CALM THIERRY

My compatriot was ready for his encounter with Squash-Born again Ong Beng Hee. Moving fast, focused, he didn’t have one of his now famous doggy starts, and was precise and quick from the word go.

Beng Hee also played a good game, not playing as many lobs and drop shots as he did in the first round against Graham Ryding, but still was fluid in his movement, his volley drop shots from the back of the court were spotless, and his changes of direction lethal as ever. Also, he got quite a few points on return of serve, varying the shots and pace, quite remarkable really before his opponent changed his serve…

But after the loss of the first game on the tie-break, Bengy came back believing a bit less in his chances, and Thierry used all his shot variety to put the Malaysian under more and more pressure. In the third, the Malaysian had lost heart, and made far too many unforced errors, offering a quarter final spot to the Frenchman who’ll be delighted to face John White, and not his “Nightmare” Peter Nicol…

"I knew it was going to be a psychological battle before anything else, I had to show him that I was there, that it was going to be hard, and that I had the will to win. "It was very fortunate that I took the first game on a tie-break, not only psychologically, but also I think he dug more than I did during that game… "I felt good during the match, I was moving better, much better than yesterday. And I’m happy, not so much about the victory than by the way it was done…" Thierry Lincou

SWIFTLY PALMER

It is common knowledge that David Palmer has gone through a bad period, but he seems to be back, both mentally and physically.

David is wary of Karim Darwish. His quick hands, fast movement and unpredictability have caused the Marine of Squash many problems in the past. But today, none of that. A calm, positive, well in control David moved easily all around the court, putting the talented Egyptian under far too much pressure…

Karim played very well in the beginning of the match, his changes of pace and direction are typical of the Egyptian flair and brio, and he seized the opportunity every time it presented itself. Unfortunately, David was playing at such a level that Karim didn’t have many of those after a first very very long game…

The Australian will be delighted with a “quick” and painless victory against Karim, especially after all the doubts he had to combat recently…

"I always find it difficult to play against Karim, he is one of my “bogey” players, he is very dangerous. We seem to meet more in the League than in the PSA, but we always have some pretty close matches… "I was happy with the way I played, I could have won 3/0 I guess, but the first game was very long, 21 minutes I believe, and that was the game plan, because we know that Karim is not that strong with his fitness at the moment. So shame I lost the first game, but still, he had a drop off in energy after that… So happy to get through…" David Palmer

BRILLIANT GREG

Gregory Gaultier is one of those personalities that you love or hate, but one thing you cannot take away from him is his incredible talent. His racquet skills are breathtaking, he hides his shots beautifully by keeping his upper body facing the front of the court, doesn’t seem to even look at the ball when it’s behind him, and dispatches nicks like good deals at McDonald’s.

And today, he was facing yet again Amr Shabana, who THANK GOD has cut his yellow hair, who is famous for his brio, imagination and breathtaking talent, and whose results lately have been remarkable, stringing the victories like precious pearls…

“You wrote one day about me that you never know who is going to turn up on court, the World Champion Shabana or his grandmother, Framboise, well, today, it was my grandmother that turned up”, smiled sadly the heartbroken Prince of Egypt.

He was not at the top of his game today, far from it, and the stunning performance of my compatriot didn’t help, that’s for sure. Greg was imperial, although he still made a few tins too many, but his squash was a pleasure to witness, along with the friendship and respect that those two players have for each other.

Greg is now ready to face David for a spot in the semis. They are both desperately hungry for victory. This should be a fascinating encounter…

"I'm rusty! I've trained very hard for five weeks, but for the past 17 days, I had an injury, and I haven't been able to touch a racquet... So I'm rusty, and Greg played a spotless match, he hardly made any mistakes..." Amr Shabana

Vanessa tames Tania

It always looked like being one of the tightest matches of the day, and so it proved as defending champion Vanessa Atkinson advanced to the quarter-finals at the expense of Tania Bailey after four tough games in just under an hour.

