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TODAY in Madrid:
25th October, QUARTER-FINALS ... |
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25-Oct-07, Quarters:
[4]
Tania Bailey (Eng) bt [8] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned)
9/0, 10/9, 7/9, 9/4 (49m)
[2] Natalie Grinham
(Aus) bt [7] Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy)
4/9, 9/2, 9/0, 9/4 (44m)
[3]
Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt [9] Jenny Duncalf (Eng)
9/3, 9/2, 9/1 (29m)
[5]
Natalie Grainger (Usa) bt [10] Shelley Kitchen (Nzl)
9/2, 9/1, 9/0 (23m) |
THE DAY AFTER
THE NIGHT BEFORE...
I don't drink. But today, I have that feeling you get from heavy
parties, I imagine. Not to mention the extra work/stress that such
an upset imposes on a site like ours really. Everything is suddenly
out of synch...
Still, worlds are going on, and today, a new adventure. The Palace
and the glass court. Supposed to be freezing out there (down to
1°C), and even this morning was not too warm, it has to be said...
Will try to get some pics to show you as soon as possible. And I
wonder what else is going to happen today. Two things I KNOW will
happen.
One. You'll be able to enjoy
free live streaming from today onwards, which has always
been my idea of how the streaming in squash should be provided.
And two. We are on for a loooooooong night, as the first match
starts at... 20.00 spanish time (8pm for the Anglo-Saxons bless
them).
So, get your tea/coffee jars ready, or your beers, whatever you
fancy, and enjoy the show...
HOWARD'S REPORT |
Round Two
En brefs
Head to Head
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DONE AND
DUSTED...
Well, we still didn't come "home" before midnight, but thanks to the
cold conditions, the Ladies have been kind enough to win their matches
in between 23m to 49m, it was not as late as I originally feared!
Still, before that, a lot of VIPs, who actually stayed to see some
matches and didn't come just for the buffet, that's really nice. More on that tomorrow of course in my en brefs (if I can wake up,
that is...).
Then, just before the last match, a little power cut (that was a
blessing, as it gave me about 15 minutes to catch up - we had to warm
up the lights on the court again).
And to finish, the shortest match of the night for Miss Grainger,
our own "Fighting
Machine", who made poor Shelley drop all of a sudden off the
little happy cloud she must have been since beating Queen Nicol.
Please check
Howard's report, that man is a
blessing! Normally, he includes quotes, but as you have them on this
page, was a bit silly for you to have them twice... |
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TANIA ROYAL...
My God what a difference a change of court can make!
We didn't have the same sport tonight, and Tania was very grateful
for that lovely court and that chilly weather, which meant she
didn't have to run as much as she did the previous days...
She took the first game in four minutes, the second in 15. At 5/7 in
the third, they had some tough rallies, and we could see how Tania was
like a fish out of water again.
But the few seconds between games were enough for her to recharge
the batteries, and helped by yet again a few unforced errors too
many from Vanessa, she quickly led 6/2. The Tall Red Hair never
caught up, and was not helped by a decision she thought outrageous
at 4/8, that set up Tania's second and last match ball....
 "I
can't remember much about the match, apart from the fact she was in
front of me, and that I couldn't get any length or depth.
"That court is so extreme, you play one loose drive, and you are
dead.
"I didn't come together at all today, except maybe a bit in the
second, if I could have snuck the second, but coming back from 2/0
was a bit too much.
"I was in and out all match, I never felt comfortable all match, on
that court, you can't ever relax, a little mistake, and you are
dead.
"Tania was just better player on the day, I was a bit nervous, I
didn't put it together, and I made too many unforced errors, far too
many unforced errors..."
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 "Today
I felt drained and very tired but still very relaxed. That first game
gave me a lot of confidence, and that court takes such a good shot,
and it doesn’t sit up like the traditional court at all. I was much more
comfortable, yesterday, you had to make three or four shots to win a rally,
whereas here, one was usually enough.
"Still in the middle of the third, we had a few very long rallies,
and I thought, better not have too many of those!
"I had no expectations at all on this tournament, I’m very happy with
myself, especially against Vanessa who has won everything that there
is to be won, she is such a good player.
"I was so down when I got that infection, just before three major
back to back tournaments, it couldn’t happen at a worse time. But it
seems to have cleared now, and I should be fine…"
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 "Glass
courts usually all play the same - but this one took a bit of
getting used to, as it was quite cold out there.
