Oxford Properties Canadian Men’s Open: RD1 – Player Reaction

The opening round of the Oxford Properties Canadian Men’s Open Presented by Airspace Private Aviation 2023 gets underway today from the Bow Valley Athletic Club inside the Bow Valley Square II shopping centre.

The action starts at 15:00 (GMT-7) with an all-USA battle starting us off as Faraz Khan and Andrew Douglas look to reach the second round of the Platinum event.

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

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

Douglas Wins All-American Clash In Calgary

Andrew Douglas took the opening match of the Oxford Properties Canadian Men’s Open as he overcame compatriot Faraz Khan in straight games to reach round two of the Bronze event.

Douglas established a 7-4 lead in the opening game after coming out the stronger of several attritional rallies between the two and asserted himself in the middle of the court. A blip in concentration gave Khan some hope in the opener but Douglas returned to his crisp hitting style and closed the game out 11-7.

Khan responded in the second and started to take the ball short with more frequency to test the movement of Douglas. The 24-year-old was up to the task however and after taking a big rally at 7-6 established an important two point lead and never surrendered that to take a 2-0 lead.

The end came quickly for Khan as Douglas moved from strength to strength to take his place in round two, where he will face No.2 seed Joel Makin.

“There’s no extra pressure [when playing someone from the same country], I actually feel like it decreases the pressure because we train all the time together and have played a lot of times so we knew what to expect.

“I’m excited to play Joel. I feel like he’s done a lot with what he has, and I feel like im quite similar in the way that I’m not the most talented player but I work hard and do my best. I’ll try and do my best tomorrow and see what I can do.” Said Douglas after his win.

“I think I’m playing well, I’ve had some ups and downs with some injuries but I think my game is in good shape. I’m enjoying playing at the moment, I like the court and playing at altitude. I think it suits my game but I think it will suit Joel too but I’m looking forward to getting on court again tomorrow.”

Result:

Andrew Douglas (USA) bt Faraz Khan (USA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-9, 11-6 (41m)

Dussourd Through In Three

Dussourd found a solid length early in the contest and was able to maintain that throughout the entire match, finding the back corners with ease and really pushing Malik deep in the court and following up with severe winners at the front. The Frenchman took a convincing 2-0 lead to place one foot in the next round.

Dussourd looked like he could do no wrong as he moved to a 9-3 lead in the third game and it looked to be just a matter of time before he sealed the match. Malik battled back however and took advantage of a mental blip from Dussourd to get back to 9-10. Dussourd fired in a wicked boast however which Malik wasn’t able to retrieve, handing the match to the Frenchman, who will face USA’s Shahjahan Khan in the next round.

“Every first round you are nervous,”said Dussourd.

“It’s hard to get used to the court and the player. We’re at altitude, so that is tough but I’m happy to be through in three.

“I had to think about the altitude. The ball is pinging around really fast so it is different but I do some training in Mexico so I am more used to it than others.

“I played him [Shahjahan Khan] a month go in Houston. I won 3-1 but It wasn’t easy. He runs a lot and likes a fast pace so this court I think will suit him but it is a good chance for me and I’m sure it will be a good match.”

Result:

Auguste Dussourd (FRA) bt Curtis Malik (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-9 (35m)

Bonmalais Recovers To Win All-European Battle

The second all-European battle went the way of France’s Sebastien Bonmalais as he overcame Portugal’s Rui Soares to move into the second round of the Bronze level event.

Soares came out to a terrific start in the opening game and started to hit the back corners with great accuracy and pinned Bonmalais deep in the court, also forcing errors from the Frenchman.

After losing the first game 11-9, Bonmalais responded in emphatic style, leading 7-0 in the second game and using his movement to attack instead of defend and piled the pressure onto Soares. This continued in the next three games as Soares looked like he was struggling to find areas to hurt the Frenchman due to Bonmalais’ amazing, fluid movement. He ran through to win 11-3, 11-7, 11-6 to book his place in the next round.

He’ll take on No.4 seed Miguel Rodriguez and had this to say about his match and the upcoming last 16 clash:

“That was a tough one. It was tough to finish rallies. I struggled to find my length and he was hitting the ball well and putting pressure on me. I found my length eventually and was feeling better on there and then could put some pressure on him. I knew he wasn’t liking the crosscourt so I was trying to target that with the fast play and I went from there.

