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MLB Weekend Watch: Braves or Nats -- who would be tougher out in playoffs?
All but one of the division races are looking settled, but that doesn't mean there aren't storylines that capture the imagination around baseball. Here's what has our attention this weekend:
The two National League teams with the best chance of knocking off the Dodgers right now seem to be the Braves and Nationals, who opened a four-game series Thursday. Who would be a tougher playoff foe for L.A. -- Atlanta or Washington?
Eddie Matz: Sure, the Nationals' offense has been busting out the whooping stick. And yes, their top three of Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin are stronger than Atlanta's (even if Scherzer isn't back to his old self by the playoffs). But the Braves are good. Like, really good. So good that Washington, which has the best record in baseball since May 24, can't seem to make up any ground in the NL East. The only reason to pick Washington here would be the rotation. But October is about bullpens, and Atlanta's is way better. So I'd say the Braves would be the tougher out for L.A.
Sam Miller: The unsatisfying answer is that it's the Nationals because it's easier to beat a far superior opponent in a smaller sample than a larger one. If the Nationals get past the wild-card game, they'll face the Dodgers in a best-of-five series. If the Braves get past the division series, they'll meet the Dodgers in a best-of-seven. But take that technicality out of it, and Eddie's probably right. Washington has the edge at the top of the rotation, but if we look at each team just in games that their top three have started, the Nationals haven't actually shown that advantage: They're 47-32 when Scherzer, Strasburg or Corbin starts, while the Braves are 46-22 when Max Fried, Dallas Keuchel or Mike Soroka does. The Nationals' bullpen is just toxic.
David Schoenfield: It's pretty remarkable, really: Even with that toxic bullpen, the Nationals do have that best record in the majors over an extended period of time. That suggests that they're so good everywhere else that they can overcome the bullpen, although I have a difficult time imagining Fernando Rodney getting through Cody Bellinger, Justin Turner and Max Muncy in a crucial situation. So maybe it gets to some of the other matchups, and since the Dodgers are better against right-handed pitching with all their lefty mashers (their OPS is 45 points higher against righties), maybe the Braves with lefty starters Fried and Keuchel have an edge there, as the Nationals have just one lefty in Corbin. Then again, Soroka's OPS against lefties is 200 points higher than vs. righties, so that's a tough matchup for him. I guess I'm back to Fernando Rodney. The Braves are the tougher foe.
With a nod toward Sunday night's Yankees-Red Sox game (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET) and to Buster Olney (we're stealing his Twitter poll question), what do you think will happen to Mookie Betts -- he gets traded this winter, he gets traded next summer, he leaves Boston as a free agent after 2020, or he signs a long-term deal to stay with the Sox?
Matz: As disappointing as this season has been for Boston, there's no reason to think that the defending champs can't rebound and make another run next year, which is why general manager Dave Dombrowski won't trade Betts this winter. If the World Series hangover lingers into 2020 and the Sox find themselves hovering around .500 next July, I could see Dealer Dave going the Manny Machado route and shipping Mookie elsewhere to restock a farm system that has fallen on hard times. But I don't think that happens. As for an extension, I don't think that happens either because Betts is too in touch with the whole marketing and business side of things. Despite the recent free-agent depression, he knows he could make a killing. Which is exactly what will happen.
Miller: OK, I could maybe imagine a big-market team that's projected to win, say, 90-92 wins next year, in a tough division, deciding that Mookie Betts would be the difference between making and missing the 2020 postseason. And maybe it thinks continuity would give it a better chance of signing him when he hits free agency, so there would be some extra benefit to having him on the team before his walk year. Put those together and maybe that club would be willing to offer something absolutely overwhelming to employ him for the 2020 season. The team that best describes is ... the Red Sox. They'll keep him until his free agency, and then they'll be the favorite to re-sign him.
Schoenfield: My prediction: Mookie stays ... and then Mookie leaves as a free agent. (He signs with the Angels to give Mike Trout some help, plus Mookie will relish being out of the media spotlight in Boston and letting Trout be the guy. Or maybe he signs with the Rangers, who will need a star attraction in the second year of their new park. Wait, the Astros! George Springer and Michael Brantley are also free agents after 2020. How about the Braves? Mookie is from Tennessee and that's close to home. Or maybe ...)
There are a few other series with potential playoff teams squaring off: Indians-Twins, Cubs-Brewers and Phillies-Mets. Which of those series do you find most intriguing?
Miller: The Cubs and Brewers, just because of the animus. None of these teams are really competing with each other for a playoff spot right now: The Twins have a firm grip on the American League Central, the Phillies and Mets are playing more for respectability and relevance than realistic hopes, and the Brewers are almost certainly gassed out. But the Brewers and Cubs can at least play for the privilege of severely harshing a rival's mood. The Cubs can essentially end the Brewers' season; the Brewers could move the panic index in Chicago to orange.
Schoenfield: I've probably watched the Mets more than any other team this season (I live in Connecticut, so the Mets, Yankees and Red Sox are my local teams), so why quit now? Plus, there's the chance that Bryce Harper does something wonderful in what has been a decidedly blah season for him, or that Jacob deGrom pitches a no-hitter, or that the Mets blow a six-run lead in the ninth. Wait, that last one is silly. That could never happen.
Matz: I'm not terribly intrigued by any of them, really. At least not from a playoff perspective. Because you'd have to squint pretty hard to convince yourself that any of these three matchups have serious playoff implications at this point. Having said that, Minny and Cleveland are the two best baseball teams among the six in question here. And all things being equal, I'd rather watch good baseball than bad baseball. So I'll go with the Twindians series.
PICK 'EM TIME
Circling back to Braves-Nats, which trio of teammates will have more total bases this weekend: Atlanta's Freddie Freeman, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Josh Donaldson or Washington's Anthony Rendon, Juan Soto and Trea Turner?
