Squash: King out to rule again at champs

DRAWCARD: Joelle King is coming to the North Island Championship in Havelock North next weekend. PHOTO/FILE

Joelle King, the world No9 and Kiwi No1, will be the big drawcard at the North Island Squash Championship at Havelock North next weekend.

King, who played at the Havelock North Squash Open in 2014 but withdraw last year with the flu, will be joined by Kiwi No2 and world No39 and Belgium No1 Nelle Gilis, Kiwi No2 and world No45 Megan Craig and Kiwi No3 and world No55 Amanda Landers-Murphy in the women's open draw of the tournament which starts on Friday and ends on Sunday.

In King's absence, Landers-Murphy won the women's open title at last year's Havelock North Open with a 3-0 win against Palmerston North's Danielle Fourie.

Gilis' boyfriend and Kiwi No1 Paul Coll, who has a world ranking of 34, will be the top seed in the men's open draw of the event which is one of the premier tournaments on the Squash New Zealand calendar and is seeded by the national body. Coll's toughest competition is likely to come from Kiwi No4 and world No99 Evan Williams and Kiwi No5 Lance Beddoes who has a world ranking of 102.

Williams beat Beddoes 3-1 in last year's final of the Havelock North Open. This was the second consecutive year Beddoes had finished second in the open.

Considering the quality of the draw, he would be over the moon if he finished second next weekend.

Canada's David Mill and Cameron Jamieson, of the Hawke's Bay club, who boasts a national ranking of 17, should reach the quarter-finals in the men's open draw.

"To be hosting the top three women in New Zealand is an honour for the club but those who have watched any squash on television recently will, no doubt, have witnessed the flexibility and 'never-say-die' attitude of Paul Coll. An amazingly exciting player and definitely worth coming down to the club in Lipscombe Crescent over the weekend to watch," Squash Eastern administrator Jacquie Sutherland said.

The match timings have yet to be finalised, but the open draws will start from 7.30pm on Friday with King set to take to the court at 9.30pm, possibly against Eastern's Women's No1 and host club player Rhiarne Taiapa. Hastings Girls' High School student Taiapa was an unbeaten member of the New Zealand Secondary Schools junior team which thrashed their Aussie counterparts 27-3 in Sydney last year.

Before the "test" she was also unbeaten during three days of singles and doubles play against the Queensland and New South Wales state teams in Sydney.

"Saturday will be a back-to-back feast of top squash with open players having two matches during the day, the semifinals being later in the afternoon or early evening," Sutherland explained.

Sunday's finals are scheduled to take place around 3pm.

The nationally-ranked players are backed up by a plethora of other players from around the country with both division one draws featuring players, which, in any other tournament apart from the nationals, would grace the open draw. The draws include all grades, including juniors and will be an ideal opportunity for some quality squash.