THE WEIRDEST MATCH

I’m sorry, guys, but I just don’t know how to explain what happened between Rachael Grinham, world number one, and Vicky Botwright.

For two thirds of the match, it seemed that Rachael was going to walk away with the match in 40 minutes. Moving extremely fast, she was everywhere Vicky was placing the ball. And although she lost the first game, she was ahead for most of it…

Come on, the Australian got the second and the third 9/1, 9/0! And nobody knows why, I don’t know, Vicky doesn’t know, and Rachael doesn’t either, it just turned round. Suddenly, the English lady was in front all the time, despatching her attacks, playing some adorable-irretrievable backhand drop shots that Rachael couldn’t save, again and again.

The Australian was unable to react to the momentum that Vicky imposed in the decider, and the points just kept on adding up on the score board, until we heard the voice of the ref, "8/0 match ball". And that was it.

In 48 minutes, Miss Botwright had just beaten the world number one ... [for the first time in 12 meetings since May 2000, SC]

"I was just thinking how I really don't have a clue what happened. The way it went, the score, is just all wrong. I had a plan, and I can remember volleying, and then… I don’t feel like we’ve just had a five setter either…. It’s weird… I just do not have any explanation… Rachael Grinham

TWO TINS, THAT’S ALL…

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the whole encounter, the whole 79 minutes of the battle between former number one John White and current number one Thierry Lincou came down to two unforced errors. The match was superb, played at a speed that only Johnny can impose on the tour, but changed as the match unfolded.

In the beginning, although he lost the first game (and I’m sure that comes as a surprise to you all…), Thierry was pretty much in control, imposed his game by combining shots sequences that forced John out of his comfort zone and forced him to make to many errors.

In the fourth, John was way ahead, putting so much weight on the ball that Thierry was forced to defend and defend again, and although the Frenchman saved three game balls from 10/6 to 10/9, John closed it up with a superb winner cross court…

In the fifth, Thierry went shooting ahead 4/1 then 6/3, and we thought it was all over. But John dug in, played a patient and pressuring squash, stepping in front of his opponent, and entered many backhand drop shots in particular to equalise at 8/8, then 9/9.

It was anybody’s game. But John went for a drop shot from the back of the court that went crushing in the tin. His heart stopped, I could see the despair and disbelief on his face. Came the next rally, where in typical Lincou Tight style, the Frenchman found a perfect length on the backhand wall that John couldn’t save, and again, found the tin on a backhand drop shot.

A more than disappointed White could only shake the hand of his opponent ad leave this court on which he beat Thierry so many times, offering him a semi final of the Qatar Classic against Calm David Palmer.

This should be a classic, I can feel it coming…

"He started to let go of his shots at the end of the third, he put more weight on the ball, and I ended up being behind him all the time, and as he was putting more and more pressure on me, I started to hold my shots, even when I created the opportunity, I was hesitating before playing a wining shot… "At the end of the fifth, it was a mental battle, a “war of the nerves”… "On match ball, I remembered the length that set me up my match ball against Lee last year here for the Worlds, and I looked for the same angle, and I think I found it… "Apart from that, I’m happy with the way I played in the first three games, I was relaxed, my shots were going in nicely, even if after that, I got a bit tense…" Thierry Lincou

CALM PALMER

I don’t know what David is on at the moment, but I could do with some, that’s for sure. I’ve never seen him so relaxed, yet still focused, so calm, so… not Old Style Palmer!

Already against Karim, he was smiling on court, didn’t get in any tense discussions with the ref, or frustrated against himself at all. And the same against Gregory today... those two were chatting, smiling, and even counting the number of lucky nicks (“you got three” said Greg in the fourth) that David enjoyed during the match. Even when the ref refused him a let on game point that gave the third to Greg, he just said “I could have got that one”, and calmly walked out…

And it seems to benefit his game tremendously. He moved well, hit good length, his short game was lethal, and his retrieving superb. And when he found himself down 2/1, his head was clear, he stayed in the match, perfectly focused, and pushed his opponent in a fifth that he thought and with reason would be to his advantage.

