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TODAY at the Windy City Open
19-Jan, ROUND ONE, PART TWO:
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Seeds in control in Chicago
The first round of North America's richest event concluded at the
University Club of Chicago with all the seeds progressing to the second
round. In tonight's second helping Hungarian Mark Krajcsak, the USA's
Julian Illingworth and Canadian Shawn Delierre came the closest to creating upsets, but it will be
the top sixteen who assemble in Cathedral Hall tomorrow ...
Framboise reports from the University Club ...
[6]
Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt [Q] Badr Abdel Aziz
(Swe)
11/3, 11/7, 11/9 (30m)
[12] Olli Tuominen (Fin) bt [Q] Mark
Krajcsak (Hun)
12/14, 11/5, 11/1, 13/11 (47m)
[10] Adrian Grant (Eng) bt [Q] Julian
Illingworth (Usa)
13/11, 11/9, 13/11 (52m)
[13] Mohammed Abbas (Egy) bt [Q] Amr Mansi (Egy)
11/5, 11/1, 11/1 (26m)
[9] Stewart Boswell (Aus) bt [Q] Tom
Richards (Eng)
11/8, 11/9, 11/3 (32m)
[3] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt Liam Kenny (Irl)
11/9, 11/5, 11/7 (47m)
[5] Anthony Ricketts (Aus) bt Rafael Alarcon (Bra)
12/10, 11/1, 11/6 (44m)
[15] Graham Ryding (Can) bt Shawn Delierre (Can)
11/4, 3/11, 5/11, 11/6, 11/3 (55m)
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En Bref Issue #5
GALLERY |
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[6]
Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt [Q] Badr Abdel
Aziz (Swe)
11/3, 11/7, 11/9 (30m)
GOOD PERFORMANCE FROM AZIZ
 I
don’t think that Aziz had too many expectations for this match,
although he played probably at his best, having no pressure
whatsoever on his Swedish shoulders.
Forget the name, but Aziz is Swedish born and bred, which makes him
a very interesting character to speak to, as he’s proud of his
Egyptian roots and customs, but still totally belongs to the
European culture. A very interesting young man I tell you, and who
today, performed extremely well by attacking “Egyptian style” all
the way through.
Ramy was never going to lose this match, and enjoyed every minute of
it, setting himself suddenly to retrieve all the shots and driving
his mate mad, running like a lunatic, a big smile on his face… The
kid is just something else…
Today, Puppy Ramy gave all the respect he owed to his opponent. He
didn’t go for crazy shots. He didn’t try to get off court as soon as
possible. He played patient, constructed, and focused rallies. He is
such the archetypal pro it’s frightening…
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 "It
was very fast. Normally, when I play players of my standard, with my
shots I either get a winner, or I get to put them under pressure.
But with Ramy, he gets to get ME under pressure…!
"We are very good friends, I always wanted to play him, it was a
great experience for me…
"Both my parents are Egyptians, but I was born in Sweden. I think
that the “Egyptian style” comes naturally to us. I always admire the
way those guys play, it’s the way squash should be played for me.
"So I go to Egypt once or twice a year to train there. I actually
just arrived from two weeks over there…"
 "He
was very quick too! He played very well today, especially in the
third game, it was very close….
"We are very good friends, I really didn’t want to play him in the
first round, and I don’t think he was that happy either! But that’s
the way things go…
"Today, I wanted to get my “breath opened” with this match, so I
didn’t take any risks, tried not to play unforced errors. We
had long rallies, it was really a perfect match for me to slowly
come into the tournament…"
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[12]
Olli Tuominen (Fin) bt
[Q] Mark Krajcsak (Hun)
12/14, 11/5, 11/1, 13/11 (47m)
Olli sets the pace
Stacey Ross reports
The first was very close, both playing a very similar game, taking
the ball very early, hitting hard to the back and cutting the ball
off at every opportunity. But this is Olli’s game and there aren’t
many people who can keep up this pace.