"It's nice to be able to play a drop shot and get winners. Anything I
hit loose, she'd put it away - she's a great shot player.
"I knew she'd be tough on that court....
 "For
Nicol's loss yesterday, I never thought she was above us all, even
though she's a great player.
"In the British Open, Rachel played the best she's played for a long
time. She's got the whole game. I just train hard!
"For our match with Tania tomorrow, it will be better for both of us
from the start, as we'll be used to the court."
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 "It
was very cold, and she was very nervous, she was making a lot of
unforced errors, some silly shots, really. So, I took the
opportunity, and played my game. The court was so dead, I played my
best shots!
"Then after the first game, Tommy calmed her down, and when she came
back, she played much better, she reduced her unforced errors,
played some great shots, and it was colder and colder. This is so
different from the other courts!
 "When
I fell, I couldn’t feel the floor, and I was afraid I had hurt my
knee, but I’m fine actually.
"Of course I’m happy with my tournament, but I have never beaten
Natalie, and it’s the quarters of the World Open, so I would have
been much happier to be in the semi-final tomorrow."
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JENNY COLD OUT...
 You
would think that a shot maker like Jenny Duncalf would have dwelled
on a cold court. She probably would have done if she hadn't been
playing a Rachael at the top of her art.
Great thing about age, people. You have seen it all. And that's what
Rachael made us feel on that match. From the warm conditions where
the Australian lobbed out Alison yesterday, to the "not so bouncy"
one where she dropped Jenny to death, there is one common link:
Experience & Adaptability. Being able to play in whatever conditions
the squash circuit throws at you.
Jenny didn't do anything wrong particularly. She is a younger
player, learning her craft, and who had trouble adapting from
extremely warm conditions to freezing ones in a matter of hours.
What are you going to do, sue her?????
 "She
pretty much outplayed me. I couldn’t get into a rally. She chopped
me up pretty much.
"That court is not exactly forgiving and she was playing drop shots I
just couldn’t get to.
"I really had trouble adjusting to that court, it’s so different from
the others ones we played on up to yesterday…
"She outplayed me, she is so hard to play when she is at that level,
she gabbled me up really, she was so sharp…
"It was not very enjoyable…"
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"I prefer these kind of conditions - though it does depend on who
you're playing - but this is real squash!
"I tend to adapt to these conditions pretty quickly and played a lot
more shots than I did yesterday!
 "I
felt really good out there today. She wasn't moving as well as she
usually does - and didn't have very good length - I was expecting it
to be tougher
"Nicol had a good run - but I think it is inevitable that you're
going to have a down - you can't keep winning every match.
"Shelley had an excellent match yesterday, she is so good on those
courts. If we'd played the whole tournament on those indoor courts,
Shelley might be world champion!
"I would like to be world number one again - but the World Open is
one title I haven't won so that would be nice..."
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"I knew from the start it was going to be very tough, I thought,
maybe if I can get into a rhythm, but she never gave me a chance,
and chopped off the ball short.
"After yesterday’s victory, I didn’t raise my arms in the air, I
tried to stay focused, and think about tonight’s match.
"But it’s so hard to come back after a match like that.
"You could say that Natalie really dropped me off the court tonight…"
Shelley Kitchen |
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"I saw Shelley play a couple of weeks back - and as a result decided
to pick my short game tonight. She's such a good driver of the ball,
and hits a great length. Nicol was definitely nervous last night and
feeling the pressure.
"Club courts and glass courts are always going to be different - but
we're all professionals and we just get on with it. I did feel the
cold a bit tonight going onto the court - but once you're playing
you forget about it.
"The powercut happened half way through our knock up. It was quite
late anyway - but we had a bit of a laugh as we were waiting for it
to be sorted out. There was no point in getting too worked up...
"Tomorrow's match against Rachael? I've been looking forward to this
tournament for quite a while now, preparing to play Nicol, followed
by Rachael. Rachael and I played the final of the Vassar College
Open final (early this month) and she beat me 9-6 in the fifth. She
will do what she can to push the ball about.
"If I've learned anything about that match and my quarter-final
against Nicol David in the British Open, it's how close I am to the
top three in the world. I hadn't caused them any problems for a
time, but now I feel I'm knocking on the door again."
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