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Malcolm Willstrop in Hong Kong ...
also check out Malcolm's match reports on
TODAY in HK |
Sat 21st:
Time for change
After a start such as the Shabana/Willstrop gave to the proceedings,
the women's matches are not helped by the scoring system, which has
a soporific effect on the crowd and manages to make a watchable
match less than interesting.
Do something, authorities, before too much harm is done. Everyone
from Peter Nicol to Tony Choi to Colin McQuillan agrees that the
change to American scoring is crucial for all sorts of reasons.
The Botwright/Bailey match was of high quality, but made to look
dull, I am sorry to keep saying, by a scoring system that will kill
women's squash if we are not careful.
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In the second game they played 33 points and there were seven handouts
at 7/5. |
Thu 18th:
The Friendliest Event
 Of
all the world tour events this longest-standing championship has
much the best and friendliest atmosphere and sees the palyers at
their most relaxed.
There is a sense of unfussy organisation about the squash centre and
the warmth of the greeting makes the long flight worthwhile.
Heather Deayton and Tony Choi and their support staff are the
friendliest and most welcoming of people; the centre is compact,
with the championship court upgraded and much improved. Add other
factors such as the excellence of the nearby Renaissance Hotel, the
ease of getting from hotel to squash centre, and the nearby
top-class shopping mall Pacific Place with its many restaurants and
the general civility of Hong Kong itself and it is easy to see why
the tournament is so popular and successful.
A product of all this is that the players are relaxed and
comfortable with each other.
An appetising men's Lineup
The men's game is a happy combination of established older stars,
established younger stars and young emerging players, and winners
are harder to predict than at any other time in the game's history.
As we have seen time after time championships are won on freshness
and draws.
It will be of interest to see if Amr Shabana has recovered after the
trauma of Cairo and Nottingham, but he will not relish a
quarter-final against Gregory Gaultier, recent winner in Budapest.
Willstrop and Ricketts face tough challenges if they are to make the
quarters. Both have had problems this season and Alister Walker,
after his fine win over the in-form Iskandar, and Karim Darwish are
dangerous opponents.
There is also plenty of quality in Beachill's and Lincou's section
of the draw, and if Lincou has recovered from his arduous British
Open he is a magic player.
Stewart Boswell will attempt to thwart British Open champion Nick
Matthew, the Australain having won in St Louis, and whoever wins
will face the the formidable David Palmer, winner in New York.
So plenty of ifs and buts with no player appearing to be
particularly favoured by the draw. What would be of interest would
be the odds on the top eight seeds all making the quarters - it must
be short odds against.
Of this season's in-form players, Gaultier is in the top half
whereas Lincou, Palmer and Matthew are all in the bottom. But
Shabana, Ricketts and Willstrop all have plenty to prove after
setbacks, so they won't be lying down.
David in front
Nicol David's recent performances suggest that she is putting space
between herself and the next best. Rachael Grinham made very little
impression on her in the final of the British Open and she is the
main top-half opposition, which also includes theimproving Engy
Kheirallah.
The bottom half looks heavier and Vanessa Atkinson will have plenty
of challenges to withstand to make the final. Should David win again
she will be beginning to take an impenetrable look.
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Action photos by Alex Wan |
Round One:
The outside courts, in the same way as at Sportcity in Manchester,
have a levelling effect and the first round proper certainly
substantiated that.
Anthony Ricketts, playing on Court 9, the mani but most
attritionalof the upstairs courts, escaped by the skin of his teest
against fellow Australian Cameron Pilley, who, of course, is no mug
anyway. On his own admission Ricketts should have lost, but as he
knows well, survival in these situations is what matters.
Jonathan Kemp, too, came near to beating Stewart Boswell,
losing in the fifth.
Azlan Iskandar has been in prime form with a win overNick Matthew,
but Alister Walker beat him 3/2 after a monumental match
withone game going to 19/17. Walker has also been playing well, so
although Iskandar was favourite, the result could not be described
as a major upset.
World junior champion Ramy Ashour saw off John White, not
surprisingly since White has always been at his best on glass; Aamir
Khan did well against Nick Matthew, winning a game, and Omar Mosaad
gave Adrian Grant plenty to do.
The rest of the main players advanced without too much difficulty,
though Shahier Razik, in his element in the conditions, gave Lee
Beachill plenty to do in a 3/1 defeat.
Peter Barker, who keeps on improving, beat Ong Beng Hee in
what looked beforehan d like anyone's match.
The women's event proceeded without too many alarms for the main
players. In-form Engy Kheirallah fended off Egyptian
team-mate Raneem El Weleily 3/2 and Becky Botwright made Vanessa
Atkinson look uncomfortable at times.
The last 16 throws up some interesting clashes, notably Jenny
Duncalf v Omneya Abdel Kawy and Vicky Botwright v Rebecca
Chiu, but at this stage identifying Nicol David as the
probable champion is much easier than predicting who will prevail in
the men's event.
Excuse me for going on about it, but would those responsible please
rid the women's game of the scoring system that is no longer valid
and which, in my opinion, is doing the women's game no good at all.
A chance was missed when Paul Walters at the Gerrard British Grand
Prix was happy to change, but for some reason his offer was
resisted.
As I have said before, the system will be changed, but please sooner
rather than later.
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Qualifying Finals:
For
those involved qualifying is a nightmare: a slot in the first round
means money, points and experience and everybody has been there at
some time or other: young players on their way up, older players
wanting to stay with it.
As a coach you are aware how crucial it all is and desperate for
players you coach to succeed.
