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Day
Four: Hectic Day in Doha ...
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Day FOUR, Wed 23rd Nov:
Men's Draw
Women's Draw
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PORTRAITS:
Byron Davis
EN
BREF:
Issue three
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Men's Round One (bottom half)
[12] Nick
Matthew (Eng) bt Adrian Grant (Eng)
11/10(3-1), 11/6, 11/8 (55m)
[8] James Willstrop (Eng) bt [Q]
Simon Parke (Eng)
11/8, 11/6, 11/9 (40m)
[Q] Davide Bianchetti (Ita) bt [16]
Shahid Zaman (Pak)
3/11, 11/7, 11/10(2-0), 10/11(0-2),
11/7 (62)
[Q] Alex Gough (Wal) bt [4] Lee
Beachill (Eng)
11/7, 13/11, 11/9 (50)
[15] Olli Tuominen (Fin) bt [Q] Cameron Pilley (Aus)
11/8, 11/8, 11/8 (45m)
[7] Anthony Ricketts (Aus) bt Wael El
Hindi (Egy)
11/7, 11/9, 11/7 (48)
[Q] Stewart Boswell (Aus) bt [13]
Azlan Iskandar (Mas)
11/10(4-2), 11/7m, 11/9 (51m)
[2] Jonathon Power (Can) bt Joe Kneipp
(Aus)
11/5, 11/5, 9/11, 11/4 (58m)
Women's Round One
[1] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt [Q] Triciah Chuah (Mas)
9/2, 9/0, 9/2 (20m)
Dom. Lloyd-Walter (Eng) bt [11]
Shelley Kitchen (Nzl)
2/9, 9/7, 9/7, 3/9, 9/7 (61m)
[6] Vicky Botwright (Eng) bt [Q] Raneem
El Weleily
9/1, 10/8, 10/9 (39m)
[10] Madeline Perry (Irl) bt [Q] Louise Crome (Nzl)
10/8, 9/3, 9/0 (34m)
[3] Nicol David (Mas) v [Q] Runa Reta (Can)
9/0, 9/4, 9/3 (22m)
[12] Annelize Naude (Ned) bt Engy Kheirallah (Egy)
4/9, 10/8, 10/8, 9/3 (52m)
[5] Linda Elriani (Eng) bt [Q] Amelia Pittock (Aus)
9/2, 9/2, 3/9, 9/7 (36m)
[15] Rebecca Chiu (Hkg) bt Carla Khan (Pak)
9/4, 9/2, 9/5 (40m)
[16] Laura Lengthorn (Eng) bt [Q] Suzie Pierrepont
9/2, 10/8, 9/7 (32m)
[8] Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy) bt Pamela Nimmo (Sco)
7/9, 9/0, 9/5, 9/2 (29m)
[13] Isabelle Stoehr (Fra) bt Sharon
Wee (Mas)
9/2, 3/9, 9/4, 6/9, 9/3 (52m)
[4] Natalie Grinham (Aus) bt [Q]
Jaclyn Hawkes (Nzl)
9/4, 9/1, 9/2 (21m)
[14] Alison Waters (Eng) bt Tamsyn
Leevey (Nzl)
9/3, 5/9, 9/6, 7/9, 10/8 (75m)
[7] Jenny Duncalf (Eng) bt [Q] Becky Botwright (Eng)
9/5, 9/2, 9/0 (32m)
[9] Tania Bailey (Eng) bt Latasha Khan (Usa)
9/3, 9/2, 9/1 (22m)
[2] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned) bt Tegwen Malik (Wal)
9/1, 5/9, 9/1, 9/0
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BEACHILL BOWS
OUT
[Q] Alex Gough (Wal)
bt [4] Lee Beachill (Eng)
11/7, 13/11, 11/9 |
ASTONISHING GOUGHIE…
 OK.
I admit it, sorry Alex, when I saw the line up Lee
Beachill v Alex Gough, I decided to go and catch
up with a bit of writing, thinking ok, Alex is going the
give a pretty good performance, but Lee is going to end it
3/0 no sweat.
Thank GOD back in the UK, Steve Cubbins was following the
match on the score board, and sent me a message to tell me
that the Welshman was up 1/0.
