QUARTERS

OUTSTANDING PETER

It started on the second rally of the match between Peter Nicol and Anthony Ricketts, which must have lasted around 200 strokes, and went on forever, won by Peter, and having both players hands on knees, gasping for air, with the Boss smiling to his opponent and the audience a sentence in the style of “just 5 more games to go…”

We then knew we were on for a classic.

Anthony Ricketts is in the physical shape of his life at the moment. In the ToC, he soared above all his opponents thanks to his exceptional fitness and extraordinary determination. Peter Nicol admits that he is not at his top physically, having had little time to train recently, but as far as his squash and motivation are concerned, the Boss is fine, thank you very much.

Let’s make it simple here. The first two games, Peter was in the front, controlling the rallies, varying the pace, and forcing Anthony into the back and then to the front, and to the right, aaaand to the left, let’s start all over again…

The next two, Anthony stepped up the pace, hit as hard as he could some great deep shots that were forcing Peter to dig in a bit deeper than he physically could. The Australian was shooting at everything that moved, Peter was retrieving as he only knows how, again and again…. All through the games, an amazing pace, and some astonishing rallies….

All that to arrive at 2/2, with a Peter close to exhaustion, and Ricketts, having worked hard for it, ready for the kill.

3/0 for Anthony. 6/1. 8/2. 10/4, match ball.

The boss scored the next 8 points.

In PAR scoring.

I tried to write down the wining shots (I have them). I’ve tried to explain what happened. I tried to describe the last match point saved by Peter that is probably the rally of the tournament. It’s basically impossible. You can’t describe or explain state of grace, that moment where you just get on automatic pilot, and glow magic…

Today, the Boss didn’t want to lose.

"When he was attacking, and pushing me deep to the back, there was nothing I could do. Physically, I got tired, and started to go under But he made a couple of tins, lost a bit of confidence...

"In the fifth, I was just so tired, like I told you yesterday, I don't feel that fit yet. I know that in the fourth, I was dropping too much, but I didn't have the choice, I was just too tired...So when I found myself down match ball 4/10, I have been in the reverse situation before, I know what the pressure is, and I was counting on him making some mistakes.

"I thought "just give me a couple of chances, and I'll take it". And that's what happened. He went for too short, made a couple of mistakes, lost his rhythm, and that was it.

"Obviously, I can't rely on that kind of luck, this can happen only once every thousand times. Normally, he would beat me. But as a one off, it's a pretty good feeling to come back from that far back..."

Peter Nicol

[4] Peter Nicol (Eng) bt [7] Anthony Ricketts (Aus)
11/6, 11/9, 8/11, 10/11(0-2), 11/10(2-0) (85m)

LINDA: TOO TIRED…

Linda Elriani has had a great start to the year, winning most of the tournament she’s been in, and playing at the top of her game. But all those travels, all those matches, have finally taken their toll on the English lady, and I never felt that she had the stamina to beat world number one Rachael Grinham today.

Linda made an awful start, and was led 0/5 before starting to get her thoughts together it seemed. But as the true fighter she is, she came back from 2/6 to 7/7, and making sure that she was sending the ball past her opponent and steppng forward, she clinched the first game 9/7 in 12 minutes.

But that comeback took a lot of her energy reserve. The next game was a formality for Rachael, 9/0 in 8 minutes. Having had the time to rest and catch her breath, Linda took the initiative in the third, getting in front of her opponent, lobbing beautifully, and placing some exquisite volley drop shots to lead 5/2.

But Rachael is so quick on the court, she moves so well, has an incredible talent to counterattack, and places lethal redrops in both front corners. Linda had to dig in and dig in, and that took the energy she just didn’t have in the tank today.

Rachael took the 3rd and the 4th to the same score, 9/5, staying in control for most of them, applying pressure on Linda, unable to get to the front to place her famous lobs. The match still lasted 54 minutes, and was of an excellent standard indeed…

Tomorrow, I will have the pleasure to see Nicol David and Rachael play for the first time, and on the glass court… I’m looking forward to that. Well, if the weather allows it obviously…

"I’m so glad that Texas is three weeks away. I’m just shattered, not from my match yesterday, just physically exhausted. Since the beginning of the year, I’ve played five tournaments and won four of them. I have been travelling non stop, I feel knackered.

"Today, to beat Rachael, I should have been able to move better, to get in front of her, but I was lacking a bit in stamina. All credit to her, she played well, and she deserved to win.

