Hinds Scores Seattle Open Success by Howard Harding 27 January 2014
- England's top-seeded Joel Hinds nearly squandered a commanding
two-game lead in the final of the Stratos Seattle Open when Ireland's
Arthur Gaskin, the No.2 seed, stormed back before succumbing to
pressure - and what appeared to be a groin strain - in the deciding
game of the climax of the PSA World Tour Challenger 5 squash event at
Seattle Athletic Club Downtown in Seattle, USA.
It was the first since
the 1988 U.S. Open - when Pakistan's Jahangir Khan captured the title
over Australia's Chris Dittmar - that a Professional Squash Association
tour event returned to the city in the US state of Washington, and the
host Seattle Athletic Club.
"The capacity crowd,
starved for men's professional squash to return to Seattle, surrounded
court one with its glass side wall, and cheered on both players as
Hinds played the more controlled first two games," reported US Squash
Magazine editor Jay Prince. "Play was steady and methodical as both
players sought to control the court with length before taking the ball
short but, when Hinds did put his drop shots down, Gaskin seemed to
have few answers.
"That is until the
third game when he wrested control from Hinds who, late in the game,
became distracted by a ball called down that he was certain was good.
Gaskin tried to confirm for Hinds that the ball was in fact down, but
rather than letting it go, Hinds lost his way and made three errors in
the last four points to open the door for Gaskin.
"It would prove to be
a door that Hinds probably wished he had slammed shut as Gaskin gladly
ran through it to draw the match even after four games.
"But just two points
into the fifth, Gaskin began stretching his right leg and massaging
what appeared to be an injured groin muscle," Prince continued. "Hinds
took advantage of Gaskin's dilemma and jumped out to an easy six-love
lead - only to watch Gaskin climb his way back into the game, leaving
Gaskin grasping for answers. It was an answer he found, however, as a
brutal backhand drop off a Gaskin boast proved to be the crusher for
Gaskin as he never scored again."
The 11-8, 11-9, 7-11,
8-11, 11-7 triumph in 60 minutes gives Hinds, the world No.75 from
Birmingham, his fourth PSA World Tour title.
RESULTS: PSA Challenger 5 Stratos Seattle Open, Seattle, USA
1st round: [1] Joel Hinds (ENG) bt [Q] Vinicius Rodrigues (BRA) 11-9, 11-8, 11-7 [7] James Earles (ENG) bt Jonathan Maloney (ENG) 11-3, 11-6, 11-7 [6] Robert Downer (ENG) bt [Q] Ashley Davies (ENG) 11-5, 11-8, 11-8 [4] Todd Harrity (USA) bt [Q] Bart Ravelli (NED) 9-11, 11-2, 11-5, 11-1 [3] Matthew Serediak (CAN) bt Jonathan Geekie (SCO) 11-6, 11-3, 11-5 [5] Richie Fallows (ENG) bt [LL] Shahjahan Khan (PAK) 7-11, 11-8, 4-11, 11-4, 11-6 (120m) [8] Tom Pashley (ENG) bt [WC] Adnan Gul (PAK) 11-6, 11-5, 11-3 [2] Arthur Gaskin (IRL) bt [Q] Adam Perkiomaki (USA) 11-8, 12-10, 11-6
Quarter-finals: [1] Joel Hinds (ENG) bt [7] James Earles (ENG) 9-11, 11-4, 14-12, 11-7 [4] Todd Harrity (USA) bt [6] Robert Downer (ENG) 11-4, 11-2, 6-11, 11-6 [5] Richie Fallows (ENG) bt [3] Matthew Serediak (CAN) 11-4, 11-5, 11-7 [2] Arthur Gaskin (IRL) bt [8] Tom Pashley (ENG) 3-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-5
