|
| |
Sun
15th,
QUARTER-FINALS
 |
Top
four women through ...
The women's quarter-finals all finished with wins for the higher seeds,
so it will be the world's top four who contest the semi-finals.
Nicol David was in no mood to let Omneya Abdel Kawy push her
close as she did last week in Kuwait, and she meets Tania Bailey,
who pulled back after a fine start from Vicky Botwright to win in four.
The other semi will be another all-Grinham affair. Rachael won
three close games against Natalie Grainger - coming from 0/7 down in the
second - while Natalie looked to be cruising to a quick win over
Vanessa Atkinson but ultimately had to fight hard to claim her place.
More
of a mixture for the men ...
The first men's quarter-final was all-English, with nothing to separate
yesterday's giant-killer Peter Barker and Nick Matthew. Matthew
led the first 7/3, but once Barker pulled that back there was never more
than two points between them until the end of a really hard, gruelling
match, with Matthew edging the last three games.
Ramy Ashour continued his winning ways, taking just half an hour
to beat a subdued James Willstrop in a match that was more cut and
thrust than the hard slog of the previous men's match. James wasn't
quite there tonight, taking the first point but never leading after that
and Ramy rarely needed to engage top gear.
Egypt took a second semi-final spot when Wael El Hindi overcame
Lee Beachill in an 80-minute encounter that mixed quality squash with
plenty of incident, decisions and discussions with El Hindi taking two
tie-break games before easing home in the fourth.
World champion David Palmer completed the semi-final lineup with
a straight games win over Karim Darwish, although the Egyptian pushed
him close in all three games.
[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt [7] Omneya Abdel
Kawy (Egy)
9/1, 9/0, 9/3 (22m)
[4] Tania Bailey (Eng) bt [5] Vicky
Botwright (Eng)
7/9, 9/3, 9/5, 9/1 (67m)
[3] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt [6] Natalie Grainger (Usa)
9/7, 9/7, 10/8 (45m)
[2] Natalie Grinham (Aus) bt [8] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned)
9/2, 9/0, 8/10, 9/4 (55m)
[5] Nick Matthew (Eng) bt [14] Peter Barker (Eng)
9/11, 13/11, 11/9,
11/9 (72m)
[3] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt [6] James Willstrop (Eng)
11/4, 11/7, 11/7
(31m)
[10] Wael El Hindi (Egy) bt [8] Lee
Beachill (Eng)
12/10, 8/11, 13/11,
11/4 (80m)
[2] David Palmer [7] Karim Darwish (Egy)
11/8, 11/9, 11/7
(49m) |
Galleries
Chit Chat: In the papers |
|
[5]
Nick Matthew (Eng) bt [14] Peter Barker (Eng)
9/11, 13/11, 11/9,
11/9 (72m)
Close, so close ...
What a difference a win makes. Peter Barker, after beating the world
number one yesterday, came within an ace of beating the British number
one tonight, in a match of four games that could all have gone the other
way.
Nick Matthew started the stronger, opening up a 7/4 lead, but a
determined Barker brought it back to 7-all and from then on neither
player led by more than two points.
Barker took the first, finishing with a service return slammed into the
nick. After that it was hard rally after hard rally, neither able to
break free but Matthew winning the crucial endpoints in the next three
games.
Close, so close ...
 "I
know when I look at the video I'll realise how close that was - I could
have won every game but I only took one out of four, that's not a good
average.
"I played ok, but when he got in front of me he pushed me into the back
corners and I had to do such a lot of work to get out.
"After last week and my performances here, I know it's all there. I
wanted to finish the season in the top sixteen and hopefully I've done
enough for that …"
 |
 "He
was full of confidence after yesterday, and it was very close apart from
the very start where I got a few points ahead by keeping it to the back,
but once he started taking it in short he was very good.
"I wasn't playing my best and I could easily have been 2-0 down, but my
movement was keeping me in it. My backhand drops are normally one of my
best shots but I hardly hit one all match.
"Physically I'm feeling good, but I'll have to raise my form a lot if I
want to do well tomorrow. I'll have another practice on the court and
hope to hit my best tomorrow."
 |
|
[10] Wael El
Hindi (Egy) bt [8] Lee Beachill (Eng)
12/10, 8/11, 13/11, 11/4 (80m)
Another one for Wael
 It
wasn't quite 80 minutes of mayhem, but for patches during the match is
seemed like it could be. There was a lot of quality squash to be seen
here, but some of it got lost amid them many collisions, exaggerated
appealing and discussions between the players - not all of it good
humoured - that at one point had the referee shouting at them to cut the
chat and get on with play.
