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Men's
Final
 England
2/2 France
England win 9-6 on
games
#4: Peter Barker beat Laurent Elriani
9/3, 9/3, 9/0
(50m)
#2:
Peter Nicol lost to Gregory Gaultier
9/2, 4/9, 9/6, 1/9, 3/9 (84m)
#1:
James
Willstrop lost to Thierry Lincou
5/9, 9/2, 4/9, 6/9 (83m)
#3: Lee Beachill beat Renan Lavigne
9/2, 9/4, 9/1
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France take England
the full distance
England retained their European Team title in Vienna with
a seventh straight win over France, but this one went all
the way, with Thierry Lincou and Gregory Gaultier putting
France ahead to require a match-winning performance from
Lee Beachill.
England new boy Peter Barker was called in half an
hour before the final when the squad decided not to risk
Nick Matthew's sore hip, and got England off to the
perfect start with a solid 3/0 win over Laurent Elriani.
Barker raced to 8-0 in the first, where he got stuck for
ten minutes, but once he had the first game under his belt
he was always in charge.
France knew they had to win at one and two to have a
realistic chance of victory, and the playing order this
year put Thierry Lincou and Gregory Gaultier
on next.
 Lincou
faced James Willstrop, and in a fast-paced match
overcame the young Englishman in four games, moving a
tiring Willstrop mercilessly from corner to corner in a
nail-biting finish.
Lincou controlled the first game, but Willstrop went on
the attack to level. Both players were fighting hard,
really hard, and their movement around the court was bound
to take its toll - exchanging dropshots at the front one
minute and moving each other to the back the next.
Lincou moved ahead as Willstrop tinned a few shots at the
end of the third, and the brutal pace continued into the
fourth. From 4-all Lincou got the better of some long,
long rallies - even recovering his dropped racket to
continue one of them.
James was being made to work harder and harder, making
desperate recoveries, stretching to the limit. Eventually
the pressure told, and the French bench rose as one as
Lincou levelled.
"He was just starting
to pull through at the end, he got me on the end of a
couple of really hard rallies at a stage when I was
already tired.
"He pushes you hard and moves you around, makes you
take that extra step into the back corners. I'll be
stiff tomorrow ..."
James Willstrop |
That match took 83
minutes, and 84 minutes later France took the lead as
Gaultier recorded a fine win over Peter Nicol.
This was a much slower-paced match, with long, patient
rallies. Nicol took the first - "pretty clinical"
commented an expert observer.
But Gaultier extended the rallies in the second, and there
were many, many long ones. Not the dashing attacks of the
previous match, more siege than blitzkreig, and Gaultier
was getting the better of them.
Gaultier levelled, and was looking favourite for the
third, but he tinned a simple winner at 6-all and followed
it up with three more tins to fall behind.
But the momentum was with the Frenchman and he took the
last two games quickly against an apparently tiring Nicol.
"He always looks so
relaxed, you can't tell if he's tired, but I knew that
if it was painful for me then it must be painful for
him too.
"He's so good at killing the ball, you have to get a
good width to get onto the T and volley as much as you
can. But even if he's struggling you know he can still
get it back. I always enjoy playing him, you always
get a lesson.
"I did it for myself, but more for the team. It was
great to have them behind me, it's hard to come back
when you're on your own."
Gregory Gaultier |
 So
the match would go the full distance, unlike many matches
in this four-man format where it becomes impossible for
one team to win.
Lee Beachill had to win for England to retain the
title, simple as that. Unfortunately for France, so did
Renan Lavigne. A gallant loss would not be good enough
as England had enough games in the bag to ensure victory
however many games Beachill conceded.
In the event he conceded none. Beachill was Beachill,
controlling the tempo, controlling the game, and try as he
might - and oh, how he tried - Lavigne couldn't break the
shackles.
Beachill took the first two, Lavigne made the start of the
third a real contest, but a stroke to Beachill at 3/1
seemed to break the dam and the Englishman raced through
to claim the game, the match and the title. Again.
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EN FRANÇAIS
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"I
really enjoyed that. I lost a bit of concentration
at 8-0 in the first, but he dug in well. I think I
played well overall and did the job for the team.
"It's been a great experience this week, I want more
of it."
Peter Barker |
"Most of the time I was a bit more in
the front than him ... it was a battle of strategy, keeping control of
the middle. I didn't want to give him anything loose for him to use his
shots, so I had to play a fast pace and work him hard.
"In the second I was playing too short too early in the rallies so I had
to start controlling them again.
"It was a great match and it's good to keep the suspense going."
Thierry Lincou |
"It's a weird sort of pressure. The
scoreline makes it look easy, but even at 6/1 in the third I was feeling
pressure to finish it and win the match for the team. Renan's very sharp
and gets everything back so you can never be certain until you've won.
"I played well, I felt comfortable out there, but it's a unique type of
pressure, you can't compare it to an individual event. I'm glad I
reacted to it and I'm really really pleased to win."
Lee Beachill |
 |
"Going
on at 1-0 up made it a bit nicer. Vicky played well, but we hate to see
anyone getting injured, we all hope Vanessa's ok.
"It
felt really bad when it happened, it's sickening when you feel the
weight go down on it. But the physio's had a look at it and it's just a
strain, and it's feeling a lot better now ..."
"It's
disappointing. I was really up for it until that happened to Vanessa,
then everything changes."
