An elite draw of world class squash players is coming to the new Cross Courts Squash Club in Natick (MA) to compete in the Boston area’s only professional squash tournament this year.
Each of the invited players has won a national championship and some long time rivals are bound to face off once again in a Beantown Brawl. World No. 6 David Palmer (Australia) is headlining the event and will face two-time U.S. Collegiate Champion Baset Chaudhry (Pakistan) who is competing as an amateur player. Chaudhry won the British Junior Open in 2005 and has been the top player at Trinity College for the past couple years. “Baset is a very talented young player,” said Palmer. “I am looking forward to getting on court with him. And I am thrilled to be playing a tournament in the Boston area. I’ve been living here for a little while now and it is such a great city for squash.”
Palmer could face longtime rival and former World No. 1 John White in the semifinals. White is matched up against the former New Zealand Champion, Daniel Sharplin. Mr. Sharplin, who is now the Head Squash Pro at Cross Courts Squash Club has been training hard this summer in advance of the tournament. “Johnny is a larger than life personality and still one of the world’s best players,” said Sharplin. “I’m certainly going to give it my all though.”
John White (Scotland), of course, will be bringing some power to the tournament. Mr. White holds the world record for hitting the hardest forehand squash shot —72 mph. His backhand is only 171 mph.
In the opposite bracket, five-time and reigning U.S. Champion Julian Illingworth will face six-time and reigning Irish National Champion, Liam Kenny. And two-time U.S. Champion Preston Quick will meet three-time Canadian Champion Shahier Razik in his opening match.
Tournament Director Joe McManus likes this unique event format. “We’ve been able to attract an elite group of players. Some of the best matches may actually happen in our consolation brackets. But we’ll see. An upset could happen any night with such an elite draw. For each of the fans attending, it will be a special experience because of the intimate nature of the event and the dinner with the players after the matches.”
Tied in with the tournament are amateur player clinics, dinners each night with the players, as well as a rules and referee clinic. Dan Reagan, President of Massachusetts Squash, is proud to be a sponsor of the event. “We’re particularly excited about supporting the youth clinics,” said Mr. Reagan. “It is such a great opportunity for young players to get on the court with their heroes and develop their own skills.”
McManus is looking forward to seeing the fans’ reaction to this event. “I think we can do more of these,” he noted. “For this tournament, we’re promoting the players and not the purse. It’s a slightly different emphasis on the marketing of an event, but I believe the fans will benefit.”
For more information about the Cross Courts Invitational, please visit www.USProSquash.org.
