Perfect start for Anthony

You can't ask for much more than to go 10-0 up in your first game in the PSA Masters, and that's exactly what Anthony Ricketts did today.

The Australian second seed didn't manage a whitewash in that first game, but he stayed on top throughout, with young Dutchman Laurens Jan Anjema always on the backfoot.

Anjema held his own at the start of the second and third games, but was always under pressure, always doing more work, and Ricketts was ready to accelerate when necessary to pick up the Dutchman's best shots.

From 5/4 in the both second and third games Ricketts pulled clear to complete a satisfyingly comfortable first round win.

Commonwealth Gold Medalist Lee Beachill made a succesful return to singles action on the BSRA courts as he beat Australia's Dan Jenson in a competitive three games ...

"It was a perfect first round match. I started well but Dan made me work hard and I ended up game ball down in the first. I managed to win that game and then felt in control after that.

"Dan's always dangerous and I had to keep concentrating throughout the match"

New French National Champion Gregory Gaultier joined Thierry Lincou in the second round, beating another Commonwealth Gold medalist ...

"It was a good first round match. Joe is the kind of player that makes you work really hard. I feel strong physically and quick onto the ball.

"I took two days off before this and really wanted to play today. I enjoyed it and it was a great start"

Third time lucky for Cameron

Originally slated to play defending champion, Australia's Cameron Pilley bypassed Power's replacement Shahid Zaman - visa problems - and finally came to face Welsh veteran Alex Gough.

The Welshman started the better, leading 6/2, but from 7/4 a series of errors let Pilley back into it, and with Gough feeling aggrieved at a couple of decisions the first game slipped away.

Pilly took advantage of more Welsh errors at the start of the second, and held on to take an unexpected two-game lead.

The rallies lengthened in the third as Gough worked his way back into the match, the scores rose in unison but from 9-all Gough squeezed home to pull one back.

He carries his momentum into the fourth, and at 9-4 a decider looked likely. Four winners from the Australian racket and a simple tin from Gough levelled matters.

The last two rallies were probably the longest of the match as both played safe, looking for an opportunity. Both finished with a flourish of shots, and it was Pilley who found two clean winners to take the match.
 

The first match since a highly successful Commonwealth Games for Peter Nicol started badly, but he quickly found his rhythm to take the next three games ...

"It was a very tough first round. I played well, there was always a danger after the Commonwealths that I'd be a bit sluggish but I'm hitting it well, moving well and I enjoyed that a lot. Joey played at an unbelievable pace with no errors, it was just great squash."

In the all-Egyptian clash Karim Darwish wasted no time in beating Hisham Ashour, a late entrant due to the visa problems of the Pakistani players ...

"I know Hisham is talented so I had to be focused to beat him as well as I did. I tried to play tight and it worked, I played well.

"Next I play Peter Nicol on the glass court. It is always hard playing Peter but the glass suits my game, I am looking forward to it."

Mission Impossible 3 for Kyme

The town crier demanded full support, and the packed house duly duly delivered. It was the third time that wildcard Nick Kyme had faced a top player in the opening round in Bermuda - Peter Nicol, Thierry Lincou and now David Palmer.



Nick held his own at the start, holding Palmer to 3-all, but a punishing rally seemed to take a little out of the Bermudian as Palmer's greater power and accuracy began to tell.

The first game went away quickly, and it was 8/0 in the second before the crowd got another chance to cheer. Kyme scored three points in a row, but couldn't stop Palmer taking the second.

Friend and training partner or not, Palmer wasn't going to put on a show, conserving energy in early rounds, especially in 32-draws, is important, and he didn't relent in the third.

"I knew it was going to be hard, but somehow I wasn't as much 'up' for it as I was hoping to be. I found it a bit hard to get going, never felt I was moving well. "At 3-all in the first I thought 'this is fine, I can do this', but then we had a really hard rally and it was hard to get going again. "I was nervous, but not as nervous as last year, maybe that was the problem. I'd have liked to do a bit better, get to seven or eight in a game and give myself a chance. "But all credit to Dave, he's never going to give you any easy points, he knows he needs to get off as quickly as possible. "Dave would be my favourite for the tournament now ..." Nick Kyme

What a Finish!

It was a late night, but it was worth waiting for. Ong Beng Hee and Wael El Hindi, replaying their 1998 world junior open final, served up a classic for the Bermuda crowd, who remained, rooted to their seats as the drama unfolded.

It wasn't classic squash, and referee Dean Clayton will fell he's made a whole tournament's worth of decisions in one match, but it was gripping stuff.

There was plenty of drama in the early stages, with two players trying their hearts out, plenty of skill, plenty of contact, plenty of incident, plenty of dives and spills, but all that paled into insignificance as the match drew towards the seemingly-inevitable tie-break in the fifth.

Wael took the first, Beng Hee replied and then overcame an early deficit in the third to take the lead, Wael levelled at two all, and all the time the referee was imploring both of them to play the ball, to play on without discussion, but in truth the 'discussions' just added to the drama.



Cut to 10-all in the fifth. By then every person in the arena had taken sides, and every rally was a story in itself. Finally, finally, a no let gave the match to Ong at after 11pm to conclude a gripping match.

In the post match interviews Ong said "it was my lucky night" and Wael said "it was his lucky night". It was that close, and it was a great watch, it's just a pity someone had to lose.

"That was a big match, it was coming and going in the fifth, coming and going. I tried my best, I got a match ball, but he got the luck in the end. "It will give me a push to work harder, on my training, on my concentration on the crucial points. Next time I get match ball I'll be better for this." Wael El Hindi

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