Big opportunity for Brownlee

Press, 9 June 1978, Page 5

Big opportunity for Brownlee

Bruce Brownlee's first victory over the world’s f o u r t h-ranked player, Hiddy Jahan (Pakistan), could yet come in the final of the Ballins Ind u st r ies international squash series at Queen Elizabeth II Park this Sunday. A final between this pair seemed the most likely occurrence after the completion of four of the six qualifying rounds. Hiddy was unbeaten, with Brownlee on two wins and Murray Lilley (also New I Zealand) and Torsam i Khan (Pakistan) both havj ing registered a single vici tory. Matches remained to be I played at two venues — j Mitchell Park S.R.C. (June 7) and Timaru S.R.C.

(June 9) - with the semifinals tomorrow at Q.E. II to be played between (1) the N 0.2 qualifier and the No. 4 qualifier and (2) the No. 1 qualifier and the No. 3 qualifier. Brownlee, aged 23, was a qualified joiner in Rotorua before taking up squash full-time more than two years ago but his new “trade” is already proving more lucrative. The young New Zealander turned professional only last October an I in a feat which has astonished followers of the sport overseas he has already burst into the top six on the circuit. Now only Geoff Hunt (Australia) and four Pakistanis — Qamar Zaman, Mohibullah Khan, Hiddy and Gogi Alauddin — lie ahead of him on the ranking list. He has shown tremendous dedication — evidenced by the fact that he admits to training four and a half hours a day compared with the one or two put in by those immediately below him — and a great will to win. That determination is certain to again be in operation if Hiddy and Brownlee do meet in the final of the Ballins event. Brownlee has met Hiddy on at least eight occasions without recording a win but the signs are that the breakthrough might not be all’ that far away. In New Zealand the pair first met at Auckland last Saturday with Hiddy beating Brownlee, 9-7, 9-1, '9-10 (after leading 7-0), 9-6 and three days later at Wellington Brownlee took the Pakistani to the full distance for the first time before losing, 10-8, 3-9, 9-1. 0-9, 7-9. There was only one meeting in 1977 with

Hiddy winning a professional’s celebrities match,. 9-4, 9-1, 7-9, 9-5, but there were five encounters on a tour • of Germany earlier this year with Brownlee taking a game off Hiddy in both the matches that were contested over the best of five. Brownlee has forced his' way up so high largely through his series of wins over the top South African. Roland Watson, the Australian, Cam Nancarrow. and Ahmed Safwat (Egypt). He also slipped his way past the great Irish left-hander, Jonah Barrington (six times winner of the prestige British open), principally due to the latter’s relative inaction in recent months. Apart from the above performances, Brownlee’s best efforts have been taking single games off each of Gogi, Mohibullah (twice) and. most recently, Hunt in an international tournament at Toronto. The last match with Mohibullah lasted 90 exciting minutes before the Pakistani won, 9-1, 9-5, 2-9, 9-7. Spectators at Queen Elizabeth II Park during the week-end should be delighted by Hiddy’s attractive brand of squash. According to Brownlee he is “very deceptive up front and probably the hardest hitter in the world.” Hiddy, aged 27, was born in Quetta and was the son of a squash professional there but most of his squash development took place in Lahore. He has since married an English girl and lives in London. Since he turned professional in January 1974 Hiddy has had a number

of impressive, performances,-.' including three wins over 'Hunt and at least one each over his t a.l ent e d countrymen, Zaman and Mohjbullah. Last month he was elevated over the head of Gogi (now back to the No. 5- spot) after eliminating him in quarter-final matches at three tourna-ments-.this year. Apart from his wins over Brownlee in the Ballihs series, Hiddy’s performances in New Zealand this week have been a four-game victory over Torsam and a straight sets win over Lilley. He beat Torsam, 9-5, 5-9, 9-4, 9-4 at Auckland and Lilley, 9-7. 9-6, 9-6, at Hamilton. Torsam is ranked No. 10 in the world and is a 26-year-old from Rawalpindi who is continually a potential threat to those placed above him. In March he went within three points of upsetting Hunt, the world champion, and in Brownlee’s view “Torsam could take over from Geoff if he could get a little bit fitter; he’s got all the shots.” On this tour, Torsam has had a loss (5-9, 6-9, 9-7, 9-1, 6-9) and a win (910, 9-5, 9-1, 9-0) respectively against Lilley who has twice upset him on previous occasions. His other matches have resulted in the four-game loss to Hiddy and a 9-4, 5-9, 7-9, 9-6, 4-9 loss to Brownlee. Lilley, a 31-year-old ; from Palmerston North, turned professional at the ; same time as his fellow New Zealander and has : achieved considerable progress, if not quite the same rapid movement up the ranks as his compatriot. 1 It is necessary to be in the top 16 on the circuit

to meet expenses and even, in some cases, make tournaments with the odd draw limited to 16. Lilley had great difficulty in breaking into the top bracket for some time but was placed in the No 15 spot in the latest list of I. S.P . A . (International Squash Players’ Association) rankings after wins over Torsam and the Nos 12 and 16 within the space of two tournaments. After the list was published, “The Times” squash correspondent, Rex Bellamy, commented: “The advance of the New Zealanders has strengthened the Anglo-Saxon challenge to the Pakistanis and the Egyptians.” Lilley does not perhaps have the range of shots that the other three players in the series enjoy but is a tremendous competitor with a great retrieving ability and has bettered Brownlee on more than one occasion in the past. Already Lilley has had a match ball — at 8-2 in the fifth — against Brownlee in this series and the final order of qualification (as on Wednesday morning) was in doubt but a HiddyBrownlee final is still the likely and, arguably most exciting, prospect, for Sunday.