Schoenfield: Oh, this is a good one. Rendon is locked in right now, but so is Donaldson. Freeman has been Mr. Consistent Superstar all season long. I'll give the edge to the Braves' trio -- they'll get to face the Nationals' bullpen at some point.
Miller: Atlanta has home field, Washington has the hotness. Rendon and Soto are both in the top 10 in total bases in the second half, and even Turner is within single digits of the Atlanta three. I don't usually put much faith in hotness. Atlanta wins this one.
Matz: When it comes to total bases, round-trippers reign supreme. While Atlanta's troika consists of three legit long-ball threats, that's not the case with Washington, where the speedy Turner (13 homers) sticks out like a sore thumb among the sextet involved here. I'll take the Braves bashers.
Cardinals righty Jack Flaherty is on quite a roll (0.59 ERA over his past seven starts). Baserunners allowed by Flaherty vs. the Pirates on Sunday: over or under 5.5?
Schoenfield: Flaherty not only has a 0.59 ERA over seven starts, but he has a 0.90 ERA and .141 average allowed over his past 11 starts. I watched his last start against the Giants (one hit in eight innings) and it was complete domination: He threw just 29 balls to 26 batters faced and his 100th pitch was 97 mph, his hardest of the game. Buster Olney compared him to a young Justin Verlander: He's got the size, he's got the stuff and he's starting to show he has the ability to pitch deep into games. Is he the best pitcher in baseball? The track record isn't long enough to declare that, but he's certainly the hottest. Under 5.5.
Matz: As hot as Flaherty has been, the Pirates' offense has been just as hot. Over the past two weeks, Pittsburgh has a .381 on-base percentage and is averaging 7.2 runs per game, both best in the majors. Over, please.
Miller: I figured this would be an easy over, but the under would have won in six of Flaherty's past eight starts -- and he allowed only six runners in the other two. Still, the Pirates have the biggest platoon split in baseball, roping right-handers for a .275/.338/.446 line. I think the over is right; can I convince you to count hit batsmen?
TWO TRUE OUTCOMES
Each week, we ask our panelists to choose one hitter they think will hit the most home runs and one pitcher they think will record the most strikeouts in the coming weekend. Panelists can pick a player only once for the season. We'll keep a running tally -- and invite you to play along at home.
Home run hitters
Matz: Jorge Soler
Miller: Pete Alonso
Schoenfield: Alex Bregman
Strikeout pitchers
Matz: Robbie Ray
Miller: Mike Clevinger
Schoenfield: Patrick Corbin
British sprinter takes 100m victory at Diamond League final while Malaika Mihambo, Christian Taylor and Noah Lyles also impress
The IAAF World Championships in Doha kicks off in three weeks’ time and Dina Asher-Smith showed in Brussels on Friday (Sept 6) that she will be a force to be reckoned with in the Qatari capital as she sped to 100m victory in 10.88.
It was a season’s best for Asher-Smith and just three hundredths outside her British record despite cool conditions and a slight headwind of -0.3m/sec.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica was left seven hundredths of a second behind (pictured above) with Marie Josée Ta Lou third and Dafne Schippers fourth.
Dina Asher-Smith reacts to her big Brussels 100m win. #BrusselsDL pic.twitter.com/MwNpn9hjwk
— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) September 6, 2019
Noah Lyles enjoyed another good win as the American clocked 19.74 (0.8) to win the 200m ahead of world champion Ramil Guliyev’s 19.86 and Andre De Grasse’s 19.87. Last week Lyles won the 100m trophy at the first Diamond League final in Zurich.
Christian Taylor won the big triple jump clash against in-form fellow American Will Claye. Taylor’s winning leap was a slightly wind-assisted 17.85m (2.1m) as Claye jumped 17.22 (1.1) but his second-best effort of 17.66m (0.1) beat Jonathan Edwards’ long-standing meeting record.
Katerina Stefanidi beat a strong field to win the women’s pole vault with a first-time clearance at 4.83m as Britain’s Holly Bradshaw finished fifth with 4.70m.
Malaika Mihambo of Germany has been in great form all year and sealed the Diamond League title long jump title here with 7.03m (-0.9). Brittney Reece of the United States moved into second with a final round effort of 6.85m, just ahead of heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who leapt 6.73m (-0.2) in the first round, while fellow Brit Lorraine Ugen jumped a season’s best 6.70m (1.0) in fifth.
KJT on her third place in the long jump in Brussels with 6.73m. @JohnsonThompson @stuartweir #brusselsDL pic.twitter.com/v4iUhx4J0D
— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) September 6, 2019
Sifan Hassan impressed in the 5000m as she ran a sub-60 last lap to win in 14:26.26 ahead of Letesenbet Gidey, Konstanze Klosterhalfen and world cross-country champion Hellen Obiri.
After some uneven pacing in the men’s 1500m, Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya took the win in 3:30.22 as he held off Norwegian brothers Jakob (3:31.62) and Filip Ingebrigtsen (3:33.33).
Danielle Williams clocked 12.46 for an emphatic 100m hurdles win ahead of Keni Harrison (12.73) and Nia Ali (12.74), while in the men’s sprint hurdles Orlando Ortego ran 13.22 (0.0) for victory as Andy Pozzi, on the comeback from injury, ran 13.50 in sixth.
Mike Norman powered down the home straight to win the 400m in 44.26 from Fred Kerley (44.46) and Akeem Bloomfield (44.67).
In the women’s discus, Yaime Perez of Cuba won with 68.27m from Sandra Perkovic’s 66.00m, while Daniel Stahl of Sweden took the men’s discus title with 68.68m.
Mariya Lasitskene’s winning streak continued as she posted another high jump victory with 1.99m to beat Yuliya Levchenko by two centimetres as local star Nafi Thiam, the Olympic and world heptathlon champion, was third with 1.95m.
As the meeting and Diamond League season for 2019 drew to a close, Ajee Wilson ran 2:00.24 to win the women’s 800m from fellow American Raevyn Rogers as Britain’s Lynsey Sharp was sixth in 2:01.47.
