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TODAY in
Birmingham -
Sat 8th, Semi-Finals:
Semi-finals
start at 18.00, with Masters and Junior events during the day ...
Fri 7th, Quarter-finals:
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[1] David Palmer
(Aus) bt [5] Nick Matthew (Eng)
15/13, 11/4, 11/8 (54m)
[4] James Willstrop (Eng)
bt [8] Peter Barker (Eng)
6/11, 11/7, 11/5, 11/3 (56m)
[3] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt [7] Lee Beachill (Eng)
9/11, 11/6, 6/11, 11/5, 11/8 (64m)
[2] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt [Q] Davide Bianchetti (Ita)
11/8, 12/14, 11/8, 11/7 (68m) |
Quarter-final roundup
from Malcolm Willstrop
 Most
would have expected the first match between top-seeded David
Palmer and Nick Matthew to go beyond three games, especially as
their previous meetings have always been close. In the event
Palmer won 3/0, the first game lasting over half an hour being
very significant.
Matthew was always just ahead and had tree game balls before
losing it on the tie-break. Clearly the loss of that game
affected him, for he quickly went 6-0 down in the second. He was
soon two games down and since Palmer has won 127 of 130 matches
from 2-0 up, Matthew's prospects were remote to put it mildly.
Full of confidence Palmer bounded away to a 3/0 win. He will be
feeling good after such a comprehensive performance, and this
after almost going out to Daryl Selby in the last 16.
Palmer's semi-final opponent will be James Willstrop who began
his match with Peter Barker diffidently. He improved though, to
level at one-all, raised the pace in the third, attacked
fluently, went 2-1 up and then romped away with the fourth.
He will be pleased with the way he finished the match; Barker
will be disappointed he was unable to resist better.
The third quarter-final between Thierry Lincou and Lee Beachill
turned out to be the match of the night, as the two former world
number ones showed something of their best form.
Lincou looked much sharper than at the Super Series Finals, but
Beachill took the first and led 2/1. The Frenchman took the ball
short at every opportunity in an attempt to break up Beachill's
rhythm and he led early in the fourth, 3/0, which helped him to
level the match.
Beachill led 7/5 in the decider, but Lincou, remaining very
positive, held his nerve and edged the fifth to set up an
all-French semi-final against Gregory Gaultier, who beat Davide
Bianchetti in the final late-night match, 3/1.
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Photo Galleries |
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[1]
David Palmer (Aus) bt [5]
Nick Matthew (Eng)
15/13, 11/4, 11/8 (54m)
Palmer so strong
Despite coming through a 98-minute comeback from 2-0 down late
last night, world champion David Palmer proved too strong for
Nick Matthew tonight in the first squash match ever to be played
in Birmingham University's Great Hall.
 28
minutes long, the first game was crucial, and although Palmer
trailed by a point or too throughout, Matthew could never quite
break free, and was generally having to take balls behind him
rather than advancing to the attack as he does when at his best.
He led 4/2, 7/4, was caught at 8-all, but only relinquished the
lead for the first time at 12-all as Palmer took the game 15/13.
The Australian came out firing in the second, racing to a 6/0
lead, and although Matthew pegged a few back, it was too late.
Palmer continued to hold the upper hand in the third, although
being denied a let on the first rally seemed to fire up Matthew,
who attacked more than in the previous games.
At 4-all Nick tripped over David's foot on the way to the back
court, and the heavy fall left him flat on his back for several
seconds. Once up he lost three quick points, struggled vainly to
catch back up, and the top seed was on his way to the semis.
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"I was frustrated at last night's match, all credit to Daryl but
I think I should have done better. I did well last week in
Holland and tonight I was really determined to do well. All day
I got stuck into being positive, and because Nick is someone who
can win every tournament the game plan was to have a very good
start, if possible take the first game and then put the pressure
back on him, as in front of his home crowd everyone expected him
to win, and it pretty well went that way.
