Oxford Properties Canadian Men’s Open – RD2: Player Reaction

The Oxford Properties Canadian Men’s Open Presented by Airspace Private Aviation 2023 continues today from the Bow Valley Athletic Club inside the Bow Valley Square II shopping centre as the top seeds join the action in round two.

The action starts at 15:00 (GMT-7) starting off with USA’s Shahjahan Khan taking on France’s Auguste Dussourd for a spot in the quarter finals.

You can watch the action live on SQUASHTV. Live scores are available here.

Oxford Properties Canadian Men’s Open: Round two order of play

Dussourd Produces Comeback To Cause First Upset Of RD2

France’s Auguste Dussourd opened day two with a stunning comeback as he came from 2-0 down to defeat No.8 seed Shahjahan Khan in 81 minutes and become the first player through to the quarter finals.

Khan came out firing in the opening two games, volleying with great intent and using his low centre of gravity and speed to move around the tall frame of Dussourd and counter-attack the Frenchman, forcing him to second-guess his game plan.

After securing a 2-0 lead, Dussourd returned to the court with a fiery look in his eye and looked determined to raise his level. He did just that as he ran out to a 10-2 lead and converted at the first time of asking to take the game 11-2 and breathe more life in the contest.

Traffic issues between the two players started to come into play more and more and with some inconsistency from the referee frustrating the players, the fourth and fifth games were more scrappy that necessary. After Dussourd levelled at 2-2, the score reached the dramatic scoreline of 9-9 and two winners later the Frenchman completed the comeback to book his place in the quarter finals. He will face either compatriot Sebastien Bonmalais in the next round or No.4 seed Miguel Rodriguez.

“I was thinking that was going to be changing my flight,” said Dussourd.

“I was not comfortable, I felt heavy and technicality very bad, I was not finding any targets. I said to my girlfriend after the second game that I was playing my worst squash in so long and she told me that she doesn’t care, come back and fight, it’s a new experience. Often when I’m 2-0 down I don’t come back and my head goes down so even with me paying bad it was still close. In the three games I won, I still didn’t feel like it was good to squash.

“The most important thing to say today is that I won. Even if it was dirty and not good to watch, I am through to the next round and that’s all that matters.”

Result:

Auguste Dussourd (FRA) bt [8] Shahjahan Khan (USA) 3-2: 5-11, 9-11, 11-2, 11-7, 11-9 (81m)

ElSherbini Through In Three

The second match of the day saw a comprehensive win for Egypt’s Mohamed ElSherbini, as he needed just three games to overcome Mexico’s Cesar Salazar to book his place in the last eight.

ElSherbini found a terrific length in the opening exchanges and got to work on moving Salazar into the front corners after pinning him deep in the court. It was quickly apparent that the Mexican was struggling move at his best, which ElSherbini took full advantage of.

After securing a 2-0 lead, ElSherbini’s intensity was relentless. The Egyptian continued to fire the ball in short and test the physical capabilities of Salazar and despite the Calgary crowd getting behind the Mexican, it wasn’t enough to deny the No.7 seed a place in the quarter finals.

“Im pleased with my performance today,” said ElSherbini.

“He was not moving well to the front, he played a really long match yesterday but he’s a really good player so I didn’t want to give him any confidence so he could come back.

“He feeds on loose balls, he can play good shots and trick shots and when he starts to get his adrenaline going he’s difficult to play. I tied to mix it up today, sometimes in the middle or counter drops and thank god it worked today.

“I’m just trying to play well and enjoy my time. I’m just trying to play with good vibes. If I think too much about points or rankings, it stresses me out so if I am relaxed and enjoying myself that’s when I play my best squash.”

Result:

 [7] Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) bt Cesar Salazar (MEX) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-7 (34m)

Wall Masterclass Sends Him Into His Biggest Quarter Final

England’s Nick Wall overcame a 19-place ranking deficit to reach his biggest quarter final to date, as he recorded an impressive straight game victory over No.6 seed Dimitri Steinmann from Switzerland.

Wall was on the receiving end of several tough rallies with Steinmann showing flashes of class to move the Englishman around the court. These flashes of brilliance were almost always followed by a poor error from Steinmann which allowed Wall to stay within touching distance throughout the first two games and Wall showed his strong mentality to close out both games 12-10, 11-9 to give himself a huge 2-0 lead.

