Cannon Kirk Irish Open 2022 Finals Day

Saturday April 23rd 

Finals

So we get to the end of a fabulous week of top quality squash with 2 finals which promise to be as exciting as we hope. The womens final was first up, with Emily Whitlock v Tinne Gilis. Tinne’s sister Nele is the current reigning champion of the Irish Open….from 2019!!

The first game was nip and tuck with great variation by both players and movement around the court. Gilis was particularly effective with her overhead backhand vollies into the nick. Tinne won the 1st game 12-10. Emily was always going to come back and she did and ground out a 11-9 win in the 2nd game. She had to work hard for it. However Gilis was not going away and she played like she did in the first game, in the 3rd & 4th. She won the 3rd easily enough 11-6 and was looking good. In the 4th game she got herself 4 match balls, Whitlock saved all 4. At 10 all Gilis dug in again and didn’t let losing those 4 points unnerve her and she took the next 2 points to become the 2022 Cannon Kirk Irish Open Champion.

Next up was the Scottish Final with Greg Lobban and Alan Clyne. Lobban was slight favourite and with the way he played in the semi final  last night, if he could reproduce that control and movement, he would be hard to beat. In the early stages, there were rallies of 50/60 shots and the crowd were glued to the game. Greg was always in control in reality, even though Alan gave it everything and went toe to toe. Lobban won the 1st 11-2, having ground Clyne down. The pattern continued for the next 2 games which Lobban won to 5 & 7.  The match even though it was 3-0, took 52 minutes, reflecting the very long rallies and endurance of both players.

Congratulations to Greg Lobban, Cannon Kirk irish Open Champion for 2022

 

Men

[7] Alan Clyne (SCO) v [4] Greg Lobban (SCO) 2-11, 5-11, 7-11 – 0-3

Women

[1] Emily Whitlock (WAL) v [2] Tinne Gilis (BEL) 10-12, 11-9, 6-11, 10-12 – 1-3

 

Friday April 22nd

Semi finals day here at the Cannon Kirk Irish Open. Four nations represented in the Women’s Semi’s – Belgium, England, South Africa & Wales. The No.1 seed Emily Whitlock was playing the unseeded Grace Gear, who has had a super week, causing a couple of upsets, but on this occasion Whitlock was too good for her, winning in three.

The 2nd Semi saw the local favourite Alex Fuller who now plays out of Fitzwilliam, playing the No.2 seed Tinne Gilis of Belgium. It was a super match which was very close except for the 2nd game. The other 3 games all went over 10 all. However despite playing really well, Fuller lost 3-1.

In the Men’s semi’s there were 2 Scots, an Englishman and Frenchman. Alan Clyne of Scotland, the No. 7 seed belied his seeding to reach the semi’s and went one further by winning his match vs Auguste Dussourd 3-o to reach the final. The last match of the day had Greg Lobban of Scotland play George Parker of England. Lobban played with full control and moved around the court with ease.  He never looked in any real pressure and won it easily 3-0.

So we have 2 great finals to look forward to tomorrow, with the No.1 and 2 seeds in the women’s final; Emily Whitlock  & Tinne Gilis. In the Men’s, Scottish teammates, Greg Lobban plays Alan Clyne. Great preparation for Scotland’s effort to win the European Championships in Eindhoven next week.

Semi Finals

Men

[7] Alan Clyne (SCO) v [5] Auguste Dussourd (FRA) 11-6, 11-3, 11-6 – 3-0

[4] Greg Lobban (SCO) v [2] George Parker (ENG) 11-7, 11-1, 11-2  – 3-0

Women

[1] Emily Whitlock (WAL) v Grace Gear (ENG) 11-7, 11-8, 11-6 – 3-0

[6] Alexandra Fuller (RSA) v [2] Tinne Gilis (BEL) 11-13, 0-11, 12-10, 11-13 – 1-3

 

Thursday April 21st 

Day 3 of the Cannon Kirk Irish Open from Fitzwilliam LTC., we had the quarter finals in both the Women’s & Men’s competitions today.
There were some upsets with higher seeds losing to a lower ranked player. In the women’s  draw, unseeded Grace Gear beat the No.4 seed Rachel Arnold 3-1. Grace is playing so well this week. Next upset was Alex Fuller beating the No.3 seed Lucy Turmel, comprehensively 3-0. the 2nd game went to 18-16 but  Alex played in a determined way to get the 3-0 win. Watch her tomorrow! The No.1 & 2 seeds, Emily Whitlock and Tinne Gilis both won as expected.
 
In the men’s event the first upset was the No. 1 seed Patrick Rooney losing his match 2-3 to the gritty and hard working Alan Clyne of Scotland; a super win for Alan. The battle of the 2 Frenchmen was won by Ausguste Dussourd over Lucas Serme, 3-0 in comprehensive fashion. Greg Lobban and George Parker won as expected but Parker was pushed all the way by Rory Stewart of Scotland.
 
