The Racquet Club Year End Tournament: Keys to Victory (Men’s Open)

As part of my coverage of this week’s Year End Squash Tournament at the Racquet Club, I will be breaking down all of the division and offering up some predictions.  My predictions for the other divisions can be found here, however, as I am participating in the Men’s Open draw, I have chosen not to make predictions.  Instead, then, is a short breakdown of all the participants, as well as their “keys to victory” this week.  As well, the tournament draws are available on The Racquet Club’s website:

Martin Deschenes (Squash NWT Rank: 9)

The “newest” non-junior to join the Men’s Open ranks, Martin has taken a very strong badminton base and an incredible work ethic and turned it into a meteoric rise up the ranks (even representing the NWT at the Men’s Teams this year).  The key to victory for Martin this week is positional control: if he can keep himself in the center of the court and his opponent behind him, he will be able to utilize his extremely strong drop shot to maximum effectiveness.

Travis Kamitomo (Squash NWT Rank: 11)

Concurrently, Travis is the “newest” junior player to Men’s Open.  The 17 year old Kamitomo, a Canada Games veteran (he went a very respectable 3-4) doesn’t have the flash of his likely 2011 Games teammates Chad and Devin Hinchey, however, solid fundamentals and patience are his two biggest weapons.  Kamitomo has very good fitness and can dig into long rallies with any player in this draw, and his 5 game match with Chad Hinchey in the first round of the qualifier proves that he can beat any of them too.  Travis’ key to victory is his patience: its when he starts going for crazy winners that he gets in trouble.  It’s not flashy, but playing a bread and butter diagonal squash game will win the match for Kamitomo more often than not.

Spider Jones (Squash NWT Rank: 3)

The highest ranked player in the Open draw, as well as the player most likely (by rank) to end up in the Exhibition draw through the qualifier is former Club pro Spider Jones.  Jones, a cerebral squash player, has a lot of tricks up his sleeve that do not appear in conventional squash games, and is able to fool most Yellowknife players with them, but what really sets him apart is his ability to read his opponent.  The next time you watch Spider play, watch how he moves when his opponent is hitting the ball – it’s like he knows where it is before it even comes off their racquet.  The key to the week for Jones, then, is to maximize his opportunities – his style of play ensures he will get some chances to put it away.  Other key to victory: the “let” face.

Brooke Harker (Squash NWT Rank: 6)

I’ll have to admit that I was a little surprised to see Brooke ranked this low, but injuries as well as the surge of juniors have pushed him down the ladder a little bit.  Brooke, though, as he is every year, is a threat to win the entire tournament for a _th time (I’ve lost count of how many he’s won thus far), and how well he’s recovered from his hurt back will likely determine how he finishes.  Key to victory for Brooke is forcing his opponent to play down his forehand side – he has the best forehand in the draw (likely in the entire tournament), and a healthy dose of it can humble any opponent.

Kirk White (Squash NWT Rank: 13)

Relatively new to the Yellowknife squash scene, Kirk White will attempt to make a splash at his second year end tournament (I think it’s his second).  Possessing a solid all-round game, what really sets Kirk apart from the field is his power, and therefore his key to victory is location: if he can find that spot on the wall to hit his full-speed dying length, then he will be very successful, if not, the ball will be coming out of the back and into his opponent’s wheelhouse.  The charter court may hinder White more than any other player in the draw, as the extra heat in the room will put a bit more zip on the ball, something that may make it difficult for him to hit his best shots.

Chad Hinchey (Squash NWT Rank: 4)

My little brother Chad, the second highest ranked player in the tournament, is likely the most well-rounded as well, and his fitness in the draw will be second to none.  A favourite to qualify for exhibition, as well as the Open defending champion, the keys to victory for Chad will be consistency: if he can keep his head in the game, nobody can hang with him, if not, all bets are off.  He would also do well drawing matches out in order to take advantage of his less-fit counterparts (myself included).  Make no mistake, though, if it is Spider who goes through to the Exhibition draw, Chad is a heavy favourite to win Open, as he doesn’t have any real holes in his game.

Devin Hinchey (Squash NWT Rank: 5)

My other little brother Devin, AKA the 14 year old who beat me yesterday, is the third highest ranked player in the draw, and is coming off of an incredible year on the Canadian circuit that saw his national ranking match his Squash NWT one (5^th in his age category).  Devin, like Chad, likely possesses a fitness advantage over most of his opponents, as well as a skills advantage, and the key to victory this week will be to keep his head in the game.  He does have a tendency to lag every once in a while, but if he can consistently play strong squash rather than “smash and dash” or “old man squash,” he has a very real chance to become the youngest Men’s Open winner in Year End history.

Fred Talen (Squash NWT Rank: 12)

Last year’s third place finisher, Talen is one of the more well-rounded men in the draw, with every aspect of his game being solid, but not spectacular.  Talen wins his matches by capitalizing on his opponents mistakes, and therefore his key to victory is to minimize the mistakes he makes himself.  An error-free match from Talen usually equals a win, and there’s no reason it shouldn’t this week either.

Claudio Ardiles (Squash NWT Rank: 7)

Last year’s runner-up, Ardiles has improved his game by leaps and bounds over the last couple of years.  However, his bread and butter remains the same: stay in the match by retrieving and hitting solid length until his opponent makes a mistake.  His fantastic cardio allows him to do this against most opponents, and players are forced to make winning shots in order to score points against Claudio, otherwise, he will simply retrieve them.  His key to victory this weekend, then, is his shot selection – keeping players away from advantageous situations will give them less of a chance to put the ball away from him, lengthening the rallies and giving him the advantage.

John Buck and Jeremie Roy (Calgary and Edmonton)

The two out-of-town participants in Men’s Open, John and Jeremie are both young players who will be looking to take it to the men.  While I don’t know much about their games, the key to victory for a junior squash player against someone who doesn’t play “fundamental” squash is to simply do that against them: sticking to a game plan when someone is smashing it at you is harder than you think, and if these guys can do it, they will be successful.

Garrett Hinchey (Squash NWT Rank: 14)

Finally, we come to me.  And although I will tell you that my ranking is a bit low (I haven’t participated in a ranking tournament since last year’s Year End), my lack of playing time has made me somewhat of a wild-card this year.  I won’t divulge my keys to victory as I don’t want the other players to know what to do against me.  So HA.

Anyway, there you have it!  Hope you all have a great time this week, if you aren’t playing, stop by the Racquet Club on the weekend for some cheap beer and great squash!  See you there!