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• TODAY • SEMIS • QUARTERS • Day FOUR • Day THREE • Day TWO • Day ONE • Day Zero •
TODAY IN BERMUDA
Day SIX, 07-Apr, Semis:
Shabana & Nicol end French interest
[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [4] Thierry Lincou (Fra)
7/11, 11/8, 11/6, 11/9 (77m)
[6] Peter Nicol (Eng) bt [11] Gregory Gaultier (Fra)
11/5, 11/8, 11/5 (54m)
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[1] Amr Shabana
(Egy) bt [4] Thierry Lincou (Fra)
7/11, 11/8, 11/6, 11/9 (77m) |
Shabana holds off Lincou
Thierry Lincou is often a slow starter, but today he made the perfect
start, taking the game to Shabana and denying the Egyptian the
opportunities he thrives on to work his magic.
Lincou led 5/2 in double-quick time, with the first rally of any
duration coming as Shabana's volley just clipped the tin to take the
Frenchman to 6/2.
Shabana came out all guns blazing in the second, racing to a 6/0 lead
in no time with a dazzling array of winners, the rallies again
lengthening as he levelled the match.
 The
Egyptian stayed in front as he took the third game, always the one
looking to break out of the pattern of patient rallies.
Shabana hit four winners to open the fourth, but Lincou hung in,
keeping the ball tight to keep the Egyptian within reach. But from 7/6
Lincou hit two simple tins to put Shabana within touching distance of
the final, and a delicate boast increased the lead to 10/7.
Lincou embarked on one of his famous comebacks, hit an exquisite
volley winner to close to 10/9, and after three tense lets the
Frenchman lunged desperately at the Egyptian’s passing shot only to
hear the referee call “11/9, match to Shabana.”
Lincou was out of the court like a shot, screaming at the referee for
a let. As the audience went silent, the official relented and the
decision came … “Yes Let.”
It was to be only a brief reprieve for Lincou, as on the next point
Shabana hit another crashing drive, and this time Lincou’s dive was in
vain and his desperate appeal was denied.
Shabana was in the final …
 "Any
time you beat Thierry it's a good win.
"When he controls the game he gives you very few openings, and you
get lost trying to find a winner, which is what happened to me
tonight.
"You don't get easy chances against Thierry, only half chances so
you have to do your best to take them.
"He started well, like he did the last couple of time we played,
but I started getting in front of him in the second and thank God
it was enough."
Amr Shabana |
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En Bref Issue #4
 "I
lost a little intensity after the first game, and wasn't putting
as much weight on the ball which allowed him to come back into it.
"It's all in the head between the top players at the moment, it
often comes down to who wants it most, it's a very fine
difference.
"All credit to him, he played very well, he was sharp and I wish
all the best for him."
Thierry Lincou |
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[6] Peter Nicol (Eng)
bt [11] Gregory Gaultier (Fra)
11/5, 11/8, 11/5 (54m) |
Nicol does it again
...
Peter Nicol ended any hope of French representation in the
final when he put in another remarkable performance against Gregory
Gaultier.
 As
the match began both players were happy to play a patient game, moving
the ball to all corners of the court.
But whereas yesterday, against David Palmer, Nicol was eager to attack
at every opportunity, today he was content to contain the young
Frenchman, denying him any chance to display his undoubted skills.
Unable to work any openings against Nicol’s superb defence, the
pressure told on Gaultier as became more and more desperate to finish
the rallies.
From five-all in the first after 15 minutes of play, an impatient
Gaultier hit the tin seven times to give Nicol the lead, and still
smarting he went quickly behind in the second. There were no flash
winners from Nicol tonight, just impeccable length and solid
retrieving that asked all the right questions.
 A
brave comeback gave Gaultier hope of levelling the match, but at 5-all
a monstrous rally which ended in a let seemed to take more out of
Gaultier than Nicol. The Englishman moved to 10/7, Gaultier pulled one
back and at the end of a punishing rally at 10/8 to Nicol, the
Englishman was awarded a penalty stroke which left the Frenchman
fuming and distraught.
Gaultier’s concentration was broken as he quickly went 7/0 down in the
third game, and no-one comes back from there against Peter Nicol.
So Nicol, in his last appearance in Bermuda, faces world champion Amr
Shabana, looking for revenge for his crushing defeat at the Egyptian’s
hands in the World Open semi-final.
 "I
was just hoping to do OK this week, but once I get on court I'm
very competitive.
"I was more measured tonight than against David last night, you
have to be against Greg because he doesn't attack so much, you
have to maintain a constant pressure and not let him get control
of the court.
"It's hard work, but if I'd gone for too many shots and given him
the court he would have made me work so hard, and it paid off as
in the end he got frustrated.
"Amr's a phenomenal talent, he's won what, 8 of the last 9
tournaments he's played. He absolutely destroyed me in the semis
of the World Open, which was one of my targets, so I'm looking
forward to another crack at him."
Peter Nicol |
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THE BOSS AT HIS BEST…
You cannot not salute the man who’s been dominating the world of
squash for the past decade.
After going all the way in the singles competition in the
Commonwealth Games, ending with an emotionally supercharged final
against David Palmer, Peter went the distance in the doubles,
winning a 2h20 match of brutal hitting with partner Lee Beachill
against Australian pair Anthony Ricketts-Stewart Boswell.
Next day, back to the UK, 24 hours of flight more or less, then a
few hours in London, and another seven hours' flight on the other
side of the world, with a total of 17 hours of time difference in
three days.
They all cracked up, Englishmen, Australians, Canadians, they all
went flat with exhaustion. But not the Boss. Nope. Not only is he
still standing, but he finishes both the quarters and semis in
three games, to make sure he will be fresh for the final…
Every generation, Mother Nature offers us a phenomena, an
individual blessed with physical and mental superiority upon us
all. Mr Peter Nicol is one of those, and oh boy, is squash going
to miss him…
Framboise |
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