The end came quickly for the Swiss No.2 as more errors came from his racket. This allowed Wall to run away on the scoreboard and take complete control of the game. With a stroke being awarded to Wall on match ball, that sealed his place in a Bronze event quarter final for the first time.

Wall had this to say after his win:

“I’m happy with how I played compared to yesterday. I think I was more solid and disciplined, the first two games were so tight and to just keep doing what I was doing and to keep my head was important for that win today. I thought the pace was quite slow, he’s super quick and fit so I tried to take that away from him with some holds and stuff and worked well.

“I think having the five games on there yesterday helped me today. The match didn’t take too much out of me physically so although that wasn’t the plan, I think it helped me.

“With this court, it comes off the front wall fast but you get time in the back corners so you can think about what shot you want to play and there’s time to hold. When it’s dead, you’re rushing to get the ball before it dies so it felt comfortable on there.

“I don’t really look at players’ rankings, I don’t think about it too much. I’m obviously aware because he’s the higher seed and didn’t play yesterday but I just try and play well against everyone and impose my own game and treat every match the same way.”

Result:

Nick Wall (ENG) bt [6] Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) 3-0: 12-10, 11-9, 11-4 (37m)

Rodriguez On Top Form In Calgary

Former British Open champion Miguel Rodriguez looked to be thoroughly enjoying himself on the all-glass court at Bow Valley Square as he defeated France’s Sebastien Bonmalais in three games to reach another PSA World Tour quarter final.

Both players are terrific movers and showcased that throughout the entire match with all corners of the court being utilised and exposed. Rodriguez never looked to be in trouble on court as he was able to diffuse Bonmalais’ attacks and assert his own pressure.

Bonmalais showed glimpses of his skills but the Colombian was too strong on the day as he took the match 3-0 in 34 minutes to set up a quarter final encounter with another Frenchman, Auguste Dussourd.

“That was the key today[talking about enjoying his squash]. I feel at home here, at a bit of altitude here in Calgary on a fast glass court. I’m happy with my squash at the moment, Sebastien [Bonmalais] is playing really well and has had some good results and he was trying to push but I think the pace I was putting on him was too much.

“I was also trying to get used to the court. It’s never easy playing on a new glass court. I’ve been here once before but not on this court so I only had one practice on this court but I’m happy with how I played and looking forward to my match with Auguste [Dussourd] tomorrow.”

Result:

[4] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) bt Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-4 (34m)

No.2 Seed Makin Safely Through To Quarters

No.2 seed and Welsh No.1 Joel Makin safely progressed through to the quarter finals of the Oxford Properties Canadian Men’s Open 2023, beating USA’s Andrew Douglas in straight games.

Makin dominated the middle of the court by hitting precise and penetrating drives to the back corners and then hunting the volley down to put pressure on at the front and around the middle. Douglas wasn’t able to find the winners necessary to trouble Makin in the opening two games, which allowed the Welshman to take a 2-0 lead, winning 11-3, 11-2.

Douglas was determined to produce a better showing in the third game as Makin closed in on a straight games victory. The American straightened up his play and really made the No.2 seed work for every point. Despite the increase in accuracy from Douglas, World No.11 Makin was too strong in all areas and closed the game out 11-7 to win in three games.

“It took a bit of adjusting tonight, new court, at altitude and never played Andrew before so I wasn’t risking too much at the start and wanted to set my stall out. He struggled with the pace and the way the ball was moving so I capitalised on that,” said Makin.

“I had a conversation with Dave Evans about playing at altitude, and he told me that if you’re playing the better squash and putting the ball in good areas and keeping the ball moving away from your opponent then they’re almost doing extra work because of the conditions. So, thats what I was focusing on and you know, I’m feeling good, my form hasn’t been the best of late so I want four good matches this week.

“I’ve had some issues with my body but I’ve heard some people use that as a big excuse and I don’t want to be one of those people. The bottom line is that my form hasn’t been good enough so it’s on me to change that.”