"I played well at the end of the first, won a couple of big
points. In the second I stepped up and he wasn't able to keep up
with the pace. After that it was a combination of solid stuff
and a good attacking game and overall I felt pretty good. I
mixed the pace well and my patience was good tonight, that's
something that's let me down in the past.
"Nick's a dominating player, typical English style and you have
to keep him off the T to stop him volleying.
"I'm very happy, I feel good, I like playing here, I'm in the
semis, not so bad!"
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 "I
had very heavy legs today, I couldn't move well. Even last night
I felt uncomfortable.
"David played really well in the first, but even so I didn't
react to his game like I normally do. I should have won the
first, having three game balls, but on each I didn't play well.
"My back s fine, it was a big bang and a bit painful when I
fell, but it feels fine now."
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[4] James Willstrop (Eng)
bt [8] Peter Barker (Eng)
6/11, 11/7, 11/5, 11/3
(56m)
Slow start for James
James Willstrop was the start attraction at lunchtime reception
by tournament sponsors Prince to 'launch' their new top-name
signing, where he had to be quick on his feet to answer
questions posed to him.
He didn't start tonight's match as fast though, as Peter Barker,
his long-time rival from junior days, pulled away from 4-all in
the first to take a deserved lead after 19 minutes.
It didn't take the new Prince man long to find his form though,
as he held sway for the rest of the match, keeping ahead in the
second and totally dominating the third to set up a semi-final
meeting with David Palmer. |
"I was very loose tonight in the first game, I needed to tighten
up, and I kind of got it together. I don’t know why, but I never
felt confident enough to play shots tonight. On top of that
there were a few dodgy bounces, but some of them luckily went my
way.
"You always have to give 100%, I had a good record against Peter
in the juniors and I want to keep that going, a bit like Lee's
good record against me, you never want to lose in matches like
that.
"I haven't had time to think about tomorrow much, but David is
expected to win so there's no pressure on me, I'm just looking
forward to playing in a major semi-final."
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Nicol passes on the Prince mantle ... |
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[3] Thierry Lincou (Fra)
bt [7] Lee Beachill (Eng)
9/11, 11/6, 6/11, 11/5,
11/8 (64m)
Thierry wins a tussle
When two former world number ones go head to head you don't
expect it to be easy, and it certainly wasn't easy for Thierry
Lincou tonight as he won an up and down match against Lee
Beachill.
Two very precise players, Lee started the stronger as he took an
8/5 lead in the first, and although Thierry levelled at 9-all a
poor tin two points later cost him the game after a tough 15
minutes.
They shared the next two, first Thierry and then Lee pulling
away from the middle of the game to take them relatively
quickly. It got tougher at the start of the fourth though, much
tougher. Some uncharacteristic mistakes from the Englishman let
Thierry take the lead 6/4, and his "come on" as he put away a
short kill to go 7/4 told a tale as he went on to level the
match.
Lee did most of the attacking at the start of the decider, but
was again let down by some errors as Thierry came back into it.
From 5-all the Frenchman spent several rallies playing desperate
defence, hanging in by the skin of his teeth, but from 7-all he
started doing the pressing, taking the ball earlier and lower,
and reaping the dividends.
One Frenchman into the semis ... the last question to be
answered, almost two hours behind schedule, was would it be an
all-French semi-final ...
 "I
came to this tournament much better prepared than the Super
Series Finals, I was able to find my speed again , but I need to
play and play again to find my automatics.
"It was really tough tonight, there was nothing between the
players, I was the lucky one - I was behind score-wise all the
time.
"It was extremely hard, he was playing very well and I couldn't
manage to liberate myself. It was too variable at the front, not
decisive enough because I was nervous at the front, I lacked
finishing and patience at the front so it was a bit messy.
"What saved me was my physical base and the fact that I didn't
let anything go. Now I'm going to have to improve the quality of
my game, but it's always nice to win a difficult match,
especially in five.
