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Day Two Gallery, by David Barry

John Rooney (Irl) bt Bradley Hindle (Aus)           9/11, 13/11, 12/10, 11/8 (58m)

"Everything is there, physically, I’m hitting the ball well, just one or two things I need to work on, and I may be able to challenge the big boys.

"I had a great time training with David and Shaun in Antwerp, but it made sense for me to move to Amsterdam with Tommy Berden and Lucas Buit, who really helped me to raise my percentage.

"Still, even if I lost today, I was pretty close, and I've had a great month, I’m playing good squash. I had one bad match in 15, I can't complain…"

"I just seem to be having slow starts at the moment. It was a slow-paced match, these courts encourage that type of play. I usually like to play fast on a fast court, these don't really suit my game.

"I don't know how I came back [from 10/4 down] to win the third, but doing that gave me a boost and knocked him back a bit."

"I'm really, really pleased to qualify, really pleased …"

Julien Balbo (Fra) bt Dylan Bennett (Ned)    9/11, 11/6, 11/9, 8/11, 11/8 (72m)

JULIEN: THE REVENGE…

It was never going to be a relaxed and fun match between friends, was it, what, after the Frenchman failed by one to win the number of points he needed to qualify the French for the Final of the European Teams in Riccione a few months back, thanks to… Dylan Bennett.

But if it was a fierce match, it was a fair one, and of very high standard once we got rid of the nerves of the first two games, and started really playing squash.

Dylan’s backhand drive is stunningly glued-to-the-wall, and Julien was scraping the shots more than once, and as the French couldn’t get a length to save his life until the third, we thought the Netherlander’s precision would lead him to victory.

Still, supported by a contingency of French supporters, Julien started to find a good balance between length and short game, and really damaged his opponent in the fifth by taking an excellent lead 5/0, then 9/3, 10/4 match ball. But the Dutchman dug his heels in, found some great winners, even two lucky backhand crosscourt rollers that frustrated the Frenchman, and applied some great pressure with his lethal precision.

Was Julien going to crack up under pressure? Well, not tonight, and on a remarkable (lucky?) irretrievable backhand boast, the French ticked that box, “I will get into the British Open”…
  

"I didn’t relax for the whole match, I was unable to play a single drop shot without being wary. Still, happy to have won in those conditions. Actually, it’s one of my main problems, when the stakes are high, I’m unable to relax, and can’t put my attacking game in place.

"Happy to qualify of course, as I always am when I qualify for a big tournament. I’m also happy to maybe get the chance to play on a superb glass court in a super series tournament. And if I draw Shabana, I’ll do my best to stay on a whole 20 minutes …."

"I felt my legs quite heavy in the second one, but I didn’t feel that comfortable from the start really. In the third, I had a good start, but was a bit too impatient there, I wanted to score too quickly. Same thing at the start of the fourth, too….

"The fifth was really terrible to start with, I was down 6/0, but I came back. I was hoping he would choke when I got back from 10/4 match ball to 10/8, but he got a lucky boast in, I thought it could have been down, but it was actually good in the end! Still, I came pretty close…"

Saurav Ghosal (Ind) bt Aaron Frankcomb (Aus)           11/7, 11/8, 12/10 (55m)

"Last three weeks, I had a pretty bad time, so winning my first round here three love gave me a bit of confidence back. Today could have gone either way, it was 3/0, but in one hour, and all the scores were pretty close.

"The first one I could have won, but I made a few crucial errors on my backhand volley, and put my head down and became a bit negative.

"He picked up a lot, which is his strength really, and all credit to him, he played very well today. Still, I’m a lot happier than I was with my game, hopefully I can pick it up before Christmas and get my ranking up…"

"Back in August, I couldn’t walk properly for two and a half weeks, so I went to see Lee Beachill’s physio, who gave me some exercises to sort out my problem, and I was back on court only on the 1st September …

"Since I’ve been working with Malcolm, my shot making has improved enormously, before I came to him, two years ago, when I was back in India, I was all about retrieving. But now, I’m starting to play proper squash and move the ball around.

