Christian Borgvall, one of five brothers who all play at Stockholm Squash Club, got his campaign in the men’s 55+ draw at the Frans Otten Stadion off to a winning start with a 11-4, 11-2, 11-6 win over Germany’s Frank Gunther on Thursday.
He was watched by his mother, Margaretha, who is 5/8 seed in the women’s 75+ draw and father Bjorn, who is 5/8 seed in the men’s 80+ competition.
All three have serious Masters squash pedigree. Christian won the ESF European Masters 45+ title in Wroclaw in 2017, father Bjorn is a 13-time Swedish Masters champion and Margaretha (who celebrates her 78th birthday next week and is the fourth-oldest woman at the tournament) has played in the WSF World Masters since 2003.
“It is wonderful to be here with these two great players who are important people in my life,” said Christian of his parents. “It’s an honour to have them here and I’m happy as long as they can play squash. My mother sometimes gets angry on court but my father is calmer, so I can give him advice!”
Margaretha, who plays record five-time World Masters champion Ann Manley of England in her opening women’s 75+ match on Saturday, said: “The squash environment is like a family for us. It is unbelievable that Bjorn and I can still play at our age. I hope this won’t be our last World Masters!”
Day one in Amsterdam consisted entirely of men’s qualifying and first-round matches. Gavin Roger-Lund was the only top seed in action across all age groups and he beat the Netherlands’ Walter Schreefel 11-5, 11-3, 11-5 in the men’s 55+ draw.
Roger-Lund, who represents England but was born in South Africa, won the British Open 55+ title in June. He said: “Being top seed here doesn’t necessarily give me an easier passage. I’m just focused on taking one match at a time.
“Up until two years ago I hadn’t played squash for a long time due to three children and job commitments. I have rediscovered the love for it now. It’s such a wonderful sport. My daughter Rachael is here with me – she is my coach, manager and moral support!”
In the men’s 60+ draw, Singapore’s Peter Hill – a 35+ champion in 2003 – brought out the array of trick shots that squash fans of a certain vintage may remember from the 1980s and 90s when he was a World No.26 and training partner of Jahangir Khan. Hill, the second seed who is based at the Hong Kong Ladies’ Recreation Club, started with a routine 11-3, 11-2, 11-4 win over Germany’s Michael Jansen on the all-glass court.
“I’ve still got a few tricks up my sleeve!” he said. “I love playing in front of a crowd. Whether it’s one person or a packed house, they are there for one reason – to be entertained.”
A handful of seeds suffered first-day defeats in the sweltering heat of the Dutch capital, the highest being men’s 60+ 5/8 seed Alex Betts of England, who went down 7-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-3, 11-3 to South Africa’s Peter Steyn, and Ireland’s 5/8 seed Michael Cowhie who lost to France’s Olivier Collignon 11-9, 11-8, 11-7 in the 55+.
Sadly USA’s Wael Elhendy, winner of the 2009 World Team Championship and a former World No.8 when competing for his homeland Egypt, had to withdraw from his opening 40+ match against Argentina’s Guillermo Pedernera.
Day two at the Frans Otten Stadion sees further action across the men’s draws and the women’s events begin. Friday’s play starts at 10am local time (CEST).
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Click here to view all the results from day one, click here to view the schedule for Friday and here to check out all the draws.
The 2024 WSF World Masters Squash Championships are taking place at the Frans Otten Stadion from 15-22 August. Keep up with all the action at wsfworldmasters2024.nl
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