SOLID DARYL DOESN’T DISAPPOINT…
Framboise reports

The young Englishman will be happy with his performance in that Mamut English Open opening match. He was able to match the world number 8 for a game and a half, making again very few mistakes during that period, find some pretty good angles with both his crosscourts and lobs.

Greg was testing his space today, it was the first time he’d come to the event, and like every other player, his first match of the season. It seemed that he got into a sort of routine pace at times, but that’s often the case when the Frenchman tries to stay focused. But he was able to accelerate when danger was around, was moving fast and his trademark deceptions were already well in place…

So an interesting encounter, played at a good pace, in a perfect spirit. Daryl now knows what he needs to do to get to the next level, and insufflating a bit more attacks in his game couldn’t do him any harm. They will enrich his solid base, and make him even more dangerous for his opponent….

"Today, I tried to do my best, it’s all about being focused on court, and it’s not easy as I haven’t played any competitive matches. "I’m happy to win today, not sure I’m happy with the way I’m playing yet though…It was a bit hard for me to find my marks today, the lighting, the court, the venue, etc. Thank God I still have tomorrow to get adjusted to the court…. "I thought that the court is not that rewarding, and that when you hit the ball, if you happen to clip the side wall a bit, it doesn’t go far, so it’s hard work to get the ball to the back. "I tried to be as vigilant and fast as I could… "On a more general level, I will be reaching my peak in a few games, and then I’ll be OK…" Gregory Gaultier

BOZZA ON TOP…

Last time I saw those two battling against each other was in Melbourne during the Commonwealth Games, Anthony Ricketts got injured and really couldn’t defend his chances. Today, none of that, both guys well rested/trained after the summer break.

The longest match of the day, 74 minutes, didn’t start that well, it has to be said. Maybe they were a bit nervous, a few errors from both players, although a far better start for Intense Anthony who quickly led 6/2 then 8/4. Although Bozza came back to threaten his mate at 8/8, a few unforced errors allowed Anthony to clinch the first game 11/9.

And it seemed that it would be Anthony’s day today, but that’s the moment Stewart chose to find some astonishing drop shots, in particular on the backhand, that led Anthony to slip again and again. They allowed him to equalise at 1/1 rather easily. The third was going to be a hard battle, Anthony starting to return those exquisite drop shots, moving superbly well, retrieving some stunning shots as he does. But two tins at 8/9 gave Stewart what appeared to be a decisive advance 2/1.

Anthony was absolutely superb in the fourth, length to the millimetre, he didn’t move from the T, forcing a decider and now looking the sure winner, especially as we all know how physically strong he would be in a fifth… But as we all also know, squash is so unpredictable, and it’s Stewart who, against all odds, took the best start, leading 4/0 then 7/2 to finally win the last game rather comfortably 11/6.

So Skinny Stewart gets it again, causing the only upset of the day. On a personal note, I was very impressed by both Stewart, for the quality and variety of his game today, and Anthony for his impeccable behaviour on court.

Well done to both…

"It was a very patchy match, patches where I was hitting well, moving well, and then a lot of patches where I made silly mistakes… "It’s always tough to play Stewart, he knows all my trick shots… "I’m not too unhappy though, I worked a lot physically in the off season to do all I ca to hit that number one spot that so many other players want too. "The second game was disgraceful, and I’ve got to put it down to the fact I didn’t have many competitive matches. Like all the other players will tell you, we are using this event in preparation for the world, and I was hoping to get two or three matches, so a bit disappointed to get only one, as the more matches you can get, the better you’re going to play… "After my coach Mike Johnson moved to Canada, we decided the best for me was to train with Malcolm…I’m so glad to train at Pontefract. There are so many players, Lee, James, Parkie, Bengy… You don’t have to plan anything, you just turn up…." Anthony Ricketts

"I thought that we were a bit patchy…. We used to play a lot of matches in PSA before my injury, and most of them were five setters… "It’s nice to train with somebody like Anthony who’s got such a high pace, but also I cannot surprise him… I don’t have so many trick shots, and he knows them all… "The fourth was a bit of a disaster, really, his length was much better than mine, and he kept being at the front on the T all the time. In the fifth, I made sure that he was at the back again. "I feel that I’m nearly getting back where I was before the injury, thanks to a lot of hard work I did recently, but hopefully, there is still room for improvement…" Stewart Boswell

Me and my coach!

My Impressions
DON’T THINK, BARKER…

Somebody in the crowd of course shouted the usual “Come on Peter” as the Boss and Peter Barker stepped on court. Yes, both named Peter, both lefthanders, the joke was easy, but the match was not going to be, for either of them.

The Boss was a bit away with the fairies when he started, whereas Barker was focused, nothing to lose, ready for action… until 7/3 in the second when young Peter started to realise that yes, he was on his way to kick Peter Nicol out of his own tournament, that he could make history there, oh my God, I may even win this match kind of thing, and zoom, made his first unforced error of the game that would be followed by a few too many…

In the arena, Mr Nicol only needed a little nudge to switch on the “mental squash” button, and got back on track, little by little, creeping in Peter’s brain to make him doubt, to frustrate him. It worked wonders. After only just losing the second, Peter B reassessed himself, got up again 6/2, but starting believing that he now had something to lose, went for too much, too early, a little racquet shake here and there, and finally lost the decisive third 3-1 in the tie-break.

Brain gone, frustration boiling up, tiredness to crown it all, Barker found himself led 6/0 then 9/4 to lose a match in four he knows he could have won in three.

Peter, next time, DON’T THINK, will you?

Nicol holds firm

For a while it looked as if the defending champion, playing his last-ever UK tournament, was in trouble.

Peter Barker, relishing the opportunity to play the great Peter Nicol at the Crucible, took the game to his illustrious opponent, and troubled him.

Barker took the first, and took a good lead in the second, too. But Nicol slowly found his way into the match, and pegged Barker back to level.

But Barker wasn't finished, he continued to play well, tight controlled squash, and reached game-ball first in the third. His frustration at losing it on the tie-break carried over into the fourth and allowed Nicol to establish a commanding lead which he never relinquished.

So the champion is still in ... but Barker will be back.
 

Palmer powers past Gough

The last match of the evening saw top seed David Palmer get past the potentially tricky problem of Alex Gough in straight games.

Palmer was always in front, and although Gough fired in patched, the Welsh veteran never truly troubled the Australian world number two, who moves into a quarter-final meeting with defending champion Nicol, a re-run of the Commonwealth Games final in March.

"I’m pretty happy, just got back from Australia with Mel and Kayla… "At first, I was disappointed to get Alex in the first round, but now that I’ve won, it turned out to be alright, a tough game to start with. "Having a baby puts everything in a different perspective, and puts the squash in the background for the first time in my life. "I’m looking forward to the challenge of playing Peter in the next round. It would be nice to get revenge [for the Commonwealth final], to get something back of course… He was talking for a while about retiring, and now he has taken his decision. I always used him as a benchmark, and his impact on the game has been tremendous… "I felt smooth and confident out there although Alex is a tough player. I’ve always done well against him when I got on top of him from the start. He is a confidence player, so I needed to bury him in the back, as he can be tricky at the front. "For my first match of the season, I cannot complain, it could have been much worse….." David Palmer

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