Results & Quotes from the 2009 Betty F. Griffin Memorial Florida State Open Pro event
Thursday, December 10, 2009
PRESS RELEASE 10TH DECEMBER
There were 3 major upsets on the busiest night of the Betty F. Griffin Memorial tournament in Boca Raton with 3 unseeded players making it through to the 1/4 finals. First up, Dave Glass of Canda defeated number 5 seed Chris Truswell of England 3-0. Qualifier Jamie Macaulay of Scotland continued his best ever PSA tournament by defeating number 8 seed Matt Serediak of Canada. The win sets up a good old Welsh/Scottish rivalry against the local pro and organiser Scott Fitzgerald of Wales. Scott came back from 1-2 with the help of a packed and vocal local crowd to win 11-8 in the fifth against number 4 seed and world number 63 Wade Johnstone of Australia. His win guarantees an unseeded player to reach the semi finals.
Top seed, Scott Arnold overcame a second game blip to beat qualifier Jonathan Ramos of Mexico 3-1 whilst Stuart Crawford doubled the Scottish contingent by coming back from a 0-2 deficit to defeat Lekgotla Mosope of Botswana 11-9 in the fifth. After spending over 3 hours on court in the last 2 matches, nobody can say Lekgotla didn’t leave it all on the court!!!
Bradley Hindle, Estaban Cesario and Bernardo Samper ended the last of the Mexican contingent with routine 3-0 wins over Salvador Martinez, Fernando Lopez and Jose Becerril respectively.
With a great atmosphere and great players. Organisers, spectators, players and sponsors are having a great time and now cant wait for tonights 1/4 finals.
Scott Arnold def Jonathan Ramos
11/9, 6/11, 11/6, 11/8
Stuart Crawford def Lekgotla Mosope 92 minutes
7/11, 4/11, 11/8, 11/7, 11/9
Stuart "Got a horrible start. Lekgotla was controlling the pace of the rallies and I couldn't keep the ball out of the tin for the first 2 games. At 2-0 down the temptation to hit the ball into the tin another 11 times and head straight to the beach seemed pretty appealing but I managed to string together a couple of tough rallies at the start of the 3rd and noticed he was starting to look tired so I just tried to make him work hard for every point. The 5th could have gone either way but I managed to keep my concentration just enough to stumble over the finish line!"
Scott Fitzgerald def Wade Johnstone 65 minutes
8/11, 11/9, 6/11, 11/5, 11/8
Scott "Im very happy with that. I never really know how im playing unitl I get on there as I don’t have any games here in florida. So it was great to get a few hits in this week with the players arriving on monday! its also tough when you are the organiser of the tournament. I started off extremely nervous and anxious. my drops were a bit too fast which resulted in making too many mistakes but as the match went on, I started to become more comfortable, felt stronger and just wanted it more and more. it was a tough match, but the crowd were really behind me and they helped me dig deep to come back to win. now I look forward to tonights match, but im not looking forward to scheduling the 70 amateurs playing!!!!
Wade "Scott played well, he had the crowd behind him and was just a little more hungry than I was. Its disappointing for me but there's always next time. Good luck to Scott in the rest of the tournament"
Jamie Macaulay def. Matthew Serediak 48 minutes
11/8, 11/9, 7/11, 11/8
Jamie "Matt played fast and hard squash but I managed to keep the pace high enough to put him under pressure and force errors. Chuffed with the result but disappointed that the beers, beach and beach sight seeing will have to wait!!!"
Matt "Was a tough match. Didn't play as consistent as I needed to at the end of the games, and made too many errors. Jamie played well and played the big points really tough. The venue for the event is fantastic and I'm loving being down in Flordia in the middle of decemeber, especially since Toronto is getting battered with snow right now."
Estaban Casarino def. Fernando Lopez 39 minutes
11/6, 11/4, 11/5
Estaban " I felt better than i thought on the court, in SouthAmerica we don't have panels courts wich are very different than ours. I think coming two days earlier helped me a lot. I felt moving well and sharp at the front. I hope I can add some good lenght to that tonight because Bradley is a very experienced player, I'm looking forward to play him. To me, every match is a new challenge and that is a good feeling"
Bradley Hindle def Salvador Martinez 32 minutes
11/5, 11/3. 11/5
Bradley "Nice 1st match. Salvador played really well in patches, I got a good feel for the ball and court and now im looking forward to playing again tonight,'
Dave Glass def Chris Truswell 35 minutes
12/10, 11/6, 11/3
Dave " I played well and i am happy i won! Chris played well today. I played consistent squash and didnt make to many unforced errors. i am having a great time down here in Boca Raton! Everyone working with the tournament have been very friendly, and oh ya the weather hasnt been that bad either"
Chris 'very disapointed to lose, more so with the way I played. he handled the court better than me and was more patient. after losing the first from 10.8 I seemed to lose my confidence"
Bernando Samper def Jose Becerril 41 minutes
11/9, 11/7, 11/3
Bernardo "I knew he was one of the strongest qualifiers but it was good to have a strong match first round. In the first game I was adjusting to the court and I couldn’t find a proper length. It was a lot of loose balls and many errors from my part. It was a good start to my last tournament and I am looking forward for tomorrows match
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