ALI JUST A FEW POINTS AWAY…

Don’t be fooled by the 3/0 result and think that it was easy for the Welsh Vet. The outcome was never obvious, and it all came down to a few tins in the third…

Ali Walker is coming of age, that’s the very least you can say. Still a few “erreur de jeunesse”, a few inexperience errors that cost him the last two games. But the brain is well connected, the shot selection is good, the legs are in excellent shape, and the fitness is spotless.

I feel the second was crucial. The game couldn’t have been closer, but the turning point was at 9/7 for Ali. Like yesterday against Tom Richards, Alex felt the danger, and just pressed on the pedal, upped the pace, got tighter, wrong footed his opponent a few times, found the perfect shot, and before the young Englishman knew it, he was walking off court, now with the two game deficit.

Again the third could have gone either way but some amazing top spin crowning perfect length tactical shots gave Alex a mental advantage on his opponent, and forced him to try “that bit too much” at 7/7, resulting in three unforced errors at the worst of times…

So, Alex through to a main draw of a major yet again, but Ali is right behind, have no fear. That young man will dazzle you soon, you can take my word for it….
 

"I really needed matches, I worked very hard this summer, but apart from a few games with the boys in Wales I hardly played. I didn't have enough quick stuff, and after two rallies at high pace, there was a massive oxygen need! "I have to admit that I was worried about the court, it's so dead at the front so you have to get it to the back. If you get exposed at the front, you're dead. I also watched out for his counter-drops, which I saw him play very well yesterday, they were flying out." "Jay, my son, told me to make my rallies last longer, because that's when he was making mistakes. So, when I was done, I would make sure to make the rallies last, and it seemed to work ..." Alex Gough

Super-coach Jay

DARYL AS SOLID AS EVER…

A few weeks ago, Daryl Selby was playing Mathieu Castagnet in the decider for the French Team Championship title, where Rouen (a team that doesn’t have one French player) was playing against Marseille (home of Lincou & Lavigne).

Rouen clinched the title by a few points (7 in my memory serves me well), and the pressure was tremendous. I wrote at the time that Daryl was the perfect player to handle that kind of match. His game is mostly error free, he is mentally extremely solid, and the noun “wobble” doesn’t fit that well in his wardrobe, really…

And today, he showed the same calm, yet again handling the pressure of a possible place in the main draw in a superb fashion, making only one unforced error in the whole match.

Alas, it was a complete different story for Alex Stait, unable to find his wonderful redrops and counterattacks he seemed to distribute at will yesterday against Joe Kneipp. The tin seemed to be attracting his shots like through some magnetic trick …

With a total of 14 unforced errors (including 6 in the first 9 rallies of the match), Alex showed how much pressure he had put on himself. Yesterday, against Joe, he didn’t have anything to lose, but today, against friend Daryl, he had…
 

"I'm very happy with that result. I thought it was going to be an advantage for him to be on that court, it's fairly dead out there and he likes to play at the front, so it suits his game. "I was lucky enough to get a good length, and managed to keep him behind me instead of in front of me, where he can be so dangerous. "I'm looking forward to playing the main draw, hopefully I'll even have one or two fans in the crowd, family of course! And it doesn't matter who I play as they're all so good."" Daryl Selby

EXPERIENCE PREVAILS AGAIN
Steve Cubbins at Hallamshire

If you looked at the rankings, with some 90 places separating them, this should have been a one-sided match. Think again. An experienced campaigner, former world number four, against an up-and-coming player keen to make his mark on the big stage, it was a recipe for a thriller.

Chris played superbly at the start, and so did Mark, for that matter. Long patient rallies, few errors - they made just one each in the 20 minute first game which Chris won, pulling away from 6/5 to win it 11/7.

In the next four games it seemed to be a case of "who starts better, wins", as first one then then other took the initiative. After Mark levelled, looking as if he had ridden out the young storm facing him, suddenly in the third it was Chris in front again, dominating the pace and going for the winners.

Come the fifth, it was Mark's turn again, and after taking a quick 4/0 lead he never really looked back. But this could have gone either way ... maybe next time.
 

"He played well, he hit some cracking shots and in the patches when he was winning he just didn’t miss, although I probably shouldn’t have given him so many openings. "We both played pretty well really, with a couple of lapses each, but overall I’m pleased with that, backing up after beating Stacey yesterday, which is never easy. "I couldn’t play this event last year because of my wrist operation, so it’s a pleasure to be playing at the Crucible again. Who would I like to get? I haven’t really looked at the draw, but maybe Nick Matthew, the home favourite …" Mark Chaloner

A DOG WITH A BONE…

Boy I didn’t think that Renan was going to win that one, as I arrived from Abbeydale after Daryl and Alex G qualified over there only to see my compatriot being led 8/0 then losing the second game 11/4…

I was really impressed with Cameron’s flamboyant pace and style. He is fast on the ball, hits John White style, lobs pretty impressively, and has got a nice touch as well.

So, how is it you may ask he lost? Good question.

Just because Renan just never gave up, and kept at it, again, and again, and again. Returning attack after attack, he forced Cameron to take more and more risks, and I feel broke his spirit.

Brilliance was on the Australian side, sheer determination was on the French one….
 

"Tactically I think I played a good strategy. Cameron is a good attacker, like all the Australians. I was able to feed off his hitting, even though he managed to pass me sometimes. "Although I lost two games quite easily I made sure I didn’t let go of any point, that I was still standing, and I still had some reserves under my belt. You can’t let anything go because to eleven anything is possible. "Even when I was losing I didn’t lose my cool and I didn’t show him any sign of discouragement. The whole point was to stick to my game plan, even when it was not working." Renan Lavigne