Toronto's Razik Beats Illingworth In TOC First Round, Finishing Off US Hopes
from DailySquashReport.com
January 21, 2012 - Top-ranked Canadian Shahier Razik pounded out a four-set victory over North American rival Julian Illingworth of New York last night in the opening round of the $115K PSA Tournament Of Champions, ending American involvement in the event.
The final tally for the 34-year-old 27th-ranked Razik was: 8-11 11-5 11-8 11-6.
Americans Chris Gordon, Graham Bassett and Faraz Khan were beaten earlier in the week in first round qualifying matches. Princeton's Todd Harrity advanced to the second round of qualifying before losing to South Africa's Stephen Coppinger.
Illingworth has struggled with his game since the August Australian Open, winning only one PSA tour match in his last eight events.
Yet because of the complexities of the world ranking system, he came into last night's match against Razik at an all-time high of #24.
The Tournament Of Champions is the second recent major home-soil event to end in disappointment for the US men's program. In late September, all seven American men, including Illingworth, lost 3-0 in first round play at the $115,000 US Open in Philadelphia.
Razik moves on to face sixth-seeded Peter Barker of England Sunday at 3:00.
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