However Mark didn’t look afraid to take Olli on physically and
fought back well to save three game balls from 10-7 down and take
the first 14-12.
 From
4-all in the second Olli began to cut off Mark’s backhand length
giving him even less time and took the next six points in a row,
10-4 game ball to Olli and then the game 11-5.
The pace set by Olli looked to be taking its toll on Mark as the
Finn raced to a 9-0 lead in the third. Mark could only manage to win
one rally and seemed to be on his last legs.
The fourth saw Mark some how find some energy and give it a real
push and from 6-4 down found an incentive to dig even deeper
courtesy of three unforced errors from Olli and a stroke in his
favour. Mark found himself 10-9 game ball up only to be on the
receiving end of a cross court volley nick from Olli which was
widely appreciated by the crowd.
On his third match ball Olli finally took the match aided by the
ball catching the forehand side wall and skidding over to the other
side of the court to leave Mark stranded.
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"I made a slow start
and was struggling to see the ball but ended up playing well through
the first. "I was trying to keep up the pace but I began to tire in
the second and third.
"I found some energy in the fourth and gave it a real push but felt
I was just a bit unlucky."
"I found that harder
than expected and thought Mark played well. We were both hitting it
hard but sometimes without any real direction. I need to work harder
on my basic length for my next match."
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[10]
Adrian Grant (Eng) bt [Q] Julian
Illingworth (Usa)
13/11, 11/9, 13/11 (52m)
O SO CLOSE
It was a 3/0 victory for Englishman Adrian Grant, but it could have
easily been a 3/0 defeat, as the three games were very disputed and
the suspense quite high in the American crowd. Was he? Yes? No? Ah,
maybe. Oh, blast…
As ever, Mr More-laid-back-you’ll-fall-over-Granty took his time to
get into the match, 6/0 down was the moment he thought an entrance
could be appropriate, bless him… Having two rather similar games –
although Adrian may be just a bit more used to sustaining that kind
of pace – each rally was a tough battle that they won each in their
turn.
But it seemed that Julian couldn’t close it out today. He had two
game balls in the first game, and four in the third… As you see,
quite a close encounter…
Julian will be crushed to have got so close to a big upset, but he
is just starting to rub racquets with the top guys. He’s learning
about the pressure of winning, and he should take comfort in the
fact that, even under tremendous pressure, he kept his error rate to
an astonishingly low average rate of one mistake per game.
It was a very good performance indeed from the number two
American...
 "A
6/0 down start is a pretty much standard start for me, I’m afraid…
I’m working on that, getting better…
"I’ve been practicing a few times with Julian in the UK, but still
he really surprised me with how steady he played today, he pushed me
right into the back corners, his attacks were deep, and on this
court, as it’s bouncy, you’ve got to chose the right moment to
attack too…
"This was my first match of the year, so, happy to win it in three…"
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"A little bit disappointing to have let the third slip away… I got a
bit nervous at 8/10, but also I did relax a bit at 10/5…"
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[13]
Mohamed Abbas (Egy) bt
[Q] Amr Mansi (Egy) 11/5, 11/1, 11/1 (26m)
FAST ABBAS
 The
man was on a mission, I tell you. Mohamed Abbas was hitting each
shot as if the world title was depending on it. But he had some good
reasons for that, as he knew his opponent’s game, very similar to
his…
The first game was pure joy, two gentlemen playing top squash,
attacking from all corners, visiting all the the court, the ball
circulating fast and furious.
It didn’t last though. Just recovering from injury, Mansi couldn’t
stand the pace, and just collapsed in the second. Having rested for
the whole three minutes that the game lasted, he tried a blasting
off come back in the third, but Abbas just pushed him for two or
three rallies, and he was dead.
