European Team Squash Championships, Amsterdam, Netherlands

03-May, Day Four:
 

England Celebrate European Championships
Double In Amsterdam

It took well over four hours in just three matches for England to beat long-time rivals France 3/0 in today's (Saturday) men's final of the European Team Squash Championships after the England women's team also defeated Netherlands 3/0 in the other final at Frans Otten Stadion in Amsterdam to record the double for the 16^th successive year.

Hosts Netherlands made up for the disappointment of losing to France in yesterday's men's semi-finals to beat Germany in the bronze medal play-off, while the women's bronze medal went to France who beat Ireland 2/1.

With France now boasting two players in the men's top five, the stage was set for a dramatic men's final which would go to the wire.  Both countries' national coaches had acknowledged on the eve of the final that France - runners-up for eight of the past nine years - had a good chance to win the title for the first time after building up a two-match lead by their world top five stars.

But powerful and focussed performances by England players meant that the script failed to materialise.  First on were the second strings - with England left-hander Peter Barker facing Thierry Lincou, the former worlds champion from Marseille whom he had never before beaten.

Barker, ranked 12 in the world, earned a game ball in the first game - but his experienced opponent, the world No5, came back to take the game and the expected lead.  But Barker was in defiant mood - and after 90 gruelling minutes battled to an 8-10, 9-7, 9-1, 10-8 victory to put England in the lead.

James Willstrop led England's next attack - the world number three taking on long-time rival Gregory Gaultier, ranked one place higher.  It was another high-octane encounter in which the Englishman's opening game lead was cut back when Gaultier, the reigning British Open champion, took the next two. 

Midway through the fourth, Gaultier collapsed with cramp in his left leg.  After treatment by the team's physio, the 25-year-old limped back onto court only to throw away the game shortly thereafter.

Despite cutting back a 5-1 lead by Willstrop in the decider, Gaultier was clearly hampered by his injury and Willstrop went on to claim a 9-7, 2-9, 7-9, 9-1, 9-3 win after the 101-minute marathon.

It was left to fourth string Adrian Grant to clinch overall victory for England when he beat Julien Balbo 9-1, 9-2, 9-6 in 65 minutes in his first ever meeting with the Frenchman.

"I think the results speak for themselves," said team captain Lee Beachill, the squad number three whose match against Frenchman Renan Lavigne was not played.  "The performances by Peter and James were just outstanding - and, although we were all ready to perform when we needed to, those guys really pulled out something special and thoroughly deserved the wins they achieved.

"It just proves what a great team spirit we've got - no-one wanting to let anybody down and everybody so focussed.

"It was also a great debut for Joey (Barrington) who has really made himself a strong member of the team and, although he's only just joined us for the first time, he's fitted in as if he's been with us for years," added Beachill, the former world No1 appearing in his ninth European Championships."

Netherlands team manager Peter Berden was delighted with his squad's performance in taking the men's bronze medal.  "I am very happy - especially as ours is a young squad.  Our fifth player Piedro Schweertman was 8-2 down in the fourth game of his match, and fought back to win it and then take a 5-0 lead in the decider.

"It was also an emotional occasion for us as it was Sjef van der Heijden's last appearance as our National coach.  A podium finish was what he wanted and it was good that we achieved that for him."

Despite losing to the Netherlands, fourth place marked Germany's best finish since 1996.  But notable too was the outcome for Switzerland, who lost to Wales in the play-off for fifth place - but secured their first time in the top six since 1990.

Luxembourg recorded the highest finish by a non-seeded country by finishing in 18^th place.  Serbia, in their maiden appearance in the event, finished an impressive 23^rd.

The England women's team extended their remarkable record to 31 titles since the inaugural women's event in the Netherlands in 1978.  The top seeds - in their sixth successive final against Netherlands - showed their determination in the first match when third string Alison Waters, ranked 11 in the world, despatched Dutch opponent Karen Kronemeyer 9-0, 9-5, 9-0 in just 24 minutes.

The second match featured Vanessa Atkinson, a ten-time Dutch national champion, ranked nine in the world, and Vicky Botwright, the England number one ranked one place lower and also trailing 3-8 in the pair's head-to-head tally.

Putting behind her a rare England defeat in the earlier qualifiers, Botwright took the first game for just a single point, then maintained her composure to clinch the second after a late comeback by Atkinson.

Botwright continued to pile on the pressure - and disappoint the partisan local crowd - and finally beat Atkinson 9-1, 10-8, 9-3 after 36 minutes to win the match - and secure the title for England.

Squad number three Jenny Duncalf made it maximum points for England when she beat Annelize Naude 9-4, 9-1 in the best-of-three dead rubber.

"What really pleased me was that the coaches had faith to pick me - and that gave me extra confidence," said a jubilant Vicky Botwright, the England captain, after her triumph.  "This week's been a bit of a turnaround for me - as I haven't been playing that well recently.

"And I wanted to do my best to win, to take the pressure off the others.  If Vanessa had got a game, it could have turned things around."

