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Sat 12th March,
Finals.
Framboise
reports ...
[4] Nicol David (Mas)
bt
[6] Natalie Grainger (Usa)
4/9, 9/6, 9/7, 10/8 (45m)
[3] David Palmer (Aus) bt
[4] Peter Nicol (Eng)
11/4, 9/11, 11/3, 11/6 (45m)
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Palmer makes it a David Double ...
Steve Cubbins ...
Full report
from Framboise
David Palmer inflicted the first ever defeat on Kuwaiti soil of defending champion Peter Nicol, completing a hat-trick
of victories against
England team players from the quarter-finals on.
 The
opening rallies of the final, played on the traditional courts of the
Salmiya Club after a third day of rain in Kuwait City, were long and punishing.
But from 5-4 the Australian
raced away to take the first game as Nicol looked to be suffering from
his previous hard matches.
But Nicol made a good start to the second, leading 3-0, 6-3, 8-5, and
held on to level, winning the game 11-9 on a stroke that displeased
Palmer.
But in the third it was Palmer's turn to race away, and a 6-1 lead
quickly became 11-3 in just 7 minutes.
At 6-1 in the fourth it looked all over for the defending champion, but
Nicol refused to to surrender and fought his way back to 6-7 in a series
of punishing rallies.
But the effort was too great, and Palmer collected the next four points,
finishing on an exquisite touch drop to claim the game in 9 minutes and
with it the title.
[3] David Palmer (Aus) bt
[4] Peter Nicol (Eng)
11/4, 9/11, 11/3,
11/6 (45m) |
GRAINGER: MISSED OPPORTUNITY
Natalie Grainger must hate herself to have let this one go, as
she was so much in control in all the games it was unreal.
Playing Nicol David is never easy, as the gorgeous little devil
runs like a lunatic after every ball that all the others consider to be
gone and lost, forcing her opponents to win the point over and over
again.
But how she got out of this one, I’ll never know.
Let’s make it short.
Natalie wins the first game 9/4. In the second, she is 6/3 up, in the
third, 4/1 up, in the fourth , 6/0 up.
And Nicol still won the match!
Basically, the Malaysian marvel kept on running, returning the most
difficult shots, retrieving the irretrievable, putting her opponent
under pressure, forcing her to take more and more risks and to make the
error. A bit of luck here and there, the momentum, the determination,
the will. Today, they were all on the Malaysian side.
Like I said to Natalie, in the previous rounds, the American had
disposed of Natalie Grinham and Vanessa Atkinson, stopping her amazing
winning spell. Maybe she unconsciously thought she had done enough for
the week…
So although Natalie didn’t win this tournament, she might be (and should
be) extremely proud of herself. Now for Nicole, she made her first
speech as a WISPA winner, and bet your squashsite shirt that it won’t be
her last….
[4] Nicol David (Mas) bt
[6] Natalie Grainger (Usa)
4/9, 9/6, 9/7, 10/8 (45m)
NICOL'S
PRESENTATION SPEECH
 "Bear
with me, this is the first time I've had to make a speech like
this!
"It's been a great event, and the feeling of winning here is just
fabulous, and it's nice to play in front of such a great crowd.
"It was good to see the Malaysian ambassador and lots of other
friendly faces come to support me at Green Island, and even though
we couldn't play there it gave me a lot of confidence.
"I'm really happy, it's great to have been in Kuwait ... see you
all next year!"
Nicol David |
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 "I did
what I had to do to win. I didn't care what kind of squash I
played, I was all over the place really, but I just had to keep it
going.
"Like yesterday I was 0-6 down before I got going. I think I need
to be behind, to give my opponent a head start, to give me
momentum ... I need a focus.
My game plan was to get the ball past her, but she kept volleying,
and volleying again. Fortunately she eventually got tired from
volleying and started to make mistakes.
I was lucky today as my concentration came at the right time, just
as Natalie started to make errors, which gave me an advantage, and
from then on I tried to keep the rallies going.
The minute I finished I texted my family: "I won, so happy, call
later."
Nicol David |
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 "Were
you tired from yesterday?
No, physically I feel fine. I should have kept Nicol right to the
back, kept the ball going to deny her the time to attack, and I made
a lot of errors.
"But she managed to play some terrific drives, literally glued to
the wall. I though I played some good shots, but some of Nicol's
were just outstanding, she played very well.
"If I'd been my coach I'd have said to me "aim higher." I think I
needed one of the men's 17" tins today!
"I should have played at a better pace and driven Nicol to the back
more. When I was doing that it was a different game. I should have
played harder ... more length, more position on the 'T' ... in other
words I should have worked harder.
"But maybe today Nicol wanted to win that little bit more than I did
..."
Natalie Grainger |
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SUPERIOR
PALMER
One thing is sure, Squash is not a “by the mathematics rules” kind of
sport. In mathematics, if A is superior to B, and B superior to C, then
A is superior to C.
That is logical, that is a rule.
Well, Nicol beat Lincou in the semis, and Lincou beat Palmer last week
in New York, so logically, Peter should have beaten David.
WRONG.