Shame, it would have been nice to see these two in their best
physical shape… |
"I’ve been suffering
from a knee injury for the past months, I’m totally out of fitness,
and that’s why I got so tired in the second…
"The knee is still a bit painful, but it’s getting there…"
Amr Mansi
"There is something
wrong with his knee, because I train with that man a lot in Cairo,
and he is much more competitive than that…
"I’ve got to go for all my shots, because if I don’t, I lose the
match…"
Mohamed Abbas |
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[9]
Stewart Boswell (Aus) bt [Q] Tom
Richards (Eng)
11/8, 11/9, 11/3 (32m)
Not a lot to choose ...
Stacey Ross reports
Anyone watching who didn’t know the ranking of these two would have
been forgiven for thinking there were only a few places between
them. Tom played far above his ranking of 57 and really took the
game to Stewart. It was close all the way through, many of Stewart’s
points coming from Tom’s errors and it was the Australian's overall
consistency that secured him the first, 11-8.
The rallies in the second all looked very even - Tom was in them but
simply not winning them. At 10-5 to Stewart it seemed the second was
going to disappear in under ten minutes but Stuart’s concentration
wandered and gave Tom a sniff at a recovery. This was as far as Tom
was allowed to get and an accurate straight backhand drop off a weak
boast from Tom secured the second in Stewart’s favour 11-9.
The third was one sided. Tom’s concentration was nowhere to be seen
and Stewart looked to have discovered his short game. These two
factors combined made for a short, sharp game in which Tom barely
featured.
Match to Stewart 11-3 in the third.
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 "I
struggled at the start as the ball was really flying. He put me
under pressure but I managed to weather the storm and eventually got
my short game working."
Stewart Boswell
 "I
was happy with the first two as I felt I was putting him under
pressure, but disappointed with the third.
"Overall I' m pleased”
Tom Richards |
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[3]
Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt Liam Kenny (Irl)
11/9, 11/5, 11/7 (47m)
TEST PASSED…
After Saudi, Thierry Lincou flew off home, as in a little island in
the Indian Ocean, La Réunion, to marry his long time girlfriend
Céline Arcizet. So, relaxation, yes, physical training, yes, but
hard competitive matches? I don’t think so. So today could have been
a disaster for him…
Liam Kenny was ready for battle and gave the former world number one
a good run for his money, especially in the first game.
It was tight squash between those two, Kenny was not letting his
opponent running away with the game, putting him under real
pressure, and even down game ball 10/8, seemed very dangerous and a
very possible winner.
Still, Thierry was very confident, went for his shots from the first
rally, was not too tentative and a little on the back foot as he
sometimes can be when uncomfortable, and was able to adjust his game
by the end of the first.
The second was a formality, a disappointed Kenny struggled to
overcome the loss of the first, but the third was very tight again,
with a Frenchman a bit loose and relaxed, and an Irishman all bucked
up ...
Still, a lack of self belief for the Irish, and a good last push for
the French led to a 3/0 victory for my compatriot, who was happy to
have passed his test… |
"I was just taking my
marks as it was my first match in about a month. I just wanted to
come back into the pace, I wanted to play a basic game, and try and
get my confidence back…
"The arrival or confirmation of young players like Greg and Ramy are
really beneficial for the game, it’s good to have new styles of
play…
"I’m just going to try and play my best squash for the next two
three years, and see what happens, trying to do my best. And I have
no expectations of this tournament, it’s still a very long way
away…"
""My drop of pace in
the second was a combination of a drop of energy plus a bit of
mental discouragement. I know that Thierry is a slow starter, and I
didn’t think I played particularly well in the first, it was more
Thierry who was a bit edgy, and I was not able to capitalise. So he
was bound to get better…
"Then my length started to drop off, and whereas it was quite
alright at the start of the match, and I started to open the court
up for him…
"I’m disappointed that I couldn’t play more consistently, as the
first game at least was there for the taking…"
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[5]
Anthony Ricketts (Aus) bt
Rafael Alarcon (Bra) 12/10, 11/1, 11/6 (44m)
Ricketts
powers past Rafa
Stacey Ross reports
Anthony made a very tentative start, making very sure of each shot
to the front with usually large room for error. The rallies were
long and although Anthony wasn’t quite as attacking as he can be, he
made sure Raf was always on the move. Rafael levelled the first at
7-7 after always being two points behind and managed to save a game
ball at 10-9 to level again. A stroke to Anthony and a winner sealed
the first 12-10.
