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GALLERY from Day ONE

Roundup from Howard Harding

Kerri Shields, Northern Ireland 's sole representative in the qualifying event for the Women's World Open Squash Championship in Belfast , crashed out to England 's Sarah Kippax in today's  first qualifying round at the Belfast Boat Club.

The world's most prestigious squash event - and the biggest ever to be staged in Northern Ireland - is being held in Belfast this week, with action from the last sixteen onwards staged on a state-of-the-art four glass-walled court in the auditorium of the city's world-renowned Ulster Hall.

Shields, runner-up in the Miss Northern Ireland competition in 2001, hails from Banbridge - home of the event's biggest local star, Madeline Perry, the world No7. A civil engineering graduate, she is now based in London.

"It's the first time I've ever played at this level. Sarah made only two errors throughout the game, and I made loads, consistency is obviously a big differencve at this level.

"It was disappointing to lose today, but I now know what I need to do to improve, and I'm planning to play a few more events in the future.

"Now that I have settled into my new job, and discovered that there are so many people to play in London , I have decided to take my squash a bit more seriously.

"It's excellent that the biggest squash event in the world is being staged here in Belfast."

Kippax, 23, from Chester, will meet compatriot Becky Botwright in Tuesday's qualifying finals for a place in the main draw of the $112,500 event, the richest-ever event on the women's tour.

Botwright, the Manchester-based 24-year-old whose older sister Vicky Botwright is the event's fifth seed, needed 51 minutes to overcome Yorkshire's Lauren Siddall 9-7, 4-9, 9-1, 9-2.

Essex's Lauren Briggs defeated Hong Kong 's Elise Ng 9-2, 10-8, 9-2 in 40 minutes to earn a place in the qualifying finals. The 27-year-old from Chingford in east London, who coaches at the RAC Club in London's Pall Mall, will now face Runa Reta, the Canadian who ended the qualifying hopes of England's Jenna Gates in a 9-7, 9-5, 9-6 defeat.

England's Suzie Pierrepont, the eighth highest-ranked player in the qualifying draw, hobbled out of the event after sustaining a recurrence of a heel injury against Margriet Huisman. The Dutch player claimed a 9-6, 4-9, 9-10, 4-5 victory and will now face Guyana 's sole competitor Nicolette Fernandes for a place in the main draw.

South African teenager Tenille Swartz, who won her maiden WISPA World Tour event earlier in the month in Hoofddorp in Holland , made an impressive debut in the World Open by beating Italy 's Manuela Manetta 9-7, 5-9, 9-5, 9-6. The Netherlands-based 19-year-old from Parys will now face the experienced Latasha Khan, the seven-times US national champion from Seattle, in the qualifying finals.
  

Kerri Shields

Kippax & Shields

Pierrepont limps out

Let please ???

Latasha Khan (Usa) bt Kirsty McPhee (Eng)
    9/3, 9/1, 9/2 (28m)

"It was a nice one to start with, happy with the win and pleased to be in the next round.

"I haven't played on a court like that for years, only on glass-backed or glass courts - it played fine, it just felt a little strange.

"The ball seemed to be a bit heavy and dead though, we were both standing back a bit and having to lunge for the ball, so I've kept it to practice with!"

Samantha Teran (Mex) bt
Charlie De Rycke (Bel) 
   9/4, 9/7, 9/2 (36m)

"I started well, but in the second she started to get in front of me and started to hits some good winners.

"I thought "uh-oh, I want to be in the front," so I started running hard and hitting the ball deeper - I knew that game was crucial."

Tenille Swartz (Rsa) bt Manuela Manetta (Ita)       
   9/7, 5/9, 9/5, 9/6 (52m)

"It's my first world open and I'm really happy for the win, it feels really good.

"I played Manuela in Hoofddorp a couple of weeks ago, so I knew what to expect, I went in with a game plan and stuck to it. It was really tough though, we had some very long, hard rallies. She played really well and made me run a lot, I was really really tired at the end.

"I came here not expecting anything, but it would be wonderful to qualify. I'm looking forward to my match tomorrow, I'll give it mybest and see what happens."

Tricia Chuah (Mas) bt
Birgit Coufal (Aut)  
    9/2, 9/0, 9/1 (18m)

"I got offered the wildcard when our number one Pamela was injured, so I jumped at the chance to play in my first World Open.

"She was hitting it really tight, and I was always under pressure and running after the ball, I was opening the court up for her too much."

