On the second day of the 16th Senior CASA Squash Championships, play continued with the quarterfinals of the main draw with all four top seeded women easily securing their places in today?s (Sunday?s) semi-finals. Karen Meakins, the #1 seed from Barbados defeated Jamaican Anita Bicknell (#13) in straight games 9/1 9/0 9/1 and will face fellow Barbadian, Cheri- Ann Parris, the #4 seed in the first semi-final. Parris easily defeated Jamaican, Tracy Binnie (#15), three games to love, 9/3 9/6 9/3. Rhea Khan, the #3 seed from Trinidad and Tobago, beat Sherian Slater (#8) of the OECS (St. Vincent) 7/9 9/5 9/4 9/0 and will face the Jamaican #2 seed, Karen Anderson, in the other ladies semi-final. Anderson cruised past Lilianna White (#6) of Barbados also in straight games, 9/3 9/0 9/0.
All the drama on Saturday night was reserved for the Men’s draw as the upsets continued. The #6 seed, Gavin Cumberbatch of Barbados sensationally defeated the #2 seed Nick Kyme of Bermuda and Colin Ramasra of Trinidad & Tobago, seeded at #7, defeated the veteran and #4 seed, Wayne Burrowes of Jamaica. The Cumberbatch vs. Kyme match was all about pace. The match started with both players trying to figure out each other?s game. However, Kyme who plays on the pro tour and is current ranked at #166 in the world, used his pace and deft drops to move Cumberbatch back and forth on the court and easily won the first game 9/3. However, Cumberbatch reversed his fortunes in the next two games with some amazing retrievals and accurate shot-making and won those games at five and seven. Those three games, all played at great pace, as well as the searing heat of the non-airconditioned courts eventually took their toll on Kyme who wilted as the match came down to a matter of attrition, with Cumberbatch winning easily 9/0 in the fourth.
In the Burrowes vs. Ramasra match, Ramasra went up two games to love. He easily won the opening game for the loss of a single point but then the second game was much longer as Burrowes found his rhythm and used his volley drop shots to great effect. Ramasra hung on however and eventually won the second game 9/7. In the third game, Burrowes fell behind early but then gathered himself and took a slim lead. Ramasra?s retrieving skills were on full display as shots the audience thought he couldn?t get to were retrieved and returned with interest! Burrowes, however, refused to get flustered and kept the pace up and served for the game three times at 8/5, but Ramasra would not yield. The Trinidian #1 came back to 8-all and even served for the match twice but Burrowes did what he is known for and dug deep and held on to win the third at 10/9. In the fourth game, it seemed once again as if it was all over for the 1983 Caribbean champion Burrowes, as Ramasra went up 7/3 before relinquishing that lead and went down 7/9. At the end of that game, Burrowes dropped to his knees in fatigue. In the fifth and deciding game, Ramasra stormed to a 6/1 lead, but could not hold it and once again, Burrowes? will and determination got him back to 6/6. At one point, Burrowes? knees seemed to buckle just before he went to serve but as so many opponents have learned over his long career he was not going down without a fight! However, Ramasra had youth on his side – he was, after all, born in the same year that Burrowes won his only Caribbean title ? and was able to prevail in the end and won this final game and match 9/6. Both players deservedly received a standing ovation from the captivated audience in Kingston?s Liguanea Club at the end of this epic battle.
Jamaican Chris Binnie, seeded here at #3, then raised the crowd?s spirits by easily defeated Charlie Sonson, #8 of OECS (St. Lucia). Sonson is known throughout the region for his great racket skills and effective front court game and tried to use his drop shot from the back of the court to off-balance Binnie. But Binnie was prepared every time for this shot and used his front court game to pounce on those shots and punish Sonson every time. Binnie also refused to get into a physical match with Sonson and won the first game 9/5. It was more of the same in the second, but this time Sonson tried to keep the ball deep into the back of the court, which was definitely more effective. Unfortunately, however, Sonson also allowed calls from the referee to affect him and lost the second 10/8. The third game seemed to start out even, but Sonson thought he received another questionable referee?s decision and gave up the match by hitting his returns of serve into the tin. Binnie won the third 9/1 and earned his place in the semi-finals.
