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Becker Begins Pro Career with Emphatic Win

Coasting through to win the 2007 Coastal Open Squash Championships without dropping a game, Marco Becker could not have wished for a better start to his professional squash career.

The 26-year-old from Walvis Bay barely raised a sweat against 8th-seeded Angelo Titus in the quarter finals. A tougher match followed against 4th-seeded Zimbabwean, David Rowett, but the outcome was the same: a 3-0 blitz of attacking volleys and deadly accurate drop shots to take him through to the final.

John Lingashi, defending champion and Namibia’s top player, met 3rd-seeded Ian Rowett in the other semi-final. Rowett won the first game setting a fast pace and attacking the ball early; Lingashi rallied back in the second with some fine front-court domination but the effort took its toll allowing Rowett to secure the next two games and a place in the final.

A tense start from Rowett gave Becker an early lead in the final and he took advantage setting an intense pace with a combination of attacking volleys and octopus-like court coverage. Rowett found his rhythm and glimpsed a comeback at 6-4 in the first game but in the end had no answer to Becker’s relentless pressure.

The women’s final saw Namibia’s top player, Jenny Pahl, up against Isabelle Schnoor from the Isle of Man. Taking their time to settle in, both players hit several unforced errors and it was Isabelle who found her range to take the first game.

Jenny replied in the second with some deadly drops and remarkable court speed to level the match but Isabelle powered through with some heavy cross-courts and deft touch to take the match in four.

While the spotlights glittered on the country’s top players, sweating it out in hour-long contests and running each other into the ground, the battle for middle-order domination produced some excellent squash matches that were every bit as entertaining.

Some of the notable matches included Luke Allen vs. John Gant (3-2); Clifford de Witt vs. Luke Allen (3-2); Dries Tredoux vs. Luke Allen (3-2); Bassie Buitendach v Jenny Pahl (3-2); Uwe vs. Bernd Grüttemeyer (3-1); Sven Delport vs. Sven Grüttemeyer (3-1); Angelo Titus vs. Grant Hardwick (3-1); and Angelo Titus vs. Anthony Hardwick (3-2).

After a low turnout in 2006 the Coastal Open Championships seemed in danger of running out of steam. But the blockbuster 2007 performance from players and organisers has secured the tournament’s position as one of Namibia’s major squash events.

At the prize giving ceremony Daikin Air Conditioners confirmed their support for 2008 and, after an astonishing 22 years of organising the tournament, Des Williams unofficially handed over the reins to Ian Rowett.