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TODAY at the British Open
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Fri 21st Sep - Day FOUR
If yesterday was a good day for the men's seeds, the today it was
the turn of the top women to assert themselves. The top eight all
won through to the quarter-finals on the glass court, with only
Tania Bailey and Rachael Grinham extended to four games.
It was a different story in the men's event, with Peter Barker
and Ong Beng Hee scoring upset wins over Wael El Hindi
and Stewart Boswell. |
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Masters Results
Men's Round Two: more quotes and photos to
follow ...
[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [10] Lee Beachill (Eng)
11/5, 7/11, 14/12, 11/3 (56m)
[6] Nick Matthew (Eng) bt [14] Azlan Iskandar (Mas)
11/9, 11/5, 11/4 (48m)
[3] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt
[13]Adrian Grant (Eng)
11/5, 11/9, 4/11, 11/8 (69m)
[12] Peter Barker (Eng) bt [7] Wael El Hindi
(Egy)
9/11, 3/11, 11/9, 11/8, 11/4 (72m)
[16] Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt [8]
Stewart Boswell (Aus)
11/6, 11/7, 9/11, 11/9 (58m)
[4] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt [11] Mohammed Abbas (Egy)
3/11, 11/3, 11/9, 8/11, 11/9 (60m)
[5] James Willstrop (Eng) bt [9] Karim Darwish (Egy)
11/5, 11/7, 9/11, 11/9 (65m)
[2] David Palmer (Aus) bt [15] Olli Tuominen (Fin)
12/10, 11/5, 11/9 (43m)
Women's Round One:
[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt Laura
Lengthorn-Massaro (Eng) 9/5, 9/6, 9/4 (42m)
[5] Natalie Grainger (Usa) bt
Jaclyn Hawkes (Nzl)
9/5, 9/1, 9/1 (28m)
[4] Tania Bailey (Eng)
bt
Annelize Naude (Ned)
9/4, 3/9, 9/1, 9/2 (50m)
[6] Vicky Botwright (Eng) bt
Jenny Duncalf (Eng)
9/4, 9/5, 9/5 (52m)
[8] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned) bt Alison Waters (Eng)
9/7, 9/3, 9/6 (41m)
[3] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt
Isabelle Stoehr (Fra)
9/5, 9/3, 5/9, 9/2 (51m)
[7] Madeline Perry (Irl) bt
Lauren Briggs (Eng)
9/3, 9/4, 9/5 (48m)
[2] Natalie Grinham (Aus) bt
Laura Mylotte (Irl)
9/4, 9/3, 9/4 (24m)
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Peter Barker (Eng) bt Wael El Hindi
(Egy)
9/11,
3/11, 11/9, 11/8, 11/4 (72m)
It was an ugly opening match at
Sportcity as Peter Barker and Wael El Hindi tussled and quarrelled,
causing each other and the referees plenty of problems.
The Englishman came back from two-down to reach the quarter-finals,
but as he himself said, not one for the purists, so we'll just leave
it at that ...
 "I'm
absolutely delighted to reach the quarter-finals. It wasn't one for
the squash purists for sure, but different people have different
styles and you have to adapt to it and cope with it.
"I took my time to get into each game, but I was particularly
disappointed with the second. You can't give him anything on his
forehand, he just flattens it, so I started to play everything on my
forehand, his backhand, and it worked.
"It was a tough match, sometimes the refs get it too easy, but it
was tough for us and them today."
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Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt Adrian Grant (Eng)
11/5, 11/9, 4/11, 11/8 (69m)
GOOD SPIRIT…
 When
two players respect each other off the court, and are on court to
play squash, and not a boxing match, squash is the winner.
Adrian had his normal slow start, Greg had his normal energy drop in
the third, made a few too many errors, but came back with a
vengeance in the fourth, taking an excellent lead 4/1, and never let
go after that.
The Frenchman was not as accurate as he is normally, and Adrian’s
clever backhand dropshots and fine retrieving game him some hard
ground to cover…
Still a logical result, but the Englishman’s game has improved
immensely in the past two years, less errors, more mixing of the
shots… He is on the right course….
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"I had a good start, I took the lead, and got into a good rhythm.
Then in the third, I was maybe a bit tired, but also he played very
tight, didn’t make many errors, and he didn’t open the court that
much….