"Playing Tania was the toughest second match of the whole draw. She should really be seeding in the top eight… "Since she’s been back, we’ve played four times I think, she won once, I did three times, but one was just when she came back, so it doesn’t really count, but every one of our matches have been hard. "She is so strong on the volley, and maybe she doesn’t put it away every time, but her upper body is the strongest of all the girls on the tour, and up in the air, she is so strong, and I love volleying… "In the fourth, I made sure I stayed in front of her and stepped forward. But on that court, it is so tempting to play short, as it’s so rewarding, I was losing my length and she got a good lead… "So I came back to my initial game, waited for the right opportunity, and then played a drop shot straight…" Vanessa Atkinson

ALEX UNSTOPPABLE…

If you had told me a week ago that Alex Gough, 35 minus-two-weeks-and-counting years old, would be playing in the quarter final of the Qatar Challenge, I would have probably advised you seek help…

After what Parkie described as “the best squash I ever saw him play,” against Lee yesterday, the Welshman was back on court today to face inventive Italian Davide Bianchetti.

Both players gave it all, having nothing to lose, and offered us some superb rallies, ran miles, retrieved, attacked, lobbed, and all that in a very friendly atmosphere, with both players chatting away to each other, to the point where excellent ref Nasser Zahran had to remind them that a match was actually happening here, and would they kindly return to it…

Alex was on a roll. Fit, confident in his game, having the experience of having been there, and the hunger of wanting it back, he outplayed my favourite Italian most of the match, although Davide imposed his magisterial volleying in the second game, leaving very few options to his opponent.

Still Davide will be delighted with his tournament, and Alex will now face James for a possible spot in the semis… Come on, Goughie!

"He played much better than I did, he was more accurate, he was much much more patient than I was… "In the third, I went too short too early, played some pretty bad shots as well, and he is so good at counter attacking, in particular on the back hand. Sometimes, I was controlling the rallies, but only for a short period, he was much more consistent… "Overall, he was just better…" Davide Bianchetti

INCREDIBLE PACE…

I’m relatively new on the Squash scene, but since 1986, I’ve seen a fair share of stunning matches. Well, believe me if I tell you that James Willstrop and team mate Nick Matthew played today at a sustained pace I’ve never seen before.

The whole encounter was at a great level, both technically, tactically, and mentally, but there were a few rallies where the speed, the variety of the shots, the change of pace, direction, angle, style, where the precision, the accuracy and the error free squash will resonate for a very long time in my brain cells…

Fact.

James played his first unforced error in the 24th minute of the match, at 3/0 in the second game. Then another one at 7/1 in the same game. And the next one at 12/11 match ball in the third.

“Well, now I know how to win a match then” James laughed his head off when I told him about that incredible record, “I just have to cut out the errors!!!”

And what about Nick? Oh well, he played five. Five errors in a 58 minutes three setter match.

That gives you an idea of the amazing quality of the squash that we witnessed tonight. It was absolutely astonishing, and the crowd, normally on the quiet side, rewarded those two champions with sustained rounds of applause after the stupendous rallies they offered us..

No doubt Nick will take his revenge soon, while James is playing the Unexpected Welshman….

"It was all a matter of getting the lead, getting a good start. I got there first, and the trick is to maintain it… "In the third, it was a tight, intense game, I had to play well to win, and I did. It was a thoroughly consistent game…" James Willstrop

Power backs out

The last match of the day saw Canada's second seed Jonathon Power take on the 'qualifier no-one wants', Stewart Boswell.

The Australian took the first game 11/6, but towards the end of the game was struggling with his back.

He came out for the second, which Boswell took to double the lead, but that was the end for Power as he retired suffering from back spasms to bring to an end a long day at the Khalifa Squash Complex.

"I didn’t look at the draw, so I didn’t know who I was supposed to play. "Anthony and I have been playing since we were 10 years old, we know exactly where the other one is going to hit the ball… "It’s been quite a while since we played… Hopefully, I’m going to play well, and it should be a nice match ..." Stewart Boswell

"I’m pretty excited, it’s good for both of us, it’s good for Stewart, I hope it will be a nice match… It just put a smile on my face…"

Anthony Ricketts