Round 1 comes to a close

Angus Gillams (ENG) bt Noah Browne (BER) 11-6, 11-6, 11-9
Leonel Cardenas (MEX) bt Cameron Seth (CAN) 11-5, 8-11, 11-3, 11-4
Bernat Jaume (ESP) bt Hugo Varela (ESP) 11-9, 10-12, 11-4, 11-6
Syed Hamza (PAK) bt Alejandro Reyes (MEX) 11-1, 2-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8
Anthony Graham (ENG) bt David Cromwell (USA) 11-5, 11-5, 11-9
Mario Yanez (MEX) bt Ashley Davies (ENG)7-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-6
Mark Fuller (ENG) bt Timothy Lasusa (USA) 11-4, 11-8, 11-1
Faraz Khan (USA) bt Tomotaka Endo (JPN) 11-9, 11-9, 11-1

Match reports by Ben Pitfield/Leonard Mohr, Photos by Bill Lampeter

Yanez vs Davies and Graham vs Cromwell while Pitfield watches

Angus Williams (ENG) bt Noah Browne (BER) 11-6, 11-6, 11-9
The first match of the night saw number 1 seed Angus Gillams of England face of against unseeded Noah Browne from Bermuda. The rallies began long without either one going for too many attacking shots. Though the rallies were long, neither player seemed to really find their length for the most of the game with the ball often loose and not reaching the back of the court, but Gillams length and control of the T was a bit better and so came away victorious in the first game 11-6. The second game was a bit better and both players started hitting more of their targets but Browne often opened up the court too early with loose boasts as well as distracting himself with the referee’s decisions leading Browne to lose 11-6 again. Involvement with the referee continued into the third game and Browne’s frustration with his own game led Browne to be unable to maintain his focus in the crucial points despite putting in a solid and very close last game, losing 11-9.

Leonel Cardenas (MEX) bt Cameron Seth (CAN) 11-5, 8-11, 11-3, 11-4
Leonel Cardenas the six seed from Mexico faced off against qualifier Cameron Seth of Canada who came back from 2-0 down to win in 5 against University of Rochester player Lawrence Kuhn. Both players started off well, finding good length but Cardenas was able to attack and control the T a bit better and came away with an 11-5 win in the first game. The second game Seth neutralized Cardenas’ attacking and deceptive shots with good tight length and won the game 11-8. Seth was unable to follow up this performance the next 2 games, maybe feeling the effects of the previous night’s match and opened the court up enough for Cardenas to use his lethal attacks winning the next 2 games 11-3, 11-4.

Bernat Jaume (ESP) bt Hugo Varela (ESP) 11-9, 10-12, 11-4, 11-6
The third match of the night saw Spaniard Bernat Jaume face off against compatriot Hugo Varela in their first professional match against each other. The first two games were incredibly long, incredibly close with rarely a point between the two, with each winning a game apiece. The third game saw Hugo lose focus going from a 4-4 tie to an 11-4 loss. In the fourth game Hugo put 110% in, and at 3-4 down had the rally of the match, nearly doing the splits multiple times sprinting from corner to corner, and then following up with a sick crosscourt nick! Unfortunately he could not keep up the intensity and just faded ever slightly losing 11-6.

Syed Hamza (PAK) bt Alejandro Reyes (MEX) 11-1, 2-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8
Syed Hamza of Pakistan played Alejandro Reyes of Mexico in a bewildering 5 setter. Hamza came of firing on all cylinders, mixing up his use of height with hard shots enabling him to control the T and win 11-1. It looked like everything was in Hamza’s favor, but Reyes came back punching with an 11-2 win the next game. The third game both players found their rhythm, hitting solid length, with long, grueling rallies, but though visibly tired Hamza came through and won 11-7. The next game Reyes controlled the T more, and used his speed to force errors from Hamza. Play was stopped though with Reyes 8-4 up due to a blood injury, and this allowed Hamza a bit of a breather, who came back firing, but still lost the game 11-7. The last game, both players could not find their length and did not take advantage of loose balls due to nerves. Reyes hit a bit too many boasts opening up the court a bit too much and Hamza played a bit safer and won 11-8.

Anthony Graham (ENG) bt David Cromwell (USA) 11-5, 11-5, 11-9
This was the match of the night. Or, if it wasn’t, it was a match played tonight. Graham came out swinging in that cool, very relaxed Grahamian way that almost says, “I wonder what the score is on the next court” which is funny because during the second intermission he actually did say to me “what’s the score on that court?” and then proceeded, with the referee, to come watch a few points of the Davies-Yanez Tapia match which was, frankly, a banging match. But I’ll get to that. In any case, Graham used his chilled out, British modern swing to push Cromwell to — and past! — his breaking point. The first two games went relatively smoothly for the championing Graham. The third was tighter, in the realm of 11-9, and members of the audience were caught remarking that perhaps he ought to spend more time playing his match rather than coaching his friend Ashley Davies. Fondest attachments to both players.

Mario Yanez (MEX) bt Ashley Davies (ENG)7-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-6
Now this one, this one, this one! was the match of the night. Well, it was a certainly up there. What was really worth remarking about — and I did remark about it, to several interested parties, if you must know — was the back story: current University of Rochester wunderkind Ashley Davies — scourge of the basketball house front garden, king of Vinyl! and, I guess, 2nd team All-American –versus the University of Rochester’s all time leader in wins and winning percentage, four time first team All-American and current assistant coach, Mario Yanez Tapia. Davies took the first in a compelling decision, and the crowd was, like, totally thinking he could win. And then it went to 8-8 in the second, a three minute rally, and Yanez showed the crowd what he’s packing in the tank. Ashley played valiantly, but couldn’t keep up with the streaking, peaking, nick-seeking Mexican, who pulled out all the stops and put some back to come out on top, 3-1.

Faraz Khan (USA) bt Tomotaka Endo (JPN) 11-9, 11-9, 11-1
In another battle of University of Rochester related people, Faraz Khan of the great state of Connecticut took on local non-local player Tomotaka Endo who, despite his PSA card’s opinion, is a representative of the land of the rising sun, Kawasaki, Japan. Unfortunately for the thoroughbred-legged Tomotaka, the courts in the UR athletic centre were the land of the rising tin, and he made that much abundantly clear to everyone watching — listening, even! — to the match. In the end, Khan showed some wily veteran control of the ball, and some wily veteran letting loose of his emotions to take the match 3-0. Cudos to him.

Mark Fuller (ENG) bt Timothy Lasusa (USA) 11-4, 11-8, 11-1
What is there to say about Tim Lasusa that hasn’t already been said? Tall, handsome, coy, an absolute charm with the ladies and the gentlemen alike, and heir-apparent to Gilly Lane as MC of the US Open are all thoughts which spring to mind. Oh, and he’s a great fisherman! Oh! He’s also a decent squash player! Tim, Tim, Tim — what a guy! Well, anyway, he lost to Mark Fuller 3-0.

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