Dropping my writing, I rushed to the glass court, where I
arrived at 6/6 in the second, and witnessed the stunning
performance of the nearly-retired-let’s-give-it-another-go
35 years old Goughie.
Yes, Lee didn’t play at his best, far from it, as for
example, he was playing too soon short shots that he
normally plays at the end of very long rallies, once he’s
scotched his opponent on the backwall, but he was facing a
Super Alex today, who wouldn’t put a ball wrong during the
whole match.
Already in Manchester, during the last British Open, Goughie
nearly took Frenchman Thierry Lincou out, so I knew he was
in pretty good shape both mentally and physically, but
tonight, Alex stunned us all by his performance.
As far as Lee is concerned, he is now my favourite for the
World title, as although he has lost here, he will be
refreshed and relaxed for Hong Kong.
Do not bury him too soon, guys, those Yorkshire Men are
resilient, you know. Do not bury him too soon…
 "He
played really well, and I played badly.
"I didn’t feel confident with my shots, and when I was
starting to get a bit of control, Alex would play some
awesome shots. He wouldn’t allow me to move him
around….
"He did everything a little bit better than I did."
Lee Beachill |
|
"On the first rally, I
had a back spasm. I thought, “well, that’s it then”!
 After
my match yesterday against Hisham, I couldn’t move, I
couldn’t walk, I couldn’t even touch my toes. But I felt
better when I woke up this morning."
"So I told myself, “be positive. In the beginning of the
match, he really started pumped up, pushed me around,
played extremely well, and quickly I found myself down
6/3, so I decided I was not going to have that kind of
game, and I stepped up, started to take the ball early,
and cut off the volleys and played straight.
"I think that Lee perhaps played a bit too negatively,
he was trying to hold me, but if he had cut me in more
he could have turned things around.
"My performance against Thierry in the British Open
really helped me today, as when I was 2/1 up and 10/8 in
the fourth, I went negative, and then Thierry started to
play some fantastic squash, so today, I didn’t fall into
that trap. Also, when I played Thierry, I hadn't had a
game at such a pace for a long time, and it was very
useful today, without that match I couldn't have played
like that today.
"This is definitely my best win in recent years… The
last time I was in the top 10 was 2001, and my best
result was against David Palmer in 2001 in the second
round of the British Open…"
Alex Gough |
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 "It’s
the best I ever saw Alex play, he didn’t miss anything, he
was quick, accurate, it took it early, and he didn’t hold
back…"
Simon Parke |
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 "Man,
he played super duper, it was flying around…"
Hisham Ashour |
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Willstrop wears down
Parky
[8] James Willstrop (Eng) bt
[Q] Simon Parke (Eng) 11/8, 11/6,
11/9 (40m) |
In an all-Yorkshire first
round match James Willstrop came through in three
close games against Simon Parke ... and now faces
another Yorkshireman in Nick Matthew in the second round.
 "Like
yesterday against Phil, it took me a little while
before I got into the match, but generally, I was
pleased with the way I played.
"He played the crucial points very well, and in the
third in particular, he really tightened up at the end
of the game, I could feel he was getting tired…
"A good performance for me, just not good enough."
Simon Parke |
|
 |
 "We
had 40 minutes of run out…
"I felt in control very often, but we still had some
pretty good rallies, and he makes it so hard, as he is
such a retriever and he never gives up…
"He was not at the top of his game to start with, but he
got more steady as the match went along.
"Simon is really one of those players you cannot lose
concentration against for even a minute, or you would
find yourself in a lot of trouble. You can never relax…"
James Willstrop |
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[12] Nick Matthew
(Eng) bt Adrian Grant (Eng)
13/11, 11/6, 11/8 (55m) |
NICK IN GOOD SHAPE…
I hadn’t seen Nick Matthew play since the English
Open, and it was well publicised that he didn’t play in the
British, and as I didn’t go to the Super Gerrard in
Manchester, it was the first time I saw him play for months.
He is fit and sound, and played an assured and precise
squash today on one of the traditional courts against close
friend Adrian Grant, whose squash has improved a lot
I find in the recent months, as he moved away from a “all
defending game” to a more balanced “attack/defence” one.
The twenty-five minute first game was fierce and could have
gone either way; in the second, the Londoner had a bit of a
drop in the energy level; but he came back with a vengeance
in the third, and was matching the Sheffield boy shot per
shot , 2/2, 4/4, 5/5, 6/6, 8/8.