"Watching Lee and James on court helps me a lot to understand what Malcolm is trying to teach me. For example, James’ straight volley and drop shots are amazing, so Malcolm is explaining to me what to do, and I have James to look at to understand what it gives when it’s done properly. Hopeful, another 5/6 months of hard work, and I should be able to raise my game and start pushing for the higher level.

"And what you saw today, the shot making, it’s all Malcolm’s teaching and watching James, not that I’m trying to copy him, but I’m trying to get the same consistency. And as he is one of the nicest guys I know, I hope he does well here, and wins!"

"I thought I played well, I was a bit off in the first, didn't get into it too well, but then I found my game and played really well for three games. I should have won the second, coming back from 3/7 down to 10/7 up, then at match-ball I just tried a little crosscourt flick …

"But I'm happy with how I played, all credit to Daryl. It's good experience for me to play in the British Open, I'll come back next year and try to do better …"

Daryl Selby (Eng) bt Simon Rosner (Ger)       11/5, 12/10, 7/11, 11/9 (54m)

"I felt good until the middle of the second, when I hit the Great Wall of China, big time! I've had a few tough games recently so maybe they caught up with me, but he started taking it in short which was putting a lot of pressure on me.

"I'm not happy with how I played but it's result that counts. I'll look forward to whoever I play, they're all tough but that's what you expect at this level. I told Pete [Barker] that I was bound to play him sometime in this tournament – I'd rather it was in the final than the first round …"

 Jonathan Kemp (Eng) bt Yasir Butt (Pak)     11/9, 6/11, 11/6, 11/3 (35m)

SHORT AND FURIOUS…

”If I don’t need too, I’d rather not rally.”

That sentence, from the mouth of Englishman Joey Kemp, could suit both players, and the length of the match, 34 minutes for 4 games, says it all.

A lot of errors, a lot of short game, a few close calls that seem to go against the Pakistani who was soon frustrated and lost in concentration, with the match turned in the last two into a rather onesided encounter…

"It’s my first match in four months, as I had a knee surgery, and I’ve been back on court only for the past two weeks.

"So today, it was all happening, it was more a question of just placing the racquet, and reacting to what was thrown at me, which may explain why the rallies were even shorter than normal, and the tins more numerous.

"Still, in the end, I succeed to cut down the errors, and I can’t say I played good squash, but for my first match back, I’m happy…"

Farhan Mehboob (Pak) bt Bradley Ball (Eng) 9/11, 11/9, 11/4, 11/5 (43m)

FARHAN – WHAT A TOUCH…

If somebody tells you that Pakistan squash is dying, just tell him two names, Aamir Atlas Khan and Farhan Mehboob. Aamir, who is playing Karim Darwish in the main draw, you’ve heard a lot about. But you may not have heard that much of Farhan.

Well, imagine a young fit player who plays with the clarity of the vet, mixing shots at the front to frustrate any player to the point of breaking your racket with rage and despair, with defence lobs and hits hard and precise when needed…

Impressive.

Bradley didn’t do anything wrong. He was running, hitting, playing his game at his best, and gave it 150%, like he always does. But after a no let call at 9/8 in the second that really made him lose his concentration, he was swept away by the Farnham wave.

Like Bradley said himself, “too good”.
 

"I didn’t warm up well, because of the previous game going on so long, so I was not at my best in the first. In the second, he was up 7/4 but I was able to start playing some good shots, and picked up all his attacks, and I got the game just 11/9, which was I think crucial.

"Then in the fourth, I was comfortable, a good lead, Bradley was getting tired too, and I was able to play a lot at the front because my short game is well in place…

"Yesterday, I was lucky enough to play twice with Greg Gaultier, he is such a great player, he is so fast, his pace in particular. I wish I could play the final of the British Open against him! My uncle, Jansher, says that he is very fast player, very clear, perfect stamina, and that he is a great player….

"I’m happy to qualify, two years ago, I lost in the final of the qualifiers against Phil Barker, but today, I’m in, and it comes after my final against Darwish in the CNS, my ranking has gone up from 54 to 40, and I hope that with this result, and the next big tournaments I’m going to try and qualify for, it will go up a bit more…"

"The ref really stitched me up with that no let at 9/8 in the second, and after that, Farhan was too good. I haven’t seen somebody playing so many rollers so consistently for a very long time.

