Leekes British Open
Paul.Baggott
Quarter-final matches on Friday 5th April
ENGLAND'S GEAVES & MARTIN UPSET SEEDS TO EARN SHOCK BRITISH OPEN SEMI SLOTS
Quarter-finals day (Thursday 5th April) in the Leekes British Open Squash
Championships at the Cardiff International Arena produced success for three
Martins. Two, Australia's brother and sister Brett and Michelle, were
predicted by the seedings - but England's Jane Martin caused the biggest
shock result of the day, beating Australia's No3 seed Liz Irving 9/2 6/9 5/9
9/7 9/2 in 72 minutes. In the other half of the draw, Gloucester's Fiona
Geaves took over an hour, fighting back from 2-1 down, to defeat Norfolk's
No4 seed Cassie Jackman 4/9 9/3 6/9 9/6 9/4.
Newcastle-based Jane Martin, aged 23 and ranked five in England and No10 in
the world, had already beaten Germany's higher-seeded Sabine Schoene to reach
the last eight. Her first ever appearance in a British Open semi-final will
be against defending champion Michelle Martin, who had a convincing straight
games win over Yorkshire's England No2 Suzanne Horner, reversing the result
of their last meeting in the Abshot Open in England last month.
In the other women's semi-final, Fiona Geaves, the 1995 British National
champion, meets Australia's No2 seed Sarah Fitz-Gerald who beat compatriot
Carol Owens 9/2 9/3 9/1 in the quickest match (26 minutes) of the day.
Frenchman Julien Bonetat became the only non-seeded player to reach the men's
last four, after beating England's 'giant-killer' Paul Johnson in four games.
It was the 23-year-old world No27 from New Eltham in London who dismissed
No4 seed Peter Nicol of Scotland in the first round. Bonetat's opponent in
Saturday's semi-finals is Pakistan's defending champion Jansher Khan, who
defeated Greece's Paul Gregory 15/13 15/13 15/4 - the highly-delayed match
finishing at the stroke of midnight.
England's other men's semi-final bid faded when Lincolnshire's Mark Chaloner
failed to repeat his victory in the 1995 World Open over world No3 Brett
Martin. The Welwyn Garden City-based player who was voted the "Players'
Player of the Year" earlier this week, lost his quarter-final match 15/6
13/15 15/8 15/9 in one hour and 11 minutes. Brett meets No2 seed Rodney
Eyles in an all-Australian semi.
Quarter-final results:
Men:
Jansher Khan (Pakistan) [1] beat Paul Gregory (Greece)
15/13 15/13 15/4
Julien Bonetat (France) beat Paul Johnson (Kent)
14/15 15/9 15/11 15/9
Brett Martin (Australia) [3] beat Mark Chaloner (Lincs) [8]
15/6 13/15 15/8 15/9
Rodney Eyles (Australia) [2] beat Anthony Hill (Australia) [7]
15/10 15/9 15/7
Women:
Michelle Martin (Australia) [1] beat Suzanne Horner (Yorks) [6]
9/6 9/1 9/3
Jane Martin (Northumbria) [10] beat Liz Irving (Australia) [3]
9/2 6/9 5/9 9/7 9/2
Fiona Geaves (Glos) [8] beat Cassie Jackman (Norfolk) [4]
4/9 9/3 6/9 9/6 9/4
Sarah Fitz-Gerald (Australia) [2] beat Carol Owens (Australia) [5]
9/2 9/3 9/1
ENGLISH HOPES EXTINGUISHED IN BRITISH OPEN SQUASH SEMIS
Hopes of domestic success in the Leekes British Open Squash Championships
ended abruptly today (Saturday 6th April) at the Cardiff International Arena
when surprise semi-finalists Fiona Geaves from Gloucester and Jane Martin of
Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, were beaten by the two Australians who were seeded to
contest the women's final.
Jane Martin, the 23-year-old England No5 and world No10 who had already
progressed two rounds beyond her tenth seed expectations, lost 9/4 9/7 9/4 in
34 minutes to her unrelated namesake Michelle Martin. The Australian world
No1 was claiming her fourth successive straight games win, en-route to her
fourth consecutive British Open title.
In the other women's semi-final, 28-year-old former British National champion
Fiona Geaves faced an in-form world No2 Sarah Fitz-Gerald. Geaves, who like
her compatriot Jane Martin was probably feeling the effects of a five-game
quarter-final match the day before, fell to the second seeded Australian 9/7
9/2 9/1 in 32 minutes. Fitz-Gerald will make her debut in a British Open
final on Sunday.
The possibility of a Martin family finals double was eliminated by fellow
Australian Rodney Eyles who beat Michelle's 33-year-old brother Brett Martin
13/15 15/12 15/3 15/9 in the first men's semi-final in 43 minutes.
Eyles' opponent in his first appearance in a British Open final on Sunday
will be Pakistan's world champion Jansher Khan who is bidding to pick up the
title for the fifth successive year. The world No1 came back from a game
down to beat France's Julien Bonetat 12/15 15/9 15/9 15/6.
Semi-final results:
Men:
Jansher Khan (Pakistan) [1] beat Julien Bonetat (France)
12/15 15/9 15/9 15/6
Rodney Eyles (Australia) [2] beat Brett Martin (Australia) [3]
13/15 15/12 15/3 15/9
Women:
Michelle Martin (Australia) [1] beat Jane Martin (Northumbria) [10]
9/4 9/7 9/4
Sarah Fitz-Gerald (Australia) [2] beat Fiona Geaves (Glos) [8]
9/7 9/2 9/1
CHAMPIONS RETAIN BRITISH OPEN SQUASH TITLES
Australian Michelle Martin and Jansher Khan of Pakistan confirmed their world
champion status today (Sunday 7th April) when they successfully defended
their Leekes British Open Squash Championships titles at the Cardiff
International Arena.
Michelle Martin had to fight back from one game down - the first she conceded
in the tournament - to defeat her compatriot Sarah Fitz-Gerald, the world No2
appearing in her first British Open final. The 1/9 9/5 9/1 9/7 victory in 45
minutes marks Martin's fourth successive British Open title.
Also making his debut in a British Open final was fellow Australian Rodney
Eyles. On the day, however, the world No2 was no match for the determined
Khan, who won the sport's most coveted title for the fifth successive year by
beating Eyles 15/13 15/8 15/10 in 50 minutes.
There was a shock in the the Men's Over-35 event when defending champion Ross
Norman - the England-based New Zealander who famously defeated the sport's
legendary Jahangir Khan to win the world title in 1987 - lost 9/2 9/7 9/5 in
the final to an unknown German Ashraf Hanafi. Meanwhile, Surrey-based Hiddy
Jahan, a Men's British Open finalist in 1982, won his twelfth age-group title
today - adding the first O-45 title to his six O-35s and five O-40s - when he
beat Berkshire's Keith Jones 9/4 9/0 9/0.
Finals results:
Men:
Jansher Khan (Pakistan) [1] beat Rodney Eyles (Australia) [2]
15/13 15/8 15/10
Women:
Michelle Martin (Australia) [1] beat Sarah Fitz-Gerald (Australia) [2]
1/9 9/5 9/1 9/7
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