Major boost for Singapore’s rising generation, gala dinner raises welcome funds
Supported by local companies and organisations, a gala dinner was staged at the Shangri-La Island Ballroom; the guest of honour was Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, Speaker of the Parliament and President of Singapore National Olympic Council.
Notably also present was Ellen Lee JP, PBM the President of the Singapore Table Tennis Association, alongside Lee Khang Teng, PBM, Life Honorary Chair and Vice-President of the Singapore Teochew Lee Clan Association.
Likewise Alex Yam MP and Singapore Table Tennis Association Deputy President attended in addition to Ms Violet Lee, Singapore Table Tennis Association Honorary President and Organising Chair. Furthermore, amongst the distinguished guests, Er Dr Lee Bee Wah, MP and Singapore Table Tennis Association adviser, was present.
“We would like to thank our donors for their support towards Singapore table tennis; with the support that we have received, Singapore table tennis will go on to even greater heights. We are committed and we will continue to push on and score greater sporting glory for Singapore. Once again, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to everyone who has made their kind donations.’’ Ellen Lee JP, PBM
Overall the plan is to secure funds that will assist players graduate from the youngest age group categories and at the other end of the scale to afford support in their senior careers.
The funds raised will go towards the following Singapore Table Tennis Association initiatives:
- Pathway Development for Team Singapore players.
- High Performance Sports System to develop Team Singapore players and enhance the training and competition environment for them locally and overseas.
As we approach the 2019 ITTF-ATTU Asian Table Tennis Championships, talking to Chen Meng gave us a real opportunity to get into the mind of a champion. Having started the year at no.4, she has had a splendid run of form, which truly peaked when she won the women’s singles title on home soil at the 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum China Open in Shenzhen, claiming top spot on the women’s world rankings.
These last few months have seen the world’s elite female athletes jostling for position and Chen Meng’s undisputed claim to the #1 spot has been a journey to behold. After missing out on the gold in Budapest, she has won both ITTF World Tour China and Korea Opens, facing the toughest of competition along the way. When asked about what changed after the 2019 World Championships, she admitted:
“I feel like it is not a sudden change, but more of a process. I built up my confidence through series of events before the World Championships. I won some titles on the World Tour then I had the belief to play in the World Championships. Without those titles, I wouldn’t think about playing in Budapest. I did know many things before but it was difficult for me to actually execute those things. Maybe because my belief was not as strong as it is today.” Chen Meng
Building her belief one match at a time, Chen truly needed to do so against the very best. One of those confidence building matches was against her senior compatriot and reigning Olympic champion Ding Ning at the Korea Open final in Busan.
The “Queen of Hearts” put in a string of amazing performances to reach two consecutive finals on the World Tour this summer (Korea and Australia), yet she was unable to claim the top prize at either event. The first of her two final defeats did not so much highlight her shortcomings, but rather demonstrated just what a phenomenal, natural-born winner Chen Meng is. She overpowered Ding from the outset, charging to a 4-1 victory (11-5, 11-6, 11-5, 7-11, 11-9).
When it comes to mental strength, the 25-year-old surely matches up with the greats. Her record in women’s singles finals on the ITTF World Tour is 12 wins from 15 appearances. So, how does she deal with the pressure that comes along with such an outstanding feat?
“I feel I am generally ready on many aspects during the World Tour matches, including physical energy and techniques. The only aspect that I get concerned about is the mental control. It was naturally different at the World Championships, considering I had never made it to the main events’ finals and I didn’t know how I would perform in that situation. At other events I can control myself pretty well.” Chen Meng
This truly reflects on the mindset of an athlete aware of the stakes – different sizes for different events – and it begs the question as to how the pressure of a World Championships could impact on a player – even of Chen’s mental toughness – from the moment she arrived in Budapest?
“The first day when I stepped into the venue I was very excited. Then the second day turned out to be super tiring. I was so sleepy which had never happened before. I thought I would be quite excited after arriving, but it was weird in Budapest. Even my alarm clock couldn’t wake me up. I was thinking, “Is this because I’m nervous?” (laughs) Because I never felt this way before, it was weird for me. I couldn’t sleep well, then I came to Ma Lin, my supervisor coach, who knows I always have good sleep, and he couldn’t tell the exact reasons but encouraged me in my way. Afterwards I realized I was just too nervous.” Chen Meng
For any young athletes, reading a quote like that from the top players in the world, must be heartening. It displays the humanity of our top stars in table tennis, and assures that at the end of the day being nervous is probably a sign of good things to come.
Facing off against Liu Shiwen in the World Championships final, Chen knew this would be an experience that would change her competitive perspective. The red-hot intensity of battle was palpable for players and spectators alike, heightened by their pre-founded rivalry within the Chinese national setup. Before and during the match, just what was going through Chen’s mind?
“I never lose my appetite before matches, but that night before the final, I couldn’t even sleep. During the match, I felt that she was much more determined than me, 100% devoted to the contest. She controlled the rhythm. It was similar to when I was in control in the semi-final against Wang Manyu. All the preparations before the match were totally different. I actually prepared a lot, as much as I could. I was afraid to encounter some situations which I didn’t think about before the match. But at last I found that all my preparations did not completely cover me for this final against Liu Shiwen.” Chen Meng
What turned out to be the key difference was the vast experience that 28-year-old Liu brought with her into that final. Having played consistent semi-finals and finals in World Championships, she knew how to ride the storm against Chen in Budapest. On the contrary, this was Chen’s first ever World Championships final. Her opponent was in charge on the court, and she knew it.
Once the dust had settled on that defeat, despite the disappointment, Chen looks stronger for the experience. The world no. 1 now knows what she needs to do and fully intends to learn from her loss to Liu in the best possible way:
“Liu Shiwen was much stronger than my semi-final rival Wang Manyu, not only in terms of technique, but also her ability to adjust and read the game. I still need to learn from her, to find that explosive power to fight for the championships when I stepping into a final.” Chen Meng
Finally, Chen has been very vocal about her main goal and it is – no prizes for guessing – to play at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. But what exactly does she think she needs to work on to reach that final pedestal?
