Springfield Scottish Squash Open: Arscott and Downer in Thriller

Joel Arscott and Robert Downer produced an opening-day thriller at the Springfield Scottish Squash Open, as action got underway in Inverness. 

New Zealand’s Arscott found himself two games down after coming out on the wrong side of an 18-16 second, but took the next two games to send the match to a decider. An injury break for Downer threatened to derail Arscott’s momentum, but he would not be denied, completing a five-game victory in just under two hours. 

Arscott was not the only Kiwi to edge an English player in five games on day one either, with Anthony Lepper edging past Hasnaat Farooqi, while Ireland’s Sean Conroy swept aside England’s Lewis Doughty to set up a second-round clash with top seed Rory Stewart. 

In the women’s draw, there were eight winners from eight different countries in the opening round, with Alison Thompson the only Scot to progress. 

Thompson came from a game down to beat Egypt’s Hana Ismail, and will now face England’s No.6 seed Alicia Mead for a place in the quarter-finals. 

Results: Men’s Round One

[9/16] Sean Conroy (IRL) bt Lewis Doughty (ENG) 3-0: 11-3, 11-4, 11-9 (32m) 

[9/16] Edmon Lopez (ESP) bt [WC] Martin Ross (SCO) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-7 (30m) 

[9/16] Miles Jenkins (ENG) bt Will Salter (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 11-8 (40m) 

[9/16] Kareem El Torkey (EGY) bt [WC] John Meehan (SCO) 3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 11-9 (38m) 

[9/16] Nilo Vidal (ESP) bt [WC] Andrew Glen (SCO) 3-1: 11-8, 5-11, 4-11, 4-11 (45m) 

[9/16] Stuart Macgregor (ENG) bt Aaron Allpress (ENG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 11-3 (32m) 

[9/16] Anthony Lepper (NZL) bt Hasnaat Farooqi (ENG) 3-2: 4-11, 11-7, 12-10, 3-11, 6-11 (51m) 

Joel Arscott (NZL) bt [9/16] Robert Downer (ENG) 3-2: 11-9, 18-16, 9-11, 8-11, 7-11 (117m)

Draw: Men’s Round Two

[1] Rory Stewart (SCO) v Sean Conroy (IRL) 

Edmon Lopez (ESP) v [6] Perry Malik (ENG) 

[7] Alasdair Prott (SCO) v Miles Jenkins (ENG) 

Kareem El Torkey (EGY) v [4] Ivan Perez (ESP) 

[3] Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) v Nilo Vidal (ESP) 

[8] Sam Buckley (IRL) v Anthony Lepper (NZL) 

Joel Arscott (NZL) v [2] Ben Smith (ENG)

Results: Women’s Round One

[9/16] Tessa ter Sluis (NED) bt [WC] Katriona Allen (SCO) 3-0: 11-3, 11-8, 12-10 (24m) 

[9/16] Katerina Tycova (GER) bt [WC] Robyn McAlpine (SCO) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 11-3 (30m) 

Lea Barbeau (FRA) bt [9/16] Elise Romba (FRA) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-9 (26m) 

[9/16] Asia Harris (ENG) bt Sofia Aveiro Pita (POR) 3-0: 11-3, 11-6, 11-2 (23m) 

[9/16] Jacqueline Peychär (AUT) bt Ali Loke (WAL) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-8 (31m) 

[9/16] Alison Thomson (SCO) bt Hana Ismail (EGY) 3-1: 9-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-9 (52m) 

[9/16] Ambre Allinckx (SUI) bt [WC] Ellie Jones (SCO) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-9 (22m) 

[9/16] Nour Heikal (EGY) bt Sanne Veldkamp (NED) 3-0: 11-6, 11-1, 11-1 (15m)

Draw: Women’s Round Two

[1] Georgia Adderley (SCO) v Tessa ter Sluis (NED) 

Katerina Tycova (GER) v [5] Torrie Malik (ENG) 

[7] Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) v Lea Barbeau (FRA) 

Asia Harris (ENG) v [4] Marta Dominguez Fernandez (ESP) 

[3] Nardine Garas (EGY) v Jacqueline Peychär (AUT) 

Alison Thomson (SCO) v [6] Alicia Mead (ENG) 

[8] Rana Ismail (EGY) v Ambre Allinckx (SUI) 

Nour Heikal (EGY) v [2] Grace Gear (ENG)