johnson, who used to be a squash player, and he has done a really good job with the tournament and puts on a great event.
“Sweden has been a happy hunting ground over the years for me so hopefully I can do well again. It’s a tournament where I’ve got some great memories.”
Matthew is in good form, having recently reached the final of the JP Tournament of Champions in New York, before falling at the final hurdle, losing 3-1 to top seed Mohamed Elshorbagy.
“I thought the final in New York was of great quality,” he said. “The standards and depth in the game are so high now and I have to make sure I’m on top form every week to keep challenging.”
After the Open, Matthew (right) will be competing in the British National Championship, which begins next week.
He admitted: “It’s a busy time of year. It means your training sessions are few and far between and you’ve got to maximise your downtime. The Open and Nationals have been two of my favourite venues so I’m looking to carry on that success.”
Case Swedish Open 2015, Linkoping, Sweden:
Results – Qualification Finals:
[4] Shaun Le Roux (RSA) bt [6] Raphael Kandra (GER) 3-0: 12-10, 11-4, 13-11
[3] Tom Richards (ENG) bt [5] Henrik Mustonen (FIN) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 11-8
[2] Joe Lee (ENG) bt Jens Schoor (GER) 3-1: 11-5, 11-6, 4-11, 11-6
[1] Olli Tuominen (FIN) bt [7] Rex Hedrick (AUS) 3-2: 11-6, 11-5, 12-14, 9-11, 11-2
Draw – First Round:
[1] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v Fares Dessouki (EGY)
[Q] Tom Richards (ENG) v [6] Nicolas Mueller (SUI)
[8] Stephen Coppinger (RSA) v [WC] Rasmus Hult (SWE)
Chris Simpson (ENG) v [3] James Willstrop (ENG)
[4] Simon Rösner (GER) v Adrian Waller (ENG)
[Q] Shaun Le Roux (RSA) v [5] Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY)
[7] Cameron Pilley (AUS) v [Q] Joe Lee (ENG)
[Q] Olli Tuominen (FIN) v [2] Nick Matthew (ENG)
The main draw action gets under way at 13:00 local time on Thursday February 5, with all the play being streamed live and exclusively on www.psasquashtv.com
Pictures courtesy of Swedish Open and from Squash Mad archive