But Adrian was not going to be allowed to score another
point, and Nick finished off each and every one of the long,
fierce and last rallies, and he will be happy to finish the
match in less than an hour as he is tomorrow meeting another
team mate James Willstrop…
 "I
tried to be as consistent as possible and I was
mentally prepared to stay an hour and a half on the
court if necessary, and I think that it made the
difference...
"We know each other’s games so well, we played so many
times, so many long matches since we were 12 years
old. We both play at a similar pace, a fast pace…
"Against Adrian, you cannot relax, because if I was a
few points ahead, he would push and come back, and the
same for me, he would go ahead a few points, and I
would push…
"The first round is always difficult, and this was
especially, it was tough to get Adrian, but that’s the
way it goes…"
Nick Matthew |
|
 "I
needed the first game… Nick played the important point
better than I did, and that was it really, but that’s
always the case for the top 5 or 10 guys…
"It was all the way through point for point, but then
when it came to the crunch, he played better… And as
usual, he controlled the middle very well…
"It was a tough draw for both of us, but that the way
the game goes. And it gets worse - in Hong Kong and in
Saudi, I’m playing Peter Nicol first round…
Adrian Grant |
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| [2]
Jonathon Power (Can)
bt Joe Kneipp (Aus)
11/5, 11/5, 9/11, 11/4 (58m) |
REJUVENATED JOE
 At
last Joe Kneipp is playing squash again.
He is motivated, he is fighting, he is running, he is
retrieving, he is attacking. In other words, he is back…
For months now he had lost any kind of envy of playing
squash, and he would play well one game, then stop and his
mind would wander around, and he would focus again… Lack of
motivation... Unhappiness...
Not good.
But tonight, he played remarkably well, didn’t give up at
any time, although he was down 2/0 against one of his
biggest challenges (and not only his obviously) Mr Jonathan
Power, and went out screaming.
As for the Magician, he was in great shape, moving fast and
swiftly, precise and lethal as ever, despatching his volley
drop shots, in control of most of the rallies.
And his next match, I do not want to miss, as he is meeting
with the Qualifier from Hell, Stewart Boswell… |
"I played well tonight, and there are two reasons for
that. One, I’m happier away from the court, and
Daniella is helping me enjoy my game again.
"Two, there are the World Teams coming up, and
although I let myself down in the past, it was only
me, but I’m not prepared to let my team mates down, I
couldn’t put my head on the pillow and sleep correctly
if I’d let my people down…
"I’m not taking anything away from Jonathon, he is
such a great player, so fast in his movement and with
his racquet, I always find it extremely hard to play
against him as he is so good, but today, the biggest
difference is that I was much more concentrated and
that I wanted it much more than I ever did.
"More than anything else, the difference today was
hunger, the hunger to win…"
Joe Kneipp |
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 "In
the third, he got some lucky points, and I lost
concentration…
"Joe played far better today than he ever played
against me. He hung in there, he ran pretty well, and
it paid off, as he got some lucky/good points,
depending on how you want to call them…
"I didn’t play bad, I didn’t play good at the front,
but not bad in the back…
"That court is so hard, every minute you stay on there
hurts you, but it’s my fault, I should have won in
three…
"But physically, I feel fine, I feel good…"
Jonathon Power |
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[Q] Davide
Bianchetti (Ita) bt [16] Shahid Zaman (Pak)
3/11, 11/7, 11/10(2-0), 10/11(0-2), 11/7 (62m) |
DAVIDE, A
GOOD PERFORMANCE
Davide Bianchetti played the perfect game
tactically against Shahid Zaman today, although in
the first game, he opened the court too much and seemed to
hesitate a bit too much between shots.
 Always
in the front from the second game, he was controlling the
rallies, and of course, although Shahid played us some
gorgeous winners as only he can play, finding nicks out of
nowhere as usual, moving well considering that he is
overweight in the squash world standards, it was the
Italian who imposed his style of play.
Shahid lost the tie break in the third on a no let and on
a tin.
In the fourth, he then saved two match balls, and got the
game on a tie-break yet again, this time on a no let
against his opponent, that led Davide to throw his
racquet, for which he got a conduct warning, 11/10. As the
Italian banged his hand twice on the wall waiting for
Shahid to serve, he was awarded a conduct stroke, 12/10.