In the second Rafael looked to be feeling the effects of forced
persistent court coverage in the first and was just a fraction off
the pace. But it was enough to make a substantial difference with
the gap between the two starting to widen. Anthony was soon 10-1 up
and all Raf could look to do was to go for some ambitious winners,
too ambitious. One more rally was all Anthony needed to take the
second.
Rafael made the most of the break between games and took an early
4-0 lead but not without having to work for it. Anthony sensed Raf
was struggling to hold his lead and protracted the next few rallies,
hitting hard to the back and stretching his man well.
Rafael’s desire to hold his lead and contest every single shot was
not in doubt and full credit is due for the gutsy physical
performance he was putting in but the strain was clearly evident and
he simply couldn’t keep up the required work load.
I’ve played Anthony several times and had leads, but the constant
barrage that gets relentlessly thrown at you and the effort needed
to hold him off takes you to your limit and beyond, making it
painful and not a lot of fun! This is what Raf looked to be
experiencing.
Anthony levelled the game at 5-5 and from there grew in confidence
and took the third 11-6.
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 "I’m
as keen as ever after the injuries I’ve suffered. I am trying to
work on ways to stay as fresh as I can and to be at my peak for
events."
 "I
Had to adjust to the pace. He is a solid top ten player. Thank you
to everyone for their support."
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[15]
Graham Ryding (Can) bt
Shawn Delierre (Can)
11/4, 3/11, 5/11, 11/6, 11/3 (55m)
UNORTHODOX DELIERRE
It runs in the family I guess, as Shawn Delierre’s dad is the famous
French Canadian Jean who's revolutionised Squash on TV and DVD time
and time again, last week for example by shooting the Toronto
Classic in HD for the first time ever…
Born from an unorthodox family, a French Canadian dad and a
Pakistani mum, Shawn has quite logically developed an unorthodox
style… Tonight was the first time I saw him play, and I think it
will take me a while to understand fully whatever happened…
A long match that's for sure, a lot of lets and interference, two
generations battling for the spot in the sun, Shawn all ready to
step up, Graham not yet ready to step down… Today, the old guard
prevailed…
The young Canadian has a very weird backhand, putting a lot of
pressure on the wrist, and he uses it at profusion with great
success… or total failure… When he finds himself under pressure, he
starts hitting the ball harder and harder…
Like Graham said after the match "Playing Shawn is a bit like
playing John White"…
Yes, I can see his point…
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 "We
didn’t play consistently, I was playing well the first game, then he
was in the second and third, then my turn again, and he lost his way
a bit in the fifth…
"We always have long five setters with Shawn, we played three times,
(two PSA incl this one), he beat me 3/2 once, and I beat him 3/2
twice. So, always long and tough matches…
"Shawn is like Ramy, he’s got a very quick racquet, the ball goes
off it so quickly it’s a problem to guess where it’s going. And he
makes a lot of errors, but also he plays a lot of winners too, so
it’s all a question of making the percentage work for you…
"It’s difficult to play him, that’s for sure…!
"I played David Palmer last week in Toronto, I know I can stick in
there and hopefully, I’ll play better than I did last week…"
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TODAY at the Windy City Open
18-Jan, ROUND ONE, PART ONE:
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There were no surprises as
the first round proper got under way in Cathedral Hall, with top seeds
Amr Shabana and David Palmer seeing off spirited challenges
from Dan Jenson and Davide Bianchetti, while UCC pro Mark Heather
gave John White a fright before eventually falling to the
big-hitting US resident.
