Razik Raises Local Hopes In Nova Scotia

Shahier Razik raised hopes of local success in the Bluenose Classic when the unseeded 32-year-old from Toronto upset eighth seed Renan Lavigne in the first round of the $40,000 PSA Tour squash event in its fifth year at St Mary's University Tower in Halifax in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.

Razik, the 2007 champion, rallied from 2-6 down in the first game to beat Frenchman Lavigne, ranked 35 in the world, 11-8, 11-7, 11-1 in 42 minutes.

"It's only the first round so I'm not getting too excited about it," said Razik, currently ranked higher than Lavigne at 31. "It was good. I was moving well and hitting pretty good length. I feel good and I'm pumped up for the rest of the tournament.

"We usually have longer matches," said Razik. "He's a very tough opponent and we know each other's game really well."

The Canadian now faces Peter Barker, the top-seeded Englishman who needed 68 minutes to overcome Czech qualifier Jan Koukal 11-8, 11-6, 9-11, 11-4.

Second seed David Palmer took only 39 minutes to defeat Malaysian qualifier Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan 11-9, 11-6, 11-9. The defending champion from Australia will now meet another Malaysian, sixth seed Ong Beng Hee, for a place in the semi-finals.

1st round:
[1] Peter Barker (ENG) bt [Q] Jan Koukal (CZE) 11-8, 11-6, 9-11, 11-4 (68m)
Shahier Razik (CAN) bt [8] Renan Lavigne (FRA) 11-8, 11-7, 11-1 (42m)
[4] Daryl Selby (ENG) bt [Q] Martin Knight (NZL) 11-4, 11-6, 11-8 (46m)
Aaron Frankcomb (AUS) bt [7] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) 11-7, 5-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-7 (98m)
[5] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [Q] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 11-7, 11-9, 11-5 (52m)
[3] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt Chris Ryder (ENG) 11-6, 11-8, 13-11 (40m)
[6] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt David Phillips (CAN) 11-4, 14-12, 11-4 (36m)
[2] David Palmer (AUS) bt [Q] Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) 11-9, 11-6, 11-9 (39m)