Die Hard Cup - Week 5 - Round Up

Tuesday marked the end of the regular season for Die Hard Cup action. Next week will be the first round of the playoffs. All teams will make the playoffs but everyone is talking about how impressive “The A-Team” has been. The A team has compiled a record of 4 wins and 1 loss. No other team has come close to that record. Team Captain Justin Warnock says his team is doing so well because of their extraordinary off court training regiment. Warnock would not give details on this training regiment out of fear that other teams might pick up on it. Although he did say that his skateboarding back and forth from the squash club has improved his court quickness.

The match of the century took place on Tuesday. Konstantin Houbhtchev vs Stefan Houbhtchev. This match was hyped up so much that people were comparing it to the first Ali vs. Frazier match. Apparently before the match strong words were being exchanged between the two Houbhtchevs. Once the two of them settled down they both played very good squash. The younger (Stefan) Houbhtchev had a clear strategy right from the start. He wanted to attack the older (Konstantin) Houchtchev and force him to be defensive. Although Konstantin has made a career of being a defensive player which would make Stefan’s strategy that much harder. After Stefan quickly stole the first game Konstantin’s defensive style started to wear down and frustrate the younger Houbhtchev. The match was all tied in the third game when Stefan regained his composure and started to make some tough shots that Konstantin could not get to. This allowed Stefan to roll through the third game and put the pressure on Konstantin in the fourth game. In the fourth not much changed for Konstantin as Stefan continued his onslaught of tight shots that allowed him to easily triumph Konstantin in the fourth game. Following the match a deeply frustrated and distressed Konstantin said that he was taking away Stefan’s allowance for this week.

Following the match of the century, came the match that was being billed as the modern day “Battle of The Sexes”. Instead of Billie Jean King playing Bobby Riggs it was Joyce Bennett playing Phil “Tin Man” Blagdurn. Bennett has made a name for herself as being a very determined player that likes to have long rallies but she may be better known for her never quit attitude. Blagdurn on the other hand likes to live a little more on the edge with a wide range of different shots to throw off his opponent. His favorite shot being the reverse boast. These contrasts in style of play would make for a great squash match. Blagdurn jumped out of the gate early by capitalizing on some of Bennett’s early unforced errors but Blagdurn struggled to maintain this early lead as he started to hit the ball excessively into the tin. Luckily Blagdurn held on to win the first game. In the second game Blagdurn continued his onslaught on the tin that had many in the audience wondering whether the tin would remain on the wall. Blagdurn was hitting so much tin because Bennett was forcing him to rally longer than his body would allow him. After the 2nd game the match was all tied up but it really looked like Bennett had Blagdurn on the ropes. In the third game the match seesawed back and forth with neither of them giving up anything but somehow Blagdurn dug deep and stole the game. This new found energy propelled Blagdurn to win the fourth game also. Following the match Bennett made it clear that she let this victory slip away and warned Blagdurn that things would be different, if they played each other again.

Winner of the Draw Prize - Konstantin Houbhtchev - 2 Free Racquet Restringings