[14]
Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt [Q] Stacey Ross (Eng)
11/7, 13/11, 11/6 (38m)
[11] Wael El Hindi (Egy) bt Hisham Ashour (Egy)
11/9, 11/7, 11/8 (37m)
[16] Cameron Pilley (Aus) bt [Q] Scott
Handley (Eng)
11/3, 11/9, 11/8 (38m)
[7] James Willstrop (Eng) bt [Q]
Daryl Selby (Eng)
11/5, 11/8, 11/2 (35m)
[4] Gregory Gaultier (Fra)
bt Alex Gough (Wal)
11/7, 11/8, 11/9 (40m)
[2] David Palmer (Aus) bt Davide Bianchetti (Ita)
6/11, 11/6, 11/8, 11/9 (64m)
[8] John White (Sco) bt Mark Heather (Eng)
8/11, 11/9, 12/10, 11/4 (51m)
[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt Dan Jenson (Aus)
13/11, 11/4, 11/6 (32m) |
EN Bref
Issue #4
Framboise
reports
from Chicago ... |
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[14]
Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt
[Q] Stacey Ross (Eng) 11/7, 13/11, 11/6 (38m)
STACEY STILL STANDING
 It
was always going to be about the way Stacey could handle the
marathon of the night before, as he was the last one on court
yesterday and the first one on today! Not that good a start…
The few aficionados that were present actually saluted the gutsy
performance of the Englishman, who never put his head down, and
fought some pretty long and disputed rallies, going for his shots as
if he was fresh as a baby.
But the legs were shaky, and far too many unforced errors helped a
slightly nervous Malaysian to take a 16 minute crucial second game.
That was the turning point really. From that moment on, Stacey went
for short rallies, playing short, not the tactic you need against
Beng Hee, who was happy to get this first match over with, spending
as little effort as he could before his second round…
Like he said, he has a lot to prove, and more than anything else, to
himself…
"I was trying to play
my game, but getting chopped by Anthony in Toronto last week took a
lot of my confidence away, so I was a bit nervous when I got on
court. But he was quite tired from his match yesterday, and that
must have affected his movement…
"After my poor result last week, I’ve got a lot to prove this week.
And I’ve learned something after all those years on the tour. NEVER
travel from Malaysia to Canada just before playing a tournament. I’m
a slow learner, but that’s it, now I know…"
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"Beng Hee is so accurate, I felt pretty
confident going for shots, but after my match yesterday, I was
feeling tired pretty quickly, and he was just too good today…
"I was very close to taking the second game, and had I taken it,
things may have been a bit different, but being 2/0 down was just
too hard for me today…
"I was not sure at all about coming here for this tournament, as
I’ve been under the weather for about two weeks. I don’t regret
coming though, it’s really such a great event…"
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[11]
Wael El Hindi (Egy) bt Hisham Ashour (Egy)
11/9, 11/7, 11/8 (37m)
WAEL IN CONTROL
After their monumental 3/2 battle last week, Wael had the
confidence, and Hisham had the hunger. It made for a good match in
patches, with Hisham being himself, a bit off concentration wise,
then well in the match, then off again.
Let’s take the first game for example. Hisham was down 7/2, thanks
to unforced errors mostly, then he scored 7 points in a row to lead
9/7, got a No Let, 9/8, and zoom, three tins in a row. Goodnight.
The rest of the match would be pretty much on the same pattern, on
and off for both players. A bit of discussion in Arabic out there, a
few questions to the ref, but overall some very good rallies, some
excellent squash, and a good performance for Wael who will be
delighted to win this one in three…
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"I did very well last week, so I guess the confidence was with me.
"I felt that maybe Hisham was a bit slow (it’s too early for him),
and also a bit tense, like if he was putting too much pressure on
himself, because he just wanted to win, but it doesn’t work that
way. You’ve got to just play, and well if you can, and then maybe
the win will come, not putting yourself under too much pressure, and
getting all tense…
"So I took advantage of that, I played a very safe game, I hardly
played any error. Hisham was going for his shots, that’s his game,
he is such a skilful player.