“It’s hard playing at altitude, it was a little harder to breathe normally because the air seems thinner and the ball is flying around as well but I got used to it as the match went on and I’m happy I could adapt.

“It will be very tough against Miguel [Rodriguez] tomorrow. He is playing really well and is obviously used to the conditions. He will run a lot and make it really hard so I have to be a lot sharper than today but hopefully, I can find winners and put some pressure on him.”

Result:

Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA) bt Rui Soares (POR) 3-1: 9-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-6 (47m)

Cardenas Conquers Spirited Lau

Mexico’s Leonel Cardenas recovered from a game down to defeat the dangerous Hong Kong No.2 Tsz Kwan Lau and move into the last 16 of the Oxford Properties Canadian Men’s Open in Calgary.

Cardenas started each game well but was guilty of losing concentration at the back end of the opening game as Lau managed to capitalise on loose shots from the Mexican to win the final five points and move from 6-9 down to take the game 11-9.

Cardenas stuck to his task however and used his accurate hitting to the back corners to force many errors from the racket of the Hong Kong player. It seemed at times that Cardenas didn’t even need to go near the tin as Lau would inevitably find the tin, handing points to the Mexican. Cardenas did well to keep the ball moving and always find areas to put Lau under pressure.

Cardenas took the match in 48 minutes and has set up a last 16 clash with Raphael Kandra and had this to say about his win and future aspirations:

“There was a lot of pressure, he was hitting a lot of winners and u just tried to keep the ball In the back and not give him angles and I tried to control the game.

“Recently I have been playing at a good level and I just want to learn from the bad experiences and make my game more mature.

“It’s my goal to be inside the top 20. I’ve already beat some good players so hopefully I can get there. Miguel [Rodriguez], Diego [Elias] & Cesar [Salazar] are my idols and I have seen them go and do it so I tell myself that if they can, then I can as well.”

Result:

Leonel Cardenas (MEX) bt Tsz Kwan Lau (HKG) 3-1: 9-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-3 (48m)

Balazs Farkas Beats Wildcard Turk In Entertaining Contest

World No.47 Balazs Farkas confidently booked his place in round two of his second PSA World Tour Bronze event after beating one of the events Wildcards Connor Turk in three entertaining games.

The Hungarian never seems to look phased or under pressure in any of his matches and looked to be relishing the opportunity to be on a glass court in a World Tour event once again. Farkas was moving the ball round the court with great accuracy and made life very difficult for Turk to give the home crowd anything to shout about.

Farkas and Turk turned into almost exhibition mode in front of the Calgary crowd with lots of entertaining shots being fired into the front two corners. The Hungarian was too good however and always had an answer for the Canadian’s attacks. He took the three games in 38 minutes to move into round two, where he will face top seed Victor Crouin.

“It’s always hard when everyone is cheering for the opponent and not you,” said Farkas afterwards.

“Every time he would play a nice point, everyone would clap but if I did the same only a few would. But it is really good the level of supporters that are here and I enjoyed it out there today. It’s a really nice court with really nice people so I’m pleased to be through to the next round.

“I’m really happy that I can get into the World Tour events now and I can’t wait to be on SQUASHTV more often and hopefully move up the rankings to be top 30 and 20 in the next few years.

“My father is my coach and I don’t want to leave him [talking about leaving Hungary to progress]. We started squash together and I don’t want to stop that. I play a lot of European leagues and go to different training camps but it is a lot of driving. But I’m happy with how I am.”

Result:

Balazs Farkas (HUN) bt [WC] Connor Turk (CAN) 3-0: 11-9, 11-2, 11-7 (38m)

Salazar Survives Sachvie Quality

Mexico’s Salazar showed his class in the opening game as the altitude had no effect on the 35-year-old. He moved the ball around the court expertly and followed up Sachvie’s attacks with great movement to counter punch and take game one, 11-8.

Sachvie started to produce better squash in the second game and used his skill in the front two corners to start to move ahead on the scoreboard. The Canadian took game two 11-7 but found the tin far too many times in the following game, losing it 11-5 and giving Salazar a 2-1 lead.