But thank God Davide regrouped in the fifth, as it was
obvious to us all that victory was at hand, and he led the
decider from start to finish.
Shahid gave his best, fought hard, but couldn’t stop the
Italian who is now enjoying the prospect of not playing
Lee in the next round… |
 "As
far as the conduct stroke is concerned, I feel the
conduct warning for racquet abuse was justified, but
I sincerely do not understand why I got the conduct
stroke, as in my eyes, I was just trying to get my
concentration back, and banged the wall not in an
aggressive manner. I was not talking to the ref, I
was not arguing, I was just trying to get focused
again…
"Now, for the match, it’s so difficult to play
against Shahid, it was not a match I enjoyed, as
there are no rallies really. He plays such great
winners, but it’s a weird game, you know that you
are going to play short rallies, although he is
still very quick for a big guy, and the pressure is
immense, two, three shots, and a winner, or a let.
Very hard to play…
Davide
Bianchetti |
|
 |
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[Q] Stewart
Boswell (Aus) bt [13] Azlan Iskandar (Mas)
11/10(4-2), 11/7m, 11/9 (51m) |
STEWART:
ANOTHER TOUGH THREE SETTER
Once again a very difficult match for the Australian
Stewart Boswell, who battled with Azlan Iskandar
for 51 minutes of high paced and intense rallies. Fast and
furious would be a way of describing it…
"Today the ball
seemed to be moving quicker, the pace was really high
tempo, but I didn’t feel like I had much rhythm…
"I feel better physically than I did a few months ago,
but there are still things that need to be improved,
and I’m constantly working on those to make them
better to try and get to the next level…"
Stewart Boswell |
|
 "I’m
happy with the way I moved…
"The ball was dead on the court, so I guess I was tempted to
go a bit too short too early, which is not my game, I didn’t
concentrate on my length enough, and that’s why he took the
lead in the second and the third. So I got it back by
finding my length again…
"I knew Wael was a good player, I knew that he knew I had
concentration lapses, he would take full advantage, and I
was aware that I had to play well all the way through…"
Anthony Ricketts |
A SHOCK TO
START THE DAY
Dominique
Lloyd-Walter (Eng) bt
[11] Shelley Kitchen (Nzl) 2/9, 9/7, 9/7, 3/9, 9/7 |
The women's first round
started with an upset, as England's Dominique Lloyd-Walter
overcame New Zealand's 11th seeded Shelley Kitchen in
five games ...
"Definitely the best
I’ve ever seen Dominique play, it was just a beautiful
match. Shelley was a bit tense, in particular on the
important points, whereas Dominique had nothing to lose…
It was just a beautiful match, and I’m lost for words…"
Tania Bailey |
|
 "Last
week I’ve been working very hard, only for one week, but
it gave me the confidence, I felt physically very
strong, and it’s what I needed…
"I’m pleased with the way I played, even if I had lost I
would have been happy with my performance, winning is
obviously a wonderful bonus, but during the match, I
felt fantastic…
"I’ve been playing on the circuit for a long time, and
I’ve seen Shelley play as well for a long time, so I was
able to design a game plan of my own: keep it straight
and slow it down, as she likes attacking, and also, she
may not be as good in the front corners as she would
like to be, so when I had the opportunity, I went for
straight drop shots, and tried to volley as much as
possible…
"This will have to be one of the best-ever results of my
career…"
Dominique
Lloyd-Walter |
|
Reta and David |
Perry & Crome |
Leevey & Waters |
STRONG RANEEM
[6] Vicky Botwright (Eng) bt
[Q] Raneem El Weleily (Egy) 9/1, 10/8, 10/9 |
If World Junior Champion
Raneem El Weleily was a bit nervous when she got on court
with world number seven Vicky Botwright, she soon got
over it, and the two next games was close, disputed, and very
intense…
The young girl has undeniable talent, will, personality, and
she did put the English lady under a lot of pressure, with a
very mature and cool headed performance. But Vicky stuck in
there, attacked every shot, placed some nice drop shots, and
ran the match away as she always does…
A little fault Raneem will soon correct I’m sure, she commits
a bit too much to a side, and got wrong footed too many times
for her own good. But still, she got a game point in the third
at 8/5, got cold feet, played the worst drop shot in history,
then made some inexperienced errors, regrouped, got another
game point at 9/8, this time the drop shot found the tin…
The Egyptian should be delighted with her performance today.