“This year I feel like I’m much more keen to chase my dream. I think I am ready physically and technically, but I still need to improve my ability to seize matches, take my chances and maintain my mental control, which are totally different from sitting on the bench watching others play. I think this is related to major event experience. This year I reached the World Championships final, whilst before that I could only just imagine what that might feel like. Now that I have played a World Championships final, I finally know the real feeling – something I did not believe would be that hard, and be totally different from the semi-final.” Chen Meng
With Olympic Games qualification available to winners of the Asian Championships next week in Indonesia, perhaps Chen will have her eyes set on using her eye-opening experience in Budapest to secure her tickets to Tokyo.
Catch her journey right here on ITTF and itTV!
Brazil’s strength in depth: team success bodes well for singles events
Double Gold medallist at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, but Calderano’s absence did not hinder his compatriots as they cruised to team gold by defeating Puerto Rico in Asuncion yesterday. This was in conjunction with the silver attained by the women’s team after a tantalising match versus Team United States.
The winning team consisted of Gustavo Tsuboi, Eric Jouti, Vitor Ishiy and Thiago Monteiro – all of whom had a critical part to play. For the title decider, it was a convincing 3-1 win against Puerto Rico. Backbone of this success was the experienced Tsuboi, who beat both Angel Naranjo (11-4, 11-7, 11-9) and Daniel Gonzalez (11-4, 11-5, 11-3) in straight games to secure the crowning moment.
This was possible after Jouti made sure there were no slip-ups in the third match when he accounted for Brian Afanador (11-9, 10-12, 11-2, 11-9), who had combined with Gonzalez to beat Ishiy and Jouti (9-11, 11-3, 11-7, 6-11, 11-9) in the first fixture.
Such an impressive showing was hugely enjoyed by the Brazilian fans, who were certainly worried about the missing World no.6 Calderano. More so than this, the consistency of the women’s performance speaks volumes of the strength in depth of Team Brazil as a whole.
Bruna Takahashi has been the embodiment of that consistency lately, and she maintained that in the matches here in Paraguay. Against Chile, the 19-year-old clinically defeated both Valentina Rios (11-2, 11-9, 14-12) and Paulina Vega (8-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7) at the semi-finals stage.
This came after her teammates Caroline Kumahara and Jessica Yamada had helped Takahashi in recording a 3-1 win against the no.2 seeds, Puerto Rico’s Adriana Diaz, Melanie Diaz and Daniely Rios. All three Brazilian women were in tandem and it carried them to a highly intense final.
When facing the United States in the final, Takahashi again was at the centre of attention. She channeled her semi-final form by defeating Crystal Wang (12-10, 8-11, 11-9, 11-6) and, accounting for Wu Yue in fine fashion, when she prevented a strong comeback from her opponent (12-10, 11-9, 8-11, 7-11, 11-6). Sadly, these two wins for Takahashi proved to be in vain, as Yamada lost out by the very narrowest of margins to Wang.
A difficult loss to digest, the Brazilians must however take note of increasing positives that have come out of this past week. The immense talent on show at the Pan American Championships is a testament to prowess of the South American country’s athletes. There are not a lot of teams which can produce both gold and silver medals when some of their seasoned picks are missing.
With the singles events starting today, Brazil has a lot to look forward to. Both men’s and women’s team’s athletes will want to repeat their powerful displays, and given what we have seen till now, it would not be a surprise to see another Brazil-filled knockout stage over the weekend.
Follow their progress at the Pan American Championships right here!
Bright and eye-catching with it’s colourful presentation the logo features the wondrous imagery of the Colosseum, Rome’s symbol of excellence with six curved lines to represent the speed, dynamism and simplicity of this new style of ping pong.
The European TTX party pays homage to Italy and its tricolored flag, the vivacity of green and red emphasizes the name of the event while white dominates the background. The logo is moving, following the ideal motion of a ball hit by a racquet which stops in “Pong”, where an unmistakable yellow ball can be found.
Linear, immediately comprehensible, with vivid colors: “Roma Ping Pong Fest” launches its new logo and plays host to the second exciting TTX venture of 2019.
The action heads to the historical city of Rome hot on the heels of the first TTX of the year in Denver which proved to be a raging success, giving over 4,200 attendees a day to remember. Read more about the amazing Smash Street experience in Denver here.
To follow the emotions and stay up to date on “Roma Ping Pong Fest – A TTX Experience”, just follow the official website of FITET (www.fitet.org ), the Facebook channels (@ fitet.org) and Instagram (fitet_official), TTX .world and TTXWorld on Facebook and Instagram for further updates.
More gold for China but Haruna Ojio steals show
A straight games win was the order of proceedings in the mixed doubles final against colleagues Liu Yebo and Wu Yangchen (12-10, 11-8, 11-4); earlier in the evening the same outcome had been anticipated when Shi Xunyao, the top seed, faced Japan’s 15 year old Haruna Ojio at the quarter-final stage of the junior girls’ singles event.
After the opening game had concluded, Shi Xunyao was very much on course but from the start of the second game, she lost direction; the backspin artistry of the Japanese teenager combined with innovative sidespin returns and attacking play from the forehand when the chance arose, destroyed the confidence of the tournament favourite. Haruna Ojio prevailed in five games (9-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-5, 11-6).
More Japanese success
Success for Haruna Ojio; there was also quarter-final success for her colleagues Miyu Nagasaki and Kyoka Idesawa. Likewise, Miyu Nagasaki caused China pain; she accounted for Huang Yingqi (11-4, 11-5, 6-11, 11-7, 9-11, 6-11, 11-4); in an almost equally hard fought encounter, Kyoka Idesawa ended the hopes of DPR Korea’s Kim Un Song (8-11, 11-7, 2-11, 11-2, 11-7, 11-5).