When asked about the pressure of maintaining England's supremacy in the event, Botwright explained:  "We don't take anything for granted - we don't underestimate anyone.  Yesterday's semi-final against France was a good example.  That could have been a tricky tie, but we were very professional and did what we had to do."

Botwright's smiles were even wider as she revealed that she was now engaged to Australian international Stewart Boswell.  "We were out for a walk on a lovely sunny Sunday some weeks ago when I noticed that Stewart was rummaging around in his coat - and I wondered what he was doing.  To my complete surprise, he asked me to marry him!  We're hoping to find a date next May, if there is suitable gap in both of our squash commitments!"

In the play-off for third place, seventh seeds France beat Ireland 2/1 to win the bronze medal for only the second time - and Germany defeated Denmark 2/1 to take fifth place.

But perhaps the most notable achievement in the lower order was recorded by Wales, the eight seeds who beat Belgium 2/0 in the play-off for seventh place to record their highest finish of all-time. 

Men's Final:

[1] ENGLAND bt [3] FRANCE 3-0

  Peter Barker bt Thierry Lincou 8-10, 9-7, 9-1, 10-8 (90m)

  James Willstrop bt Gregory Gaultier 9-7, 2-9, 7-9, 9-1, 9-3 (101m)

  Adrian Grant bt Julien Balbo 9-1, 9-2, 9-6 (65m)

  Lee Beachill v Renan Lavigne (dead rubber - match not played)

    3rd place play-off:

[2] NETHERLANDS bt [5] GERMANY 3-1

  Laurens Jan Anjema bt Simon Rosner 9-1, 9-6, 9-4

  Piedro Schweertman lost to Patrick Gaessler 5-9, 9-2, 3-9, 9-8, 5-9

  Dylan Bennett bt Tim Weber 9-4, 9-5, 7-9, 9-1

  Tom Hoevenaars bt Stefan Leifels 9-1, 9-1, 9-1

    5th place play-off:

[4] WALES bt [10] SWITZERLAND 4-0

  Alex Gough bt John Williams 10-9, 9-3 ret.

  Lewys Hurst bt Benjamin Fischer 9-1, 9-5, 10-8

  David Evans bt Marco Datwyler 9-3, 9-2

  Rob Sutherland bt Marcel Straub 9-1, 9-5

    7th place play-off:

[8] SCOTLAND bt [11] SPAIN 3-1

  Alan Clyne lost to Borja Golan 5-9, 1-9, 1-9

  Jamie MacAulay bt Victor Montserrat 9-1, 7-9, 9-2, 9-1

  Stuart Crawford bt Alejandro Garbi Caro 9-1, 9-4, 9-5

  Chris Small bt Eduardo Gonzalez 10-8, 9-0, 9-0

    9th place play-off:

[6] IRELAND bt [12] FINLAND 2-2 (Ireland win 8-6 on games countback)

  Liam Kenny lost to Olli Tuominen 9-7, 7-9, 1-9 ret.

  Steve Richardson lost to Heikki Kononen 5-9, 9-5, 7-9, 7-9

  Derek Ryan bt Matias Tuomi 9-0, 9-5, 9-6

  Arthur Gaskin bt Erno Teitti 6-9, 9-6, 9-5, 9-0

    11th place play-off:

[9] DENMARK bt [7] SWEDEN 4-0

  Morten W Sorensen bt Badr Abdel Aziz 9-7, 9-4, 9-0

  Kim Poulsen bt Carl-Johan Lofvenborg 5-9, 9-7, 9-5, 9-2

  Rasmus Nielsen bt Christian Drakenberg 9-3, 9-4, 9-0

  Kristian Frost Olesen bt Rasmus Hult 9-3, 9-0, 9-0

    13th place play-off:

[13] ITALY bt [16] BELGIUM 4-0

  Jose Facchini bt Wim van Asten 9-0, 9-0, 9-0

  Andrea Torricini bt Sam van Brusselen 9-2, 9-6, 9-1

  Andrea Capella bt Gregory Lecerf 9-1, 9-5

  Simone Rocca bt Mats Raemen 9-3, 9-3

    15th place play-off:

[14] AUSTRIA bt [15] HUNGARY 2-2 (Austria win 8-7 on games countback)

  Aqeel Rehman lost to Mark Krajcsak 5-9, 5-9, 0-9

  Christian Coufal lost to Daniel Varga 9-3, 9-1, 8-10, 4-9, 1-9

  Jakob Dirnberger bt Marton Szaboky 9-2, 9-2, 9-4

  Stefan Brauneis bt David Reiser 9-6, 9-1, 8-10, 9-7

    17th place play-off:

[18] CZECH REPUBLIC bt LUXEMBOURG 3-1

  Pavel Sladecek bt Nathan Sneyd 9-4, 9-2, 9-0

  Ondrej Ertl bt Vincent Pauli 9-2, 9-3, 9-0

  Lukas Jelinek lost to Daniel Hutchines 9-5, 6-9, 1-9

  Jaroslav Cech bt Daniel Kaiser 9-0, 9-3

    19th place play-off:

