RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil –
Julian Illingworth was loose, relaxed and joking around late
Sunday morning shortly after stepping off the bus upon his
arrival at the Miecimo da Silva Sport Complex.
But Illingworth was all business once he
stepped onto the Squash court at the XV Pan American Games.
Just ask No. 1 seed Shahier Razik of Canada.
Razik’s gold medal hopes came to a
screeching halt when the 23-year-old Illingworth delivered
a stunning 9-3, 9-6, 9-6 straight-set victory in their quarterfinal
match on Sunday. Razik is ranked No. 26 in the world. Illingworth
is 55th.
Illingworth’s win came shortly after
top-seeded American woman Natalie Grainger turned in an
impressive all-around display of speed, power and skill
in sweeping fellow American Michelle Quibel 9-2, 9-2, 9-2
in the quarterfinal round.
“This was one of my best wins –
especially since it was three games to zero,” Illingworth
said. “I got off the court about 15 minutes before
my next opponent did, so hopefully that will help me. I’m
feeling pretty confident right now. I just need to carry
that momentum into the rest of the tournament.”
Illingworth was scheduled to face Colombia’s
Miguel A. Rodriguez in Sunday night’s semifinals while
Grainger advanced to face Canada’s Runa Reta later
Sunday in the women’s semis.
So what was the key for Illingworth against
Razik?
“I’ve trained with him and I
know what he likes to do,” Illingworth said. “The
court’s really dead here - that really suits my game
and kind of works against the type of game that he likes
to play.”
It
was a big start to the day for Grainger, who was competing
in her first major event since she became a U.S. citizen
in February. Grainger grew up in South Africa.
“It’s kind of tough when you
have to face a teammate, but having a chance to represent
the USA for the first time was great,” Grainger said.
“It’s been a long time coming – the whole
process to get your citizenship takes quite a while. I’m
really exciting to take the stage for the USA. It’s
my home now and I’m really happy to be here.”
Grainger and Quibell played in the day’s
first match at 9 a.m., a tough task when you consider the
bus ride from the Athlete Village to the Squash venue takes
nearly an hour and a half one way.
“It can be tough having to get up
and play this early,” Grainger said. “Between
the Brazilian coffee and a little warmup in the bus, I was
ready to go. I did plenty of warming up to make sure I wasn’t
sluggish and I was ready to go. I wanted to make sure I
came out firing.”
Grainger, ranked fifth in the World, was
flying all over the court in tracking down seemingly every
ball in the win over Quibell.
“Natalie looked real strong,”
Team USA Coach Chris Walker said. “She’s reading
the ball and moving real well. She performed really well.”
Julian Illingworth was loose, relaxed and joking around late
Sunday morning shortly after stepping off the bus upon his
arrival at the Miecimo da Silva Sport Complex.