Beachill led all the way in the first, had three game balls but El Hindi
won five points in a row to steal it from under his nose. He didn't
allow that in the second, once again leading throughout and this time
winning it on his first opportunity to level.
 By
this time the fun had started, most decisions being greeted with
incredulity by one or other player and Beachill at one stage pointing at
the referees saying "don't you dare, don't you dare ..."
After an even start Beachill earned himself two more game balls in the
third,but once again El Hindi, amid a lot of talking between the players
about what the had/could/should do/have done, came from behind again to
take the lead.
Amid all this Beachill was swapping rackets regularly, and by the end he
didn't have a pristine one left.
El Hindi got off to a good start in the fourth, from 6/1 was never going
to be caught, and after 80 minutes he had secured one of his best wins
and aplace in the semi-finals.
|
 "That's
one of my best ones. Like yesterday I was controlling things on the
backhand side, that's working well for me.
"The first three games were really intense, especially the third, that
was the decider, if he'd taken that he would have come back strong. I
think losing that broke him a little, and when I got a good start in the
fourth it was always going to be hard for.
"I'm really happy about my form this last two weeks, and hopefully I've
done enough to get into the top ten. I'm looking forward to the next
match, I think the tournament's open for anyone to win now …"
 |
|
[2] David Palmer [7] Karim Darwish (Egy)
11/8, 11/9, 11/7
(49m)
Palmer stays ahead
Compared to what went before this was a fairly calm match, with David
Palmer never headed by Karim Darwish. At times the Egyptian threatened
to reach parity, but each time Palmer's more powerful shotmaking kept
his opponent at bay.
The Australian pulled clear from 9/8 in the first, saw a 7/1 lead
reduced to the same scoreline in the second before doubling his lead,
and managed to keep oner step ahead during a well-contested third and
will be grateful for a second consecutive 3-0 win after his recent
early-round marathons.
 |
 "What's
been hurting me in other tournaments is dropping games up to the
quarters, so I'm not at my best for the semis and final.
"I worked hard to get two-nil up, I lost a little in the second but
managed to get a couple of points in the end to get me out of jail. In
the third I was determined to finish it, but he fought well.
"My length was the key tonight, I tried to keep him buried in the back
corners because he's so dangerous at the front, like all the Egyptians,
then go for a winner once I'd forced the bad ball.
"It was a good performance, it puts me in a good position to win the
tournament from here …"
 |
|
[3]
Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt [6] James Willstrop (Eng)
11/4, 11/7, 11/7
(31m)
Ramy
at a canter ...
James Willstrop wasn't there tonight. At least, not the James Willstrop
who won the last edition of the Qatar Classic, not the James Willstrop
who pushed Ramy so hard in New York, and not the James Willstrop who won
the British Nationals and the Canary Wharf Classic.
 Flat
and seemingly subdued from the start, the expected fireworks never
materialised as Ramy Ashour led from start to finish. James picked up a
conduct warning for racket abuse in the middle of the second as he
became frustrated with himself, but that too failed to light the spark.
The match was all cut and thrust, with plenty of variation from both of
them, plenty of invention and little in the way of long rallies, in
stark contrast to the Matthew/Barker match, but it was Ramy doing most
of the cutting edge work.
When James threatened in the third, coming from 9/5 down to 9/7, Ramy
visibly upped the pace to stop the danger, and in just half an hour
itwas all over.
|
 "I
played ok but James wasn't there tonight, I could feel he was mentally
and physically tired. It's been two weeks of hard matches, I've played
them too, but maybe he's done more than me and it caught up with him.
"It was close in the third, I relaxed and lost a couple of points so had
to push to make sure I didn't let him back in. I'm sure next time we
meet it will be much harder, but for now I have to prepare myself for
the semi-final …"
 |
 |
|
[1]
Nicol David (Mas) bt [7] Omneya Abdel Kawy
(Egy)
9/1, 9/0, 9/3 (22m)
Back
to business for Nicol
 Omneya
Abdel Kawy gave Nicol David a realt fright last week in Kuwait before
the Malaysian superstar staged one of her famed comebacks which seemed
to sting her into life.
No such scares today as Nicol dominated from start to finish. A couple
of lucky nicks to start set the tone, and although Omneya enjoyed a
couple of spells of parity, she couldn't translate that into points as
Nicol eased through to the semi-finals.
"Last week's match with Omneya woke her up.
Even in KL she wasn't quite there, and for thefirst couple of rounds in
Kuwait, but since that scare last week she's been on top form."
Nicol's sports therapist |
 "I
really wanted to make sure I started strong this time, which I did, and
having a match on the court yesterday worked to my advantage. I think
she was still feeling yesterday's match, trying to bring it back up
after that was always going to be hard."