"I’m now going to stay away from the court for two or three days, I’m a bit squashed out really, and then start training again. I have been enjoying my squash so much this year, I’ve had such a great start, I don’t want to lose it, I want to keep on enjoying it, and never arrive to the point when I say, ohhh, I’m playing another game of squash, what a bore…"

Linda Elriani

[1] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt [5] Linda Elriani (Eng)
7/9, 9/0, 9/5, 9/5 (54m)

"Linda is a very consistent player, strong and steady, in particular for the past few months where she has come back very strong. But today, the conditions were hot and sweaty, the ball was bouncing a lot, and she doesn’t like that too much…

"Today my game plan was to avoid putting any shots on her forehand to prevent her from playing onto my backhand, as she normally gets a nice angle, very difficult to return.

"I like playing on the glass court, it’s a very true court, even if today it was a bit humid, so the floor was slippery. But the venue is quite spectacular.

"I know that my choice to live in Cairo may seem surprising, but why do people chose to live in London or elsewhere… It’s a personal choice. I like the lifestyle, it’s cheaper than to live in Europe, the weather is nice and the people are nice.

"I’m really proud to have stayed for 10 months at the World number 1 spot, it’s a great feeling, although this tournament could change everything."

Rachael Grinham

RAIN IN THE DESERT

Trust me to make the rain fall in places where is NEVER rains…. Come on, we are in the middle of the blipping DESERT for crying out loud… And on whose head falls the first drop?

Yop.

Joke apart, I wonder if there are rules for “change of venue due to rain interruption” in the PSA/WSF book. If somebody knows that, please let me know…

In front of the glass court, I was surrounded by Egyptians, came in great numbers to support the Prince, Amr Shabana, against Englishman Lee Beachill, world number 2, who recently seemed to be an easy target for the Egyptian.

Just in case you don't follow squash that often, Amr beat Lee in Chicago and in the ToC in a very short period of time in the punishing score of 3/0. “He obviously finds it easy to beat me”, a very disappointed Lee told me after his defeat in New-York.

Well, Lee must have changed something in his game plan, because Shabana was not allowed to display his magic today at all, whether on the glass court or on a traditional court.

Amr was very patient throughout the match. He didn’t go crazy as he darn well knows how to, he played a tight game, precise length, good width. But then again, at that game, Lee is probably the best in the world, and he didn’t give the Egyptian practically any opening. Getting more and more frustrated, Amr couldn’t attack in a good position, and was forced to make the error too many times.

Then again, they were at 6 all in the second when it started to rain, momentum with Shabana who just came back from 4/6. So, if he had taken the game, making it 1/1, who knows…

But after the interruption, when the match resumed and the Egyptian found himself down 2/0, I don’t think that he had the mental resources today to come back, especially against Lee Beachill, who is famous to get on a roll, and who is at those moments, practically unstoppable…

So Lee seems cured from the Shabana’s syndrome, and is now facing David Palmer, in a match that could be slightly explosive, as it will be the first encounter of those two champions since their controversial match in the semi-final of the World Open in Qatar.

But hopefully, both are great professional, and will have at heart to play top squash, and not settle old scores….

[2] Lee Beachill (Eng) bt [5] Amr Shabana (Egy)
11/8, 11/9, 11/7 (40m)

"I started well, I got in front of him from the start, I was playing tight to avoid giving him any openings, I didn’t give him the chance to attack. So today, I could impose myself on him, a thing I had been unable to do in my two previous matches against him, because I started to play a bit loosely, which allowed him to play some great shots, giving him the confidence he needed.

"Today, he didn’t have the opportunity to take confidence in his game.

"It was unfortunate that we had to leave the glass court, I felt that he was starting to feel tired, that I had the control of the match. So I just gritted my teeth, and decided to accept what was happening, and just play the game as it was.

"During the travel back to the club, even upstairs waiting to get on court, I was so tired that I could have fallen asleep, you know how it is with squash players after we stop playing, there is a big drop in the energy level. So I warmed up pretty hard, and really hyperventilated myself, which meant that when I got on got, I was pretty high… That’s why when I won, I was very hyper…"

Lee Beachill

NOT SURE WHAT HAPPENED…

Sorry guys, maybe I was starting to be a bit tired last night when David Palmer and James Willstrop came on (it was past 11pm), but I’m not exactly sure of what happened. And that's what I actually said to James after his match.

OK, he was down two games, David was playing as always a patient, strong, tight and inch perfect precision game, but James, making some usual “unforced” errors, was right there on his heels.

Then in the third, everything went James’ way, and the young Englishman took the game 11/3 in 8 minutes.

