PSA NetSuite Open Announces 2014 Main Draw Lineup by Blake Rhodes SAN FRANCISCO, August 14, 2014
— The NetSuite Open Squash Championships (NSO) draw has been set, with
world No. 1 Gregory Gaultier and No. 4 Ramy Ashour headlining the first
round matches that will be played on Friday, September 26 at San
Francisco’s South Lawn of Justin Herman Plaza, Event Engine, Inc.
announced today. Four-time world champion Amr Shabana, who is
currently ranked 5th in the world, will be the featured player at the
Stanford University venue during the first round. The tournament
announced the matchups, locations and times for the first round matches
that will be played on the Glass Court at Justin Herman Plaza as well
as at the Bay Club San Francisco and Stanford University.
“We’ve got some great
matches that will excite the fans in San Francisco,” said John Nimick,
a U.S. Squash Hall of Famer and President of Event Engine, Inc., the
tournament producer. “Having three of the world’s top five players in
Gregory, Ramy and Amr is something that we’re really excited about.” The first round matches on September 26 will be held at the following locations:
·
No. 1 Gregory Gaultier (France) vs. No. 22 Adrian Grant (England) –
Glass Court, 7:00 p.m.
· No. 5 Amr Shabana (Egypt) vs. Qualifier – Stanford, 8:00 p.m.
·
No. 8 Peter Barker (England) vs. No. 58 Julian Illingworth (USA) – Bay
Club, 5:00 p.m.
· No. 14 Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Colombia) vs. Qualifier – To Be Determined
· No. 15 Laurens Jan Anjema (Netherlands) vs. Qualifier – Stanford, 6:00 p.m.
·
No. 19 Mathieu Castagnet (France) vs. No. 24 Alister Walker (Botswana)
– Bay club, 4:00 p.m.
·
No. 20 Cameron Pilley (Australia) vs. No. 23 Chris Simpson (England) –
Stanford, 7:00 p.m.
The 12 players in the
main draw will be joined by four qualifiers who will advance from a
field of 16 that will compete in the qualifying rounds Sept. 24-25 at
the Bay Club, Olympic Club and University Club. Below is a rundown of
the first round matches on Friday, Sept. 26:
No.1 and reigning NSO
champion Gaultier will face off against No. 22 and recent Commonwealth
Games Silver Medalist Adrian Grant of England on the Glass Court at
Justin Herman Plaza at 7:00 p.m.
Second seed Ramy
Ashour, currently ranked 4th in the world, will also play at Justin
Herman Plaza against one of the qualifiers at 7:45 p.m.
Four-time world
champion Amr Shabana will take the court at Stanford University in the
first round at 8:00 p.m., facing one of the four qualifiers.
The ever-consistent
Peter Barker of England, currently ranked No. 8, will face Julian
Illingworth, the seven-time USA national Champion and highest ranked
American player in the world for the past eight years at the Bay Club
at 6:00 p.m.
No. 14 Miguel Angel
Rodriguez, who won the XVII Abierto Colombiano de Squash Club El Nogal
this weekend, will get into action against one of the other qualifiers
at site and time to be determined.
The Netherlands’
Laurens Jan Anjema, who’s currently ranked 15th in the world, will face
the final qualifier at Stanford at 6:00 p.m.
Australia’s top player
and No. 20 in the world Cameron Pilley will take on England’s Chris
Simpson, ranked 23rd, at Stanford at 7:00 p.m.
The final matchup
features No. 19 Mathieu Castagnet,the 2014 French Nationals
runner-up, will square off with No. 24 Botswana’s Alister Walker, who
makes his home in New York, at the Bay Club at 7:00 p.m.
The early rounds,
comprising two rounds of Qualifying and six matches in the First Round
(final 16) of the Main Draw will be played at Stanford University, the
Bay Club San Francisco, Olympic Club and University Club. Two first
round matches, Quarterfinals, Semi-Finals and Championship will be
played at Justin Herman Plaza.
Some 400 reserved
seats are available for the NetSuite Open, ranging in price from $30 to
$250. For tickets, draws, schedule and more information, please visit
www.netsuiteopensquash.com. Follow the NetSuite Open on Facebook and
Twitter.
