2015-08-22
This must have been my closest match I have played in PSA ever.. I was playing South-African named: Jean-Pierre Brits who was ranked 60 places higher than me. We where batteling for a spot into the quarter final of this PSA 5K. I Lost 14-12 in the 5th and I had 3 matchballs at 10-8 and 11-10.. I was so gutted to lose.. What is great about Ukraine is that they always have livestream available and a replay afterwards so now I can analyse my match to learn from it and adjust it into my next matches!
On this link you can watch all my matches in Ukraine, aswell as the thriller match I played against Jean-Pierre Brist (PSA 183): http://squashonline.net/igroki/joeri-hapers-bel/
2015-08-09
Due to a withdraw I was seeded as number 8 into the main draw. There I drew a very good Egyptian player, Belal Nawar. I was gutted to lose my match with 3-0, the rallys were very long but in the end Belal could get the points, the score didnt reflect the game. During this match the Armenian news came to film, my match was seen on TV all over the country in Armenia!! Here you will find a link to the video: https://youtu.be/teHQrajDnkw
2015-07-24
Madeira was a really nice place to play a PSA tournament, this is one of my favorite tournaments of the circuit. We were playing the tournament in a hotel with squashcourts! As for the tournament I was seeded straight into the main draw where I drew Jan Koukal(who won the tournament aswell).
Unfortunatly I coulden't create an upset against the nr. 2 seed Jan Koukal. It was a good match, the first 2 games were 11-9 11-9. During the rally's I managed to get him behind me a couple of times and take control of the game. Because of his experience he could push trough every time to take the game. In the end I did alot of work and he finished the match with 11-5. Now back to training in Belgium for 1,5 weeks for my Rematch against Jan Koukal again in the main draw of the Armenian Open 2015!
2015-05-31
Hotel Valo do Manso Open 2015 in Abrantes, Portugal was the last tournament of the season, there is no better place to end the season in a sunny place by a beautiful lake in Portugal. The magnificent view gives you positive energy for your squash. I always enjoy my time playing in Portugal, as this tournament was very well organised. For the tournament I made it into the semi-finals where I drew Rui Soares, the nr. 1 of Portugal. I managed to gain control of some rallys in the match but in the end he was the better player. After this I had to play for 3 and 4, this was my last big push of the season!
I am very happy to finish the season with a postive result by finishing 3rd in the Closed PSA Hotel Valo do Manso 2015!! Thanks for the organisation, this was an amazing tournament! This had been an amazing year for me, I went from 425 to 248 on the PSA World Ranking. This year I improved my squash alot! Now back to some mental recovery before getting 100% fit for the next season. Thanks for everyone who supported me in this year!!
2015-05-20
After training for 2 weeks with the best players of the world in Bristol, I went to Jersey to play another 5k tournament. My first match I played against Matthew Cook from England, it was the first time I played him and you never know what you can expect. I won this match with 3/0 and felt really comfortable on court. In the Final of the qualification I played against Matthew Sidaway, a very talented player from England.
After being 1/2 down I managed to crawl back to 2/2. In the fifth game there was a huge important rally, this rally was so important that the one who wins the rally mentally had won the match. Unfortunately I lost this rally, and in the end I find myself losing the match after 70min., it just wasnt meant to be. Despite this I was positive with all the effort I put into this match, next time I will come back mentally and physically stronger than before!
2015-04-12
From Brest, France I drove straight to Geel, Belgium with my car. After recovering from a long trip I made it into the Quarter Finals, there I won 3/1 over Sam van Brusselen. I made it into the semi-finals of a PSA Closed Satellite for the second time. My semi-Final was so close, but unfortunately I lost with a 3/2 score against Marc Ter Sluis from The Netherlands. My dream of being in the Final of a PSA tournament will come soon..
2015-04-08
In Brest I played one of my longest matches ever, I played against the local hero Mathieu Favanec. I won this match with the score of 3/2 in a time of 90 min.!!! Almost straight away I had to play another match against Phill Nightingale from England, after a few good rally's I was feeling my last match of 90min. Besides that I played really well and we played good squash.
2015-03-08
Finished 3rd on the Mons Avenintus 2015, where last year I only made it into the quarter finals! My first podium place on a PSA tournament!! Definitely happy with my result, my best result so far in a PSA Closed-Satellite. I played really well, happy to hear a lot of compliments about my improvement the last months.
