Willstrop tested by Wong
Malcolm Willstrop reports

James Willstrop, with little recovery or practice time after his win in Qatar, had to take on Hong Kong no 1, Wong Wai Hang, and naturally enough the large crowd, as he began his attempt to back up his performance in Doha.

Hong Kong's top player had a wildcard, but he is a lot better than the average wildcard or a world no 105 and he gave a creditable display.

Indeed he threatened to win the first, even though Willstrop was striking the ball well enough. The Englishman stole the game on a tiebreak and then went on to win 3-0 despite sustained resistance from Wong. He has a rematch of his Qatar encounter with England team-mate Nick Matthew tomorrow and much will depend on the outcome of this game for both players.

Wong can take pleasure from his performance, though his reluctance at times to play the ball and questioning of the referee was misplaced and inappropriate.

Power Mightily Impressive
Malcolm Willstrop reports

Whatever back problem Jonathon Power had in Qatar was not in evidence as he took to the Centre Court against Ong Beng Hee, whose recent form has been on the upgrade.

Moving onto the ball with alacrity and playing with a subtlety and deftness of touch that very few players have or have ever had, he ran away with the first two games 11/2, 11/1, though the scoreline was too harsh, as it can often be in squash.

Nor did the Canadian genius relent in the third, though Ong stiffened his resistance and competed well to five-all before Power drew away again.

Power was mightily impressive and the court suited his talents well. Should Boswell survive another Doha rematch is on the cards, where the Canadian's back trouble caused him to retire 2/0 down.

Boswell certainly won't go under without a fight, so the prospect is fascinating.
  

GRINDING GRAHAM…
Framboise reports

To understand this match, just look at the timing of each game, 17 minutes, 17 minutes, 11 and 6. And you have your analysis…

Graham Ryding started strongly, dominating the long rallies by his strong “boast & low crosscourt” game, volleying superbly, imposing his rhythm on the first game, but the resistance that Stuart Boswell presented led the Canadian to put six shots in the tin in the second, which allied with some awesomely long and disputed rallies, slowly grinding his resistance.

In the third, the Australian found his game, stepped in front, forcing Graham to defend more and more, and forced in the back, the Canadian couldn’t force any pressure on the match, and if the last game was a formality, it all came down to a few tremendous rallies that damaged his resistance in the second and third…
 

A GENTLEMEN’S MATCH…
Framboise reports

I have to say I did enjoy the match between Nick Matthew and Mo Abbas, as it was played in the spirit intended when squash was invented. Two players trying to play the ball, never “fishing”, never “turning” when in trouble, and really making all the efforts in the ball to get on with the game. The result? A superb and intense encounter, with Nick putting pressure on the Egyptian for most of the game, but with Mo counterattacking in the third...

Both players were very patient, the rallies were long (68 minutes for only 4 games), Mo accepting the rallies, matching Nick’s perfect straight drives with his own, and finding some pretty good short game.

But at this game, Nick was just a bit better today, succeeding to take his opponent out of his comfort zone, and forcing him to arrive that fraction late on the ball. Mo retorted very well in the third, leading 10/6, allowed Nick to save four game balls, saving four match balls himself, to finally take the very disputed game 7-5 in the tie break.

The effort would prove to be a bit too much for the Egyptian who conceded the last game 11/5 in 10 minutes, but like I said, a match both can take pride in. Strong, disputed, fair and clean match.
  

"The first two games weren’t comfortable at all, he plays some great shots, he possesses the best short game on the tour probably, so I tried to keep the pressure on him, as I was hoping that the match could be short, from the back of the court…

"I’m moving well, and tomorrow, I’m playing Anthony. It was an advantage to play Mansoor on those courts, but tomorrow will be different, as the court will be good for both of us…"

Karim Darwish

"Hot, fast, bouncy, and quick..

"Last week's defeat against Stewart really damaged my confidence, because losing against him like that in the first round made me believe that I did not deserve my ranking. So today, I didn’t want to lose anything…

"In the first game, he was 6/0 up, but after that, I had a good start in the second and the third, and he helped me by playing too many tins…

Azlan Iskandar

Ricketts happy with three
Malcolm Willstrop reports

The outside courts at the centre are quite quick and bouncy and the length difficult to find - even Peter Nicol had trouble locating it. So a match between British Open champion Anthony Ricketts, and aspiring Peter Barker, both very athletic, looked likely to be long and have a touch of the attritional about it.

Ricketts' superior experience looked more than likely to win the day and although the Australian always held a more than decisive edge, winning the first two games 11/7 to take a comfortable 2/0 lead.


Barker, however, was by no means done with and with the aid of some well-played winners he led 8/5 in the third.

Players of Ricketts' calibre and background know how to pull things back though, and calmly enough for him, the Australian drew level at 8-all.

The match was of a very acceptable standard - it would be hard for the outside courts to produce a classic, there is insufficient reward for the shotmaker.

From 8-all to 9-all and with a fine backhand boast Ricketts had the first match ball. A let, another let, a backhand tin from Barker and Ricketts could pack himself off safely to bed.

He will be happy enough after his semi-final exertions in Doha: Barker can be well pleased too, since he did not look out of his depth by any means and can only profit from such experiences.
 

LJ IMPRESSED PALMER…
Framboise reports

I couldn’t see the whole of the match, but Shaun Moxham, David Palmer’s coach, told me that it was really point for point in the first, with both men playing at a tremendous pace, error free squash, with David clinching the first game 11/9, and that the second was played at the same rhythm, but the difference was LJ made too many errors allowing David to take the game more comfortably 11/5.

David then led 4/0 before LJ could find some offensive energy again, and the Dutch young man played a very determined and gutsy game, although the Australian now had mental and physical ascendancy in the encounter.

Like I was when I saw LJ beating Lee in St Louis, or putting great pressure on Thierry in Qatar, David was all praise and respect for his opponent.

Another strong performance for LJ, and a good win in three for David, who, like he was in Qatar, is playing an imaginative, fluid and varied game again…

As Shaun commented at the end of the match “It’s good to have David back…”

Lengthorn and Pierrepont


Elriani and Pittock


Kronemeyer and Bailey


David and Kheirallah


Waters and Leevey


Advice from David Pearson


Atkinson and El Weleily