PSA Grasshopper Cup Back In Zurich
from SquashSite365
April 23, 2012 - After an 11 year absence from the PSA Tournament Calendar (the first event was in 1994 and the last one was in 2001), the prestigious 'Grasshopper Cup' in Zurich began today with the first round of qualifying.
The first encounter was Lukas Burkhart against Steve Finitsis. In a clinical performance from the from Northern Queenslander Finitsis, the Swiss No.4 was beaten 3-0 in 17mins, a harsh introduction to PSA Squash at this level of tournament.
Next match on was Alex Ingham versus Joan Lezaud of France. The Englishman grafted his way to a 2-0 lead after 36mins but then Lezaud seemed to find more confidence with his shots and managed to turn it around in games 3 & 4 with a 11/9 and 11/6 scoreline. After 82 minutes it was the Frenchman who was able to secure his spot in the 2nd round qualifying with a 3-2 victory.
In the third match André Haschker managed to produce the first upset with a 3-1 win over the no. 3 seed Eddie Charlton. Charlton who seemed to be struggling with a back injury in game 3, retired with a 2-1 scoreline to Haschker. Haschker was made to work very hard in game one but absorbed the pressure well, persisting in his determined manner, to take games 2 & 3 convincingly.
The fourth match was between the no. 5 seed Davide Bianchetti and the second of the local Swiss hopes - Jonas Dähler. Again it was the more experienced Campaigner - Bianchetti - who controlled the match from start to finish. Dähler fought valiantly but was not able to make any real impact on Bianchetti, whose well known resilience will be more tested tomorrow against the Aussie Finitsis.
Austria's Aqeel Rehmann and Dutchman Bart Ravelli entertained the local Zurich crowd with a similar high-paced style. The first two games lasted 30mins & with the match locked at one game apiece. From there it was Rehman who kept his error count lower than the Dutchman's, enabling him a chance tomorrow to qualify for the main draw.
Also through to the qualifying finals are two Frenchmen who will play each other for a place in the main draw, Julien Balbo who withstood a ferocious opening attack from Spain's Alejandro Garbi before taking a 3/1 win, and Fabien Verseille, who won in four close games against young Swiss Patrick Miescher, and young German Raphael Kandra who was tested by Switzerland's Cedric Kuchen but still managed to win in straight games.
23-Apr, Qualifying Round One:
Julien Balbo (Fra) bt Alejandro Garbi (Esp) 11/7, 9/11, 11/4, 11/3 (55m)
Fabien Verseille (Fra) bt Patrick Miescher (Sui) 9/11, 11/9, 13/11, 11/8 (40m)
Davide Bianchetti (Ita) bt Jonas Daehler (Sui) 11/8, 11/7, 11/7 (23m)
Steve Finitsis (Aus) bt Lukas Burkhart (Sui) 11/2, 11/2, 11/6 (23m)
Andre Haschker (Ger) bt Eddie Charlton (Eng) 11/13, 11/6, 11/3 rtd (50m)
Joan Lezaud (Fra) bt Alex Ingham (Eng) 10/12, 9/11, 11/9, 11/6, 11/6 (88m)
Aqeel Rehman (Aut) bt Bart Ravelli (Ned) 6/11, 11/7, 11/7, 11/8 (63m)
Raphael Kandra (Ger) bt Cedric Kuchen (Sui) 11/7, 11/9, 12/10 (28m)
Why is the Grasshopper Cup back?
"I guess I just got tired of travelling to good squash tournaments around the world (Cyprus, New York, Manchester, London etc.) and wanted something similar in our back garden
"Actually when I turned 47 last year I decided I just wanted to do something like that in my lifetime.
"Then Mark Meyer and Michael Bär came in and said they would enjoy that too and they would help.
"So, within a very short period of time the plan was on the table and the work began, lots of organising and lots of fun with the guys.
"We are so happy we took that decision and we would like to thank all our sponsors and helpers who made this dream come true.
Stephan Buchli
DRAW
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