Beachill starts slowly ...
Malcolm Willstrop reports

Lee Beachill began a little slowly against Azlan Iskandar, who went on the attack immediately. The Malaysian was soon pressed as Beachill began to find some of the control for which he is renowned.

Iskandar's problem at elevated levels, even though he is himself ranked 12, is that he has an attraction to the tin, and it is a fatal one.

As Beachill improved in all areas he became more difficult to play, but his cause was certainly aided by Iskandar's errors, which were self-inflicted for the most part.

He has yet to beat a world top ten player and will need to reduce the error rate to do so.

Beachill can now look forward tomorrow night to a quarter-final with clubmate and friend James Willstrop.

"The only thing I liked about my performance today was my kit. I really like my kit! "No, it’s just so hard to come back, and it’s just in the little things, some little shots, a lack of confidence… "Last season was so hard, not just the squash, but the travelling, the schedule, and at the end of the Super Series Finals, everybody was ready for a break. And when you look at the calendar this year, this season will undoubtedly be very hard too, that’s probably why players took a longer break this summer. "I was pretty nervous going into the match, I really expected it to be tough. So a 3/0 victory against Azlan is really a big plus." Lee Beachill

Beachill through to quarters

First up was 2004 champion Lee Beachill against Malaysia's rising star Azlan Iskandar, in his first Crucible appearance.

The first game was even, with both players going for their boasts and drops - some going up, some not - as the scores moved quickly on, level all the way to 9-all when a couple of errors from Azlan meant that Lee took the lead in ten minutes (including a couple for warming up a new ball.)

The second followed much the same pattern, except that Lee took the first few points and held the lead. Another 10 minutes, two-nil.

A quick start again by Beachill in the third, helped by more Malaysian errors, proved decisive, although from 5-1 the rallies lengthened as both appeared to decide to get some more court time in their first match of the season. 11 minutes this time and Beachill was into the quarters.

Willstrop in the groove ...
Malcolm Willstrop reports

James Willstrop had the benefit of winning the Novartis eight man invitation in Cleethorpes last weekend, which gave him three matches, two highly competitive, against Joey Barrington and in the final against Adrian Grant.

The benefits of that were quickly seen in his match with Renan Lavigne, who had done well to win his qualifying final against Australian Cameron Pilley. He began very sharply, hitting the ball cleanly and moving well.

Lavigne, giving his best as he always does, was by no means out of it, though there was never a chance of an upset. The Frenchman led 7/5 in the third, but that was as far as he went.

Willstrop will be heartened by his performance, and he said in his post-match interview he is looking forward to locking horns with the top ten or so in the world in the weeks and months to come.

"I was feeling quite comfortable with the ball today, but the difference came from the fact that when James had the opportunity, he was more precise than I was. I was a bit shaky on a few points, because he moves so fast, he is so onto the ball, you really don’t want to make the error, and of course, that’s when you find the tin… "And then, the beauty, in the third, I served out. Unforgivable. At that level, you can’t afford to do such a silly thing. Not to mention that in 11 scoring, one point lost is more or less 10% of the game. Not acceptable. "My width was not that great, but then again, James is so tall, with such a great reach, it’s hard to get past him. "But overall, I’m happy, I played a good match, and I made him work hard…" Renan Lavigne

MY IMPRESSIONS

Well well well, if Renan was disappointed with his last season, he can be happy with the start of this one…

He made a stunning start today against English Prodigy James Willstrop, and the Boy from Pontefract needed to run and place and nick at profusion to keep the Frenchman at bay.

Personally, I had never seen Renan play that well ever. His shots were very precise and his fitness impeccable. So, a loss yes, but a lot to be proud of for my compatriot.
 

THIERRY SLOW TO START…

I should really take the habit of copy/pasting my reports when it comes to Thierry’s famous slow starts… The Comeback Man just likes to give his opponents a good start, that’s the only logical explanation I can find…

And today was no exception, as John blasted his shots away to take a comfortable lead 5/0 then 7/2. Thierry gradually got into the grove of things to come back at 6/7, with John eventually taking the first game 11/8.

But from that moment on, the Frenchman lined the points like sales in July, although the rallies were fierce with superb attacks and retrieving and some delightful athletic display from both players. Like Thierry stated afterwards, this court doesn’t suit John that much, as it’s quite warm and his shots bounce higher than say on the Qatar court where the Australian had some of his best wins.

John made a few unforced errors today, 11 to be precise, which make an average of three per game, not great but still, we’ve seen much worse from him, now, haven’t we… But still, he will be disappointed by this match, probably feeling that he could have done better … Maybe just a little lack of self-confidence for the Tall Man, as it’s been a while since he’s beaten the Frenchman….

Lincou wins #1 clash

You don't often get two recent world number ones meeting in the first round of any tournament, but that's exactly what we had here.

John White, who enjoyed a brief spell at the top in 2004, against Thierry Lincou, who was number one for the whole of 2005.

White started off in typical whirlwind fashion, firing in his powerful drives and trademark winners, quickly going 5/0 and 7/2 up with Lincou not able to pick up on the Australian/Scot's pace.

But slowly, and surely, the Frenchman found his way back into the game, started to read White's shots, and began to return everything that was thrown at him, taking the pace off the ball where necessary, making his own winners where he could.

It was too late for the first game as White held on to take the lead, but Lincou took early control of the next three and never looked threatened again.

Matthew assured

This was an assured performance from the National Champion, against Mark Chaloner, a former world number four, so no mug, that's for sure.

Matthew took control from the word go, and never let Chaloner off the leash, easing to a straight games win in 30 minutes, the shortest of the evening.

When Nick went on last three years ago, against Jonathon Power, it was, to be honest, man against boy.

Today it was man against man, and in the intervening years Nick has grown to be the finished article. Watch out Thierry ...

"Nick took his opportunities pretty well, but then again, I was expecting him to do so. I felt I was in the rallies, but he outmanoeuvred me… "He made a few errors, but very few. I think I got some pretty good shots that most players wouldn’t have got to be honest, but he did… "I’m pleased with my tournament really, those two qualifying matches were good for me, I was very happy to qualify in the main, overall, it’s a pretty good start of the season. And two out of three, not bad after all…" Mark Chaloner

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