Illingworth Beaten In World Open 1st Round -
Delierre Falls Short In Lincou Upset Bid
by Ted Gross for DailySquashReport.com
Illingworth-Golan, photos courtesy Steve Cubbins
Lincou-Delierre
October 31, 2011 - US number one Julian Illingworth of New York City was knocked out of the Rotterdam World Open in his first round match yesterday by Borja Golan of Spain, 11-3 11-6 9-11 11-3.
Illingworth looked to be right back in the match when he pulled out a tight third game, but Golan, by his own admission, went back to basics in the fourth, lengthening the rallies and closing out the match in control.
The round-of-64 loss finishes off the American men’s chances in this 2011 World Open, considered the marquee event on the professional tour.
Current US number two Christopher Gordon was previously beaten in a first round qualifier by Eddie Charlton of England.
On paper, it appeared the 27-year-old Illingworth had a good shot to at least put the US on the board with one win. He came into the event ranked 27th, while Golan, of Santiago de Compostela, is 36th.
However, Golan is in good form, having won last week’s Santiago Open final over tough Englishman Adrian Grant, while Julian has struggled with his game since defeating Swiss star Nicolas Mueller in the first round of the Australian Open in early August.
Still, with only two American players even participating in the most important event in the world --and both first-match knockouts -- even its staunchest defenders have to question the current direction of the US men’s program.
Meanwhile, in other round-of-64 action, Montreal’s Shawn Delierre lost a 98-minute heartbreaker to world #10 Thierry Lincou of France, 15-13 in the fifth.
Had the 49th-ranked Delierre been able to pull off the upset, it would have likely have been the best win by a North American since the Jonathon Power era.
Delierre had to get through two rounds of qualifying to earn a spot in the main draw.
Lincou entered the event having reached the semis of the recent US Open in Philadelphia.
Shawn held match balls at 11-10 and at 12-11 in the fifth but couldn’t end it, and finally went down in a memorable effort: 13-11 4-11 11-3 4-11 15-13.
And in women’s play, Latasha Khan of Seattle advanced to the qualifying final round with a 9-11 11-4 11-6 11-4 win over Coline Aumard of France.
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