 "I
felt heavy from the start, my legs felt tight. She played really well
though, she put in some very good dropshots and was hitting the ball
hard and tight. I just couldn't find my shots, they were all too loose,
no like in Kuwait."
 |
|
[4]
Tania Bailey (Eng) bt [5] Vicky Botwright
(Eng)
7/9, 9/3, 9/5, 9/1 (67m)
Tania takes all-English quarter
There were three parts to this match ... Vicky came out breathing fire
as she raced to a 6/1 lead in the first, a middle section which was
pretty even for the most part, and then it was Tania who pulled clear at
the end.
Tania nearly pulled that first game back, reaching 7-all with three
consecutive lengths that just died on Vicky in the back. Vicky held on,
but was soon under pressure again in the second, and struggled to stay
on even terms after falling 4-0 down in the third.
She was never really in the fourth though, as Tania made her opponent do
most of the work, stroking the ball around with increasing confidence.
She'll need moreof that tomorrow ...
 "Physically
I feel pretty good, it's my squash that let me down. I got cramp in my
toes at the end too, although that's not why I lost.
"I'm disappointed because I don't feel tired. I made a good start but
she came back well. The third was tough to lose, but it just slipped
away in the fourth."
 |
 "Vicky
played so well at the start, it was almost perfect squash. I don't think
I was doing anything wrong, there was just nothing I could do. At least
I got a few points and made a game of it at the end of the first, I was
a bit disappointed to lose it having come back, but at least it got me
into the match and gave me some confidence.
"The second was tough, then I tightened up and straightened up - she was
volleying my crosscourts before that - and I started to feel good.
"I feel fit and strong, you have to be to play people like Shelley and
Vicky, and tomorrow will be even tougher. I haven't played Nicol since
Hong Kong, I'm looking forward to it, I feel quite at home on this
court."
 |
|
[3]
Rachael Grinham
(Aus) bt [6] Natalie Grainger (Usa)
9/7, 9/7, 10/8 (45m)
Rachael squeezes through
 It
will go down as three-nil,but it was harder than that, and could easily
have been reversed. Natalie's attacking power game against Rachael's
flicks, lobs and angles, it went in patches but it was Rachael who
picked up the crucial points at the end of each game.
True, she could have won the first and third more easily as she was 8/5
and 8/4 up, but then she could, perhaps should have lost the second from
7/0 down.
She won them all though, and is through to another all-Grinham
semi-final ...
 "It would have been fine if
I hadn't hit the tin. I played my game, and I played much better than
when I last played her, put a bit of pace on the ball and moved it
around.
"I just put a few in the tin I shouldn't have, it could easily have been
3/0 the other way …"
 |
 "My games with her tend to
go like that, up and down. I think we have more of a mental battle than
anything, trying to change our games to counter what the other one does.
She usually comes out like a rocket, and I'm just trying to get her off
the T and not give her the pace she loves.
"Even at 7/0 like she was in the second you know it's never over, she
can fire in some shots or she can hit some tins, that's when you have to
dig in and not give her anything."
 |
|
[2] Natalie Grinham (Aus) bt [8] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned)
9/2, 9/0, 8/10, 9/4 (55m)
Not
so easy for Natalie
What looked like a comfortable outing for Natalie Grinham turned into a
bit of a test as Vanessa Atkinson recovered from an awful start, coming
out a different player in the third and and early in the fourth.
However, from 2/4 down in the fourth the younger Grinham reasserted to
win in a single hand, reaching another major semi-final.
 "I
won the first two so easily, then I changed my game plan, and so did
she. I tried to play winners rather than just prolonging the rallies.
She tightened up and her shots started going in. The beginning of the
fourth was crucial, I had to be sure to get my focus back for that, I
knew I'd be the fresher of us going into it.
"I 'm more confident to play long matches these days, coming to a
tournament and playing a series of five-setters is nothing compared to
what my fitness trainer puts me through back in Holland."
 |
 "I
was getting chopped for a while, I was too loose in the first two and I
was trying to force it, forgetting to get her to the back. Once I
started doing that it was better, I was making myself work too hard
without reward before, I needed to get her off the T.
"I think she tired towards the end, but she's still so fast, she gets
everything back. She got a couple of points at 4-all in the fourth and I
was starting to feel bad. I'm glad I got into it, it's a pity I couldn't
take the fourth, but it looked like it was going to be very quick for a
while.
"I'm back physically now, I just need a few good wins and a bit of
confidence. Nicol and Natalie seem to have upped their level in the time
I've been off, I can't let them get away but I underestimated how long
it would take to get back to my level.
 |
|