"I didn’t have much chance to play on the court since I arrived, as
I was not lucky enough to play on there yesterday, I only got 10
minutes practice this morning, so I hope that tomorrow, I’ll play a
bit better as I had a match on here today…
"I don’t mind wining in 3/1, 3/2, as long as I get through to the
next round, that I’m not in pain (my injury is now fine), and that
I’m not too tired for the next match…
"We are very close friends, and we always have tough matches! But
this time, I think he played better than he did the last two matches
we had."
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Nick Matthew (Eng) bt Azlan Iskandar (Mas)
11/9, 11/5, 11/4 (48m)
Nick still on course
A second successive straight-games win for the defending champion,
who survived a close opening game against the Malaysian number one,
then pulled clear from the middle of the second and third games ...
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"I was really wary of Azlan, he's one of the fittest players on the
tour and he's had a few good scalps – including me – recently, so
I'm very happy to get off three-nil. He also beat me 3/0 the next
tournament after I won the British last year, so I was never going
to take anything for granted.
"We both like to play at a fast pace, but I felt comfortable at it
for the whole match, I didn't snatch at things like I sometimes do
when I'm under pressure. So even when the first was tight I felt in
control, and I think he lost a bit of heart from the middle of the
second.
"If one of the next two finishes it off 3/0 in the next match then
at least I'll have done my bit and be as fresh as them, but I hope
they have a long five-setter …"
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[16] Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt [8]
Stewart Boswell (Aus)
11/6, 11/7, 9/11, 11/9 (58m)
 "I
think that for the first two games Bozza was trying to find his
rhythm. I was playing well for the first two and a half games, then
he changed his game and he took that third. I was lucky to get the
fourth really, like I was lucky yesterday against Alex, 11/9 in the
5th, and today, playing against Bozza who's been out for a couple of
weeks for injury.
"So, so far, this has been a lucky tournament for me, let’s see
where this luck takes me…"
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Amr Shabana (Egy) bt Lee Beachill (Eng)
11/5, 7/11, 14/12, 11/3
LEE IS BACK…
Boy oh boy oh boy…Was the Prince of Egypt lucky today to win that
match? Yes. Is Lee in great shape, playing better squash that we’ve
been seeing him play for months? Yes. Is the Pontefract Man hungry
for victory? Yes. Is he going to create upsets soon and get back at
the top where he belongs? Bet your squash racquet he is.
It seems Lee has enriched his game considerably, and if it took him
a while to come from a rather traditional up and down the wall style
to a flamboyant and perfect balanc between attack and length squash,
he is now ready to roll, and watching him today against one of the
masters of the Short Game was a pleasure of every moment.
Still, he was playing Shabana, who was in and out, as ever. In in
the first game, out (7 tins) in the second, and in/out in the third,
lucky to clinch that game 14-12 in the tie break, then seized the
momentum with his opponent’s disappointment at the loss of that
crucial game to wiz through the 4th…
Lee cannot be disappointed with his performance. Surely he knows he
is back there, physically and mentally, and Shabana will thanks the
Squash Gods who smiled widely on him today…
 "Nobody
wants to play Lee in the second round of the British Open, and I
knew when I came in that it was going to be a 50/50 match, but I’m
happy with my game, I think that’s my best game so far this month.
"The third was the turning point, we went point for point, I could
see he was pushing hard…
"I used to be able to just play well without really thinking about
it, now I’ve got to keep working hard at it, I can’t just let it
flow, I can’t go on auto-pilot anymore..
"I always like the way Lee plays, he hides his shots well. As he
dropped in the rankings, it’s hard for him to get to the quarter
finals, because he’ll always find a top guy in his way.
"This is a punishing court for a glass court. On some other
glasscourts, the ball clings to the wall, but here, if it’s not 100%
perfect, it just stops. Very hard to play…
"I’m really happy with my game, really happy with the way I played
today…"
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"Of course, he hits the ball very well, that’s his game….!!!!
"My first game was pretty awful, but I played pretty well after
that… I was really angry with myself to lose the third, if I'd gone
2/1 up I don’t think he would have come out that fiery in the
fourth… I could see at the end of the game he was a bit anxious, he
knew how important that game was. But I made a couple of errors, and
I let him back in there…
"There is a different feel on the glass court, a different swing. I
don’t think people can realise the massive difference between
playing “out there” [on the traditional court] and playing here [on
the glass court].