So the semi’s tomorrow starting at 5pm with some great matches and continuing to 9pm. Make sure you watch it all on PSA Live.

See both draws here

PSA Live will broadcast from the quarter finals on Thursday to the finals on Saturday. See below for Special Offer.
Use the discount code IRISHOPEN50 to get your first month of SQUASHTV half price! Simply select the monthly pass, add IRISHOPEN50 in the promo code box and watch all the action. Quick, the offer is for a limited time only.
 
Click Here

Quarter Finals

Men

[1] Patrick Rooney (ENG) v [7] Alan Clyne (SCO) 3-11, 11-6, 9-11, 13-11, 5-11 – 2-3

[5] Auguste Dussourd (FRA) v [3] Lucas Serme (FRA) 11-8, 11-7, 11-8 – 3-0

[4] Greg Lobban (SCO) v [6] Declan James (ENG) 11-8, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-7 – 3-2

Rory Stewart (SCO) v [2] George Parker (ENG) 5-11, 11-9, 11-7, 8-11, 9-11 – 2-3

 

Women

[1] Emily Whitlock (WAL) v [8] Julianne Courtice (ENG) 11-5, 16-14, 11-9 – 3-0

Grace Gear (ENG) v [4] Rachel Arnold (MAS) 12-10, 13-11, 8-11, 11-9 – 3-1

[3] Lucy Turmel (ENG) v [6] Alexandra Fuller (RSA) 4-11, 16-18, 10-12 – 0-3

Jessica Turnbull (AUS) v [2] Tinne Gilis (BEL) 3-11, 6-11, 4-11 – 0-3

 

Wednesday April 20th

Today the top 8 seeds came into the tournament. All the top seeds got through today, most by 3-0, with a couple of exceptions.  No. 5 seed Anna Serme lost to Grace Gear, 3-1, Jessica Turnbull beat Sarah Cardwell the no. 7 and Rory Stewart from Scotland beat Mahesh Mangaonkar from India 3-0, which was a great win for the Scot.

Other than those matches all the other results were predicable. Tomorrow at the quarter final stage is when we should see some closer matches and maybe some upsets.

 

Round 2

Men

[1] Patrick Rooney (ENG) v Max Lee (HKG) 11-9, 11-4, 11-9  – 3-0

Rui Soares (POR) v [3] Lucas Serme (FRA) 6-11, 7-11, 7-11  – 0-3

[4] Greg Lobban (SCO) v Mohammad Syafiq Kamal (MAS) 11-6, 11-6, 11-8 – 3-0

Tsz Kwan Lau (HKG) v [2] George Parker (ENG) 9-11, 6-11, 9-11 – 0-3

Faraz Khan (USA) v [7] Alan Clyne (SCO) 6-11, 9-11, 11-3, 11-3, 9-11  – 2-3

[5] Auguste Dussourd (FRA) v Henry Leung (HKG) 11-7, 11-5, 11-9  – 3-0

Ivan Yuen (MAS) v [6] Declan James (ENG) 11-9, 6-11, 3-11, 7-11  – 1-3

[8] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) v Rory Stewart (SCO) 9-11, 7-11, 6-11  – 0-3

Women

[1] Emily Whitlock (WAL) v Chan Yiwen (MAS) 11-3, 11-3, 11-2  – 3-0

Anna Kimberley (ENG) v [4] Rachel Arnold (MAS) 6-11, 6-11, 7-11  – 0-3

[3] Lucy Turmel (ENG) v Wen Li Lai (MAS) 11-7, 11-7, 11-5  – 3-0

Ali Loke (WAL) v [2] Tinne Gilis (BEL) 5-11, 6-11, 4-11 – 0-3

Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) v [8] Julianne Courtice (ENG) 4-11, 7-11, 7-11  – 0-3

[5] Anna Serme (CZE) v Grace Gear (ENG) 9-11, 11-6, 4-11, 8-11  – 1-3

Rana Ismail (EGY) v [6] Alexandra Fuller (RSA) 6-11, 8-11, 2-11  – 0-3

[7] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) v Jessica Turnbull (AUS) 11-6, 3-11, 6-11, 2-11 – 1-3

 

Tuesday April 19th

 

First day of the Cannon Kirk Open and we had some super squash. Our 4 Irish players all played today with first up Hannah McGugan vs Kaitlyn Watts of New Zealand. The first PSA event for Hannah, so a big ask. She gave it her all but lost to a much more experienced player, 3-0.

Breanne Flynn was playing Chan Yiwen WR 72. Breanne played really well winning the 1st game 11-9. The higher ranked Malaysian came into the match much more and won the next 3 games. Breanne never gave up and pushed the last game to 10-12.