"He was too good anyway, but if I had gone 2/0 up, things could have been different…."

Aisling Blake (Irl) bt Kirsty McPhee (Eng)                  9/4, 9/6, 9/2 (41m)

"That was a good competitive first round. She was retrieving well and got a lot back, and she was setting up the points better than I was at the start, pushing me back. I couldn't get it as tight as I wanted in the first two games but I won a few crucial points which swung it my way, and then I felt in control in the third.

"This is as far as I've got in the event – I got Natalie Grainger in the first round last year, so already I'm happy with my draw …"

Tenille Swartz (Rsa) bt Becky Botwright (Eng)           2/9 10/8, 10/8, 9/2 (45m)

"I was extremely nervous going onto court, this being my first British Open and it' was quite a good draw for me so I didn't start well but managed to pull myself out of it as the match went on.

"She was playing really well in the third, I surprised myself by coming back from 8/0 down, but I just told myself to pick up all the shots and stay calm, and that really worked for me.

"I've been working really hard in Capetown with my coach Richard Castle, I'm getting much fitter, stronger and faster around the court so I hope I can put all that together into a good season …"

Sarah Kippax (Eng) bt Suzie Pierrepont (Eng)            9/7, 9/7, 9/3 (34m)

"I always found her tricky in the past, she steps up and volleys well but I managed to cope with that well today and was quite happy with my performance.

"I've always lost in the second round of qualifying before, so hopefully this time I can make it through …"

Isabelle Stoehr (Fra) bt Laura Hill (Eng)                        9/4, 10/8, 3/9, 9/4 (53m)

"A bit frustrating that I got such a tough draw, but what I like is playing squash, so, I had a good time! Still, the nice thing about winning is that you get to play another match…

"The shot makers often make mistakes, that’s one of the reasons I’m not one, I don’t like giving points away… But in squash, it’s all about who plays better on the day, and I thought that Isabelle played very well in the first two, although the work I’d done started paying off in the third. But that’s my style of game, I try to keep the errors to a minimum, and hope that the work I do will start to take its toll eventually…

"The blisters sure didn’t help…"

Laura Hill

"Laura is a very good player and it was never going to be an easy match.

"I lacked a bit of regularity today, I made too many errors, and in the third, we had a very punishing rally that hurt me, and I lost the next 3/4 points rather quickly.

"In the fourth, I put more power in, got more weight in the ball, and I’m so glad to get off in four for the first round of the qualifiers …"

Isabelle Stoehr

Laura Mylotte (Irl) bt Dominique Lloyd-Walter (Eng)            w/o

"I went over on my ankle on Monday, I was just hoping it would be ok in time but it's swollen up, my physio said I'd be mad to even try playing on it today. With a few days rest hopefully it will be ok for Iceland next week."

Jaclyn Hawkes (Nzl) bt Georgina Stoker (Eng)             9/4, 9/3, 9/1 (25m)

"I had a virus which forced me to pull out of the New Zealand Nationals, and I only just arrived back in the UK.

"I was worried about the two events being so close, I really wanted to play in my first British Open, so I was a bit nervous coming in the match but I played ok today, looking forward to qualifying, hopefully …"

Aisling Blake (Irl) bt Kirsty McPhee (Eng)                      9/4, 9/6, 9/2 (41m)

"That was a good competitive first round. She was retrieving well and got a lot back, and she was setting up the points better than I was at the start, pushing me back. I couldn't get it as tight as I wanted in the first two games but I won a few crucial points which swung it my way, and then I felt in control in the third.

"This is as far as I've got in the event – I got Natalie Grainger in the first round last year, so already I'm happy with my draw."

 Lauren Briggs (Eng) bt Emma Chorley (Eng)                 9/3, 9/6, 9/3 (31m)

"I'm shattered, totally shattered. I took three months off to do some travelling from February to May and I only really just getting back.

"The courts are so hot you end up playing a length game, and it takes it out of you. I could keep up for five or six points each game but then it really started to tell on me.

"It's been a hard first month back, I've played a few tournaments and I need a bit of a break. I'll have a few days off then a hard couple of weeks training and I hope to do well in Lisbon in October."

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