I watched three matches in the final qualifying round involving
players I look after. First, Guyana's flagship Nicolette
Fernandes faced Elise Ng and a very entertaining match it
turned out to be. Both girls hit the ball well, attack when they can
and move well, too.
The first game was long and hard, aggravated by the outdated scoring
system, and Fernandes prevailed 9/7. From there on it became easier,
without ever being simple, as Ng never gave up for a moment and
remained dangerous.
Next on was Saurav Ghosal, the promising Indian number one
who is studying at Leeds Ubiversity, against the improving Daryl
Selby. For two games Ghosal called the tune, quick to the ball
and making Selby feel uncomfortable.
The third was vital and Selby won it on a tiebreak 15/13. From then
on, much to his credit, he took gradual but increasing control and
ended up winning. He will be as thrilled by his recovery as Ghosal
will be gutted to lose.
Becky Botwright was next on, fresh from leading Pontefract's
women's team to success in the women's European Club Championships.
She was comfortable against promising young Australian Rachel
Smith, though not before Smith had led 5-0 in the third and
shown promise.
The winners will be looking for whatever the draw offers - very
often not much.
As the first round proper draws closer there is a sense of
anticipation, since even in the first round there are matches to
excite: John White v Ramy Ashour and Peter Barker v Ong
Beng Hee are two.
Of the qualifiers it will be interesting to see how Aamir Khan
does against Nick Matthew and the promising Egyptian Omar
Mosaad against Adrian Grant. Alister Walker, too,
will not lie down to in-form Azlan Iskandar.
Two of the women's first round matches have thrown together
Tricia Chuah and Rebecca Chiu, two of the foremost players in
Asia, and ironically Jenny Duncalf and Nicolette Fernandes,
who bothlive and train in Harrogate in England - they needn't have
travelled to Hong Kong to play, except they are sure to be enjoying
this friendliest of events.
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 "That was tough all the way, the
scoreline in the second and third didn't show it but she played really
well.
"She attacked very well, so I had to keep everything tight - that's
what Malcolm said anyway, and it worked!"
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 "I
didn't do much wrong, I just didn't play the right shots at the right
time.
"I should have capitalized on those match balls in the third, but I
played two really bad shots and he jumped on them.
"But he played really well in the fourth and fifth, and he deserved to
win."
Saurav Ghosal |
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Qualifying day one:
 Few
if any of the world tour events have a friendlier atmosphere that
the Cathay Pacific Swiss Privilege Hong Kong Open and few are more
friendly and welcoming than Heather Deayton.
So, although she is officially retired it was no surprise, but
almost a relief, that she was one of the first people I saw as I
arrived at the Squash Centre.
The Qualifying Competition was already well under way and a surprise
name was Omar Elborolossy who also retired some time ago. He
more than justified his entry, because he scored a notable and
convincing win over Borja Golan.
There were plenty of promising young Hong Kong playersin the draw
and two of them, Joey Chan who beat Orla Noom, and Annie
Au, who beat Australian Donna Urquhart 3/2, were members of the
Hong Kong under 19 girls team which won the world team title.
For quite a while Au looked up against it, but she held her game
together to earn a 3/2 win.
The first round is tomorrow and as usual there are several matches
which catch the eye, notably John White against Ramy Ashour
and Ong Beng Hee versus Peter Barker.
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Malcolm with Saurav Ghosal |
05-Oct-06:
Hong Kong Preview
 The Hungarian Open and Village Open New York come before Hong Kong,
but since not everyone is involved, they will have some significance
without being crucial.
Several leading players, notably Amr Shabana, Thierry Lincou, James
Willstrop and Karim Darwish play neither; David Palmer, Nick
Matthew, Gregory Gaultier and Anthony Ricketts play one, and Lee
Beachill plays both, all no doubt having their reasons.
Recently players from the same country have been thrown together,
but Hong Kong had come up differently this time, and in the last
eight, should the seedings be borne out, no two players from the
same country will meet.
Shabana suffered badly in Egypt: the expectations were overpowering
and the likeable Egyptian had not recovered mentally either in
Manchester or Nottingham.
Gaultier has improved, played well in the English Open and the
Worlds, but despite everything in his favour couldn’t get past
Lincou in the British Open.
Willstrop has had a troubled time with food poisoning and a hand
operation, as has Ricketts with an arm injury.
Beachill has been playing well enough, without any luck in the draw,
and Lincou’s performance in the British Open beggared belief. If he
is rested, which he should be, he is hard to beat, as is Matthew on
the back of two successes in the Gerrard and British Open.
The quarter-final lineup could be:
Shabana v Gaultier
Willstrop v Ricketts
Beachill v Lincou
Palmer v Matthew
It’s a tasty program. Shabana has never found Gaultier easy and the
way things are the Frenchman is in the box seat. Willstrop and
Ricketts have had their problems, so much will depend on how they
have recovered. They may also be at risk earlier in the draw.
In two tight matches Lincou lost 3/2 to Beachill in Manchester and
beat him 3/1 in Nottingham. Beachill is busy in Budapest and New
York, while Lincou takes a well-earned break.
Palmer, surprisingly, perhaps, as he was fresher, couldn’t beat
Lincou in his favourite tournament the British Open, and Matthew
took full advantage of helpful circumstances to take two big wins.
Their confrontation should be massive in every way.
It’s all very appetising and I look forward to being there, to
seeing Heather, Tony Choi and James Barrington again in civilised
Hong Kong. I will especially enjoy reminiscing with James, recalling
his Lancing College days when he and Lancing put one over Gresham’s
in the National Schools Championship in dubious circumstances!
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Willstrop