"Not to mention that yesterday, hitting the ball hard didn’t lead
you anywhere, whereas here, it does! So, it took me a good 15minutes
to adapt to the conditions…
"I may have dropped ranking-wise but not level-wise I think. Last
year, I went 3/2 against Lincou, who got to the final, I beat James
3/0, here I pushed Shabana 3/1, and may have won had I won the
third.
"So I don’t think that my level has dropped really, it’s just a few
matches here and there that I could have won, that I used to win,
and that I didn’t for a while, and on my day, I’m a nightmare for
anyone to beat…"
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[4] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt [11] Mohammed Abbas (Egy)
3/11, 11/3, 11/9, 8/11, 11/9 (60m)
UP AND DOWN IT WENT…
Shame those two guys barely played well at the same time … it was
like they were taking centre stage each their turn, first Gentleman
Abbas, 11/3, then Thierry 11/3. Then, good start for Abbas in the
third, 4/1, then 7 points in a row for the Frenchman, who sets up a
game ball at 10/7, but will need three to convert.
In the fourth, Abbas, thanks to some superb drop shots from far
back, flies off comfortably to 7/1, then 8/3, but seems to freeze
mentally as he often does when he is ahead, and lets his opponent
come back at 8/8, to finally take the next three points.
 Looks
like we have a match on our hands at last, well, not yet, as Thierry
takes a huge leap to what seems now a won match, 7/1.
But no, of course not, he’ll let the Egyptian come back to 9/8, and will
need two match balls, to win an encounter that I’m sure most bookies
gave as a 3/0 for the former number one.
Lincou came extremely close to exiting a tournament that he wants
desperately to add to his collection. And that’s maybe what gives
him this nervous edge, that extra pressure on his own shoulders…
And Abbas, well, as ever, a superb attacker, a splendid retriever, a
patient and determined player, who still lacks that belief in
himself that he needs to acquire somehow to step up the next level.
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"What can I say….
 "Physically,
I felt OK, then not OK, then Ok again. I played well in patches, and
he played well in patches, which explains why the game was so
fluctuating.
"This court feels really different, the bounce is never the same, it
surprises you on a regular basis, it’s not consistent. It’s very
hard to keep a length and to play tight, I struggled with it all
match.
"It’s all about staying accurate, and tonight, Abbas was very
accurate, he is a shot maker, and if you are not precise enough at
the front, you just lose the point.
"What saved me was that I got an excellent start in the fifth, and
what’s positive for me is that it proves that I can hold that pace
and consistency for a long period again…
"But it’s here, we are at the British, it’s special, and I’m so
happy to get through to the quarters…"
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James Willstrop (Eng) bt [9] Karim Darwish (Egy)
11/5, 11/7, 9/11, 11/9 (65m)
KARIM IMPRESSIVE,
JAMES, ONLY JUST…
Close, close close, and close again that was.
If the Englishman played a superb start to the match, with an
Egyptian totally outplayed by the pace, intensity and variety of his
opponent, Karim found his rhythm in the third and fourth, found the
right answers, found some splendid attacks and counter attacks,
weathered the storm and stuck with it, putting more and more
pressure on the British National Champion as the match went on.
And when in the fourth Karim scored four points in a row to come
back to 8/7, it seemed like we were going for a fifth game which
could have gone either way.
But in front of his home crowd, with the ambition to make his mark
in this tournament after the disastrous one he had last year (he had
to retire against Nick Matthew, too weak from his food poisoning in
Egypt), Willstrop gave it a last push, and clinched a seat in the
quarters 11/9…..
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 "I’m
not very happy with my performance, it was very bitty, and it will
have to get much better for tomorrow. But I guess you’ve got to win
when you are not playing well, and I guess it’s probably a good
thing to have a match like that at the start of the tournament.
"I thought I played pretty well for the first two games, I played
straight and simple, it was a flowing attacking game. But then he
started to play really well, all credit to him, and I didn’t do
enough to stop him.
"I thought stayed focused, stayed relaxed, I don’t think I lost
concentration, he was really playing well, and I just hung in there
a bit longer…
"Now, I’m going to go and concentrate a bit on myself, do the right
things, all what athletes are supposed to do…"
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David Palmer (Aus) bt [15] Olli Tuominen (Fin)
12/10, 11/5, 11/9 (43m)
 "Although
it was a 3/0, it’s never easy with Olli, we played each other so
many times, it feels like we’ve played 25 times, we draw each other
all the time.