2015-02-21
Could not create a major upset in the Final of the qualification in Israel, unfortunately I lost with a tough 3/0 from Claudio Pinto. Even though I am leaving Israel with a good feeling because of the way I played! Now I got more time to visit the nice city of Tel-Aviv and take some nice pictures.
2014-12-21
The last tournament of this year was great! I was glad to visit Kiev and the country Ukraine, they offered us good accommodation and the sports club was very nice.
My first round I faced the Ukrainian number 1, Denys Podvornyi. This match was hard fought and I am happy to get a 3-0 win against him. (Un)fortunately I came out against Stephane Galifi, a very experienced Italian player who is former WR40 and is now coaching the best players in Ukraine. I could not pull off another upset as he was too strong for me now, he beat me on experience. These are the matches I want to play to get used to the pressure and the pace those experienced guys are playing.
The tournament was awesome, I definitely want to come back next year!! Also there was live stream in this tournament, you can watch the replay of my matches on http://squashonline.net/igroki/joeri-hapers-bel/
2014-12-14
The second tournament in December was held from 11-14 December in Bratislava, Slovakia. Here I had the honor to play the number 3 of Slovakia in the qualifying rounds. I won with a tough 3-0 and I conquered a spot into the main draw again! In the main draw I faced William John(WR209) from Wales, with his 1m95 and 93kg. he definitely is a very strong opponent. I managed to push through every rally and played point by point, and at the end I beat him with 3-1!!!
A great achievement to beat the WR209, this is my best victory so far!! With this win I made it into the second round of the main draw. There I faced the very talented Daniel Mekbib from Czech-Republic, I lost this game with 3-0. Very proud that I managed to get into the second round as the only Belgian player!
2014-12-05
The first of three tournaments in December took place from 02-05 December in London. I won my first round with 3-1 against Marc Ter Sluis from the Netherlands(WR259)! I lost my second match with 11-13 in the 5th set against Robert Dadds from England. But eventually I did made it into the main draw and got the lucky loser spot! In the main draw I faced a very experienced Englishman, Ben Ford, who is former WR 82. I almost took a game of him but eventually he beat me in 3 sets. Happy to get a place in the main draw again, sometimes luck has to be by your side!
2014-11-29
In November I played the PSA Investimax Winners Brussels Open 2014, happy to play in my home country! With a very close match I unfortunately lost with 7-11 in the 5th set from Julian Tomlinson(WR247). Learn from it and take the experience to my next match!
2014-09-26
From Australia I went straight to Portugal to play 2 PSA tournaments near Porto. I trained and played in Portugal from 11 to 26 september. Again I manage to win all of the qualification matches in both tournaments and conquered a spot into the main draw!! Very pleased to get my point from the main draw! After the Portuguese Tour my ranking got up to nr. 300 of the World!
2014-09-07
I decided to start my professional squash career in Australia. This was the best option for me to gain the most points in the PSA-ranking. From 19 august until 7 September I played three 5K tournaments in Melbourne, Sydney and Coffs Harbour. Eventually the 3 tournaments in Australia where a big success! I won all of my qualification matches and I made it into the second round of all the tournaments!
I\'m really happy with this result and I got what I came for, I gained 100 places in the PSA-ranking. The tour was an amazing experience which benefits my squash allot!! Thanks to everyone who made this possible, thanks to my family, and everyone who donated and supported me to go play my Australian tour!!
2014-03-22
Saturday and Sunday I played the 3000EUR Closed Satellite Squash Point S&P Open in Belgium. After beating the Zimbabwean number 1 Admire Magwaza, and Vincent Hitchins in the Quarter Final, I made it through to the semi-final!!
In the semi-final I had to play against Mahesh Mangaonkar, the number 2 of India. I started off really well, playing a good pace and try to make him run as much as possible. I just couldnt put him under enough pressure to take a game. Eventually I lost the semi-final and finished 4th on the tournament!
I memory of the loss of Gaetane Hitchins, they awarded a special price for the most sportive person of the tournament/the person with the most progress during the last months. They awarded me this price! Its a great honor to have received this award, this means a lot to me!!
2014-03-07
Last weekend I played the Mons Aventinus 2014, PSA closed & challenger in Portugal! After 2 great 3-0 wins I managed to get into the Quarter Finals!!
Overall it was a great experience! I finished 6th of a 32 draw, and I claimed my first PSA points!! A big thank you for the organization there in Portugal and for their support! Looking forward coming back to Portugal at some stage!!
2013-09-02
a nice article about my first round in the European Championships 2013. http://eiccsquash.blogspot.be/2013/09/hapersgnauer.html