ENGLAND STARS BID FOR HOME GLORY IN LIVERPOOL
ENGLAND’S leading squash stars will be heading to Merseyside in May hoping for home glory in the inaugural Liverpool08 Open Squash Championship at St George’s Hall.
The Liverpool08 Open runs from May 1-7 and is already the biggest squash tournament in Europe and one of the top six in the world in terms of prize money and world ranking status.
It is certain to be a magnet for the world’s leading stars and England’s world team champions are fully committed to making it a roaring success.
The awesome foursome of James Willstrop, Peter Nicol, Lee Beachill and Nick Matthew are currently competing in the Commonwealth Games in Australia.
They are bidding for medals in singles and doubles to add to the World Team Championship title they collected in Pakistan in December, beating Canada in the semi-finals and Egypt in the final.
Before heading to Liverpool they will be competing in the Bermuda Open and then travelling to Vienna to defend their European Team title.
England No.1 James Willstrop, the 22-year-old rising star from Pontefract, is certainly looking forward to competing in Liverpool.
He said: “It’s always great to see new tournaments on the calendar and Liverpool is already up there with the best.
The St George’s Hall venue looks absolutely awesome and I am sure all the players will love the atmosphere of playing on the glass court in such a fabulous building.”
Tournament promoter Alan Thatcher of SquashUK said: “We are delighted to be staging such a massive tournament in Liverpool. The glass court will look absolutely stunning inside such a beautiful and iconic venue and, with St George’s Hall directly opposite Lime Street Station, it could not be more convenient for attracting spectators to Merseyside. We know that squash fans will be travelling to Liverpool by train from all over the UK and flying in from all over Europe.”
The entertainment value is sure to be high and Thatcher added: “Squash is a fast, thrilling game and spectators are sure to get full value for money when they watch the world’s top players in action.”
Tickets went on sale this week and he added: “We have deliberately kept the ticket prices low in year one to attract a new audience to the sport in Liverpool.”
Seats will placed on three sides of the glass court and organisers are hoping to entice Liverpool’s business community with special hospitality packages and VIP tables at courtside.
The qualifying competition will be held at Liverpool Cricket Club on May 1 and 2 with the top eight players going into the 32-man first round draw, which will be split between St George’s Hall and the cricket club’s squash courts.
TICKET HOTLINE: 0871 230 9808. Book online at www.ticketmaster.co.uk
Full details from: www.squashuk.com/liverpool