"He is also very hard to read at the front, you never know where the
ball is going to go, the racquet goes one way, the ball another…
You’ve got always to keep on your toes…"
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[16]
Cameron Pilley (Aus) bt [Q] Scott
Handley (Eng)
11/3, 11/9, 11/8 (38m)
Pilley pastes Handley
Stacey Ross reports
Cameron looked focused right from the start and imposed himself
early on, volleying well and holding the middle of the court. This,
coupled with a slow start from Scott, saw Cameron take a quick lead
and keep control from start to finish. Scott failed to make any
impression and saw the first disappear quickly 11-4.
The second was much more closely contested and tight all the way
through to 9-9. Cameron’s concentration held up well and two errors
from Scott gave Cameron the game 11-9.
The two game lead allowed Cameron to relax a little and go for a few
more shots which worked well and put him 8-5 up. Scott fought well,
hung in and played himself back in the with use of some deceiving
cross court flicks from the front. However Cameron remained steady
with some hard nicely weighted length and closed out a narrow third
game 11-9. |
"We play each other
about three times week so we know each others game. I can have
problems concentrating so made a real effort today to focus."
"I got off to a slow
start and was feeling a bit stiff from yesterday. Because of that he
took control of the game early on.
"I needed to get in front of him more in the first like I did in the
second and third."
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[7]
James Willstrop (Eng) bt [Q]
Daryl Selby (Eng)
11/5, 11/8, 11/2 (35m)
DARYL IS ATTACKING…
A quick report as Greg and Alex are way into their first game as I’m
typing these words, but just wanted to stress how impressed I was by
Daryl Selby today.
I remember having a chat with him about a year ago, where we were
discussing the direction he should go squash wise, and I must say,
he went spot on! He has improved the variety of his game immensely,
his attacking shots are sharp and precise, and he got James on the
run a few times.
These two gave us a good match, with a very friendly atmosphere,
with an astonishing rally in the third where James decided to run
and get all the shots that Daryl, nothing to lose, was throwing at
him. It was silly ridiculous amazing squash, and as James succeeded
to kill the ball with a superb forehand nick, Daryl shouted
“JIMBOOOOOO” with a big smile on his face.
So much hatred between those two…
PS. For you who don’t know, Jimbo is James's nickname. |
 "The
first time Daryl and I played was I think like 15 years ago, we were
8 I think, so, it’s always a bit strange to play against him…
"People associate Daryl’s game with a solid, straight kind of game.
But he's started to realise that no player on the tour is actually
playing up and down the wall rallies all match long, so he has
broadened his repertoire.
"Daryl has a lot of racquet skills and I guess that now he is
showing the quality of his game much more now, and the glass court
is the perfect place for that…"
"I was happy with my
first and second games, less with my third one … James controls the
T very well, and he makes it so hard for you to win each point… He
is a professional, he pulled out to make sure to won in three, and
made it so hard for me, that’s what he does…
"The pace was really high, and the difference was the quality of his
shots, the length, the precision, the way he takes the ball early,
not to mention he hardly made any errors…
"I thought I played quite well, I moved him around a bit, but he was
just too good. Good luck to him for the rest of the tournament….
"Good, I enjoyed it. Would have liked to have won a game…"
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[4]
Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt Alex Gough (Wal)
11/7, 11/8, 11/9 (40m)
HARD TO PLAY THE FROG…
”It doesn’t look that hard, but it’s hell out there, I should know,
I was there last month” told me the newly-retired MC of this event
Simon Parke, whose last match was actually against that devil of a
Frenchman, world number three Greg Gaultier.
 Alex Gough was trying to take things calmly and at a moderate pace
in the first, with not much success. So he decided to expose himself
more in the second and third, and he was then able to put his
opponent under much more pressure, forcing the Frenchman to make
more unforced errors than he normally does.
