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Top seeds find it tough on day
13 of the men’s top seeds are now through to round two of the
world’s richest squash tournament with only one seeded casualty
in Anthony Ricketts, but several the world’s top-ranked players
struggled their way through the first round of the 2007 Sheikha
Al Saad Kuwait Open.
Australia’s world number three David Palmer was forced to
fight back from two down to overcome Italian qualifier Davide
Bianchetti in five games.
Palmer described the game as a wake-up call. “I was a bit slow
out of the blocks, to be sure. It wasn't a hard grinding match,
but I was a bit defensive to start with, waiting for something
to happen and nothing did. It's dangerous being 2-0 down
obviously. I knew I needed a good start in the fifth, which I
got.”
Fellow Australian and world number 10, Stewart Boswell,
was also taken to five games against Canada’s Shahier Razik in a
marathon hour-and-a-half match, while a third Australian, world
number seven, Anthony Ricketts, struggled with an injury
before losing 3-1 in the day’s big upset to English qualifier
Jonathon Kemp. Aussie-Scot John White also struggled
to victory, coming from 2-1 down to beat Cameron Pilley.
White now faces Gregory Gaultier after the second seed
beat fellow-Frenchman Renan Lavigne in straight games.
England’s world number eight, James Willstrop also found
life tough in his four-game win against Spain’s Borja Golan. "I
was just trying to put some decent squash together which I did
for a lot of it. He looked fresher than I felt at the end,”
Willstrop said.
Kemp'and Willstrop led an Englishcharge into the last sixteen as
they were joined by Lee Beachill, Nick Matthew, Adrian Grant
and Peter Barker.
Malaysia’s Ong Beng Hee defeated crowd favourite Hisham
Ashour in four games and now faces Hisham’s brother Ramy, who
despatched Joey Barrington in straight games.
"I'm very excited - one Ashour down and now to take on the other
one,” Ong Beng Hee said. “If I can beat the two Ashours my ball
sense must be the best in the world! Hisham is so talented and
unpredictable. He's playing so much better than his ranking.”
 As
the action moved to the glass court - after a spectacular
opening ceremony (
) - the crowd were treated to aspirited performance fom local favourite Bader Al Hussaini who
put up a spirited fight against Mohamed Abbas.
Last on was top seed and world number one Amr Shabana,
who kept up the day's pattern as young Englishman Alister Walker
pulled back from two games down only to lose a tense decider. |
Close calls for White & Palmer
Borja tests James
ChitChat #3:
The Al Corniche Club
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Men's Round One
[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [Q] Alister Walker (Eng)
11/4, 11/6, 6/11, 6/11, 11/7 (60m)
[14] Adrian Grant (Eng) bt Azlan Iskandar (Mas)
6/11, 12/10, 5/11, 11/9, 11/3 (86m)
[7] James Willstrop (Eng) bt Borja Golan (Esp)
11/6, 11/8, 8/11, 13/11 (52m)
[9] Lee Beachill (Eng) bt Alex Gough (Wal)
11/4, 11/4, 11/5 (28m)
[3] David Palmer (Aus) bt [Q] Davide Bianchetti (Ita)
9/11, 4/11, 11/2, 11/3, 11/3 (71m)
[10] Stewart Boswell (Aus) bt Shahier Razik (Can)
11/9, 11/9, 9/11, 2/11, 11/5 (90m)
[6] Nick Matthew (Eng) bt Olli Tuominen (Fin)
11/7, 5/11, 11/3, 11/7 (54m)
[13] Mohammed Abbas (Egy) bt Bader Al Hussaini (Kuw)
11/4, 11/3, 11/7 (31m)
[12] Wael El Hindi (Egy) bt [Q] Bradley Ball (Eng)
11/5, 11/8, 11/4 (31m)
[Q] Jonathan Kemp (Eng) bt [5] Anthony Ricketts (Aus)
11/13, 11/7, 11/3, 11/9 (44m)
[15] Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt [Q] Hisham Ashour (Egy)
10/12, 11/9, 11/5, 13/11 (46m)
[4] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt [Q] Joey Barrington (Eng)
11/7, 11/1, 11/5 (31m)
[16] Peter Barker (Eng) bt Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned)
11/8,11/4, 11/3 (48m)
[8] Karim Darwish (Egy) bt [Q] Aamir Atlas Khan (Pak)
11/6, 11/2, 11/2 (33m)
[11] John White (Sco) bt Cameron Pilley (Aus)
7/11, 11/6, 9/11, 11/4, 11/3 (62m)
[2] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt [Q] Renan Lavigne (Fra) 11/3,
11/5, 11/4 (37m)
Women's Qualifying Finals
Engy Kheirallah (Egy) bt Dominique Lloyd-Walter
(Eng) 9/6, 2/9, 9/3, 9/1 (54m)
plays Vicky Botwright
Isabelle Stoehr (Fra) bt Jaclyn Hawkes (Nzl)
9/4,9/6, 4/9, 7/9 9/3 (68m)
plays Omneya Abdel Kawy
Kasey Brown (Aus) bt Annelize Naude (Ned)
9/2, 9/5, 9/7 (66m)
plays Natalie Grinham
Shelley Kitchen (Nzl) bt Raneem El Weleily (Egy)
9/1, 9/5, 9/6 (36m)
plays Rachael Grinham |
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[4] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt [Q] Joey Barrington (Eng)
11/7, 11/1, 11/5 (31m)
 "It's
always like this in the first round with me, I'm a bit lazy and
I need to motivate myself more right from the start. But the
most important thing to do is to find a way to win, which I
managed to do.
