Sharpes Leads Upsets In Calgary
by Howard Harding
20 January 2012 - England's Charles Sharpes led a flurry of upsets on the opening day of action in the Talisman Energy Bankers Hall Club Pro Am, ousting top seed Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan to reach the quarter-finals of the established PSA World Tour Challenger 10 squash event at Bankers Hall Club in Calgary.
Despite sub zero temperatures hitting the Canadian city early this week, first round play was very heated in many aspects. "Never in the history of this tournament have there been so many upsets on the first day and never before have three Calgarians made their way into the quarter finals," said tournament director Bob Ballinger.
The packed lunch time crowd at Bankers Hall Club were treated to a real back and forth match that never saw more than a four point difference between the two players as Sharpes pulled off a huge win to beat Adnan, the world No32 from Malaysia, 10-12, 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9 in 94 minutes.
"Just beat the seed 1 wan adnan world number 32 in a very tough 3-2 in the first round #YES," tweeted the London-born 19-year-old after his breakthrough victory.
Sharpes, ranked 96 in the world, now faces fellow countryman Lewis Walters who downed Canadian hope Matthew Serediak 11-4, 11-9, 11-6.
But, in his first official PSA event, local Calgarian and tournament wild card Graeme Dobson Schnell thrilled the hometown crowd with an exciting 11-9, 12-10, 3-11, 11-8 victory over Mexican national team member Alfredo Avila.
After winning a very tight first two games, 23-year-old Schnell lost his way in third game only to prevail with a strong fourth game to take the victory.
Shortly afterwards, Andrew Schnell joined his older brother in the quarter-finals with a hard fought victory over tour veteran Jan Koukal, the No3 seed from the Czech Republic, in 87 minutes.
Schnell junior, a Canadian senior international, led two games to one and was 8-3 up in the fourth. But Koukal imposed his experience to draw level. The Czech champion led 7-3 in the decider only to see Schnell win seven straight points to reach match ball at 10-7. Again Koukal dug in and tied things up at 10-10 - but the Canadian held his nerve to win 11-5, 6-11, 11-5, 11-13, 12-10 after 87 minutes to secure a quarter-final berth against his older brother.
A third seed bit the dust when Australia's Scott Arnold defeated Dick Lau, the No4 seed from Hong Kong, 11-5, 12-10, 11-6.
RESULTS: PSA Challenger 10 Talisman Energy Bankers Hall Club Pro Am, Calgary, Canada
1st round:
Charles Sharpes (ENG) bt [1] Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) 10-12, 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9 (94m)
Lewis Walters (ENG) bt Matthew Serediak (CAN) 11-4, 11-9, 11-6 (32m)
Leo Au (HKG) bt Erik Tepos Valtierra (MEX) 11-7, 11-7, 12-10 (45m)
Scott Arnold (AUS) bt [4] Dick Lau (HKG) 11-5, 12-10, 11-6 (34m)
Andrew Schnell (CAN) bt [3] Jan Koukal (CZE) 11-5, 6-11, 11-5, 11-13, 12-10 (87m)
Graeme Dobson Schnell (CAN) bt Alfredo Avila (MEX) 11-9, 12-10, 3-11, 11-8 (64m)
David Letourneau (CAN) bt Fred Reid (CAN) 11-5, 11-3, 11-4 (25m)
[2] Chris Simpson (ENG) bt Dane Sharp (CAN) 11-5, 11-5, 12-10 (54m)
Quarter-final line-up:
Charles Sharpes (ENG) v Lewis Walters (ENG)
Scott Arnold (AUS) v Leo Au (HKG)
Andrew Schnell (CAN) v Graeme Dobson Schnell (CAN)
[2] Chris Simpson (ENG) v David Letourneau (CAN)
Back To Main