And look out world, that little girl will startle you in the
coming years…
 "I
got a bit edgy in the second, I was actually down 5/1, I
found myself a bit tense and had problems to hit the ball
correctly…
"Raneem is so talented, and she is so young, what is she,
15? She’s got a physical ability that is just incredible,
I don’t know any English girl who can do what she does at
the same age.
"She’s got so much flair, and if she carries on playing,
she will be unbelievable. I just hope that she gets to the
top when my days are over!!!!!"
Vicky Botwright |
|
 "I
had too much pressure, too many things on my mind, and
couldn’t concentrate. I didn’t think I was going to
win and qualify, so I had to change my flight booking
that was planned for today, and I’ve got an exam
tomorrow, so I was thinking about all that, and was
not focused on the game to start with…
"Vicky is a very good player, she hits and runs well…
"I don’t think I played badly, I was a bit nervous
when I got to game point in the third… I know I could
have played better, but I’m happy with my game today,
at least I left a mark…
Raneem El Weleily |
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[14] Alison
Waters (Eng) bt Tamsyn Leevey (Nzl)
9/3, 5/9, 9/6, 7/9, 10/8 (75m)
|
IMPRESSIVE TAMSYN
 She
played really well, the mum from New Zealand, let me tell you,
and she gave a pretty good scare to young English star Alison
Waters, who didn’t find any real solution to the accuracy and
the stunning retrieving ability of Tamsyn Leevey.
Down 6/1 in the decider, Alison was blessed by a lucky nick on
a forehand crosscourt that seemed like a gift from up there,
and was the start of slow clawing back that was eventually
going to take her to victory.
Tamsyn couldn’t capitalise on a match ball at 8/6, and Alison
won hers at 9/8, at the end of a rally that left us all
breathless, as so many others during that fantastic display of
skills, determination and fitness the New Zealander offered us
today…
 "I
was really impressed by the performance of Tamsyn, she
is a very skilled player and once again, I was very
impressed by her accuracy
"Alison was maybe too eager to win the rally, and
wouldn’t play the extra length shot to set up a short
ball. She had to save a couple of match points, and
luckily enough she kept her composure in the end.
"I feel that the matches she has won in the past two
years have made the difference. It was great quality
squash…"
David Campion |
|
"My heart is like… outside my chest!
"When I was down 6/1 in the fifth, I knew I had to get
my act together otherwise I was out of the tournament.
"We never played together before, so I didn’t know what
to expect. She just kept running, running and running,
and she kept sending back shots that I thought were
winners… It was a tough one."
Alison Waters |
|
|
 "I
didn’t feel too bad, we had some good rallies, but she
gets so many balls back, you think you’ve hit a good shot,
but it still comes back, and you’ve got to play another
one, and another one…
"I’ve been on the tour for two years, but this is my first
year overseas, as I toured mainly in Australia and New
Zealand in the first year.
"What is the most difficult on tour? Nothing really! I’m
enjoying it immensely, otherwise, I wouldn’t do it, as
I’ve got other options (I’ve got two degrees, in law and
in commerce…)"
Jaclyn Hawkes |
 |
[13] Isabelle
Stoehr (Fra) bt Sharon Wee (Mas)
9/2, 3/9, 9/4, 6/9, 9/3 (52m)
|
ISA: A LAST PUSH…
According to the French clan who were watching the match,
the meeting between Sharon Wee and Isabelle
Stoehr was a very disputed one, a five setter that
lasted 52 minutes.
Isabelle got caught in the “lob drop shot” trap of the
Malaysian, and had all the difficulties in the world to
get out of it.
But all credit to her, she gave it a good last effort in
the fifth, and was able to conclude on a positive note… |
 |
 "We
had a good game, but in the last game, Isabelle
played a bit tighter, and I found myself attacking
from the wrong position. She was more aggressive,
and kept pushing me to the back…
"She had more pressure than me, she is the best
player, so she was really focused in the last game.
"But overall, playing five games against Isabelle is
great for me, because I think she is such a good
player, but I wished I had pushed that last push to
make an upset…"
Sharon Wee |
|
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