At the semi-final stage Haruna Ojio meets Miyu Nagasaki; Kyoka Idesawa confronts Wu Yangchen, the one surviving member of the Chinese team. She reserved her last four place courtesy of success in opposition to Korea Republic’s Lee Daeun (11-4, 11-5, 6-11, 11-7, 9-11, 6-11, 11-4).
Different scenario
Testing times for China in the junior girls’ singles quarter-finals; it was somewhat different in the junior boys’ singles competition. Xu Yingbin, Liu Yebo and Xiang Peng all reserved last four places. Xu Yingbin beat Japan’s Kakeru Sone (11-5, 11-6, 11-7, 11-5), Liu Yebo overcame Korea Republic’s Park Gyuhyeon (11-3, 14, 11-8, 11-6); Xiang Peng ended the hopes of Yukiya Uda, also from Japan (11-9, 11-6, 11-3, 11-8).
Defeats for the Land of the Rising Sun but there was success, Hiroto Shinozuka ended the progress of India’s Manush Utpalbhai Shah (11-7, 11-2, 11-9, 11-6).
Hiroto Shinozuka now meets Xiang Peng in the penultimate round, Xu Yingbin confronts Liu Yebo.
Overall a successful day
Differing fortunes for Japan but overall it was a most successful day. In the final of the junior boys’ doubles event Yukiya Uda and Shunsuke Togami meet colleagues Kakeru Sone and Hiroto Shinozuka; in the counterpart junior girls’ doubles final, Miyuu Kihara and Miyu Nagasaki face Korea Republic’s Shin Yubin and Ryu Hanna.
Similarly, Japan is present in the cadet girls’ singles final; Kaho Akae opposes China’s Chen Yi; in the cadet boys’ doubles decider, China’s Chen Yuanyu meets India’s Payas Jain.
Play concludes in Ulaanbaatar on Saturday 7th September.
Egypt’s Asal ends home interest on day one of China Open
Rachael Grinham in fine form during her first round victory
Rachael Grinham rolls back the years
By ELLIE MAWSON in Shanghai
Egypt’s world junior champion Mostafa Asal ended home interest after he despatched Chinese wildcard Zhitao Zhou at Shanghai’s SECA Academy on the opening day of the J.P. Morgan China Squash Open, PSA World Tour Gold tournament.
The 18-year-old Asal – who claimed his second World Junior title during the summer – showed he was in strong form as he comfortably overcame World No.580 Zhou, who was competing at the tournament for the third time.
Asal will now face England’s Tom Richards for a place in the quarter finals tomorrow. “I was really pleased with my performance today,” said 18-year-old Asal afterwards.
“Playing the wildcard is never easy, especially at his home club. It’s difficult to manage the first game, I just played my own game and that worked well today. He is playing well and I’m looking forward to my next match.
“Tom is a good player and I hope we have a good match. Our head-to-head is 1-1 and we will see what tomorrow brings.
“To balance a junior and professional career is tough, but I’m happy to finish my junior career with a double World Junior Championship. This tournament is amazing and I hope it continues for me.”
Joining him in the second round are compatriots Mazen Hesham and Youssef Soliman after they defeated Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng and Ivan Yuen, respectively.
“I started really well, which is good,” said Hesham, who will face England’s Adrian Waller in round two tomorrow.
“He started to play better as well, in the third, as he got used to the court and then it became a bit scrappy. I’m really glad that I held my nerve and started to get back to the tie-break to win the game.
“Adrian and I played last season at the World Championships and I played him a few times in the summer. I like him, he is a nice guy off court and hopefully it is a good match and I manage to get the win.”
Meanwhile, Soliman has set up an encounter with compatriot and World No.1 Ali Farag tomorrow on the glass court atop the Peninsula Shanghai, which overlooks Shanghai’s famous Bund.
Elsewhere in the men’s draw, Asian interest comes in the form of Hong Kong duo Tsz Fung Yip and Leo Au after they both secured round one wins on the opening day of action in Shanghai.
Yip defeated Egypt’s Mohamed ElSherbini, while Au prevailed in a tough encounter with France’s Baptiste Masotti to reach the last 16, where they will face India’s World No.10 Saurav Ghosal and Mexico’s No.6 seed Cesar Salazar.
Spain’s Iker Pajares Bernabeu, Qatar’s Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi and France’s Lucas Serme completed the men’s round one winners.
Meanwhile in the women’s draw, Netherlands’ Milou van der Heijden and Canada’s Danielle Letourneau both secured wins against higher seeded opposition after they defeated Malaysia’s Low Wee Wern and Hong Kong’s Joey Chan, respectively.
Van der Heijden put in a strong performance to down Malaysia’s Low and has set up a thrilling encounter with defending champion and World No.1 Raneem El Welily tomorrow.
“That first game, I think I was leading all the way, and then she kept coming back,” said 28-year-old van der Heijden.
“There were a few game balls on both sides, so to actually squeeze it in the end was a positive start. I think that first game was really important for me [to win].
“It’s very exciting, who doesn’t want to play on the glass overlooking the Bund in Shanghai. It’s a great opportunity and experience to play Raneem and I’m looking forward to it.”
Meanwhile, Letourneau – who is situated at the opposite side of the draw – will face No.2 seed and 2019 British Open champion Nouran Gohar for a spot in the quarter finals.
They will be joined in the last 16 by Australia’s former World No.1 Rachael Grinham, who once again defied her age as she overcame Liu Tsz-Ling by an 11-6, 11-4, 6-11, 11-6 scoreline in 34 minutes.
The 42-year-old Australian, who has won all of the sport’s biggest titles, will take on Egypt’s World No.5 Nour El Tayeb in the next round.
“I’m really happy with my performance today,” said the Grinham. “For me, these days, I don’t have any real ambitions to make a certain rank or anything. I just want to play well and be in shape. I’m over 40, so I just got off court and said to someone it’s good for me if I’ve had a match and I’m still in one piece! To win the first match in a tournament this size is really good for me and a good start for the season.
