Fantastic squash on show at Boston Open

Spectators were treated to world class squash at Boston Squash and Racketball Club as it hosted the 23rd annual professional Boston Open tournament at the weekend.
Sarah-Jane Perry and Joe Lee.Sarah-Jane Perry and Joe Lee.
Sarah-Jane Perry and Joe Lee.

It was the best event for many years.

The women’s draw was the strongest ever, featuring seven of the top 50 players in the world.

It was also significantly up on numbers on previous years, as was the men’s competition.

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Due to having 50 entrants, this year’s Open began at lunchtime on Friday.

The matches flowed thick and fast, often on three courts simultaneously.

One of the highlights of the first rounds was Lincolnshire’s Katie Wells’s match against Celine Walser from Switzerland.

The 19-year-old from Horncastle played her part in a stonking 47-minute encounter, losing out in the deciding fifth set after letting a 2-0 lead slip.

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The second rounds lasted well into Friday night, before the quarter-finals followed on Saturday.

They included a repeat of 2018’s final between Haley Mendez from New York and defending champion Millie Tomlinson.

Tomlinson once again came out on top.

The highlight of the men’s quarters saw the unseeded 17-year-old Ben Smith from Grimsby knock out top seed and English number 15 Robert Downer.

The top two women’s seeds progressed into the final, but in the men’s event there was only one seed left by the semi-final stage.

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Second seed Tom Walsh was defeated by Joe Lee, whose unseeded status belied his ability.

He is a former world number 29 recovering from surgery.

Ben Smith continued his great run with a straight sets win over Ben Sockett.

At least 50 people crowded around one of the glass-back courts to watch Sunday’s eagerly anticipated finals.

World number eight and British number one Sarah-Jane Perry defeated five times defending champion Millie Tomlinson in a top quality five-set final.

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Joe Lee beat Ben Smith in three, recovering from a slow start in the second set by winning seven consecutive

points.

“The number of entries was the highest since 2006 and the quality has been very high this year as well,” said tournament organiser Mark Hildred.

“Thanks to the players, staff, volunteers, referees and spectators, and of course all the sponsors who make this event possible.”