Reta Rallies To Foil German Upset In World Games

In a dramatic first round match on the opening day of the World Games squash event in Mülheim an der Ruhr in Germany, Canada's eighth seed Runa Reta saved six match balls to foil a major upset by German champion Karin Beriere.

Unseeded Beriere, ranked more than 80 places below her opponent in the world, took the first and third games, then reached match ball at 8-5 in the fourth. Reta refused to give up and, after one of the longest rallies in the match, won back the serve to keep her hopes alive.

After forcing the score up to 8-8, the Canadian again lost the serve and local favourite Beriere clinched the next point to earn match ball for the fifth time. But Reta, the 24-year-old world No33 from Ottawa, maintained her focus to take the game - and then the match 3-9 9-7 6-9 10-9 9-1 after 80 minutes!

"I am not too unhappy," conceded Beriere afterwards. "I'm sad that I didn't take my chances, but I think I played well, which is the important thing.

"But playing in the World Games comes at the top of my career - it's my Olympic Games! I feel very proud to have been able to take part in this big event in my home country," added the 30-year-old from Munich.

Runa Reta drew encouragement in the later stages of the fourth game from last year's Canadian Nationals' final against Alana Miller in Toronto. "There were even more match balls in the fourth game of that match, which I eventually lost - but Alana told me later that if she'd lost that game, she certainly wouldn't have won the match.

"And I was thinking of that tonight, hoping that if I did win it, Karin simply wouldn't have enough left in her to finish it off. Whilst I was completely drained at the end of that game, by the time I was in the fifth, I felt I could have gone on for another five!" claimed Reta.

The hosts had much to celebrate later on when unseeded Hansi Seestaller, a late addition to the field after the last-minute withdrawal of Pakistan's Shahid Zaman, claimed the only German place in the quarter-finals when he beat Austria's Andreas Fuchs 9-3 9-4 9-4 in 35 minutes.

"It feels so good to be in the next round," said the beaming 22-year-old from Rosenheim afterwards. "As I didn't know I was playing in this event until less than a week ago, I didn't have the chance to prepare properly - this is really in the middle of my summer break," explained Seestaller.

The local favourite's win reversed the result of his last meeting with the Austrian: "But I knew I could do it. I felt good during the match whereas Andreas seemed nervous - perhaps the pressure was on him. When it's important, as today's match was, I usually play well," said Seestaller.

"But I'm really looking forward to my game against Thierry Lincou tomorrow - it will be a real pleasure to have the chance to play the world's number one squash player."

Frenchman Lincou, the top seed who has held the world number one ranking throughout this year, defeated Stefan Leifels, the German No1, 9-3 9-2 9-2 in 36 minutes.

"That was a good match to get the tournament started for me," said the 29-year-old from Marseille. "It was very hot out there, but that suits my game. And I really love this all-glass court - it's the same one that I won the Super Series Finals title on last year in London, so I guess it's one of my favourite courts."

Mexico's Samantha Teran, playing in her first ever 'world title' event, put up a brave fight against Britain's third seed Linda Elriani. But after Teran opened up a two-point lead in the first game, the experienced world No6 from Eastbourne took control and ultimately claimed a 9-2 9-2 9-4 victory in 30 minutes.

"I've not had much rest this year as the tournament schedule has been so busy, so I was glad to get that match behind me - especially as you have to be really precise on that court, with it being so hot," said the British champion.

"I feel really proud to be representing Great Britain for the first time - it's such a special feeling being part of a much bigger team of athletes, but it's sad that our venue is some way from most of the other action, so we're unlikely to get the chance to follow our compatriots' successes.

"I was really impressed with the way Samantha played - she's really improved since the last time I played her. I like her attitude - she's really feisty, she digs in and doesn't give up. It's really great seeing players from new countries like Mexico coming through - hopefully she'll be able to encourage other players in her part of the world to join the WISPA circuit," added Elriani.

Teran, the Pan American champion who is making a comeback after a serious knee injury which ruled her out for a year, was playing for only the third time in her life on an all-glass court. "It's so exciting to play in an event like this, and I was happy with the way I played - I wasn't nervous," said the 24-year-old from Mexico City.

"But I need to play more players like Linda - she is only the fourth world top ten player I have ever played. I don't get the chance to play women of my standard in Mexico - only men, and that's not quite the same. I want to come to Europe to get the chance to play league squash," explained Teran.

Fellow Mexican Eric Galvez also suffered the same first round fate, beaten 9-2 9-3 9-2 in 40 minutes by Egypt's fifth seed Karim Darwish.

"Eric is one of the fittest players on the Tour," said Darwish, the world No11 from Cairo, who recently announced his engagement to fellow Egyptian squash player Engy Kheirallah. "I've just had a long break from the game, so I was pleased with my first serious match for a few months.

"It would be good to keep the title for Egypt after Ahmed Barada won it eight years ago in Finland," added Darwish.

Galvez commented: "It's been a fantastic experience, playing in the World Games. It's great to play alongside so many of the world's top players - and I am determined to do this more in the future," explained the world No54. "I am now going to enter as many of the top tournaments as I can - something I've never done before."

Former world number one Peter Nicol cruised to a 9-1 9-1 9-3 win over Canada's Matthew Giuffre to set up a quarter-final clash with Darwish.

"I've lost a lot of weight over the past months or so, and am feeling really trim and lean," said Nicol, the second seed. "It's what I've been concentrating on over the summer break and I really feel in good shape."

3,500 athletes from 100 nations are taking part in the IOC-backed World Games, competing at 27 venues in 40 sports. The squash finals will take place on Tuesday 19 July.

Men's 1st round:
[1] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt Stefan Leifels (GER) 9-3, 9-2, 9-2 (36m)
Hansi Seestaller (GER) bt Andreas Fuchs (AUT) 9-3, 9-4, 9-4 (35m)
[6] Joseph Kneipp (AUS) bt Christian Drakenberg (SWE) 9-10, 9-1, 9-1, 9-0 (41m)
[4] Nick Matthew (GBR) bt Mark Krajcsak (HUN) 7-9, 9-7, 9-0, 9-4 (48m)
[3] James Willstrop (GBR) bt Patrick Gaessler (GER) 9-3, 9-4, 9-6 (44m)
[7] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt Rodney Durbach (RSA) 6-9, 9-4, 9-4, 9-3 (70m)
[5] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt Eric Galvez (MEX) 9-2, 9-3, 9-2 (40m)
[2] Peter Nicol (GBR) bt Matthew Giuffre (CAN) 9-1, 9-1, 9-3 (31m)

Women's 1st round:
[1] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt Sonia Pasteris (ITA) 9-1, 9-1, 9-2 (25m)
[5] Jenny Tranfield (GBR) bt Pamela Pancis (AUT) 9-4, 9-5, 9-7 (38m)
[8] Runa Reta (CAN) bt Karin Beriere (GER) 3-9, 9-7, 6-9, 10-9, 9-1 (80m)
[4] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt Daniela Schumann (GER) 9-1, 9-4, 9-4 (25m)
[3] Linda Elriani (GBR) bt Samantha Teran (MEX) 9-2, 9-2, 9-4 (30m)
[6] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) bt Katharina Witt (GER) 9-0, 9-1, 9-3 (22m)
[7] Latasha Khan (USA) bt Ellen Petersen (DEN) 9-7, 9-4, 9-3 (36m)
[2] Nicol David (MAS) bt Tenille Swartz (RSA) 9-5, 9-3, 9-0 (25m)