Result:

[2] Joel Makin (WAL) bt Andrew Douglas (USA) 3-0: 11-3, 11-2, 11-7 (34m)

Top Seed Crouin Produces Quality Squash To Reach Quarters

Top seed Victor Crouin produced a professional performance in his opening match of the Canadian Men’s Open, beating dangerous fellow-European Balazs Farkas in straight games to earn a quarter final spot in Calgary.

Balazs had held match balls against Crouin in the season-opening CIB Zed Open but the Frenchman was able to convert. Crouin showed some signs of nerves in the opening game of tonight’s contest as the weapons of Balazs were always ready to be unleashed.

After closing out a nervy opening game 11-8, Crouin started to step up his quality and turn the screw against the Hungarian in the following two games. The newly crowned French National champion found perfect length and tidied up many loose shots that Farkas was hitting. The backhand drop of Crouin was a particular area of quality, which he was playing more and more to move ahead in the match.

The Frenchman went from strength to strength and closed the match out in 37 minutes to move into the final eight.

“That match was on my mind for the last three days,” said Crouin.

“Every time I was going on court for a practice I was thinking about Balazs [Farkas] but I was really worries about this match. Especially in these conditions, he’s had a match on this court and as Gina [Kennedy] said yesterday, it’s always tough when your opponent has had a match on the court because they are a little more used to it than you. So I felt like I has to go out there and be more than 100%, I kept telling myself to push because I knew he could come back at any time.

“I played French Nationals ten days ago and I need that competition and I need matches to stay sharp so that ten days was a bit long for me and I was definitely nervous but I had to remind myself that I am World No.10 and I had a job to do. If I played well I knew I would win.”

Result:

[1] Victor Crouin (FRA) bt Balazs Farkas (HUN) 3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 11-5 (37m)

Leonel Cardenas Downs Kandra To Reach The Quarters

The ever-improving Mexican Leonel Cardenas scored another impressive victory on the PSA World Tour as he downed No.5 seed Raphael Kandra to reach the last eight in the Bronze event.

Cardenas secured the opening game in great style, moving well onto Kandra’s attacks and counter-punching with accurate straight drops to force urgency in Kandra’s game. The German No.1 continued to try and work Cardenas but the Mexican was more than up to the task and earned a 1-0 lead winning 11-8.

After Kandra had responded to win game two, the pair were locked in a huge battle in the third game, with both players recognising the importance of winning that game. The game held good and bad moments for both men and the momentum changed nearly every rally. Kandra earned the first game ball at 10-9 but the stubborn play of Cardenas kept him in the game. Cardenas reached his second game ball at 15-14 and eventually converted the game, hitting a tight backhand drive that wasn’t retrieved by the German.

The effort that Kandra had put into game three looked to have taken its toll on the German as he started to physically fade in the fourth game. Cardenas sensed this drop off and took full advantage to move through and take the game 11-3 and the match in four games.

Result:

Leonel Cardenas (MEX) bt [5] Raphael Kandra (GER) 3-1: 11-8, 9-11, 16-14, 11-3 (50m)

A Win For Mueller Closes Out RD2

‘The Swiss Rocket’ Nicolas Mueller closed out round two at Bow Valley Square as he beat USA’s Todd Harrity in three games to reach the Oxford Properties Canadian Men’s Open quarter finals.

Mueller and Harrity have only met twice previously on the PSA World Tour, the most recent being a round two clash at the 2022 El Gouna International, where the Swiss came out on top in four games. Mueller was sharp from the outset tonight as he positioned himself on the T early in the match and never surrendered his dominance.

The World No.14 was working the ball accurately into both back corners and looking to pounce on the loose returns of Harrity to force him up the court or hit outright winners, of which he is very capable. Mueller’s relaxed and laid-back style of squash was in full flow tonight as he always looked in control and took the match 11-7, 11-7, 11-8 to reach the final eight.

Mueller had this to say about his win and about tomorrow’s quarter final:

“I prefer playing on glass courts more than anything else but you can feel the altitude here, the ball bounces a bit differently, it bounces more I would say which is good as it’s easier on the body but it’s harder to win rallies.

“I’ll just focus on my game tomorrow. If I play well I have a good chance. I play my best when I’m confident and relaxed, the more relaxed and confident I am, the better I play.”

Result:

[3] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) bt Todd Harrity (USA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 11-8 (31m)