"It’s always the same thing, it goes up and down, I get five points
straight in, and then he comes back firing, and get back into it. So
the only thing you can do is hang in there, and weather the storm.
"It’s never easy to play that late, I warmed up three times, as it
seemed that James was going to win 3/0, and you try and eat at the
right time, but as we started two hours late, it’s all out of synch.
But hey, the purpose is to get the job done…
"Last week in Birmingham, I felt a bit like a sports car which you
put diesel into, and which got stuck in second gear and wouldn't go
anywhere for some reason.!
"But 3/0, 3/0, it’s all good so far… It’s hard to describe what this
tournament means to me, I’m desperate to add a fourth one, 4th title
would really crown my career….
"But all the seeds are through and playing well, so it’s not going
to be easy…"
David Palmer |
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Vanessa Atkinson (Ned) bt Alison Waters (Eng)
9/7, 9/3, 9/6 (41m)
Third time lucky for Vanessa
 These
two met in the first round for the third time in as many years, but
this time it was the turn of the Dutch former world number one to
progress to the quarter-finals for the first time.
Vanessa looked well in control in the first two games, Alison unable
to establish control at any point. The Englishwoman started to find
her game in the third, leading 5/4 as Vanessa looked to be tiring,
but a determined effort from the eighth seed and some innoportune
tins from Alison saw Vanessa home ...
 "She
was playing very well and controlling me around the middle, playing
good drops and making very few errors.
"I made too many errors, you can't afford to do that against anyone,
let alone Vanessa. I got into it more in the third, but just a bit
too late …"
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 "It's
always very tough against Alison. Even the first two were much
harder than the scoreline, I was having to work very hard to win
them. I was volleying where I could, but you can't afford to fly at
every ball in the air, it tires you too quickly. I was more patient
than I have been lately, it comes from being fitter.
"In the middle of the third I was just hanging in there, and
fortunately she made a couple of errors on crucial points and I
managed to finish it off.
"I knew it was another tough draw, she beat me in the first round at
the last two British Opens, so I had to play it almost like a final.
I'm very pleased to make the quarters, that's already better than
the last two times …"
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Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt
Isabelle Stoehr (Fra)
9/5, 9/3, 5/9, 9/2 (51m)
Rachael starts off strong
Two-time champion Rachael Grinham - "it's far too early to even
think about a third yet" - got her campaign off to a sound start,
controlling the first two games against the French qualifier, then
profiting from a series of quick tins from Isabelle in the fourth.
In the third game and early part of the fourth, Isabelle seemed to
be taking Rachael on at her own game, lobbing from the back, little
flicks and drops, patiently working an opening, and it was working.
It was a pity she couldn't keep that game up, and Rachael was as
grateful as Isabelle was disappointed ...
 "I
was playing well in the beginning, but then my length dropped off in
the third and she's so dangerous if you don't get her off the 'T'.
"Even in the fourth it was close, lots of rallies to reach 2-all and
then she just made a few quick errors. I was surprised, because she
had been playing well, but happy and grateful too.
"It was a tough match and a good runaround. She was putting me under
a lot of pressure in parts, and she plays at a faster pace than a
lot of the girls so I couldn't afford to relax at all …"
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 "After
the first two I had to change my game. I was going to the front too
early in those games, she was controlling me and I couldn't do
anything. In the third I was playing with much more patience and
working her to the back and it worked.
"I was disappointed not to carry on in the fourth – I wasn't
physically tired but I stopped doing what was working, and made too
many errors as well.
"I'm happy to win a game but it's a pity I couldn't carry on, I was
playing well in the third, that's why I'm unhappy about it. There
were some good things to work on, I'll study the video …"
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Madeline Perry (Irl) bt
Lauren Briggs (Eng)
9/3, 9/4, 9/5 (48m)
 "It might
have been three-nil but it felt like a long match, we had really
long rallies in the first two games and we were stuck at 4-all for
ages in the second.
"It's the first time I've reached the quarters of the British, it's
been one of my worst tournaments for some reason. I'm looking
forward to playing on the glass court – I'm not a fan of these
courts, I like to play fast and attacking but you have to hold back
a lot on here.
"I'll stay and watch Laura play Natalie – hopefully it'll be an
all-Irish quarter-final …"
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 Natalie Grinham (Aus)
bt
Laura Mylotte (Irl)
9/4, 9/3, 9/4 (24m)
"Laura came out shooting well, going for shots from everywhere right
from the start and quite a few came off ["I got a few in each game!"
