Giant task for London boy Waller as he faces Canary Wharf champion Willstrop by Alan Thatcher March 23, 2014
- Adrian Waller's reward for a bruising win over his training partner
Charles Sharpes in the qualifying finals was a place in the main draw
of the Canary Wharf Classic against reigning champion and four-time
winner James Willstrop.
The 11th edition of
this PSA International 50 event is a sell-out at the imposing East
Wintergarden venue, and highlights the intense rivalry between the
game's two powerhouse nations, England and Egypt.
The host nation has
seven players in the main draw, with four from Egypt and one each from
Colombia, Germany, Hong Kong, India and Scotland following the
completion of the qualifying competition.
Waller's battle with
fellow Londoner Sharpes attracted a packed gallery to the Wimbledon
Rackets and Fitness Club. But despite the support of his home crowd
Sharpes was overpowered by the world No.29 from Enfield, who won 11-5,
5-11, 11-3, 11-6.
Waller said: “It can be difficult playing people who you know very well.
“You have to put that
stuff out of your mind and concentrate on the match, and hope that
after a few minutes you forget about it.
“It wasn’t a great performance, but it was enough to get through. I know I’ll need to improve in the first round.”
While Waller has a
healthy respect for Willstrop's reputation, he won't be overawed by the
fact that the No.2 seed is 6ft 4in tall. Waller is just an inch shorter.
He is joined in the
main draw by another Englishman, the talented veteran Jonathan Kemp,
who meets world No.10 Daryl Selby, from Essex.
Kemp, the 33-year-old from Ipswich, overpowered Leo Au from Hong Kong after losing the opening game.
Kemp, ranked 47 in the
world (seven places behind his opponent) said: “I was trying to work
out about 15 different ways to beat him and then realised that he
was getting tired, so I might as well just keep the rallies going.
“I tried one reverse angle early on and he covered that rather quickly so I’ll save those for another day.”
The hopes of another
Englishman reaching the first round were dashed when Joe Lee, from
Surrey, lost 13-11 in the fifth to his St George's Hill PSL team-mate
Ali Anwar Reda.
The match lasted 88 minutes and produced an astonishing scoreline in which both players won a game 11-1.
Reda eventually
triumphed 1-11, 11-13, 11-8, 11-1, 13-11 after a seesaw battle that was
decided in a desperately close passage of play from 9-9 in the fifth
game.
Reda's reward is a battle with German number one Simon Rosner on Tuesday.
Hong Kong's Max Lee
claimed a place in the top half of the draw against former world No1
Karim Darwish after a quick victory over Egyptian Mohamed Abouelghar,
winning 11-7, 11-9, 11-6 in just 33 minutes.
World champion Nick
Matthew, who has won the event three times, is the top seed this week.
He faces Scottish number one Alan Clyne in the opening round. Canary Wharf Classic First Round, East Wintergarden, Canary Wharf, London:
Canary Wharf Classic Qualifying Finals, Wimbledon Rackets Club:
Adrian Waller (Eng) bt Charles Sharpes (Eng) 11-5, 5-11, 11-3, 11-6 (50 min)
Ali Anwar Reda (Egypt) bt Joe Lee 1-11, 11-13, 11-8, 11-1, 13-11 (88 min)
Jonathan Kemp (Eng) bt Leo Au (HK) 12-14, 11-8, 11-9, 11-5 (44 min)
Max Lee (HK) bt Mohamed Abouelghar (Egy) 11-7, 11-9, 11-6 (33 min)
Monday
(1) Nick Matthew (Eng) v Alan Clyne (Sco)
(7) Omar Mosaad (Egy) v Karim Abdel Gawad (Egy)
(8) Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Col) v Adrian Grant (Eng)
(4) Karim Darwish (Egy) v (Q) Max Lee (HK)
Tuesday
(3) Peter Barker (Eng) v Saurav Ghosal (Ind)
(6) Simon Rosner (Ger) v (Q) Ali Anwar Reda (Egy)
(5) Daryl Selby (Eng) v (Q) Jonathan Kemp (Eng)
(2) James Willstrop (Eng) v (Q) Adrian Waller (Eng)