“It’s always fun playing Nour [El Tayeb]. She grew up around me in Egypt, when I lived there for eight years and I played at her club. I’ve known Nour since she was about nine years old and watching her play squash. She varies it a lot and mixes it up, which I admire about her game and I’m looking forward to having another match.”
It was also a strong day for Egypt in the women’s draw as Yathreb Adel, Nadine Shahin, Nada Abbas, Zeina Mickawy and World Junior champion Hania El Hammamy all claimed victories to advance to the last 16 of the PSA World Tour Gold tournament.
“Julianne has been playing really well,” said Adel following her win over England’s Julianne Courtice. “We saw her play last season and from her results I knew that I had to focus from the start, try to push her into the back and find my shots. I’m glad it worked.
“I was thinking ‘I have to push and win this game’ because it’s either going to be 2-0 or 1-1 and then it’s tight again. You never know what’s going to happen next, but I think after the second game I felt more confident and I sort of knew what was going to happen. I was trying to eliminate my errors and just keep going.
“I had a good pre-season and always when you have some time off and come back to tournaments you’re like ‘how did I used to warm up’ as if you forget everything, but then you start to get into it and it feels good to be playing again. Hopefully it will be another good season for me.”
J.P. Morgan China Open, Shanghai, China.
Men’s Round One:
Youssef Soliman (EGY) bt Ivan Yuen (MAS) 3-2: 8-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8 (76m)
Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt [WC] Zhitao Zhou (CHN) 3-0: 11-3, 11-4, 11-4 (23m)
Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt Eain Yow Ng (MAS) 3-1: 11-8, 11-7, 5-11, 13-11 (56m)
Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) bt Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) 3-1: 8-11, 11-7, 11-1, 11-9 (50m)
Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) bt Greg Lobban (SCO) 3-1: 11-9, 11-6, 1-11, 11-6 (59m)
Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) bt Alan Clyne (SCO) 3-0: 5-1 retired (4m)
Leo Au (HKG) bt Baptiste Masotti (FRA) 3-1: 13-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-8 (62m)
Lucas Serme (FRA) bt Karim Ali Fathi (EGY) 3-1: 12-10, 8-11, 11-4, 11-2 (51m)
Women’s Round One:
Milou van der Heijden (NED) bt Low Wee Wern (MAS) 3-0: 16-14, 11-9, 11-3 (31m)
Nada Abbas (EGY) bt Donna Lobban (AUS) 3-0: 11-9, 11-5, 11-9 (28m)
Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt Ho Tze-Lok (HKG) 3-0: 11-2, 11-6, 11-6 (24m)
Zeina Mickawy (EGY) bt Hollie Naughton (CAN) 3-0: 12-10, 14-12, 11-6 (30m)
Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG) 3-1: 11-6, 11-4, 6-11, 11-6 (34m)
Nadine Shahin (EGY) bt Haley Mendez (USA) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 11-5 (23m)
Yathreb Adel (EGY) bt Julianne Courtice (ENG) 3-0: 11-7, 12-10, 11-4 (30m)
Danielle Letourneau (CAN) bt Joey Chan (HKG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 11-3 (22m)
Men’s Round Two (September 5):
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v Youssef Soliman (EGY)
Mostafa Asal (EGY) v [8] Tom Richards (ENG)
[7] Adrian Waller (ENG) v Mazen Hesham (EGY)
Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) v [3] Saurav Ghosal (IND)
[4] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) v Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP)
Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) v [5] Omar Mosaad (EGY)
[6] Cesar Salazar (MEX) v Leo Au (HKG)
Lucas Serme (FRA) v [2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY)
Women’s Round Two (September 5):
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v Milou van der Heijden (NED)
Nada Abbas (EGY) v [8] Salma Hany (EGY)
[5] Annie Au (HKG) v Hania El Hammamy (EGY)
Zeina Mickawy (EGY) v [4] Joelle King (NZL)
[3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) v Rachael Grinham (AUS)
Nadine Shahin (EGY) v [6] Alison Waters (ENG)
[7] Victoria Lust (ENG) v Yathreb Adel (EGY)
Danielle Letourneau (CAN) v [2] Nouran Gohar (EGY)
Report by ELLIE MAWSON (PSA). Edited by ALAN THATCHER.
Pictures courtesy of China Open and PSA
New Manhattan Community Squash Center close to opening
A new squash center is on the horizon for Manhattan
‘Our goal is to build 100 of these centers’
Interview by ALAN THATCHER (Squash Mad Editor)
The Manhattan Community Squash Center is planning to open its doors at the end of this month. With a number of New York squash clubs closing in the past decade or more, this is a much-needed addition to the Big Apple squash community. We caught up with James Green, one of the founding partners, to discuss the project.
1: How did your project first come about?
Courts have been closing in NYC for about 20 years. In Manhattan we are now down to only one location (Equinox on 61st street) which has regulation squash courts available to the general public. (There are other courts, but they are either all private or part of private clubs who limit access or require references etc.). Our club (The Printing House) closed its doors in 2010 and a group of us has been working on putting it back together ever since.
2: Who are the main people driving it forward?
We are a group of enthusiastic squash players who were devastated when The Printing House (where we used to play squash) was bought by Equinox, who demolished our five courts in December 2010. Ever since then, we’ve been trying to launch a new center to call home. Fitting multiple squash courts into existing buildings in New York City has proved much harder than we ever imagined – but we are finally here! Our group has grown and shrunk and grown again over the years and currently includes David Ellen, David Puchkoff, Terry Talerman, Peter Nicol and myself, with many more who have supported us overtly and covertly over the years.
3: What are your squash backgrounds?
Most of us are mediocre, middle-aged men who play squash for joy and fitness. Not the most desirable or inspired demographic. For example, I took up squash because I was overweight at the age of 39 and my wife told me to “go to the gym”. And then there’s Peter Nicol, who doesn’t really have much in common with the rest of us when it comes to squash skills.