[17] ISRAEL bt [19] SLOVAKIA 3-1

  Nadav Wilensky bt Marek Manik 9-4, 9-3, 9-3

  Nir Zisman bt Marek Zvoncek 9-2, 6-9, 3-9, 9-5, 9-0

  Nir Arkin bt Peter Kviecinsky 9-5, 9-6, 9-6

  Ari Gitelband lost to Tomas Toth 5-9, 3-9

    21st place play-off:

PORTUGAL bt SLOVENIA 3-1

  Andre Lima lost to Klemen Gutman 2-9, 2-9, 3-9

  Ivo Mendes bt Rozie Langus 1-9, 9-1, 9-6, 9-7

  Joao Caiano bt Miha Kavas 10-8, 9-2, 9-1

  Matthew Theodoris bt Martin Mosnik 9-0, 9-5

    23rd place play-off:

SERBIA bt [20] UKRAINE 2-2 (Serbia win 7-6 on games countback)

  Dennis Drenjovski bt Roman Dolynych 9-7, 10-8, 9-1

 Vukasin Petrovic bt Rusian Sorochynskvi 10-8, 10-8, 9-4

  Ivan Djordjevic lost to Dmytro Shcherbakov 1-9, 1-9, 1-9

  Bratislav Zivadinovic lost to Oleksiy Davydenko 8-10, 9-7, 9-10, 6-9

    25th place play-off:

[21] LATVIA bt [23] RUSSIA 3-1

  Alexander Pavulans bt Alexei Severinov 8-10, 9-5, 9-3, 9-6

  Margers Zeitmanis lost to Pavel Sergeev 9-2, 5-9, 9-5, 7-9, 9-10

  Arnis Tihvinskis bt Roman Fetisov 9-1, 9-4, 9-7

  Kaspars Purgailis bt Viacheslav Perfiliev 9-2, 9-2, 9-3

    27th place play-off:

[22] GIBRALTAR bt [24] ISLE OF MAN 2-2 (Gibraltar win 7-6 on games countback)

  Anthony Brindle lost to David Norman 6-9, 9-10, 1-9

  Christian Navas lost to Richard Corlett 9-3, 4-9, 4-9, 7-9

  Stephen Shacaluga bt Kevin Watterson 9-5, 9-2, 9-1

  Nicholas de Haro bt Lyndon Cheetham 9-1, 9-4, 9-3

Women's Final:

[1] ENGLAND bt [2] NETHERLANDS 3-0

  Alison Waters bt Karen Kronemeyer 9-0, 9-5, 9-0 (24m)

  Vicky Botwright bt Vanessa Atkinson 9-1, 10-8, 9-3 (36m)

  Jenny Duncalf bt Annelize Naude 9-4, 9-1 (17m)

    3rd place play-off:

[7] FRANCE bt [5] IRELAND 2-1

  Maud Duplomb lost to Laura Mylotte 7-9, 10-8, 3-9, 2-9

  Isabelle Stoehr bt Madeline Perry 9-4, 9-2, 0-9, 3-9, 10-8

  Camille Serme bt Aisling Blake 9-2, 9-7, 9-4

    5th place play-off:

[4] GERMANY bt [3] DENMARK 2-1

  Katharina Witt bt Marie-Louise Feddern 9-5, 9-4, 9-5

  Kathrin Rohrmueller bt Line Hansen 9-5, 10-8, 2-9, 3-9, 9-7

  Sina Wall lost to Ellen Petersen 4-9, 3-9

    7th place play-off:

[9] WALES bt [11] BELGIUM 2-0

  Stacey Preece bt Ankie Nedee 7-9, 9-3, 9-3, 9-5

  Deon Saffery bt Charlie de Rycke 9-6, 9-3, 9-1

  Natalie Pritchard v Annabel Romedenne (dead rubber - match not played)

     9th - 11th place play-offs:

[8] SPAIN bt [6] SWITZERLAND 2-1

  Xisela Aranda Nunez bt Gabriela Hegi 9-6, 9-5, 9-0

  Elisabet Sado Garriga bt Olivia Hauser 9-1, 9-7, 9-3

  Stela Carbonell lost to Gaby Schmohl 3-9, 1-9, 0-9

[10] ITALY bt [8] SPAIN 2-1

  Veronica Favero Camp lost to Alicia Alvarez Riaza 1-9, 6-9, 1-9

  Manuela Manetta bt Elisabet Sado Garriga 9-7, 9-6, 9-2

  Sonia Pasteris bt Xisela Aranda Nunez 7-9, 9-7, 9-2, 9-2

     Final positions: 9: Italy; 10: Spain; 11: Switzerland

   12th place play-off:

[15] SCOTLAND bt [13] AUSTRIA 2-0

  Lisa Aitken bt Theresa Gradnitzer 9-3, 9-0, 9-1

  Frania Gillen-Buchert bt Birgit Coufal 3-9, 10-9, 9-3, 10-9

  Claire Kidd v Pamela Pancis (dead rubber - match not played)

