US Open Men’s Qualifying Draw Released
by Ted Gross for DailySquashReport.com
September 27, 2011 - The first of two rounds of men’s qualifying begins tomorrow in Philadelphia as thirty-two players vie for eight coveted spots in the 2011 PSA $115,000 US Open.
Several interesting first-round and potential second-round qualifying matchups emerged Monday, as the draw featuring a deep international field was released.
Qualifying action will take place at main event host Drexel University as well as at storied Philadelphia-area clubs Merion, Germantown and the Philadelphia Racquet Club.
First Round Match-ups:
Saurav Ghosal IND v John White SCO
Former world #1 White is the dangerous floater in this draw that no one wants to face. But this is a tough match-up for the late-30s veteran, now largely retired and coaching at Drexel. Ghosal is the highest-ranking qualifier at PSA #26.
Ryan Cuskelly AUS v Henrik Mustonen FIN
Siddarth Suchde IND v Jamie Macaulay SCO
Nicolas Mueller SUI v Kamran Khan MAS
Chris Ryder ENG v Graham Bassett USA
Martin Knight NZL v Dylan Murray USA
US junior champ Murray will have his hands full with experienced New Zealand #1 Knight.
Joey Barrington ENG v Iago Cornes ESP
Simon Rosner GER v Cesar Salazar MEX
Rosner is ranked 29th, Salazar 55th, but the Mexican, who put forth some titanic efforts at the recent World Teams, could pull off the upset.
Tarek Momen EGY v Adrian Waller ENG
Robbie Temple ENG v Joe Russell ENG
Julian Balbo FRA v Todd Harrity USA
This is not a bad draw for current US Intercollegiate champ Harrity. Balbo is a 32-year-old Frenchman likely on the downside of his career. He is world-ranked #62 after having been a career-high #42 in 2008. A win here for Harrity against Balbo would be a significant career milestone, though the battle-tested Frenchman will be a very tough out.
Julian Illingworth USA v Shawn Delierre CAN
Illingworth handled Delierre in four in the finals of the Salt Lake City Open in July. Julian is at a career-high #27, while Delierre is at #54. Delierre did play very well at the August World Teams, while Illingworth struggled somewhat with his game, and Delierre won last weekend’s Nash Cup in Ontario. Still, Illingworth wins this if he keeps his nerves in check.
Steve Coppinger RSA v Arturo Salazar MEX
Jan Koukal CZE v Marwan El Shorbagy EGY
Look for world junior champ El Shorbagy to win this one and get past the winner of Coppinger-Salazar to qualify.
Alan Clyne SCO v Chris Hansom USA
Clyne with too much for the young American.
Ong Bee Hee MAS v Gilly Lane USA
The 31-year-old Malaysian is a former world #7 who still has a lot of game. The #2 American Lane has had an injury-plagued summer.
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