Laura]
"I'm happy to be on the glass court from now on though, you need to
practice on this type of court to get familiar with them. The WISPA
court is ASB too so we're used to how that plays, happy to be on
familiar ground tomorrow …
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Nicol David (Mas) bt Laura
Lengthorn-Massaro (Eng)
9/5, 9/6, 9/4 (42m)
Hat-trick quest on track
The bouncy 'inside courts' at the National Squash Centre isn't where
two-time champion Nicol David would have chosen to start her bi for
a hat-trick of titles, and certainly not against one of the England
squad who virtually live on there courts, and an in-form one at
that.
Laura started the first two games well, leading 5/3 in the first and
5/1 in the second, but as ever there was no keeping the 'Duracell
Bunny' down as the world champion showed her tremedous speed and
court coverage to an appreciative full house.
Having pegged back those leads to take a two-game advantage Nicol
raced into a 6/1 lead in the third, and this time Laura had a good
end to te game, pegging it back to 4/6 before finally succumbing.
 "I
played a good game in patches, my focus was coming in and out, I put
in some good rallies but didn't follow up on them. Laura played well
though, she went for it, with nothing to lose, so I'm happy with a
three-nil.
"You have to really work at it on these courts, if your shot's not
perfect it just bounces out into the middle and opens it up for your
opponent . I'm looking forward to playing on the glass court –
people have been saying it's hot an bouncy, so there should be some
good matches tomorrow.
"I'm all excited because it's the British Open again, just trying to
find my groove and work my way into the tournament."
Nicol David |
 "I
thought I played really well, and for patches in the match it was
very tight. Happy with the performance, but I wish I could have
pushed on a little better in the middle of the first two games.
"I won in Wolverhampton last week and I've been playing really well
over the summer, so getting the world number one who's playing so
well isn't the draw you'd want, but I'm glad I got her here on my
home courts, I enjoyed it, I'll try to build on it and I'm looking
forward to playing her again …"
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Natalie Grainger (Usa) bt
Jaclyn Hawkes (Nzl) 9/5,
9/1, 9/1 (28m)
 "It
was a bit random in the first, a bit scrappy, but I was winning the
points somehow, even if I wasn't constructing the rallies well. The
second was better, she gave me a few easy ones and I started getting
some short shots in.
"The third felt good, I started to roll, my length and width were
good and when that happens I always feel I can move better too. It's
almost like you feel worse at the start, then feel smooth once you
get a game under your belt.
"I've been to the final before, it would be great to go one better
and stand on that podium …"
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Tania Bailey (Eng) bt
Annelize Naude (Ned)
9/4, 3/9, 9/1, 9/2 (50m)
 "Annelize
played well in the first two games, keeping it tight and putting
anything loose away – everything has to be perfect on these courts,
it always seems to be an effort even though you don't feel tired.
"I tried to straighten up in the third and fourth and felt much
better. I've had a couple of good tournaments so you feel nervy and
edgy at the start of the next tournament, you want to keep doing
well.
"It's a shame Jenny and Vicky got to play each other in the first
round, but at least now we're guaranteed an English girl in the
semis. I've made the semis and final here before, so I have a few
good memories …"
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Vicky Botwright (Eng) bt
Jenny Duncalf (Eng)
9/4, 9/5, 9/5 (52m)
Vicky this time
These two have had some humdingers, and some damp squibs too,
tonight was somewhere in between.
Three fiercely-contested long games, but it was local lass Vicky who
just had the edge in all three, and Jenny, to her growing
frustration just couldn't find the way to break out of the pattern.
So the British and European champion bows out, but the local
favourite who has never managed to produce her best here is off to a
promising start, and faces another all-English battle tomorrow for a
place in the semis ...
 "I'm so
pleased; I don't normally play well here even though they're my home
courts.
"I needed to make up for the Dutch where I wasn't moving well at
all, so I came back and did some speed work.
"I beat her 3/0 in Qatar then she beat me 3/2 in Korea, and although
we usually play and train together, when you know you've got someone
in the next draw you don't play together, it's like losing a
training partner for a few weeks.
"I've been a bit down since Holland, I felt I had nothing to lose so
it's even more pleasing to win. I'm glad to be on the glass court
tomorrow, and let's hope it's another all-English battle …"
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