"I saw he had a bandage and read that he had an injury, but I
couldn't let that affect me. In the end it was a good match for
me to start with.
"It could be a big match next round if Hisham beats Bengy. As
much as I don't want to play my brother, I really want him to
win …"
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Engy Kheirallah (Egy) bt Dominique Lloyd-Walter
(Eng) 9/6, 2/9, 9/3, 9/1 (54m)
 "It
was really hot and we had a lot of long rallies. In the first I
was really focused, playing fast, but I was actually a bit lucky
to win it. She slowed it down in the second and I took a bit of
a nap.
"I knew the third was very important. I upped the pace again and
I think she slowed down a bit in the end. The European players
probably aren't used to playing in these conditions, although
neither are we really, we normally play on air-conditioned
courts, but it probably suited me more.
"I kept telling myself to play length, not too many crosscourts
like I did in the second, because even at 7-0 in the fourth you
never know what's going to happen. I'm happy to get away with
that one …"
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[3] David Palmer (Aus) bt [Q] Davide Bianchetti (Ita)
9/11, 4/11, 11/2, 11/3, 11/3 (71m)
 "I
was a bit slow out of the blocks, to be sure. It wasn't a hard
grinding match like some of today's, but I was a bit defensive
to start with, waiting fore something to happen and nothing did.
"I started stepping it up in the third, it's dangerous being 2-0
down obviously, but once I won the third felt pretty
comfortable. I knew I needed a good start in the fifth, which I
got.
"It's a bit of a wake-up call …"
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[16] Peter Barker (Eng) bt Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned)
11/8,11/4, 11/3 (48m)
 "Brilliant,
I can't complain about anything. I moved well, hit the ball
well, hardly made any mistakes, just solid. I've been working
hard with Paul Carter and Peter Nicol, practicing a lot on my
backhand.
"I played LJ in the Oergon final a couple of months ago and he
destroyed me on the backhand side, but the roles were reversed a
bit today.
"Roll on tomorrow."
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[10] Stewart Boswell (Aus) bt Shahier Razik (Can)
11/9, 11/9, 9/11, 2/11, 11/5 (90m)
 "That's
just what I didn't want. I knew it would be tough against
Shahier on these courts.
"I managed to sneak the first two, but he did the same in the
third and then got a good start in the fourth. It was tight in
the fifth but I managed to get a few points ahead and hung on.
"I didn't enjoy that one bit."
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Isabelle Stoehr (Fra) bt Jaclyn Hawkes (Nzl)
9/4,9/6, 4/9, 7/9 9/3 (68m)
 "It's
just in my head, it's all about my head and my concentration. I
played ok in the first two, moving her from side to side, but at
four-something up in the third I started to think too much, I
lost my focus and made so many mistakes.
"She played well in the third and fourth but I helped her a lot.
At least I won, but I'm not happy with how I played today. If I
want to beat some of the top players there's no way if I play
like that.
"I'm glad to make the main draw but my aim is not to give away
any easy points, you just can't do that at this level."
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[15] Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt [Q] Hisham Ashour (Egy)
10/12, 11/9, 11/5, 13/11 (46m)
 "I
was a little nervous to start with, Hisham is so talented and
unpredictable. He can hit you with eight winners from nowhere,
and his boasts are the best around. He's playing so much better
than his ranking.
"I'm very excited, one Ashour down now to take on the other one.
If I can beat the two Ashours my ball sense must be the best tin
the world!
"I'm glad to come through, now I can settle down and enjoy my
matches from now on."
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[7] James Willstrop (Eng) bt Borja Golan (Esp)
11/6, 11/8, 8/11, 13/11 (52m)
 "These
courts are just brutal, so fast, all the matches are long and
the ball is just flying around and there's the odd funny bounce
out of the back.
"He picked it up after the first game and it was getting quite
hard, I was just trying to put some decent squash together which
I did for a lot of it.
"He looked fresher than I felt at the end and I got a bit of
luck when he put that last shot into the tin …"
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[9] Lee Beachill (Eng) bt Alex Gough (Wal)
11/4, 11/4, 11/5 (28m)
 "We
had a few long rallies at the start but Alex wasn't quite with
it today. You can never relax with him though, he just needs a
sniff, any little opening and you can find yourself in trouble.
"I was hitting the ball well and moving well, but to get on and
off like that is a big bonus."
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[14] Adrian Grant (Eng) bt Azlan Iskandar (Mas)
6/11, 12/10, 5/11, 11/9, 11/3 (86m)
 "The
courts are really fast, you have to adjust but it's never easy,
it's hard to finish rallies off - the ball wouldn't stop
bouncing, even in the fifth. He plays so fast, and he'll do that
for five games.
"I knew I had to keep fighting in the fifth, then he gave me
three or four cheap points and after one long rally I could tell
he was feeling it.
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Kasey Brown (Aus) bt Annelize Naude (Ned) 9/2, 9/5,
9/7 (66m)
 "It's
always a good game with Annelize. I got a bit complacent in the
second and third games and she hit some good winners. In the
third I guess we both got tired and there was a lot of contact,
but I was happy to get that one, I didn't want to play any more
games than I needed."
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