    14th place play-off:

[12] CZECH REPUBLIC bt [14] FINLAND 3-0

  Hana Vagnerova bt Pia Ojata 4-9, 9-2, 6-9, 9-3, 9-1

  Lucie Fialova bt Lotta Vuorela 10-8, 9-3, 9-6

  Olga Ertlova bt Saara Valtola 5-9, 9-5, 9-0

    16th place play-off:

SWEDEN bt [16] RUSSIA 3-0

  Lovisa Forstadius bt Olga Petrukhina 9-3, 9-0, 9-0

  Anna-Carin Forstadius bt Irina Assal 9-6, 9-3, 9-0

  Anna Detter bt Ekatarina Glinchikova 9-3, 9-4

    18th place play-off:

GREECE bt UKRAINE 3-0

  Nikol Pozidou bt Anastasiya Netrebchuk 9-0, 9-2, 9-1

  Zeta Tzamalouka bt Nina Taraschkevych 9-1, 9-1, 9-0

  Eliza Kargioti bt Anastasia Spivak 9-2, 9-1

02-May, Day Three:

Champions England Cruise Into
European Championship Finals

Top seeds and defending champions England cruised into both the men's and women's finals of the European Team Squash Championships after comfortable semi-finals wins today (Friday) at Frans Otten Stadion in Amsterdam.

The men's squad, led by the new world No3 James Willstrop, defeated surprise opponents Germany - the fifth seeds making their first appearance in the semi-finals for 12 years - and will now face long-time championship rivals France in Sunday's final.

France, seeded three after losing to Netherlands at the same stage last year, avenged their defeat by beating the hosts 4/0.

Much to the delight of the local crowd, Netherlands battled to a 3/0 win over Ireland in the women's semi-finals to claim a place in the final for the sixth year in a row.  And, for the sixth year in a row, the second seeds will face favourites England - and will be looking for their maiden win over the period!

England extended their remarkable record of reaching the final each year since the inaugural women's competition in 1978 - also in the Netherlands - by beating France 3/0.

After a significant upset over fourth seeds Wales to claim their surprise appearance in the men's semis, Germany met their match in England.   But German number one Simon Rosner, ranked 60 in the world, took the opening game against James Willstrop. 

However, the England number one quickly regained the upper hand and beat the former European Junior champion 3-9, 9-1, 9-3, 9-5.  Team-mates Adrian Grant, Lee Beachill and Joey Barrington went on to record straight games wins to set up England's eighth final meeting in the past nine years with France.

France, led by Gregory Gaultier - the world number two and highest-ranked player in the event - were looking to make amends for their absence from the final in 2007, and gain revenge over Netherlands. 

But, in the opening match of the tie on the three-sided-glass showcourt at the impressive 21-court centre, Dutch number one Laurens Jan Anjema took the opening game, spurred on by the packed partisan crowd. 

When the Frenchman fought back to take the next two games, it seemed that the end was nigh for the local hero.  But, despite being ranked 15 places lower in the world, Anjema battled back to force the match into a fifth game - and in the decider again saved numerous match-balls from 8-1 down before Gaultier finally established the 4-9, 9-3, 9-3, 7-9, 9-5 victory after 87 minutes which put the French team ahead.

France maintained the pressure on the hosts as Renan Lavigne, Thierry Lincou and Julien Balbo beat Tom Hoevenaars, Dylan Bennett and Lucas Buit, respectively, to record their 4/0 tie win.

"We were really disappointed to lose at the same stage last year," said French national coach Andre Delhoste, whose team has never before won the title.  "But the good thing is that we're not favourites tomorrow - and also the draw is to our advantage for the first time, which could be very significant."

The playing order for the final - all matches of which will be played on the centrecourt - will be 2-1-4-3. 

"So if our two top players (Gaultier and Lincou, ranked 2 and 5, respectively, in the world) win 3/0 or 3/1, we have a chance - and the pressure will be on England for the first time to fight back," explained Delhoste.  "If we do it, it will be a fantastic achievement."

All eyes in the women's semi-final between hosts Netherlands and surprise opponents Ireland were on the top string match featuring former world champion Vanessa Atkinson, the ten-time Dutch champion, and Madeline Perry, the nine times Irish champion. 

Atkinson took the first game and led in the second - but Perry fought back to nine-all, poised to level the match.  However Atkinson clinched the game and went on to take the match 9-2, 10-9, 9-3 to ensure the team's place in the final.

England were in commanding form in the other semi, as Laura Lengthorn-Massaro and Vicky Botwright secured straight games wins over their French opponents and Alison Waters recovered from a game down against Camille Serme to beat the record three-time European Junior champion 7-9, 9-0, 9-2, 9-4.