"We are on for a five setter" we all thought. Not at all. In the fourth, and it’s not that James did anything wrong, didn’t get crazy, didn’t put anything in the tin, didn’t go for too much too soon, but suddenly, David was scoring point after point as if he was putting money in a sweet distributor…

James really stepped up the pace at 1/9, and “managed to get some respect” as he said, by scoring a few precious points to come back to 4/9.

“Do you think the same thing could happen twice in a day?” I asked Anthony Ricketts sitting next to me. “Can it happen twice a in year!” smiled Anthony…

And no, James couldn’t come back from 1/9 and push for a decider. And David finished the game with a full tank.

I think Robert Edward’s nickname for him describes his fitness to perfection “the Marine of Squash”…

[3] David Palmer (Aus) bt [6] James Willstrop (Eng) 11/6, 9/11, 11/3, 11/5 (58m)

"I like playing James. He is a very fair player, you know there won’t be any problems of lets or strokes, so you can just concentrate on the game.

"Today I was trying to contain him, to push him to the back, of course, but especially to contain him, and to not give him any openings. I was trying to not give him much time to attack. In the past, I’ve had a lot of success playing that way.

"I had a game plan for the glass court, but I just adapted it to the normal court. In the third, I lost a bit of concentration, I just relaxed, and we had some pretty good rallies where I was OK, where I was in control, but he surprised me, in particular with his long reach.

"Physically, I knew I made him work very hard, and I was pretty confident that even if I had lost the fourth, I would have won in the fifth."

David Palmer

"I’m not too unhappy about the match. I thought that I got back into it in the third, that I was playing well. And then, in the fourth, it went so quickly, it just ran away. Before I knew it, I was down 4/1, then 9/1.

"But I didn’t feel that is was a complete waste of a game, I thought I still played well, and made him work hard. But it’s quite a mystery really, not sure what happened. I guess that I need a bit of a chance, and I didn’t managed to get it I guess. The fourth didn’t run my way at all.

"But Dave is so strong, he is a tough competitor, he is at the top of his form at the moment, so I’m not too disappointed as he played really well."

James Willstropr

TOP LINCOU

Karim Darwish is a true Egyptian. He plays a very offensive game, but balances it with a very patient game, tight to the wall, pushing his opponent right to the back, to crucify him with an inch perfect volley drop shot.

Thierry Lincou, World Champion and number one on the PSA ranking, has not been at the top of his form in the past weeks. I saw him in New York a few days ago, and although he played well and won an impressive match against David Palmer in the semi-final, I found that physically and mentally, he was a bit “just”, as we say in French…

But yesterday, after using the first game to find his mark on a court he didn’t know and wasn’t prepared for, Thierry was back in business. As a lot of you may know, I know the rascal quite well, and I know his body language by heart. The way he was looking at the ball, the weight he was putting in his shots, the slow motion he used before serving, where he slows down all his movements up to hit the ball to serve, I knew we weren’t going for a 5 setter…

Karim played to perfection, he has nothing to reproach himself for, except maybe a bit of fitness, but Thierry really made him work hard. And still, the Egyptian succeeded to place some gorgeous drop shots and volley drop shots. But Thierry's backhand drop shots really did some damage to Karim, who most of the time, had to run from the total opposite corner to try and pick them up.

It was a strong and extremely pleasant game.

Tomorrow, the Frenchman plays the Mighty Boss, who dug so much today to come back against Anthony Ricketts, but do not forget that it’s probably when he is tired and with no pressure that Peter is the most dangerous…

[1] Thierry Lincou bt [8] Karim Darwish (Egy) 7/11, 11/6, 11/6, 11/6 (57m)

"In the first game, the ball was really hot, so I could play the ball my way, really tight, hitting hard. Then the ball got cold, so I tried to volley, but he was very good in the middle, and he was making me move all around the court.

"I wanted to play on the glass court, I knew that I would be able to play the ball very tight to the wall. So great disappointment to play on the normal court.

"I was very focused on winning the match, but so was he. I think Thierry was on top form, playing probably at his best. I know I did my utmost best. I realise now that my squash is OK, that I play very well, but that I have to work on my physical fitness and stamina, and work on a more basic game, to be able to win that kind of matches…."

Karim Darwish

"I was pretty clear in my head, I knew what I wanted to do, I tried to loosen up. As we talked about with Isabelle, I went very close a quick exit yesterday, so I had to find my best squash today.