But you need to be very very fit to hold such a high pace for such a
long time. And Alex is not in the best of shape at the moment, a bit
of a nagging injury, a bit of a long end of the season… I’m sure
he’ll be back on track soon.
Greg also seems a bit frustrated with his form and squash, but then
again, he is such a perfectionist. That’s how you get to the top of
the world I guess…
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"The first match of
the first round is always the hardest one, so I’m happy to get
though…
"I really didn't enjoy last week's tournament, but the guy I
played was really sharp, so all credit to him! I shouldn’t have
taken a break at Christmas, but the season was so hard, I had to
have a little rest…
"Hopefully I’ll be back in form this season, and I hope that my body
will hold it…"
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[2]
David Palmer (Aus) bt Davide Bianchetti (Ita)
6/11, 11/6, 11/8, 11/9 (64m)
PATCHY…
David Palmer was not fully on when he started the match, but Davide
Bianchetti was. Boy did he come out blasting, our favourite Italian…
And he found himself 9/3 before the Marine started to realise that
playing squash could be an option…
 By
then, Davide was way in front, and although he needed three games
balls, he still took the first game 11/6. If the truth be told, I
had the impression he was actually surprised to have taken the game,
and maybe started thinking a bit. By the time his thoughts were well
in place, David had equalised 1/1.
But the Italian played extremely well today, only like David, in
patches… He could feel that an upset was possible, would give it a
big push, then would let David run away with three points, only to
catch up….
As usual, a few discussions with the ref, from both of them
actually, as the man in the hot seat seemed to have a few strange
calls, but what do I know… One conduct warning each, one conduct
stroke for racquet abuse for Davide… Business as usual really.
Not the best David by far, but you’ve only got to win. Nobody said
anything about being perfect every day… |
 "I
knew it was always going to be tough against David, he is such a
high standard player. I enjoy playing him though, I think my style
of game suits his quite well…
"I was playing well in patches, not well enough, but…
"You know the way I am with referees, they are so comfortable out
there, and here I am down here, working so hard, and then they say
something… but of course, of course they do the best they can…
"I was told that it was because I was Italian, and that’s there is
nothing I can do about it. But that’s OK with me, I just keep on
paying a few fines to the PSA….
 "We
had two tournaments in a row with a few days in between, I was not
sure what to do, I reached the final, not hitting the ball as much
as I would have liked, so I decided to get a bit of rest to get the
energy level up…
"I was playing far too slow at the start of the match, I knew I had
to pick up the pace because it’s not my game AT ALL…
"It was not my best game, I had to keep my head down, but at the end
of the day, it’s still a win, even if it was one of those days…"
 |
 |
|
[8]
John White (Sco) bt Mark Heather (Eng)
8/11, 11/9, 12/10, 11/4 (51m)
A STANDING OVATION FOR HEATHER…
Once again, I don’t know squat about squash. I thought that yes,
Mark Heather was going to blast a few nice rallies, I knew that he
was a good fighter once, that he lacked a bit of confidence in
himself, but battling against John White…. Naaaaaaa….
Wrong!!!!!!
 Mark
had nothing to lose. He was home, surrounded by people that like and
respect him tremendously, and he just went for it. He played John
White style tonight. He hit hard. He retrieved beautifully. He found
stunning winners.
And the crowd loved it. Noise makers in hand, they were all
supporting their man, who gave them something to cheer about, to the
point where 1/0 down and 10/10, Whitey must have thought that
winning that game could be a good career move…
The Tall Man was saved by a sudden drop of energy of his opponent in
the fourth, who couldn’t hit a ball above the tin for a while.
White, smelling blood, gave it all he had in stock, shooting at
will.
He got lucky. It could be the wake up call he needed on this one…
Whereas for Mark, all the members stood up as he left the court.
That’ll do, Mark. That’ll do.