On the other hand, Greg made far too many mistakes to start with, that frustrated him, then found his rhythm, imposing his remarkable change of pace and direction, varying his squash at will, hiding his shots, and retrieving the irretrievable. But the young Frenchman didn’t hold to his game lead, started to lose concentration, made too many errors, lost the fourth, and in the fifth, didn’t have too much left in the tank, both mentally or physically.

Once again, close, very close for Greg, and it’s all part of the learning process I’m sure. And when Mr Lincou decides to go and live on his small island in the middle of nowhere, French Squash will still be on the World Squash Map, do not fear…

"I played very well in patches, I felt very good. I know I won the first game, and I hit everything perfectly or nearly, but it didn’t hurt him physically, it was not long, only 14 minutes. "When I was down 2/1, I remembered Pakistan, where he had a drop in the energy level in the fifth, and the same at the British Open against Jonathan. So I thought that if I could take him to a fifth, I would have a real chance… "But all credit to Greg, he played extremely well, he is not far off, and one of these days, he is going to win a major, that’s for sure… "On the fitness side, I feel fine, I moved well, maybe I wasn’t as sharp today as I was yesterday. I still felt in and out of the match, but it’s important to win on days like that, when you’re up and down… "It would have been nice to win in three though ..." David Palmer

Another Five-Setter!
  
Five five game matches in a row, as Natalie made sure that at least one of the Grinham sisters would appear in the semi-finals. Natalie raced into the lead, but Omneya starting her range as the match see-sawed to a tense conclusion ...

"This morning, it was such a weird match. Rachael played the perfect match for two games, and then, I feel that Vicky changed her game, and it all started to change. The fifth I think was all about Rachael's disbelief of what was going on… And it was hard for me to play a match after that, as I felt already drained… "To start with, Omneya was not in the match, and it’s so difficult to come back and play against a player against whom you beat 9/0, because she can only get better… So she played a good game, and I started watching it a bit… Then in the third, I played better, and in the fourth, she played better! "In the fifth, I had to stay in there, and it’s so hard to stay focused when somebody it so up and down with her game…" Natalie Grinham

JENNY NOT AT HER BEST…

The young Jenny Duncalf is an extremely talented player, but sometimes, her mind wanders, and off she goes in another world, bless her. But when you are playing world number two and world champion Vanessa Atkinson, it is not recommended…

Vanessa basically dominated most of the rallies, although she made a few tins that she was definitely not happy about, but still, she controlled the match until the end of the third game, where Jenny started to do what she should have done from the start, imposing herself, stepping in front, and playing a great patient, clever, constructed squash.

Oh well, like my grandmother used to say, “youth is a disease that quickly passes…”

TIRED ALEX

Well, I can’t exactly say that it surprised me to see Alex Gough slowing down the pace in the middle of the second, after playing a superb and disputed first game with young James Willstrop where he still saved three game balls before succumbing.

Let’s not forget that he had an extremely disputed match against Hisham Ashour in the qualifier, then took on Lee and Davide in four the night before.

James was the cherry on the racquet I’m afraid, and it took only 27 minutes for the Yorkshire boy (and only two unforced errors) to expel the “I’m still here” Welshman, who is as I write these words, somewhere in the air between Dubai and Hong Kong…

"I can’t expect of myself to perform as I did yesterday… I didn’t play that badly, as you’ve got to play well to beat Alex, he is one of those players what won’t go away… "It was an OK performance…" James Willstrop

"My body is getting tighter and tighter, it has started to really hurt... "In the middle of the second, I started thinking that I was playing Sunday in the Hong Kong qualifiers, and the mind suddenly wondered… I thought “I could kill myself”, so I was up for a rally, and off for the next one, whereas the whole week I’m been extremely focused the whole match. But tonight, it was hard to get mentally focused…" Alex Gough

STUART:
ON HIS WAY TO HK?

My only explanation for the surprising/poor performance of adorable Stewart Boswell against mate Anthony Ricketts is that he wanted to save a bit of strength for the qualifiers that start Sunday in Hong Kong.

Actually, I was told that he was on the same plane as Alex…