4: It seems you have identified a location to build a new club. How did you choose the spot?
We’ve been looking for eight years and although we found a couple of other spots at various other times, we were never able to close them. This is the first spot that met our criteria of being located in Manhattan and able to house more than four courts.
5: How is the building process progressing?
It’s late! But it’s progressing. Once demolition was complete, building commenced earlier this year. We’d hoped to open by May but then we aimed for August. We are now planning to open on the last day of September.
6: How have you raised the necessary funding?
We ended up raising most of the funds from within the team. We are raising funds in small chunks of $10-$50K or getting people to sign up which will help us reduce our debt burden and make sure we are able to generate positive cash flow after we open.
7: Do you have a vision for how the club should operate?
We are a non-profit and our mission is to make squash more accessible to the general public. The center (We prefer to use the phrase “squash center” vs “squash club” because of the plethora of private clubs in the city and we think center makes it sound less exclusive. But to answer your question, here are some of the things we will do:):
We aim to make sure that the facility is in use every hour of the day.
We provide discounts so that most people can afford to join no matter their financial situation
We will provide juniors with time after school where they can train (from 3-5:45pm)
We will provide lessons and clinics for adults on most days of the week
The bulk of the remaining time will be available for recreational play
We have a women’s committee to make sure that more women join and play than we see in most other facilities.
8: Have you lined up any coaching staff?
Peter Nicol and his organization are running the junior programs and John Musto will run all of the adult programs. There will of course be other pros working at the Center but these are not yet announced.
9: Have you looked at installing any Interactive courts?
Yes. We will have the ability to do that after we open. They will not be installed before opening.
10: What kind of membership numbers do you need to make it viable?
325
11: What about future plans?
Our goal (at The Squash Center) is to build 100 of these centers…. the Manhattan Community Squash Center is our first.
The Manhattan Community Squash Center is at 25 West 39th Street. Here is the Floor Plan:
Pictures courtesy of The Squash Center
Mohamed ElShorbagy fights back to halt Lucas Serme
Mohamed ElShorbagy in action against Lucas Serme
‘Lucas and I used to train together; I’m so glad to see him reaching his potential’
By ELLIE MAWSON – Squash Mad Correspondent
Egypt’s World No.2 Mohamed ElShorbagy survived a scare against France’s World No.35 Lucas Serme after he was forced to come from 2-0 down to book his place in the quarter finals of the J.P. Morgan China Squash Open PSA World Tour Gold tournament.
ElShorbagy, who won the China Open title back in 2016, found himself staring down the barrel of defeat as Serme started strongly on the glass court atop the Peninsula Shanghai to take a surprise lead.
The Egyptian, however, showcased just how he climbed to the top of the World Rankings as he showed his mental fortitude to come back and claim an 8-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-2 victory.
“Lucas played so well today,” said former World No.1 ElShorbagy afterwards. “We used to train together back in Bristol and have played together for so many years. I’m really happy for him to be raising his level that way. He has so much potential and I’m glad that he’s living up to that now.
“For me, that was the first match of the season and it’s always a tricky one. We had a tough battle at the beginning of the third game and from that moment I pulled through and had control of the match after, but all credit to him. I had to dig in deep to win this match and I’m very happy to live another day here.”
The Egyptian will face World No.23 Leo Au in the next round after the Hong Kong player secured a surprise victory over No.6 seed Mexico’s Cesar Salazar to advance at the tournament.
Like ElShorbagy, Au was two games down but bravely rallied on to secure an 11-13, 9-11, 13-11, 12-10, 11-9 victory in a mammoth 90 minute match played out on the side courts at the SECA Academy.
Ali Farag (right) in action against Youssef Soliman
World No.1 Ali Farag secured a last eight berth after he defeated compatriot and World No.31 Youssef Soliman 3-1 to take another step in the tournament in Shanghai.
“I’m very happy,” said the 27-year-old from Cairo. “First match of the season is never easy, especially when it comes against someone like Youssef. We know each other’s games pretty well, we grew up in the same club and now I play for Wadi Degla, but we still play together a lot. I’m very happy to get away with a 3-1 win here.
“Our sport is beautiful, we get to put it anywhere in the world and to put it on top the Shanghai Bund is amazing. I’m really happy that fingers crossed the rain stays out of the area and we can keep playing on this venue.”
He will take on England’s Tom Richards in the next round after the former World No.12 defeated Egypt’s World Junior champion Mostafa Asal to reach the quarter finals.
“I’m expecting a lot of firey shots [from Tom Richards],” continued Farag. “I wouldn’t say he has a traditional English game, he likes to go for it and I’ll try to keep my discipline and not get too erratic with him and we will see how it goes.”
Elsewhere in the men’s draw, Farag’s compatriot Mazen Hesham upset the seedings after he defeated England’s World No.22 Adrian Waller on the side courts.
The Egyptian shot maker has shown that he is getting back to his best after being plagued with injury throughout the last few years as he displayed another strong performance in China.
“Today was really good,” said Hesham following his win. “He was pushing me really hard and I have never seen him play this well against me before. It was very tough, I just kept strong mentally and I think that made the difference.
“Today I pushed a lot harder than I do in training. I just go day by day and hopefully I have done enough work to push this hard and this week will show with how my body deals with it.”
Next up for Hesham is India’s World No.10 Saurav Ghosal after his controlled performance saw him down Hong Kong’s Tsz Fung Yip to reach the last eight of the PSA World Tour Gold tournament.
The other quarter final men’s match will see Egyptian pair Marwan ElShorbagy and Omar Mosaad face each other after they claimed respective wins over Spain’s Iker Pajares Bernanbeu and Qatar’s Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi.
In the women’s draw, top seeds Raneem El Welily and Nouran Gohar both prevailed to reach the last eight after they secured 3-0 wins over the Netherlands’ Milou van der Heijden and Canada’s Danielle Letourneau, respectively.