 "I
didn’t know what I was expecting, I guess playing the local pro in a
local club in front of his local crowd was never going to be easy… I
was expecting him to fight hard for a game I guess, but in the third
he was still battling hard…
"He started picking up a lot of my shots, so I started to play too
short too early, he took confidence…
"I was lucky not to find myself 3/0! It got better in the fourth,
but up to then, it was a bit of a battle…
"Let me put it this way. He surprised me. He jumped out of the box a
few times, and really surprised me….
"My advice to young players? Whatever works, Do it!"
 |
 "At
the start, he was not as sharp as he normally is, but still, it’s
been a long time since I’ve played somebody who plays at the pace
John plays at…
"John and I we have a bit the same sort of game, the hard low kills,
the long drives, but he is so fast and much better at it… I tried
not to give him too many angles…
"It was all going well until the fourth game, I was quite happy, and
then I don’t know how it happened, but five unforced errors in a row
to start the game was not exactly my game plan!
"I did as much training as I could, not enough, obviously, and I’m
really happy with the way I played…"
 |
 |
|
[1]
Amr Shabana (Egy) bt Dan Jenson (Aus)
13/11, 11/4, 11/6 (32m)
DAN ON HIS WAY BACK…
It’s always a pleasure to admire Australian Dan Jenson on the court.
Last week in Toronto he was disappointing, and disappointed. Totally
out of shape, he was only a shadow of himself.
Today, he played an excellent first game, and really put the world
number one under pressure. He was that close to taking the game, but
just ran short on fuel.
 Still,
how clever, how precise and sharp Dan can be. You can see why he
went to 5 in the world, before suffering from a back injury, 18
months off, came back, right ankle injury, 18 months off, came back,
left ankle injury. If there was an award for the most unlucky player
in the world, Dan’s name would be all over it…
For Shabana, that early exit from the Toronto Classic did him a hell
of a good. He was focused from the first rally, was patient, sharp
and fast. You may remember that I always say that we don’t know
who’s going to turn up, Shabana or his grandmother.
No sign of the ol’ lady so far…..
"Nowadays, you cannot
afford not to be sharp…
"Dan’s timing is just incredible, his technique is so clear. Today
he wasn’t at his best, but still, I knew that was going to be a
tough match…"
 |
"I’m pretty happy with
my match … After my defeat in Toronto, I tried to played as many
matches as I could, so on court today, I felt better than last week,
but to be honest, from where I was, I could only improve…!
"I have 3/4 tournaments to come in the next month, so hopefully,
that will get me back in shape… Today I played better, but I still
lost 3/0, still a lot of work to do…"
 |
 |
|
Qualifying Finals:
[7] Badr Abdel Aziz (Swe) bt
Michael Joint (Aus)
11/3, 11/8, 11/5 (28m)
plays R Ashour
[3] Amr Mansi (Egy) bt Ryan Donegan (Usa)
11/7, 11/7, 11/5 (29m)
plays Abbas
[6] Mark Krajcsak (Hun) bt Wade
Johnstone (Aus)
10/11(0-2), 11/5, 11/5, 11/6 (48m)
plays Tuominen
Julian Illingworth (Usa) bt [8]
Christopher Gordon (Usa)
11/2, 11/4, 11/10(2-0) (35m)
plays Grant
[4] Scott Handley (Eng) bt Laurent
Elriani (Fra)
11/8, 9/11, 11-10(2-0), 11/2 (53m)
plays Pilley
[5] Tom Richards (Eng) bt Robin
Clarke (Can)
11/6, 11/9, 11/6 (30m)
plays Boswell
[2] Daryl Selby (Eng) bt Patrick Bedore (Can)
11/5, 11/4, 11/0 (29m)
plays Willstrop
[1] Stacey Ross (Eng) bt Mohd AA Reda (Egy)
8/11, 11/6, 11/9, 11/10(3-1)
(85m) plays Beng Hee
Framboise
reports from the University Club ... |
|
