Qualifying Round 2 Action
Martin Bronstein, Squashtalk reporter on the scene at Grand Central Terminal

by Martin Bronstein, Live at Grand Central Terminal, New York, 20Feb 2004
All content © 2004 Squashtalk, photos: © 2004Debra Tessier

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Eight Qualifiers Make It to the Main Draw for Bear Stearns Tournament of Champions: Unranked Princeton Sophomore Is in the Draw

Qualifying action took place today about 40 blocks from center court at Grand Central Terminal in New York - at Central Park South at the New York Athletic Club.

Collegiate star and Princeton sophomore Yasser El Halaby took a five game decision off of touring pro Rafael Alarcon. El Halaby was rooted on by a core group of fans who traveled up from Princeton to support him. It was a 90 minute extravaganza with both players making remarkable gets and hitting incredibly tight drops! Yasser came out on top in the fifth, 15-10. The talented El Halaby's win may mark the only time in which an amateur has reached the main draw of this event.

The Egyptian-born El Halaby will meet #11 seed Graham Ryding of Canada in one of the lead-off matches in the first round of play.

In another nail-biter, Patrick Chifunda of Zambia, currently ranked 123rd in the world, survived a five game match against a player ranked 73 spots above him in the Professional Squash Association world rankings. Chifunda defeated 50th ranked Mark Heather of England to earn the right to play the #5 seed, Australia’s David Palmer, in the evening session on the glass court at Grand Central Terminal.

The very last match of the evening nearly took the roof off the New York Athletic Club as its assistant pro Karim Yehia prevailed 15-14 in the fifth after giving up a 2-0 lead over England’s Alex Stait. Yehia will have the home court advantage again when he meets Scotland’s Martin Heath in first round play at the New York Athletic Club.

Ireland’s Liam Kenny and John Rooney also made it through to the main draw as did Gavin Jones of Wales, Viktor Berg of Canada and Jean-Michel Arcucci of France.