Ollie dedicates Chicago victory to his late mother
By NATHAN CLARKE in Chicago
England’s Oliver Pett extended his recent run of good form to secure an emotional victory over Pakistan’s number one player Nasir Iqbal in the first round of qualification at the 2016 Windy City Open presented by Guggenheim Partners and Equitrust Life Insurance Company.
The 27-year-old from West Sussex has endured a rollercoaster ride over the past few seasons with career-threatening injuries and then the loss of both his parents.
This impacted heavily on his playing opportunities on the PSA World Tour but he returned to form by finishing as runner-up in last month’s Open Du Gard, PSA M5 tournament, in France.
In Chicago he produced a spirited 3-2 victory over Iqbal – 215 places above him on the world rankings – which he dedicated to his mother, who passed away recently after losing her battle with cancer.
“My Mum – that’s all I’m thinking about at this moment,” said Pett after the match.
“I’m thinking about everything she went through. I thought I would never play squash again, there were so many doubts but it was incredible to play again today. I was a good player so it’s all a question of believing that I can compete against those guys again.
“And today it was so much more than squash. I know it was only a match of squash but it was so much more for me – I was fighting for my life out there.”
Pett will now take on Germany’s Raphael Kandra in the final round of qualification where one of eight places in the main draw will be up for grabs while a trio of highly anticipated domestic battles will also see qualification come to a close.
Scotland’s two top ranked players Alan Clyne and Greg Lobban will go head-to-head after coming through their first round battles while Hong Kong pairing Leo Au and Tsz Fung Yip and English pair Declan James and Adrian Waller also face-off for national bragging rights.
In the women’s draw all hopes of a third American player reaching the main draw to join Amanda Sobhy and Olivia Blatchford were dashed as Corey Schafer and Reyna Pacheco were defeated in straight-games by Deon Saffery and Vanessa Raj, respectively.
Elsewhere it was straight sailing for the seeded players as they breezed into the final round which takes place today at the University Club of Chicago.
PSA 2016 Windy City Open presented by Guggenheim Partners and Equitrust Life Insurance Company, University Club, Chicago, USA.
$150,000 Men’s Qualifying competition, first round:
[L] Oliver Pett (ENG) bt [8] Nasir Iqbal (PAK) 3-2: 11-3, 9-11, 11-3, 8-11, 11-8 (50m)
Raphael Kandra (GER) bt [16] Olli Tuominen (FIN) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-3 (21m)
[15] Declan James (ENG) bt Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) 3-1: 8-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-6 (60m)
[6] Adrian Waller (ENG) bt Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) 3-1: 11-9, 12-14, 11-5, 11-4 (49m)
[4] Alan Clyne (SCO) bt [L] John Rooney (IRL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-5 (25m)
[9] Greg Lobban (SCO) bt [L] Dylan Cunningham (USA) 3-1: 11-4, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7 (36m)
[11] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) bt [L] Faraz Khan (USA) 3-0: 11-3, 11-4, 11-2 (25m)
[2] Cesar Salazar (MEX) bt [L] Yoni Ellous (NED) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 15-13 (30m)
[3] Leo Au (HKG) bt Henrik Mustonen (FIN) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-5 (33m)
Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) bt [13] Lucas Serme (FRA) 3-2: 11-8, 2-11, 2-11, 11-4, 11-9 (60m)
[12] Diego Elias (PER) bt Shawn Delierre (CAN) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-8 (27m)
Joe Lee (ENG) bt [7] Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) 3-0: 11-9, 11-7, 11-8 (59m)
[5] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) bt [L] Sam Gould (USA) 3-0: 11-3, 11-3, 11-3 (18m)
[14] Campbell Grayson (NZL) bt Ben Coleman (ENG) 3-0: 11-2, 11-4, 11-6 (41m)
[1] Zahed Mohamed (EGY) bt [L] Mark Heather (ENG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-3, 11-5 (22m)
[10] Paul Coll (NZL) bt [L] Jon Geekie (SCO) 3-0: 11-3, 11-3, 11-1 (32m)
Draw – Men’s Qualifying Finals
[L] Oliver Pett (ENG) v Raphael Kandra (GER)
[15] Declan James (ENG) v [6] Adrian Waller (ENG)
[4] Alan Clyne (SCO) v [9] Greg Lobban (SCO)
[11] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) v [2] Cesar Salazar (MEX)
[3] Leo Au (HKG) v Tsz Fung Yip (HKG)
[12] Diego Elias (PER) v Joe Lee (ENG)
[5] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) v [14] Campbell Grayson (NZL)
[1] Zahed Mohamed (EGY) v [10] Paul Coll (NZL)
$150,000 Women’s Qualifying competition, first round:
[14] Hollie Naughton (CAN) bt Cheyna Tucker (RSA) 3-0: 11-9, 11-6, 11-4 (22m)
[6] Deon Saffery (WAL) bt Corey Schafer (USA) 3-0: 11-2, 11-6, 11-5 (17m)
[7] Mariam Metwally (EGY) bt Thaisa Serafini (BRA) 3-0: 11-1, 11-4, 11-2 (14m)
[16] Chloe Mesic (FRA) bt Alison Thomson (ENG) 3-1: 11-3, 14-12, 7-11, 11-7 (43m)
[11] Teh Min Jie (MAS) bt Colette Sultana (MLT) 3-1: 11-7, 11-5, 10-12, 11-8 (33m)
[12] Vanessa Raj (MAS) bt Reyna Pacheco (USA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-3, 11-4 (21m)
[15] Nikki Todd (CAN) bt Nadiia Usenko (UKR) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 (19m)
[10] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt Sachika Ingale (IND) 3-2: 11-3, 10-12, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6 (43m)
[5] Christine Nunn (AUS) bt Marija Shpakova (SUI) 3-0: 11-2, 11-5, 11-4 (15m)
[8] Nele Gilis (BEL) bt Sina Wall (GER) 3-0: 11-7, 11-9, 11-9 (33m)
[9] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) bt Jasmin Ballmann (SUI) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-6 (18m)
Draw – Women’s Qualifying Finals:
[8] Nele Gilis (BEL) v [9] Sarah Cardwell (AUS)
[10] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) v [4] Milou van der Heijden (NED)
[5] Christine Nunn (AUS) v [12] Vanessa Raj (MAS)
[15] Nikki Todd (CAN) v [3] Fiona Moverley (ENG)
[2] Coline Aumard (FRA) v [11] Teh Min Jie (MAS)
[16] Chloe Mesic (FRA) v [6] Deon Saffery (WAL)
[7] Mariam Metwally (EGY) v [14] Hollie Naughton (CAN)
[13] Rachel Arnold (MAS) v [1] Samantha Teran (MEX)
Picture by KIM ROBERTS