The final match of the night was between two lefties, the #9 seed Paul DeVerteuil of Trinidad and Tobago and the #5 seed, Shawn Simpson of Barbados. This was a very intense and, at times, contentious match. DeVerteuil is competing in his first Senior CASA match in 4 years, and has caused quite a stir to date. He seemed determined to continue this buzz when he took the first game 9/2. However, Simpson turned his fortunes around and won the next game for the loss of a single point. Those two games were anomalies as the following games were all much more evenly contested. Both players were using the drop shot effectively but Simpson pulled away 6/0 in the third, but the Trinidadian clawed his way back into match to even the score at 6-all. However, Simpson used all of his 6?-5? reach to great advantage and won the third 9/6. The fourth game was again quite intense and the interference calls more and more frequent, with both players disagreeing with some of the referee?s decisions. DeVertueil seemed to allow this to bother him more and fell behind 4/7, but re-grouped by returning to the drop and drive plan and won 9/7. In the fifth, Simpson fell behind early 1/5 but managed to pull back by eliminating the mistakes and took the game 9/6.
The full results from Match Day 2 are as follows:
Main Draw
Ladies Quarter Finals
#1 Karen Meakins (Bar) d. #13 Anita Bicknell (Jam) 9/1, 9/0, 9/1
#4 Cheri-Ann Parris (Bar) d. #15 Tracy Binnie (Jam) 9/3, 9/6, 9/3
#3 Rhea Khan (T&T) d. #8 Sherian Slater (OECS) 7/9, 9/5, 9/4, 9/0
#2 Karen Anderson (Jam) d. #6 Lilianna White (Bar) 9/3, 9/0, 9/0
Men’s Quarter Finals
#5 Shawn Simpson (Bar) d. #9 Paul Deverteuil (T&T) 2/9, 9/1, 9/6, 7/9, 9/6
#7 Colin Ramasra (T&T) d. #4 Wayne Burrowes (Jam) 9/1, 9/7, 9/10, 7/9, 9/6
#3 Chris Binnie (Jam) d. #8 Charlie Sonson (OECS) 9/5, 10/8, 9/1
#6 Gavin Cumberbatch (Bar) d. #2 Nick Kyme (Ber) 3/9, 9/5, 9/7, 9/0
Men’s Consolation – 2nd Round
Bruce Bicknell (Jam) d. Alain Mudeen (Cay) 9/3, 9/7, 9/5
Robert McDavid (Guy) d. John MacRury (Cay) 9/6, 3/9, 9/6, 9/5
Ryan Abraham (T&T) d. James Bentick (OECS) 9/0, 3/9, 9/3, 9/6
Julian Chin (Guy) d. Peter Pirtheesignh (T&T) 9/6, 9/1, 9/2
Bryant Cumberbatch (Bar) d. Bruce Levy (Jam) 9/1, 9/7, 9/7
Josh Pinard (T&T) d. Warren Burrowes (Jam) 9/7, 9/5, 7/9, 9/6
Mark Sealy (Bar) d. Dane Schwier (Jam) 9/1, 9/3, 9/1
WoMen’s Consolation – 2nd Round
Gill Binnie (Jam) d. Amber Glasgow (OECS) 9/6, 9/1, 9/2
Dingle Spence (Jam) d. Greta Primus (OECS) 9/1, 9/0, 9/2
Jennifer Armstrong (Bar) d. Marian Goodall (Cay) 9/0, 9/0, 9/5
Stephanie McConnell (Jam) d. Amy Gillezeau (T&T) 7/9, 9/0, 9/2, 9/1
Bo Harris (Bar) d. Gen Shim (T&T) 9/2, 9/4, 9/0
Kimberly Farah (T&T) d. Vonnie Roudette (OECS) 9/2, 9/1, 9/1
3rd Round
Stephanie McConnell (Jam) d. Cheryl Renwick (OECS) 9/1, 9/0, 9/1
Nadia McCarthy (Bar) d. Gill Binnie (Jam) 9/3, 9/4, 9/4
Kimberly Farah (T&T) d. Bo Harris (Bar) 9/0, 9/2, 9/3
Jennifer Armstrong (Bar) d. Dingle Spance (Jam) 9/3, 9/1, 9/3