"Against Karim, you’ve got to be on the offensive, which means, sending him to the back of course, but also getting in front of him. As I didn’t have any training on the normal court whatsoever, I didn’t know what to expect, how the court was responding, if I had to hit or not, play low or high, I didn’t have any marks…

"But I didn’t mind the change to the normal court at all. Quite on the contrary, I was dreading the glass court, as the floor was pretty slippery when we played there with Joe.

"Karim is an attacker, he is always very dangerous, and I knew I had to play my best squash to pass him and overtake him. Tomorrow, I’m playing Peter, who beat me quite badly in Rennes 3/0, and also in Qatar. So, I’ll try and play my best squash."

Thierry Lincou

Quotes & Photos, morning session
action photos from Fritz Borchert www.squash-u-bild.net

A MATCH TOO FAR FOR
LAURA-JANE

As it was to be expected, after her two hard matches against Isabelle Stoehr in the qualifiers, and yesterday against Engy Kheriallah, a full of cold Laura-Jane Lengthorn was too tired, too stiff to counteract against a Nicol David in full possession of her strength and game.

As Vicky Botwright, who was watching her friend Laura, told me : “Nicol is too good a player, when you play her, you’ve got to be at your top, both physically and mentally. Today, Laura was just too tired…”

[4] Nicol David (Mas) bt [Q] Laura Lengthorn (Eng)
9/3, 9/1, 9/0 (24m)

"I started off quite well, but as soon as Nicol started to play short, that was it. The brain could see it, but the legs couldn’t get there…

And as Nicol got a bit of confidence, as she could see that I was struggling, she just got faster and faster…"

Laura Lengthorn

"She was pretty tired, as she had two very good wins in the previous rounds. I felt good on court, I was confident with my shots, everything came off, it was a good match ..."

Nicol David

TOO SHORT TOO SOON FOR YOUNG GRINHAM

Natalie Grinham was not happy today with the way she played. She was making a few too many mistakes, played too short too soon, and found herself 2/0, 8/0 down before she started an improbable comeback… that nearly worked, as she got back to 6/8, stringing 6 points in a row.

But the American Natalie Grainger got the serve back, and the second match ball was the good one. A 31 minute match that allows her to play World Champion Vanessa Atkinson on the glass court tomorrow…

[6] Natalie Grainger (Usa) bt[3] Natalie Grinham (Aus) 9/6, 9/6, 9/6 (31m)

"Yes, it was not too long a match, but I still had to work hard, especially in the third, as I was up 8/0, and she started to close up on me… I tried a couple of tricky shots that didn’t work, so I have to do something about that pretty quickly…

"Natalie got a bit mad with herself, she got very frustrated. So I kept the pace up, stuck to my game plan – keep it tight, keep it controlled. I also tried to play short, but as she is very quick, I made sure that the ball bounced twice before thinking that I'd got the point."

Natalie Grainger

ATKINSON UNSTOPPABLE?

Vanessa Atkinson didn’t take prisoners again today against young Jenny Duncalf, who probably played the game of her life yesterday against Jenny Tranfield. The first game last 7 minutes, and ended on the punishing score of 9/0.

In the second, Vanessa shot up 5/2, only to relax slightly, making a few unforced errors, which game a bit of confidence to the English girl that came back 5/5. But the precision of Vanessa’s boasts, lobs and drives allowed her to take the second in 13 minutes, 9/5.

The third was a very positive game for Jenny, who got the first two points, and then matched her opponent shot by shot. 3/3. 4/4. 6/6. 7/6 for Jenny. A tin. 7/7. We stayed a few rallies at that score, but Vanessa’s game was so controlled, so precise, that Jenny had to take more and more risks to try and finish the point, and as it often happens, ended up making the error.

Vanessa took the last game 9/7 in 37 minutes, and I’m personally looking forward to her semi-final against Natalie Grainger. Who is my money on? Yeah, right, like I’m going to tell you….

"Terrible, awful start. I think I had too much respect in the first game, I was not aggressive enough. It’s only in the second that I started to get into the match.

"Vanessa makes you work so hard, and I could feel the match from yesterday, I was aching everywhere… I went for silly shots at crucial points, and again the same in the third."

Jenny Duncalf

[2] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned) bt Jenny Duncalf (Eng) 9/0, 9/5, 9/7 (37m)

"In the first game, I was quite confident, I was well on the T, and I kept volleying. In the second, I had to work a bit harder, she was starting to get a bit more into the match. But in the last one, she really relaxed, went for her shots, and I got tired basically!

"So I tried to stop playing silly shots and giving her points, tried to get her behind me, playing tight, to prevent her from attacking, hoping that she would go for too much too soon… And it worked."

Vanessa Atkinson