Sachvie responded again however and boosted by the crowd started to put tough rallies into the Mexican once again. The wildcard was taking the ball straight and short and then looking to hunt the next ball from Salazar, a pattern that was working wonders for the Canadian. He took some nervy rallies at the end of the game to force a fifth and final game, much to the crowd’s delight.

Sachvie moved ahead to 8-5 in the fifth game but the experience of the Mexican came through as he took the next five points to give himself two match balls. Again, Sachvie responded. Two unbelievable rallies from the wildcard forced a tiebreak, but after a wining boast and an error, it was Salazar who came through to book his place in round two after 67 minutes of play.

“In the beginning, I played really well, then something happened in my leg and I was scared to move on it and I lost my concentration and it was difficult for me to come back. I think with the rallies that we were having, he was getting tired but I kept hitting mistakes which was frustrating. I tried to play with more experience and play more intelligent squash which I thought was the difference. In the end I’m just happy to win, this is the most important thing.”

“I’m not happy with my performance, he played well but after coming back from many injuries I should have responded better but I am relieved to be through.”

Result:

Cesar Salazar (MEX) bt [WC] Nick Sachvie (CAN) 3-2: 11-8, 7-11, 11-5, 8-11, 12-10 (67m)

Wall Ends Home Hopes In Calgary

England’s Nick Wall ended home hopes at the Oxford Properties Canadian Men’s Open after beating Canadian No.1 David Baillargeon in five games to move into the second round at the Bow Valley Athletic Club.

Wall got off to a slow start in the match as home favourite, Baillargeon, came charging out the blocks and took the pace to the Englishman. But after taking the first game 11-7, the momentum switched to favour Wall as the 22-year-old managed to find his length at the back of the court, enabling him to move forward and play to his strengths of volleying and taking the ball in short.

Wall lead 2-1 after winning games two and three 11-6, 11-3 but back came Baillargeon. The Canadian battled his way back into the contest and was benefited by a couple of refereeing decisions to take game four 12-10 and force a fifth game.

The end came quickly for Baillargeon however as Wall got back to hitting his crisp lines to the back and taking time away from the Canadian. He took the final game 11-3 to earn a spot against Switzerland’s Dimitri Steinmann in round two.

“Definitely room for improvement there but credit to him, he played well,” said Wall.

“But from my point of view, I lost my concentration in patches which you can’t do at this level. It was an interesting match with two left handers and the good stuff was pretty good I thought but I will have to be a lot more disciplined tomorrow for sure.

“First match in these conditions, with the altitude and quite a bright glass court is tough so glad to be through. But having said that, getting five games on there that hasn’t taken too much out of me physically could be a good thing heading into tomorrow.”

Result:

Nick Wall (ENG) bt David Baillargeon (CAN) 3-2: 7-11, 11-6, 11-3, 10-12, 11-3 (49m)

Harrity Confidently Closes Out Day One

USA’s Todd Harrity closed out day one at the Oxford Properties Canadian Men’s Open, beating Spain’s Bernat Jaume in straight games to take the final place in the second round.

Harrity controlled proceedings from the start and despite losing to Jaume before, showed no signs of any nerves as he quickly found his length on the all-glass court and started to make life very difficult for the Spaniard.

Harrity took a 2-0 lead in no time, winning 11-5, 11-6 by playing intelligent, accurate squash and forcing errors from Jaume in all areas of the court. Harrity was able to find many winners of his own too and utilised his forehand volley drop to great effect and cut out loose drives from Jaume to pull away on the scoreboard.

Harrity closed out game three emphatically winning 11-3, sealing his place in the last remaining spot in the last 16. He had this to say after his win:

“I knew the court plays fast, so I knew I had to be ready for that. I was very focused, Bernat [Jaume] is a good player, he’s beaten me before so it could have happened again. I made sure I was ready, I stayed up on the T and pushed the pace and I’m really happy with that today.

“I’ve been paying more attention to my fitness recently, before, my work in the gym was like ticking a box and then I could go and have fun and play squash but now I have more purpose in my fitness.

“The altitude does effect you. I feel like you get out of breath easier. When I first arrived a few days ago I really felt it on court, but today I was okay and I’m feeling good for tomorrow.”

Result:

Todd Harrity (USA) bt Bernat Jaume (ESP) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-3 (31m)