Men's semi-finals:

[1] ENGLAND bt [5] GERMANY 4-0

  James Willstrop bt Simon Rosner 3-9, 9-1, 9-3, 9-5 (48m)

  Adrian Grant bt Patrick Gaessler 9-0, 9-2, 9-0 (32m)

  Lee Beachill bt Tim Weber 9-0, 9-0, 9-1(20m)

  Joey Barrington bt Moritz Dahmen 9-0, 9-3, 9-3 (29m)

[3] FRANCE bt [2] NETHERLANDS 4-0

  Gregory Gaultier bt Laurens Jan Anjema 4-9, 9-3, 9-3, 7-9, 9-5 (87m)

  Renan Lavigne bt Tom Hoevenaars 9-1, 9-1, 9-4 (40m)

  Thierry Lincou bt Dylan Bennett 4-9, 9-0, 9-0 (38m)

  Julien Balbo bt Lucas Buit 9-7, 9-1(27m)

    5th - 8th place play-offs:

[4] WALES bt [8] SCOTLAND 3-1

  Alex Gough bt Alan Clyne 9-3, 5-9, 8-10, 9-1, 9-7

  Jethro Binns lost to Chris Small 9-4, 9-5, 7-9, 4-9, 6-9

  David Evans bt Stuart Crawford 9-4, 9-2, 9-1

  Rob Sutherland bt Jamie MacAulay 9-1, 9-0, 9-3

[10] SWITZERLAND bt [11] SPAIN 3-1

  Nicolas Mueller lost to Borja Golan 2-9, 2-9, 0-9

  Andre Holderegger bt David Vidal 9-4, 9-1, 6-9, 0-9, 9-7

  John Williams bt Alejandro Garbi Caro 9-2, 9-0, 9-5

  Marco Datwyler bt Eduardo Gonzalez 3-9, 9-3, 4-9, 10-8, 9-1

    9th - 12th place play-offs:

[6] IRELAND bt [7] SWEDEN 3-1

  Liam Kenny bt Badr Abdel Aziz 9-1, 9-5, 0-9, 10-8

  Arthur Gaskin bt Rasmus Hult 7-9, 7-9, 9-1, 9-2, 10-9

  Derek Ryan lost to Christian Drakenberg 7-9, 9-6, 2-9

  Niall Rooney bt Carl-Johan Lofvenborg 3-9, 9-5, 9-6, 9-1

[12] FINLAND bt [9] DENMARK 3-1

  Olli Tuominen bt Morten W Sorensen 9-4, 9-0, 9-5

  Henrik Mustonen bt Kristian Frost Olesen 9-0, 9-5, 9-4

  Matias Tuomi bt Kasper Gross Jeppesen 1-9, 9-5, 9-4

  Hameed Ahmed lost to Kim Poulsen 3-9, 6-9, 6-9

    13th - 16th place play-offs:

[13] ITALY bt [15] HUNGARY 3-1

  Jose Facchini lost to Mark Krajcsak 2-9, 9-6, 3-9, 9-4, 8-10

  Andrea Torricini bt Daniel Varga 9-6, 9-0, 9-2

  Andrea Capella bt David Reiser 9-4, 9-1, 9-3

  Mirko Pareccini bt Daniel Cseffalvay 9-1, 9-0

[16] BELGIUM bt [14] AUSTRIA 3-1

  Wim van Asten lost to Aqeel Rehman 6-9, 1-9, 0-9

  Sam van Brusselen bt Stefan Brauneis 10-8, 10-9, 9-1

  Gregory Lecerf bt Jakob Dirnberger 4-9, 9-2, 9-3

  Bart Verhoeven bt Klaus Pfeifer 9-1, 9-3, 9-5

    17th - 20th place play-offs:

LUXEMBOURG bt [17] ISRAEL 2-2 (Luxembourg win 108-95 on points countback)

  Nathan Sneyd bt Nadav Wilensky 9-2, 9-1, 9-3

  Stephane Ayache lost to Ari Gitelband 6-9, 0-9, 5-9

  Sanjay Raval lost to Nir Arkin 3-9, 9-5, 6-9, 9-1, 5-9

  Daniel Hutchines bt Nir Zisman 6-9, 10-9, 9-0, 4-9, 9-2

[18] CZECH REPUBLIC bt [19] SLOVAKIA 4-0

  Pavel Sladecek bt Marek Manik 9-0, 9-4, 9-3

  Jaroslav Cech bt Tomas Toth 9-0, 9-5, 9-2

  Lukas Jelinek bt Peter Kviecinsky 9-4, 9-6, 0-9, 9-2

  Ondrej Ertl bt Marek Zvoncek 0-9, 7-9, 9-4, 9-0, 9-0

    21st - 24th place play-offs:

PORTUGAL bt [20] UKRAINE 3-1

  Andre Lima bt Roman Dolynych 3-9, 10-8, 10-9, 9-5

  Matthew Theodoris bt Artem Shandybin 9-3, 9-2, 9-0

  Joao Caiano lost to Dmytro Shcherbakov 9-1, 4-9, 3-9, 7-9

  Ivo Mendes bt Kostyantyn Rybalchenko 9-6, 9-5

SLOVENIA bt SERBIA 4-0

  Klemen Gutman bt Dennis Drenjovski 9-3, 8-9, 9-4, 9-7

  Martin Mosnik bt Bratislav Zivadinovic 9-5, 9-0, 9-0

  Miha Kavas bt Ivan Djordjevic 10-9, 6-9, 9-5

  Rozie Langus bt Vladislav Farkas 9-1, 9-2

     25th - 28th place play-offs:

[23] RUSSIA bt [22] GIBRALTAR 3-1

  Alexei Severinov bt Anthony Brindle 9-3, 9-7, 9-2

  Pavel Sergeev bt Carl Gomez 9-7, 9-6, 9-2

  Roman Fetisov bt Stephen Shacaluga 9-1, 4-9, 9-3

  Sergey Kostrykin lost to Christian Navas 9-10, 10-8, 3-9

[21] LATVIA bt [24] ISLE OF MAN 4-0

  Alexander Pavulans bt David Norman 9-3, 9-7, 4-9, 9-2

  Kaspars Purgailis bt Lyndon Cheetham 9-5, 9-1, 9-2

  Arnis Tihvinskis bt Kevin Watterson 9-5, 9-0

  Gunars Prizevoits bt Richard Corlett 10-8, 10-8

   5th - 12th place play-offs:

[4] WALES bt [6] IRELAND 3-1

  Alex Gough bt Liam Kenny 9-3, 9-2, 9-5

  Jethro Binns lost to Arthur Gaskin 9-6, 7-9, 9-4, 5-9, 5-9

  David Evans bt Derek Ryan 9-8, 9-1

  Rob Sutherland bt Steve Richardson 9-5, 9-7, 9-3

[8] SCOTLAND bt [7] SWEDEN 3-1

  Alan Clyne bt Badr Abdel Aziz 9-2, 9-7, 9-2

  Chris Small bt Rasmus Hult 9-1, 9-0, 9-1

  Stuart Crawford bt Christian Drakenberg 9-5, 4-9, 9-0

  Jamie MacAulay lost to Anders Thoren 6-9, 9-7, 1-9

[10] SWITZERLAND bt [9] DENMARK 3-1

  Nicolas Mueller bt Morten W Sorensen 4-9, 9-4, 9-0, 9-4

  Andre Holderegger lost to Kasper Gross Jeppesen 9-7, 2-9, 9-6, 0-9, 4-9

  John Williams bt Rasmus Nielsen 9-2, 9-0, 9-2

  Marco Datwyler bt Kristian Frost Olesen 10-8, 5-9, 9-2, 9-3

[11] SPAIN bt [12] FINLAND 2-2 (Spain win 9-7 on games countback)

  Borja Golan lost to Olli Tuominen 9-6, 9-5, 8-10, 3-9, 0-9

  David Vidal bt Erno Teitti 9-3, 9-4, 2-9, 9-6

  Alejandro Garbi Caro lost to Henrik Mustonen 6-9, 9-4, 6-9, 0-9

  Victor Montserrat bt Heikki Kononen 9-0, 9-3, 9-3

    13th - 20th place play-offs:

[13] ITALY bt [17] ISRAEL 4-0

  Jose Facchini bt Nadav Wilensky 9-2, 9-8, 9-1

  Andrea Torricini bt Ari Gitelband 9-2, 9-0, 9-0

  Andrea Capella bt Nir Arkin 9-2, 9-6

  Mirko Pareccini bt Nir Zisman 9-5, 9-0

[15] HUNGARY bt LUXEMBOURG 3-1

  Mark Krajcsak bt Nathan Sneyd 9-0, 9-2, 9-2

  David Reiser bt Daniel Kaiser 9-4, 9-4, 9-1

  Marton Szaboky lost to Sanjay Raval 9-10, 9-2, 7-9

  Daniel Varga bt Vincent Pauli 9-1, 9-0

[16] BELGIUM bt [18] CZECH REPUBLIC 3-1

  Wim van Asten lost to Pavel Sladecek 2-9, 9-10, 0-9

  Mats Raemen bt Jaroslav Cech 1-9, 9-7, 9-3, 9-4

  Gregory Lecerf bt Lukas Jelinek 0-9, 1-9, 9-4, 9-3, 9-2

  Sam van Brusselen bt Ondrej Ertl 9-5, 9-3, 9-7

[14] AUSTRIA bt [19] SLOVAKIA 3-1

  Aqeel Rehman bt Marek Manik 9-3, 9-0, 9-0

  Stefan Brauneis lost to Tomas Toth 4-9, 7-9, 3-9

  Jakob Dirnberger bt Peter Kviecinsky 9-3, 9-6, 9-0

  Klaus Pfeifer bt Marek Zvoncek 9-6, 9-0, 9-6

    21st - 28th place play-offs:

[20] UKRAINE bt [22] GIBRALTAR 3-1

  Roman Dolynych lost to Anthony Brindle 4-9, 8-10, 0-9

  Artem Shandybin bt Carl Gomez 9-4, 9-1, 9-5

  Dmytro Shcherbakov bt Stephen Shacaluga 9-0, 9-7, 9-0

  Kostyantyn Rybalchenko bt Nicholas de Haro 9-0, 9-3

PORTUGAL bt [23] RUSSIA 3-1

  Andre Lima lost to Alexei Severinov 9-3, 1-9, 8-10, 8-10

  Matthew Theodoris bt Viacheslav Perfiliev 9-3, 9-1, 9-0

  Joao Caiano bt Roman Fetisov 9-3, 9-7, 9-4

  Ivo Mendes bt Pavel Sergeev 9-3, 9-1, 9-4

SERBIA bt [24] ISLE OF MAN 3-0

  Dennis Drenjovski v David Norman 8-10, 9-6, 9-0, 2-9 (unfinished)

  Bratislav Zivadinovic bt David Hedley 9-2, 9-1, 9-1

  Ivan Djordjevic bt Kevin Watterson 9-2, 9-1, 9-2

  Vukasin Petrovic bt Francis Thoday 10-8, 9-7

SLOVENIA bt [21] LATVIA 4-0

  Klemen Gutman bt Alexander Pavulans 9-6, 9-5, 9-7

  Martin Mosnik bt Gunars Prizevoits 9-2, 9-5, 9-0

  Miha Kavas bt Arnis Tihvinskis 9-2, 9-4

  Rozie Langus bt Margers Zeitmanis 9-0, 9-1

Women's semi-finals:

[1] ENGLAND bt [7] FRANCE 3-0

  Laura Lengthorn-Massaro bt Coline Aumard 9-0, 9-0, 9-4

  Vicky Botwright bt Isabelle Stoehr 9-3, 9-7, 9-6

  Alison Waters bt Camille Serme 7-9, 9-0, 9-2, 9-4

[2] NETHERLANDS bt [5] IRELAND 3-0

  Karen Kronemeyer bt Laura Mylotte 9-0, 9-2, 9-4

  Vanessa Atkinson bt Madeline Perry 9-2, 10-9, 9-3

  Annelize Naude bt Aisling Blake 2-9, 9-5, 9-5

    5th - 8th place play-offs:

[4] GERMANY bt [11] BELGIUM 2-1

  Katharina Witt bt Annabel Romedenne 3-9, 10-9, 6-9, 9-3, 9-2

  Kathrin Rohrmueller bt Kim Hannes-Teunen 9-2, 9-2 ret.

  Simone Korell lost to Charlie de Rycke 2-9, 4-9

[3] DENMARK bt [9] WALES 3-0

  Marie-Louise Feddern bt Gemma Davies 9-3, 10-9, 9-4

  Line Hansen bt Deon Saffery 10-8, 3-9, 9-0, 9-1

  Ellen Petersen bt Stacey Preece 9-2, 9-2

     9th - 11th place play-offs:

[6] SWITZERLAND bt [10] ITALY 2-1

  Sara Guebey bt Chiara Ferrari 9-6, 5-9, 9-3, 9-7

  Olivia Hauser lost to Manuela Manetta 2-9, 9-5, 1-9, 1-9

  Gaby Schmohl bt Sonia Pasteris 10-8, 3-9, 7-9, 9-2, 9-7

    12th - 15th place play-offs:

[15] SCOTLAND bt [12] CZECH REPUBLIC 2-1

  Lisa Aitken bt Veronica Koukalova 9-0, 9-0, 9-2

  Frania Gillen-Buchert bt Lucie Fialova 9-7, 7-9, 9-6, 4-9, 9-5

  Claire Kidd lost to Olga Ertlova 1-9, 0-9

[13] AUSTRIA bt [14] FINLAND 2-1

  Sandra Polak lost to Saara Valtola 9-4, 0-9, 2-9, 0-9

  Birgit Coufal bt Elina Kononen 9-3, 9-5, 9-2

  Pamela Pancis bt Lotta Vuorela 9-3, 10-8, 6-9, 7-9, 9-7

     16th - 19th place play-offs:

[16] RUSSIA bt UKRAINE 3-0

  Alina Tuzlukova bt Natalia Spivak 9-0, 9-0, 9-0

  Ekatarina Glinchikova bt Nina Taraschkevych 9-0, 9-0, 9-0

  Olga Petrukhina bt Anastasia Spivak 10-9, 9-1

SWEDEN bt GREECE 3-0

  Josefa Bertilsson bt Nikol Pozidou 9-1, 9-1, 9-0

  Anna-Carin Forstadius bt Zeta Tzamalouka 9-2, 9-0, 9-1

  Anna Detter bt Eliza Kargioti 9-2, 9-0

   5th - 11th place play-offs:

[4] GERMANY bt [10] ITALY 2-1

  Katharina Witt bt Veronica Favero Camp 9-1, 9-5, 9-1

  Kathrin Rohrmueller lost to Manuela Manetta 6-9, 5-9, 2-9

  Sina Wall bt Sonia Pasteris 9-7, 9-2, 1-9, 8-10, 9-5

[11] BELGIUM bt [6] SWITZERLAND 3-0

  Annabel Romedenne bt Gabriela Hegi 9-7, 10-8, 9-2

  Kim Hannes-Teunen bt Olivia Hauser 9-1, 9-7, 3-9, 6-9, 10-9

  Charlie de Rycke bt Gaby Schmohl 9-6, 9-2

[9] WALES bt [8] SPAIN 2-1

  Stacey Preece lost to Xisela Aranda Nunez 5-9, 9-10, 5-9

  Deon Saffery bt Elisabet Sado Garriga 10-8, 9-3, 9-1

  Natalie Pritchard bt Stela Carbonell 9-4, 5-9, 10-8, 8-10, 9-4

[3] DENMARK bye

    12th - 19th place play-offs:

[12] CZECH REPUBLIC bt UKRAINE 3-0

  Veronica Koukalova bt Anastasiya Netrebchuk 9-0, 9-0, 9-0

  Lucie Fialova bt Nina Taraschkevych 9-0, 9-0, 9-0

  Olga Ertlova bt Anastasia Spivak 9-1, 9-0, 9-0

[15] SCOTLAND bt [16] RUSSIA 3-0

  Lisa Aitken bt Olga Petrukhina 9-0, 9-1, 9-0

  Frania Gillen-Buchert bt Irina Assal 9-4, 9-5, 9-1

  Claire Kidd bt Ekatarina Glinchikova 9-0, 9-5

[14] FINLAND bt SWEDEN 2-1

  Saara Valtola bt Lovisa Forstadius 9-0, 9-2, 9-0

  Elina Kononen lost to Anna-Carin Forstadius 5-9, 8-10, 3-9

  Lotta Vuorela bt Anna Detter 4-9, 9-6, 9-6, 9-5

[13] AUSTRIA bt GREECE 3-0

  Theresa Gradnitzer bt Nikol Pozidou 9-2, 9-2, 9-4

  Birgit Coufal bt Zeta Tzamalouka 9-0, 9-2, 9-1

  Pamela Pancis bt Eliza Kargioti 10-8, 9-1

01-May, Day Two:

Rosner Leads Germany To
European Championship Breakthrough

Former European Junior champion Simon Rosner led Germany through to the semi-finals of the European Team Squash Championships for the first time in 12 years after the fifth seeds forced a draw with fourth seeds Wales in today's (Thursday) final men's qualifying round at Frans Otten Stadion in Amsterdam.

The teams faced the clash having both beaten Italy and Finland in the first day of qualifying in Pool D - but Germany boasted a superior 'matches won' rating and therefore only required a draw against their higher-seeded opponents.

While Rosner, ranked 63 in the world, was battling with Gough - ranked more than 40 places higher - his team-mate Stefan Leifels put the country ahead with a 7-9, 9-4, 9-1, 9-7 win over Welshman Jethro Binns.

Rosner, just 20, built up a 2/0 lead over Gough on the three-sided-glass showcourt at the impressive 21-court centre.  But, belying his 37 years, former world No5 Gough fought back to force the match into a fifth game decider.

Rosner dug deep and, after 97 minutes, celebrated a magnificent 9-5, 10-8, 6-9, 2-9, 9-2 victory - which not only avenged his straight games loss to Gough in the same championships 12 months ago, but also brought cheers of jubilation from his team-mates!

"That's a big win for me," said Rosner. "I've played Alex twice before and only taken one game off him, so to beat a player of his stature and experience in this event is just great.

"In the third he was just better than me - I made a couple of mistakes in the middle of the game and that gave him the impetus to win it.  When he went 6-1 up in the fourth, I let it go to concentrate on the fifth.

"I'm happy to win for myself, but more for the team - to give us a chance to make the semi-finals for the first time in a long time."

Gough, a veteran of numerous European Championships, was hugely disappointed with the outcome:  "I was half asleep in the first two games and was really negative.  But I thought I'd got him after the fourth - he seemed really tired.

"But all credit to him for coming back in the fifth."

Hosts Netherlands - seeded two in both the men's and women's championships - continued their winning ways after a sound start on day one.  The Dutch men crushed seventh seeds Sweden 4/0 - though third and fourth strings Dylan Bennett and Rene Mijs both had to come back from behind to beat experienced Swedes Christian Drakenberg and Anders Thoren, respectively, in five games to ensure their country's third successive 4/0 win in Pool B.

The day marked a notable milestone for Dutch National Coach Sjef van der Heijden who celebrated his 400^th appearance for the hosts since taking up his role in September 1994. 

"The whole team wanted to make sure it was another 4/0 win today - especially for Sjef," said team manager Peter Berden.  "It was another great performance from the team and we're now looking forward to tomorrow's semi-finals."

Vanessa Atkinson led the Dutch women's team through to the semi-finals for the sixth year in a row.  The former world champion beat Line Hansen 9-6, 9-6, 9-4 to ensure a 3/0 win over Denmark, the third seeds.