The two Irish men also played 2 higher ranked players. Sam Buckley in his 1st year on the PSA tour played WR 57 Henry Leung from Hong Kong China. Sam won the 1st game, 11-9 and had game points in the 2nd, which went to 16-14 to Leung. Sam won the 3rd 11-9, playing some super squash, belying his youth and novice status on the tour. Leung came back in the 4th to take it 11-8. So a deciding game, which was nerve racking for the home crowd.  The 2 players went toe to toe but unfortunatly Sam made 3 errors mid game to give Leung the initiative, which he didn’t let go and he won the gane 11-7. So, so close for Sam to beat a top 60 player. He said he just got tired in that last game. He showed all the promise and potential he has though.

Sean Conroy was last of the home players to play. Sean was playing Mo Syafiq Kamal from Malasyia WR 74. Kamal took the 1st but Sean fough back and levelled the match winning the 2nd 11-9 in a very tight match. With the higher ranked players, the longer the match goes on, the better they go, able to last and dig in. Kamal took the 3rd and 4th to win 3-1.

The top 8 seeds in both events play their first matches tomorrow, so we can expect even more quality squash on day 2.

Watch it from Court 1 on Irish Squash TV – https://www.irishsquash.com/live/

MEN 

Round 1

Ivan Perez (ESP) v Max Lee (HKG) 11-4, 11-6, 7-11, 1-11, 6-11  – 2-3

Rui Soares (POR) v Addeen Idrakie (MAS) 11-5, 8-11, 11-5, 11-4 – 3-1

[WC] Sam Buckley (IRL) v Henry Leung (HKG) 11-9, 14-16, 11-9, 8-11, 7-11  – 2-3

[WC] Sean Conroy (IRL) v Mohammad Syafiq Kamal (MAS) 7-11, 11-9, 7-11, 5-11  – 1-3

Faraz Khan (USA) v Chi Him Wong (HKG) 13-11, 11-6, 11-6  – 3-0

Ivan Yuen (MAS) v Robert Downer (ENG) 11-4, 11-5, 11-5  – 3-0

Juan Camilo Vargas (COL) v Rory Stewart (SCO) 11-8, 10-12, 6-11, 3-11 – 1-3

Tsz Kwan Lau (HKG) v Jakub Solnicky (CZE) 11-8, 11-9, 11-6 – 3-0

WOMEN

Round 1

Emilia Korhonen (FIN) v Grace Gear (ENG) 7-11, 3-11, 8-11  – 0-3

Anna Kimberley (ENG) v Lea Barbeau (FRA) 11-8, 5-11, 11-6, 11-7  – 3-1

[WC] Breanne Flynn (IRL) v Chan Yiwen (MAS)11-9, 4-11, 7-11, 10-12  – 1-3

Ali Loke (WAL) v Sofía Mateos (ESP) 11-6, 11-5, 11-7  – 3-0

Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) v [WC] Hannah McGugan (IRL) 11-2, 11-2, 11-5  – 3-0

Wen Li Lai (MAS) v Alicia Mead (ENG) 9-11, 4-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8  – 3-2

Torrie Malik (ENG) v Rana Ismail (EGY) 11-6, 3-11, 12-10, 7-11, 4-11  – 2-3

Saran Nghiem (ENG) v Jessica Turnbull (AUS) 12-14, 11-6, 14-12, 8-11, 8-11  – 2-3

 

Preview

After 2 years of no Irish Opens, we have a bigger and better tournament for it’s return this year. The prize money has increased to $60,000 combined, for both draws. The top seeds are Emily Withlock of Wales, World Ranked Number 18 & Patrick Rooney of England, World Ranked Number 25. We have 18 top 50 players in the world, among the entries in both draws.

There are 4 home players in the draw, Breanne Flynn, Hannah McGugan, Sam Buckley & Sean Conroy, all play on Tuesday.

  • Breanne Flynn plays Chan Yiwen of Malaysia at 4.30pm  on Court 1
  • Hannah McGugan plays Julianne Courtice at 12 noon on Court 2
  • Sam Buckley plays Henry Leung at 3.30pm on Court 1
  • Sean Conroy plays Mahesh Mangaonkar at 5.15pm on Court 1

All matches from Court 1 will be live streamed on Irish Squash TV on Tuesday & Wednesday. PSA Live will broadcast from the quarter finals on Thursday to the finals on Saturday. See below for Special Offer.

Admission is FREE so please come to Fitzwilliam to enjoy some top quality squash from some of the best players in the world!

Watch all the best moments of the Cannon Kirk Irish Open on SQUASHTV, use the discount code IRISHOPEN50 to get your first month of SQUASHTV half price! Simply select the monthly pass, add IRISHOPEN50 in the promo code box and watch all the action. Quick, the offer is for a limited time only.

CLICK HERE