El Welily, who is the defending champion, got her title defence off to the perfect start as she smoothly despatched World No.32 van der Heijden in straight games and will now face compatriot and World No.14 Salma Hany in the next round after she defeated Nada Abbas on the side courts.
“I’m definitely happy to start the tournament with a 3-0 win against Milou,” said El Welily afterwards.
“She’s skilled with the racket and has such great technique and you could see she has got different plans and tactics on court. She definitely worked me on court and I’m hoping that I can continue that form on here tomorrow.
“I’ve had good memories here and bad ones, I’m just going with the flow and seeing what happens but hopefully it will be a good memory.”
No.2 seed and 2019 British Open champion Gohar also picked up from where she left off last season with her good form as she comfortably claimed a 3-0 victory over Canada’s Letourneau to reach the quarter finals.
The three-time China Open runner-up will face compatriot Yathreb Adel in the next round after she came from 2-0 down to upset the seedings and knock out England’s Victoria Lust.
“I’m always looking forward to this tournament,” said World No.4 Gohar. “You don’t get a lot of chances to stay in such a beautiful hotel and such a prestigious one. The venue is one of the best in the world and I have great memories here.
“It’s the first tournament of the year so that makes it extra special as well because you want to prove yourself and see how the summer training has paid off.
“I’ve been in the final three times so I hope I can break a little bit. It’s just one match at a time, I’m in the quarter finals which I’m really happy about and I’m just looking forward to the next match and we will see what happens next.”
Continuing the good form for the Egyptians in Shanghai were World No.5 Nour El Tayeb, World No.15 Hania El Hammamy and World No.23 Nadine Shahin.
El Tayeb cruised past Australia’s former World No.1 Rachael Grinham in just 19 minutes to book her place in the quarter finals. While El Hammamy and Shahin both overcame higher-ranked opposition to reach the last eight stage.
World Junior champion El Hammamy held her nerve to hold off a comeback from Hong Kong’s World No.10 Annie Au, with the two playing out an entertaining battle on the side courts, which eventually went in the favour of the young Egyptian.
“I’m happy with this win,” said El Hammamy afterwards. “I played Annie once last season and I lost in three in 20 minutes, so I came here today and I wanted to do my best and perform better than last time. I definitely had a game plan compared to last time and I’m happy I managed to stick to that.
“I’m starting the season with confidence. Finishing last season at my highest ranking has just given me more confidence and I’m hungry for more.”
El Hammamy will face the only non-Egyptian left in the women’s draw – New Zealand’s Joelle King – for a place in the semi-finals after the World No.6 battled back from 2-1 down against World No.20 Zeina Mickawy to advance at the tournament.
“First tournament of the season, I think everyone comes in not really knowing where they sit,” said King afterwards.
“Everyone puts in a lot of work over the summer and it’s the first challenge of the season so I’m really pleased. Probably more with my mental performance – Zeina is one of the up and coming players who has such an amazing raw game and I had to dig really deep to come back from 8-4 down in the fourth.
“Over the summer, Laura Massaro has actually come on board, as someone who I work with alongside Hadrian [Stiff] and I actually drew a little bit of inspiration from her. I’ve been on the backend of many matches against her where she has come back and beaten me and I think I just tried to dig out some experience.”
Action from the quarter finals of the J.P. Morgan China Squash Open takes place at 15:00 local time (GMT+8) tomorrow (Friday September 6) at the SECA Academy before play moves to the glass court in the evening at the Peninsula Shanghai.
J.P. Morgan China Squash Open, Shanghai, China.
Men’s round two:
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt Youssef Soliman (EGY) 3-1: 11-5, 11-4, 7-11, 11-4 (41m)
[8] Tom Richards (ENG) bt Mostafa Asal (EGY) 3-0: 11-9, 11-3, 11-8 (49m)
[3] Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-4, 11-7 (43m)
Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt [7] Adrian Waller (ENG) 3-1: 9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-5 (58m)
[4] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) 3-1: 11-4, 12-14, 11-9, 11-4 (60m)
[5] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-8 (40m)
Leo Au (HKG) bt [6] Cesar Salazar (MEX) 3-2: 11-13, 9-11, 13-11, 12-10, 11-9 (90m)
[2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Lucas Serme (FRA) 3-2: 8-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-2 (66m)
Women’s round two:
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) bt Milou van der Heijden (NED) 3-0: 11-5, 11-7, 11-5 (26m)
[8] Salma Hany (EGY) bt Nada Abbas (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 (35m)
Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt [5] Annie Au (HKG) 3-2:: 11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 8-11, 11-4 (62m)
[4] Joelle King (NZL) bt Zeina Mickawy (EGY) 3-2: 11-5, 9-11, 12-14, 11-9, 12-10 (56m)
[3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt Rachael Grinham (AUS) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-5 (19m)
Nadine Shahin (EGY) bt [6] Alison Waters (ENG) 3-1: 4-11, 11-6, 11-5, 13-11 (37m)
Yathreb Adel (EGY) bt [7] Victoria Lust (ENG) 3-2: 10-12, 8-11, 11-5, 11-1, 11-7 (44m)
[2] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt Danielle Letourneau (CAN) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 11-2 (22m)
Men’s quarter finals (September 6):
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v [8] Tom Richards (ENG)
Mazen Hesham (EGY) v [3] Saurav Ghosal (IND)
[4] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) v [5] Omar Mosaad (EGY)
Leo Au (HKG) v [2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY)
Women’s quarter finals (September 6):
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v [8] Salma Hany (EGY)
Hania El Hammamy (EGY) v [4] Joelle King (NZL)
[3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) v Nadine Shahin (EGY)
Yathreb Adel (EGY) v [2] Nouran Gohar (EGY)
Report by ELLIE MAWSON (PSA). Edited by ALAN THATCHER.
Pictures courtesy of PSA
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