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Xede presents
The Champ

MCC champ Olli Tuominen beat world #18, 13, and 9 to claim the '07 title. Below he receives a Rolex watch from sponsor Greenstone's Jewelers' Robert Greenstone in addition to a check for $5000.


(Top photo by Gani Ricarte. Both photos copyright BAC)

Head presents
Shot of the Day

"This court ain't big enough for the both of us!" Boswell (left) and Tuominen tangle for position. Click on image for a larger view. (Photo copyright Gami Ricarte)

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Smith Barney presents
Quote of the Day

“After two years off to recover from a mysterious back ailment, Stewart won the first seven tournaments he played after returning to the tour.”

- BAC pro Julian Wellings introducing Stewart Boswell who has made a remarkable comeback to reach the PSA tour's Top 20.

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"Thanks, folks. See you next year!" Click on image for larger view. (Photo copyright BAC)

MCC Final Is All Olli

Finland's Olli Tuominen eclipsed Aussie Stewart Boswell in Sunday's final, 3-0. (Photo copyright Birmingham Athletic Club)

Tuominen sweeps exhausted Boswell for first Detroit title
By A.J. Hakim

Birmingham, Mich. - After two epic semifinal upsets put Stewart Boswell and Olli Tuominen through to the 2007 Motor City Challenge final - presented by Suburban Infiniti - expectations were high that Sunday’s meeting would be a humdinger. But as it turned out, Boswell’s physically draining, 2-hour victory against two-seed Wael El Hindi just 17 hours earlier would prove his undoing today.

Third-seed Boswell, ranked #13 in the world, looked visibly fatigued after the first game. As a result, four-seed Tuominen - who upset top seed John White Saturday - capitalized early and often on his way to a three-game victory over Boswell: 11-7, 11-6, 11-2.

“I was just trying to keep it at a slow pace to give myself a bit more time, “said Aussie Boswell. “But (Tuominen) was picking the pace up and getting all the balls back.”

Boswell started off strong, striking the ball at the board and hitting it dead. With a series of precise nick-outs, he built a quick 5-0 lead in game one. Two points later, however, Tuominen made a bushel of impossible retrieves during a marathon rally. Though the point ended in a let, it seemed to seal Boswell’s demise. From that point on, the tireless Tuominen won eleven of the next twelve rallies, reversing Boswell’s momentum.

“We played a couple of rallies and had a huge one where it ended in a let,” Boswell said of the crucial seventh point. “I thought I had about four winners, but he just kept rallying them all back. It’s tough when you’re feeling tired and someone keeps getting every ball back.”

Into the second and third games, Tuominen never faltered, playing accurate volleys, returning every ball, and taking advantage of his exhausted opponent.


Boswell stretches for a low, frontcourt backhand against Tuominen.. (Photo copyright Birmingham Athletic Club)

“Today, Stewart was a bit tired from yesterday,” said Tuominen, who won the MCC for the first time in three tries. “He wasn’t moving too well, especially in the last two games. I put a little pressure on him, and he really couldn’t move to the front.

“I felt really sore this morning, and quite tired actually,” added the Flying Finn, who had survived a five-game semi as well Saturday. “So I was really happy that he couldn’t push back that much because it would’ve been a struggle for me as well to survive and recover.”

While evidently tired from the night before, Boswell made no excuses for his uncharacteristic play, crediting Tuomenin’s talents instead.

“I was tired in today’s match, but Olli had a tough match yesterday as well,” said Boswell. “I don’t think you can really use that as an excuse. He was just too sharp, really.”

In winning the eight-man invitational, Tuominen was rewarded afterward with a new Rolex watch courtesy of Greenstone’s Fine Jewelry and a $5,000 check.

“It’s a very, very nice watch,” said Tuominen of his big pay day. “I’m just happy to have played so well that I could win the entire tournament. To win against a couple of these guys, who I might have to play in upcoming tournaments, is a big thing mentally.”

The final illustrated: Boswell shoots, Olli retrieves - and retrieves, and retrieves. . . . (Photo copyright Birmingham Athletic Club)

Greenstone's Jewelers presents
MCC Notes

Two-income household. MCC finalist and world #13 Stewart Boswell isn’t the highest ranked squash player in his household. His girlfriend is Vicky Botwright, the world’s #6-ranked women’s pro. The pair live in Manchester, England – home of England soccer powerhouse Manchester United. Boswell is from Australia, but with much of the international squash calendar played in Europe, he’s adopted Vicky’s hometown as his base of operations. (Gani Recarte photos)


Wanted: Playmates. Olli Tuominen is the only Finn ranked in the Top 100. That means that - unlike Egypt’s contingent of five players in the Top 20, for example – he doesn’t have many people at home to play with. Olli depends on tournaments to keep him fit. But because the competition isn’t up to par back home, his off-season regimen pales in comparison to other top players. “I don’t get that many practice matches during the summer,” says Tuominen of the PSA’s off-season. “So, when the season starts, it’s difficult to adjust because (top players) play so quickly and at a high pace.” -AJH

What's your surface? On the tennis tour, different surfaces favor different players. Federer is king of hard courts, Nadal clay, and a player with a big service game benefits from grass. Does the same hold true for squash? Squash pros agree that hard (concrete-base) BAC-style club courts benefit a retrieving style like that of tireless Olli Tuominen. He downed higher-ranked shot-makers John White and Stewart Boswell this week - both attacking players whose kill shots are more effective on the slower, less bouncy surface of glass-wall courts. Still, says Ong Beng Hee, the difference between squash courts is not nearly as meaningful as in tennis. “It might make a five percent difference,” says the Malaysian star.


Click on image for a larger view. (Photo copyright BAC)
Top pimps. At a '70s-theme costume party at the BAC Saturday night, fun-loving top seeds John White (yes, that's him on the left) and Wael El Hindi suited up in their "downtown" Detroit duds. Cruisin' the courts by day, cruisin' the streets by night.

Pro-Am winners! There was also a Pro-Am squash doubles tourney this week. Though the pros play little doubles (a different, harder ball is used), they gladly join in for a weekend of “Four men in a box” – perhaps the planet's fastest sport where balls struck by pros exceed speeds of 200 mph. In this year's final, Stefan Castelyn and BAC partner (and MCC co-chair) Peter Schmidt downed Canada's Graham Ryding and Xede's John Birgbauer in three tight games.