Tegwen Malik (Wal) bt Line Hansen (Den)             
     10/8, 9/0, 9/6 (30m)

"I feel so bad physically, my movement today was just so bad. I started well,and I felt I was in the rallies, but I just couldn't move. She played well though, she hit some really good winners at the end of the third.

"It's annoying to lose in the first round, especially from 5-0 up in the last game,but I guess that's the way it goes sometimes."

"I thought I played ok, in the second game especially. She may have lost it mentally at the start of that game after getting a conduct warning. It was a much better game than we had last time, anything loose and she was putting it away well.

"She'll be disappointed to lose but I'm relieved to get through. Georgina had a good win today, so I have to make sure I don't take it lightly tomorrow ..."

Georgina Stoker (Eng) bt
Orla noom (Ned) 9/6, 9/0,9/6 (34m)

"Once I got started I played well, I was just so nervous at the start, but after half a game I settled in, and I I quite liked the court.

"She got ahead in the first, and again in the third, but I was determined towin thatone,I didn't want it to go to four.

"It's my first World Open and I'm still in ... I'll have to change my flight now!"

Carolyn Russell (Can) bt
Louise Crome (Nzl)   
    9/6, 8/10, 9/5, 9/4 (57m)

"That was a great win for me. I'd never played Louise before, never even seen hger play. I blew a big lead in the second, I was up 6/1 and I wasn't tired, but I felt like I'd worked and it hit me. She got a few points, got confident and I couldn't stop her. Fortunately I got it back in the next two."

"I've played world teams before, but this is my first individual, and I'm really pleased with this win."

Lauren Briggs (Eng) bt Elise Ng (Hkg)                  
    9/2, 10/8, 9/2 (40m)

"I had a little lapse at 8/4 in the second, almost let her back in but managed to hold on. The first one is always the worst, trying to work you way into the tournament and get a feel for the courts.

"The court is quite bouncy off the floor, but the walls are quite dead so you have to put some effort into into getting the ball to the back, but it bounces up when it gets there.

"I was a bit disappointed when they put two wildcards in, and no-one pulled out so I'm battling it out in the qualifying.

"But at least it means I get some games and some practice on the courts. Hopefully I can win tomorrow, and I'll play someone who's not used to the conditions."

"I thought I was unlucky not to get the second, there was a stroke against me at 8-all that I thought was harsh. If I'd taken that it may have been different, but she got a good start in the third.

"It's my fourth world open - it helped that two of the last four were in Hong Kong !"

Becky Botwright (Eng) bt
Lauren Siddall (Eng)     
   9/7, 4/9, 9/1, 9/2 (51m)

"You can't give Lauren the front of the court, she's good there as she holds the ball well and plays good drop shots. In the second I was playing too short too soon, but managed to get my length back.

"We play quite often and have good battles ... 3/1 is a fairly typical result."





"I can't believe we came all this way to play, we could have stayed at home! But at least it's better than going to somewhere like Hong Kong to play each other ..."


 Becky had to tend to a cut hand in the   
  first game ... the dressing held, just ...

Amelia Pittock (Aus) bt Camille Serme (Fra)         
      9/4, 9/1, 9/1 (20m)
Christina Mak (Hkg) bt Soraya Renai (Fra)           
      10/8, 6/9, 9/5, 9/7 (58m)

"It's disappointing that both our players lost, but we knew it might be a bit too difficult this year against two players ranked in the top 30.

"Soraya is a good fighter, she just didn't play some of the important points well. It was not a bad match, she showed she can beat players like this, and I was pleased with her attitude on court.

"Camille has taken a good lesson, she didn't play with a good length and played some bad shots at the wrong times. It's ok to make mistakes if you're playing the right shots, but her shot selection was poor. She needs to fight more, after winning the first three points she let Amelia win two easy points, which gave her confidence and she played well from there. Maybe it's too easy in the juniors, now will be a good time for her to play more WISPA, to see the other girls fighting."

Runa Reta (Can) bt
Jenna Gates (Eng)  
     9/7, 9/5, 9/6 (42m)

"I played Runa in the Quito final last year, and she beat me easier then.

"That was hard for a 3/0, it felt like I should have at least got a game.

"It's my first World Open. I couldn't afford to go to Hong Kong last year, but I'm studying at Sheffield so it wasn't too bad taking a few days off to come over to Ireland.

"I've got a year and a half to go and then I'll be going full-time."

Players arriving at the Boat Club

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