 And
that’s the magic of it all… At the start of the tournament, whatever the
previous results of the players, we just don’t have a clue who is going
to win it! The players don’t know, the coaches don’t know, the
journalists certainly don’t have a clue (well, speaking for myself at
least…), nobody knows…
But I have to confess that, having watched David Palmer
“punishing” his opponents in the previous rounds, I had very little
doubt about the outcome of the final. Peter Nicol had a
tremendous quarter final against Anthony Ricketts, both mentally and
physically (coming back from 4/10 match ball and winning the match in 85
minutes), and although he dominated Thierry in the semis, he still had
to dig deep in the third to overcome the world number one. So it was
obvious to all present here that the Boss would have to win in three,
and as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, David had other plans for the outcome of this match, and
played it to perfection. He took the first game in a score that appears
punishing, 11/4, but that was still the longest of the match, 12
minutes. He exhausted his opponent, who was working very hard to try and
turn the game around, taking a lot, too much, out of him.
In the second, David relaxed slightly, and allowed Peter to control the
rallies from the front of the court. Scorewise, this would be the only
time Peter would be in front. He was playing at an extraordinary pace,
the seesaw rallies captivated the crowd.
“What was that!”, laughed a spectator behind me. “That is squash!”
replied his mate sitting next to him…
Peter got the second game 11/9 in 12 minutes. But the effort he produced
was just too damaging. Having not much energy left, he let the third go
in 7 minutes, 11/3, although the Boss gave us some amazing rallies, in
particular one at 8/3 for Palmer that got the crowd on their feet.
In
the fourth, Peter came back from 6/1 to 7/6, by playing his magical
flicks here and there, wrong footing David three times in a row. The
spectators were loud, soooo loud, supporting their man. But Palmer was
just too present, too strong, too sharp today. He stepped two gears up,
and shortening the rallies to four or five strokes, inflicted on Peter
Nicol his first-ever defeat on Kuwaiti soil…
Peter had played to his physical limit once again, but this tournament
rightly comes back to the one who dominated it from start to finish, an
impressive David Palmer.
[3] David Palmer (Aus) bt
[4] Peter Nicol (Eng)
11/4, 9/11, 11/3,
11/6 (45m)
"It was a tough match today. Peter
is still such a great champion, he amazed me with what he can
retrieve. I watched him play Anthony [Ricketts] and he was quite
astonishing.
"In the past when I played him he would normally end up playing the
last shot of the rally, and I would go for it too early, making the
error. So today I made sure kept it going.
"He gave it all in the second, but I got a good start in the third,
and then I gave it all in the fourth.
 "I
knew I had to play fast. I've done with Peter what I've done with
everyone this week, twisting and turning my opponents and taking the
ball early.
"I tried to volley as much as I could ... volley short of course,
but also volley to the back. I think my deep volleying has been good
this week, and I was trying not to give Peter too many chances, as
he has an amazing ability to catch the ball.
"So I tried to bury him in the back, and that's where I think I hurt
him. Not by taking him to the front, but by keeping pushing him to
the back, and taking the ball early."
You soared in this tournament. Marriage?
"Yes, I was joking with John White last week, who said that after he got
married he started winning all his tournaments ... it seems to be
working for me!
"But seriously, Melinda has made a great difference to my life. Her,
my family, my coach Shawn, Patrick my physio, getting me motivated
again.
"I'm not sure why this week was do great, maybe it's just one of
those weeks where everything works for you ... everything just
clicked into place.
"In the past year I've played a lot of semis, and I was quite
frustrated as I was getting chances to take the lead but not taking
them. That's why I'm ranked three and Thierry's one, he's just been
much more consistent than me.
"So I'm trying to focus on winning tournaments now, not just getting
to the semis. Everyone gets frustrated to lose the semi, and to have
to watch the final."
David Palmer |
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"The problem today was that when David was in control he'd score
three or four points in a row, but when I was in control I'd only
get one or two.
I was constantly 1/6, 1/7 behind, and you can't keep on coming back
from that far down. David was very strong, and I didn't feel I had
much left in the tank. But it wasn't that far off, and that's good
to know."
You volley everything, don't you?
"I've always played that way, in all the sports I play. Tennis,
badminton, squash ... I always volley, I always go for the ball. I'm
proactive, not reactive."
What about missing out on your 50th title?
"I've had a few close calls, but I know I've got 50 in me, I know
that.
I'm very happy at the moment ... although I'm a bit sore, and
bruised everywhere from diving all over the place tonight."
After all this time,
why do you still do that?
"Because I love it, that's the fun part of what I do. All the
travelling, living out of hotels, that's no fun. But getting to the
final of a major event, playing in front of a great crowd who
love it, that's what squash is all about."
What next?
"Well it's Canary Wharf on Monday, then two weeks' training, then
off to Bermuda."
You play Jonathon Power on Monday?
"Yes, who arranged that one! To win I'll just have to play better
than him ... which I know I can do."
And Bermuda?
"I'll start from scratch. I've got Wael [El Hindi] in the first
round, and he's playing well so I have to be very well prepared. I'm
arriving five days before the start to make sure my preparation is
good."
How do you feel about your
squash at the moment?
"I'm still enjoying it, actually more now than I have done for a
very long time. I'm regressing to childhood ..."
Peter Nicol |
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DAVID'S PRESENTATION SPEECH
"It's always a great achievement to beat Peter, he's been the best
player for the last five or six years, and just when you think
he's slipping off the pace he just keeps coming back at you harder
than ever. So I'm really pleased to have won here.
"It's disappointing about the rain, obviously, but it's been a
great tournament and everyone involved in the organisation should
be proud."
David Palmer |
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FINALS
