Sun 8th April, Day FOUR
......Steve Cubbins in Kuwait
Marathon Day at Al Qadsia
The final session on the glassback courts at the Qadsia Club in
Kuwait City featured a series of marathon matches, the longest
being Tania Bailey's victory over compatriot Laura
Lengthorn in 104 minutes, and rounded off by a thrilling 12/10
in the fifth win for Karim Darwish over Peter Barker in
80 minutes of gripping play, including an extended opening game
which finished 23-21!
In between John White, Jenny Duncalf and Lee
Beachill upset the seedings as they overcame Gregory
Gaultier, James Willstrop and Vanessa Atkinson respectively.
The
biggest drama of the round came when world number two Gregory
Gaultier was forced to retire against Scotland’s White with an
ankle injury. Gaultier, trailing two games to one, required
medical assistance as he left the court in severe pain.
World number three David Palmer overcame another slow
start to beat fellow Australian Stewart Boswell while England’s
Lee Beachill forced an upset over his Pontefract
club-mate James Willstrop, reversing Willstrop's sole win over
his clubmate in last month's Canary Wharf Classic.
Egypt’s talented crop of squash stars performed well today.
World number nine Karim Darwish had the toughest battle,
grinding out a thrilling five game win against England’s Peter
Barker in an intensely physical 80 minute marathon. “We were
getting in each other’s way and that aggravated both of us,”
Darwish said. “This is the world’s biggest tournament and
everyone is firing up for it.”
World
number five Ramy Ashour won against Malaysia’s Ong Beng
Hee in three games while fellow Egyptian Wael El Hindi
downed English qualifier Jonathon Kemp.
In the first round of the women’s event, Tania Bailey
played the longest match of the day, beating fellow Englishwoman
Laura Lengthorn in an exhausting 104 minutes, as Jenny
Duncalf and Shelley Kitchen both upset the seedings
to move into the quarter-finals.
In the evening session on the glass court, top seeds Amr
Shabana and Natalie Grinham came through in straight
games.
"I
started to go for my shots too early in the fourth, and she was
focused while I became nervous. But then she made a couple of
errors to let me back in and I started to play to the back for a
while to settle down.
"She was guessing my shots the whole game, it was very
frustrating, I would hit a good shot and suddenly she was there.
"But it's a good start for me, and the glass court should suit
my game better."
[12] Wael El Hindi (Egy) bt [Q] Jonathan Kemp (Eng)
13/11, 14/12, 11/7 (43m)
"When I
went 8/1 up in the first I thought he would give up, but he came
back and just started hitting winners. It was close, but I just
held on to win. In the third I started to play a few more drops
and he was a bit slower.
"It's good to get to the quarters, now I just need some rest and
some fluids to get ready."
[9] Lee
Beachill (Eng) bt [7]
James Willstrop (Eng)
14/12, 11/2, 11/6 (58m)
"The
first was crucial, it was tight all the way through and it was
hard physically, but even more so mentally. Winning that gave me
a confidence boost and I think it took a little confidence out
of him.
"The second was the best game of squash I've played for two or
three years, he didn't play badly but I didn't hit a single
loose ball.
"I knew he'd up the pace in the third, I stayed with it and came
out on top of a couple of hard rallies which was another boost
for me.
"I've been threatening to play like that for a while, but not
quite managed it. It's good for me to have Phil Newton [England
physio] here, I know my body will get the best treatment and
when my body's in shape I know I can compete with anyone."
"We both played very good squash
but he was just too good today. I put it together well in
patches but his style of play just disables me, it cancels out
what I want to do and I have to play up and down the walls which
isn't what I want to do.
"I've found a way to get to him, but it doesn't mean I can do it
every time, especially on this type of court."
"The
fourth was very close, then I got a couple of calls I thought
were harsh and made a couple of mistakes and it ran away from
me.
"I'm playing Dominique again in Qatar, it will be tough again
but I'm happy to have won the first match with her here."
"I've
got the worst knockup in the world, which doesn't help to make a
good start to the match. The ball was flying all over the place
and I was just hitting it while she was dinking it and it wasn't
working for me. She was catching me out on the volley, she even
got me with four winners off my serve.
"I managed to control the ball better after the first, but it
was always close, the scoreline doesn't reflect how hard it was,
especially in the fourth game."
"I
was absolutely dying for a drink in the fifth, it's all I was
thinking about, and I never change my shirt during a match but I
so wanted to in that one. Everything sits up and your short
shots come back so you don't want to play them.
"It was very up and down, it felt like I couldn't concentrate
for more than a handful of points at a time, and whoever got in
front would goon a run of points.
"She was attacking the ball really well and I got caught behind
her a lot, at times I was playing half pace and taking the ball
too late, but that's down to the pressure she was putting me
under.
"At least it's early in the day and I've got some time to rest
up and relax ready for tomorrow …"
"I'd
never beaten her before so I'm very happy with a 3/0. I've been
playing well recently and was looking forward to this
tournament. It was hot and bouncy on there, I made a few errors
in the beginning and then managed to steady it.