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"It was so patchy today. I played well in the first, badly in
the second, well again in the first half of the third …
"In the fifth it was quite close, but physically I thought I was
poor today. When I was at 7-all I didn't see the game through
like he did. I hit the ball well, but I couldn't sustain it
physically. You have to work hard to beat Thierry and you've got
to keep up a consistent pace to try to get on top of him.
"Also, I haven't played for a while, whereas maybe playing the
SSF was an advantage for him. I need to win one of these
matches. You've got to get back into the habit of winning, if
you don't do it for a while, especially at this level, you sort
of forget how to do it. But I'm working hard again, and I'm not
that far away ... "
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[2] Gregory Gaultier
(Fra) bt [Q] Davide Bianchetti (Ita)
11/8, 12/14, 11/8, 11/7 (68m)
Can't shake him off ...
Getting under way almost two hours behind schedule, and
finishing just after midnight, the last and longest of the four
quarter-finals provided an entertaining mix of fast, attacking
play, with more than a little banter between the players
themselves and the referee.
Gregory Gaultier started the strong favourite, but qualifier
Davide Bianchetti, who has improved his standard measurably of
late, pushed the Frenchman all the way.
 Try
as he might, Gaultier couldn't shake off the Italian. He managed
to close out the first game, and having recovered from 3/6 in
the second he was evidently keen to get off in three. From 10/7
Davide saved two game balls, and he saved a third in a fantastic
rally that saw Gregory desperately retrieving everything - at
one point playing the ball while sitting on the floor -
before it ended in a stroke to the Italian.
Davide claimed the 14/12 with a lucky nick at the back of the
court, then stuck with his opponent all the way through the
third, bt without ever leading. There were the usual
remonstrations and discussions with the referee of course, and
when he hurled his racket at the wall as the game slipped away
11/8 it earned him a conduct stroke (which was never enforced,
as the game was called 12/8 and they started the fourth at 0-0).
Only from 6-all in the fourth did Gregory manage to pull away
with any conviction, finally polishing it off at five past
midnight as Davide's racket went flying again. No punishment
this time, but you can understand his frustration as he played
so well, and really wasn't far off a stunning upset.
But, an all-French semi-final it is as Thierry and Greg replay
their English Open final from around this time last year - if
it's half as good as that no-one will be complaining ...
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"Davide played very well, but it was pretty hard to play that
late. I wasn't feeling that great on the court so I just ran,
ran and ran …"
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A
fitting venue for four fine matches
Preview from Malcolm Willstrop
 Birmingham
University Great Hall provides a spectacular venue for this evening's
Prince English Grand Prix quarter-finals and as usual in top PSA events,
the four matches are full of interest and by no means clear cut.
Second seed Gregory Gaultier on paper has the easiest passage, against
Davide Bianchetti, who put out Alex Gough in a verbal encounter. Stewart
Boswell's withdrawal through injury has opened up Gaultier's quarter.
Facing the winner of that match will be the winner of the Thierry Lincou -
Lee Beachill confrontation. Lincou was a little below his best in
Manchester in the Super Series finals, but will be better prepared now,
whereas Beachill's last match play was in the Malaysian Open. It will be
an interesting match between two vastly experienced players who both play
with accuracy and control.
The evening begins with the heaviest-looking of the four encounters: David
Palmer and Nick Matthew. They both had differing passages to the quarters
- Palmer was 2-0 down to Daryl Selby before surviving 11/9 in the fifth,
whereas Matthew had little difficulty beating Cameron Pilley. Tonight's
match would certainly meet the requirements of a final, never min d a
quarter.
James Willstrop and Peter Barker provide the fourth match and Barker, who
has continued to improve against the best, will be keen to do well against
his England team-mate. Both won 3/0 last night, Willstrop against Bradley
Ball, Barker against Alister Walker, both matches being well-contested.
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Prince
English Grand Prix - Birmingham 2007
