The majority of the seeded players, led by number one-ranked Jonathan Walker, won their opening matches of the All Jamaica Senior Squash Championship in straight sets.

The men’s and women’s open sections of the tournament got underway on Wednesday (March 18) at the Liguanea Club in New Kingston in front of enthusiastic crowds.

Walker, who came into the island recently for the championship, defeated Mario O’Connor 3-0 with scores of 11-2, 11-3, 11-3 in a match that showed the superior skill and fitness of a player who came into the championship with high expectations of taking his first All Jamaica title.

Walker was candid about his seeding and preparation for the championship. “It’s a privilege to be the number one seed. Not gonna lie I wasn’t expecting it. This year is kind of tough for seedings, given some injuries and some people taking some time off, but I think I played really well for us at the Pan American Games and the Caribbean Championships this past year, so I think they awarded me with the number one seed. I’m playing pretty well. I’ve been training for this tournament. I’m excited to get out there. There’s a lot expected of me, I’d be number one seed means the targets on my back. I think I’m ready to handle the pressure.”

He went on further to say, “I want to win. I think that’s my goal. My goal is to absolutely win this tournament. It’s gonna be hard, Julian’s a great player, I’ve grown up with him, he’s one of my best friends, he knows my game in and out, I know his game in and out very well, so it’s gonna be competitive, it’s gonna be hard. The same goes for Taj, same goes and all these guys have to play. That’s kind of the hard part of this tournament is that we all grew up together, we’re all really close, so we all know how each other plays, and it’s just gonna be a matter of who goes out there and just plays better on that day.”

Results in the other matches showed the number two seed Tahjia Lumley, who returned to the island to play in the championship, comprehensively defeating Govind Venugopal 11-2, 11-2, 11-3. Julian Morrison, seeded at number three after missing the last two championships, made light work of Nirmal Balani with scores of 11-2, 11-3, 11-6. The first top-seeded player to drop a set was the number for seed Dane Schwier, who lost his first set to the junior champion, Ethan Miller. The final scores in their match was 8-11, 11-3, 11-6, 11-9 to win by three games to one in a match that included some long volleys.

Fifth seed Adam Ardito defeated Shane Slater 3-0 while sixth seed Bruce Burrowes, who returned from injury, got the better of Liegh Dwyer also in three sets to none. The former outstanding junior player, Tobias Levy, who is seeded at number seven, got past Jake Mahfood 3-0. The final seeded player, Jerazeno Bell (#8) defeated Fitzroy Smith in straight sets as well.

On the ladies’ side, Kerrie-Gay Wright seeded at number two, overpowered Varenyga Singh in four sets with scores of 11-5, 11-5, 10-12, 11-8. That was the only match to go to four sets, as the other two ended in straight sets. The number three seed, Ellie Wilson, took out Alexis Robinson after scoring 11-5, 11-5, 11-4. Nathlee Borleland, seeded at number four, defeated Priya Stoddart 11-5, 11-6, 11-3.

The next round of matches is scheduled for Thursday evening at the Liguanea Club, starting at 5:45 with four matches playing simultaneously on courts one to four.

This year’s All Jamaica Senior Squash Championship is sponsored by Boilerco.