"She got a lead at the start of the third and I thought she
might start one of those comebacks, but I tried to stick in and
not let up and I think I did well to get off in three."
[3] David Palmer (Aus) bt [10] Stewart Boswell (Aus)
5/11, 11/7, 11/3, 11/6 (59m)
"I
felt ok, not tired after yesterday, but every time I play him
it's similar - I get off to a good start then he gets in front.
"He volleys more effectively than I do and he gets me on the end
of rallies where I can't seem to do anything."
"At
6-0 down in the first it was looking like a bad start again, but
I was still playing better than yesterday. I made the last half
of the first game really hard and that paid dividends.
"I felt in control from the second, got forward and took it
earlier and his short game fell off as mine got better."
"I'm happy to get through 3/1, I didn't want five games again …"
"She
seemed to tire in the fourth, I got that and went 7-3 up in the
fifth, missed a drop shot and she started to comeback. I was
trying, but this court really suits her, her lengths and
crosscourts were just flying past me."
"I can't say I had a bad day or anything, I'm not sure what else
I could have done, she played well and I just couldn't quite do
enough against her today."
"I
hadn't played Rachael for a year and she beat me pretty easily
then, but I knew the court suited the way I play, so even though
I was tired I knew I had to keep going.
"She lost her length a bit in the fifth, let me back in front of
her and I managed to pull through."
"At
5-0 in the third I was thinking of a nice three-nil, I stopped
playing length and allowed her to get back in. She gained
confidence, was playing well and my length just wasn't good
enough.
"It was a dogfight at the end, I wasn't looking for pretty
squash, just trying to find a way to win …"
[1] Nicol David
(Mas) bt Madeline Perry (Irl) 9/3, 9/5, 9/7 (46m)
"It's
a nice court to play on. I felt a bit unlucky to lose the third,
I was in at 7-5, but she slipped and some how managed to get up
and hit a winner from nowhere to get level and that was it.
"Overall I played pretty well, I was in most of the rallies,
just disappointed to lose in the first round, but it was a tough
draw …"
[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [14] Adrian Grant (Eng)
11/7, 11/9, 13/11 (54m)
"It
wasn't the best of matches for either of us. It was a bit
scrappy, but that happens when you get two left-handers playing,
we have the same body angles and try to take each other's space.
"Still, a win's a win. I've got a blister the size of Texas but
it didn't affect me when I was playing and it will be fine for
tomorrow."
[6] Nick Matthew (Eng)
bt [13] Mohammed Abbas (Egy) 11/7, 7/11,
11/5, 11/5 (56m)
"I
lost to him 3/2 in Malaysia, but that was close and my movement
is now 100%. It was then, but I just didn't have enough
confidence to twist and turn like I can now.
"You always have to be on your guard though, he's good enough to
win lots of points in a row, so I tried to make sure that when I
got a two-point lead I made it four.
"It's just nice to be on the glass court while everyone else is
slugging it out on the other courts."
The
biggest drama of the round came when world number two Gregory
Gaultier was forced to retire against Scotland’s White with an
ankle injury. Gaultier, trailing two games to one, required
medical assistance as he left the court in severe pain.
World
number five Ramy Ashour won against Malaysia’s Ong Beng
Hee in three games while fellow Egyptian Wael El Hindi
downed English qualifier Jonathon Kemp. 
"The
fourth was very close, then I got a couple of calls I thought
were harsh and made a couple of mistakes and it ran away from
me. 
"I've
got the worst knockup in the world, which doesn't help to make a
good start to the match. The ball was flying all over the place
and I was just hitting it while she was dinking it and it wasn't
working for me. She was catching me out on the volley, she even
got me with four winners off my serve.
"I
was absolutely dying for a drink in the fifth, it's all I was
thinking about, and I never change my shirt during a match but I
so wanted to in that one. Everything sits up and your short
shots come back so you don't want to play them.
"I
felt ok, not tired after yesterday, but every time I play him
it's similar - I get off to a good start then he gets in front.
"At
6-0 down in the first it was looking like a bad start again, but
I was still playing better than yesterday. I made the last half
of the first game really hard and that paid dividends.
"She
seemed to tire in the fourth, I got that and went 7-3 up in the
fifth, missed a drop shot and she started to comeback. I was
trying, but this court really suits her, her lengths and
crosscourts were just flying past me."
"I
hadn't played Rachael for a year and she beat me pretty easily
then, but I knew the court suited the way I play, so even though
I was tired I knew I had to keep going. 
"At
5-0 in the third I was thinking of a nice three-nil, I stopped
playing length and allowed her to get back in. She gained
confidence, was playing well and my length just wasn't good
enough.
"It
wasn't the best of matches for either of us. It was a bit
scrappy, but that happens when you get two left-handers playing,
we have the same body angles and try to take each other's space.
"I
lost to him 3/2 in Malaysia, but that was close and my movement
is now 100%. It was then, but I just didn't have enough
confidence to twist and turn like I can now.
