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TODAY in Madrid:
24th October, Round TWO ... |
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24-Oct-07, Second Round :
[8]
Vanessa Atkinson (Ned)
bt [15] Kasey Brown (Aus)
9/5, 9/0, 9/0 (35m)
[4]
Tania Bailey (Eng) bt [11] Laura L.-Massaro (Eng)
8/10, 9/5, 10/9, 9/3 (75m)
[7] Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy)
bt [16] Annelize Naude (Nd)
4/9, 10/8, 9/5, 9/4 (59m)
[2]
Natalie Grinham (Aus) bt [14] Rebecca Chiu (Hkg)
9/5, 9/5, 9/4 (40m)
[9]
Jenny Duncalf (Eng) bt [6] Vicky Botwright (Eng)
9/4, 9/6, 5/3 retired injury (48m)
[3]
Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt [12] Alison Waters (Eng)
4/9, 9/6, 9/4, 9/5 (71m)
[10] Shelley Kitchen (Nzl)
bt [1] Nicol David (Mas)
9/0, 9/1, 2/9, 3/9, 9/6 (69m)
[5] Natalie Grainger
(Usa) bt [13] Engy Kheirallah (Egy)
9/2, 9/0, 9/0 (26m) |
 QUEEN
NICOL IS OUT....
I'll post more later, including the analysis of Liz Irving, Nicol's
coach, who right after her player's defeat, went and with all
sincerity, went and shook Shelley's hand.
What a lady.
Still, after Vicky's injury against Jenny, this was the upset nobody
really expected, even though a few signs were there yesterday but
nothing that would let us believe that, for the first time since she
was world number 8, in April 2004, Nicol wouldn't qualify for
the quarters of a tournament.
That was 36 events ago..... |
First Round
En brefs |
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 "I
can't really believe it - it's great to get to the quarter-finals of
the World Open, but to have done it by beating Nicol, who is such a
great competitor and so good on court, is extra special. I’m
speechless at the moment!!!!
"Those courts suit me so well I must say and I tried and apply my
game plan, play hard and fast, I just wanted to stop her volleying.
"Every time I get on court now, I just go and play my game. Sometimes
it works, sometime it doesn’t.
"She made a lot of mistakes in the first and second games and I think
I relied too much on my fitness in the third and the fourth, which is a
bit disappointing. At 5/3 in thefif5th, I could feel that she was
maybe slowing down just a touch, that she could be a bit tired. I
was tired too, but I felt that the momentum just shifted slightly. I
decided to get back to the game plan and play my game.
"I think she might have been a bit nervous, with all the pressure,
but I was pretty relaxed, and every time I play her, I’ve got in the
back of my mind that I have beaten her once, well, no, I have beaten
her twice!"
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"I'm very disappointed. Shelley's
always a tough opponent and I knew she's be tough from the start -
she just went for it
"My focus was up and down. At 5-0 in the fifth, she recomposed
herself - but I was still trying to work the ball.
"It just wasn't my day, really. I must now refocus myself for Qatar
and Hong Kong next month."
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WHAT HAPPENED... ?
 No
offence to Shelley, who did beat Queen Nicol during the Commonwealth
Games in Melbourne two years ago, but nobody really expected the
Malaysian Marvel to be threatened before the semis.
So, I was in the Press room, catching up with Rachael/Alison quotes
and photos, thinking, OK, another 10minutes, and I'll be able to
catch at least the last game.
When our famous Howard says to me "the scoreboard says that Shelley
just won the first game 9/0." "Must be a mistake" I replied. "Well,
I don't think so, WISPA Andrew is doing the scoreboard.
I virtually flew through the large studio outside the press room, up
the stairs (knees problems, what knees problems..?) and there she
was. Down 2/0. Having scored only 1 point.
I asked Richard Eaton, who does know a bit about squash. "Shelley
came off firing with all guns in the first, and that took Nicol by
surprise. Then in the second, it started getting to her head, making
her doubt, pushing her to do uncharacteristic errors".
Mmmm. But by the time I settle in front of the match, Nicol seemed
back to normal. Honestly, Shelley was totally outplayed in the 3rd.
And in the 4th. And in the 5th.
Well, up to 5/0 that is.
Because suddenly, Shelley pressed on the accelerator again, and
Nicol made a beginner's error. She tried and matched her opponent's
game. But at hitting the ball hard and low, very few players on the
circuit do it better than Shelley, and Queen Nicol, brain dead,
lucidity long gone, just stop thinking.
 Shelley
played the match of her life. She was precise, determined. She
"played her game", and actually outplayed Nicol at it. She was able
to control pace and the centre of the court and at the end, when
Nicol was desperately clawing back, she kept her head, her strength,
and her game plan. Simply astonishing performance.
Nicol is doubting at the moment. All through the British Open, she
seemed insecure. And her defeat in the final against Rachael, one of
the best matches I've ever seen in my life, must have damaged her
confidence more that any of us may have realised.
Well, somebody in the Press room said in the morning, "We need an
upset on this tournament". I don't think he meant THAT much of
one... |
 "Shelley
just played a great match, and Nicol didn’t have her game together.
Those girls are too good, you can’t just give them opportunities
like that, they are on you in a shot!
Shelley took the opportunity that Nicol gave her, and she just hang
in there at the end, she kept firing away. Of course it’s a great
disappointment for Nicol, but Shelley is a lovely girl, and it’s a
great victory for her.
Nicol has still a lot of things to learn, a lot. She is only a 24
year old kid you know, and she is improving and learning all the
time. You learn so much from your disappointment.
But we, as a team, have got to understand why this happened, analyse
the chain of event, and work on it for preventing things like that
from happening again …
Liz Irving |
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Vanessa having trimmed
down, fit as a fiddle, and having enriched her short game with a
lovely drop shot that slides nicely along the tin, just frustrated
and discouraged Kasey.
And for the first time in three years, the new Pontefract Girl is
now in the quarter of the World Open...
Happy, the girl...
 "She
was moving well in the first game, but then she began to struggle
and I was getting more confident in my shots. I feel my movement is
back to what it was a few years ago - but my strength is better.
"It's a huge difference being eighth seed, instead of the ninth seed
I was - and getting through these first two rounds reasonably
comfortably will probably make a big difference when we get onto the
glass court.
"I feel quite relaxed - and I put that down to Malcolm (Willstrop) my
coach. I used to be tense and a little highly strung - but he's
knocked that out of me. It's the club atmosphere at Pontefract -
it's so relaxed. And I love training. In fact I actually enjoy
training now, which is a new thing."
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 "The first game went all right, I got on the ball quickly, it
started to drop off in the second, when her length got better.
"Her attacks were way to good for me today, and anything I did, she
got back and then played a great drop shot. I felt I just couldn’t
do anything. And when I could do something with the ball, it went in
the tin…."
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 "I
can't believe I managed to get through that! I felt I needed to win
the first game - and when I didn't, I didn't think I could win the
match.
"But I felt I then played thoughtful squash. I was feeling
light-headed and kept having to take deep breaths.
"I never went into the match thinking I was going to win - Laura is
such a tough player.
"I don't like it when I get angry with the referee - but, feeling the
way I did today, I couldn't stop myself.
"I look forward to playing on the glass court - where conditions
surely couldn't be more different from those here.
"I've actually beaten Vanessa the last four times I've played her -
but that followed about eight wins in a row by her. But she's
playing a lot better at the moment
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TANIA SURVIVES
ANOTHER MATCH...
 I
must say that
nobody would have bet a penny (and nobody did, I heard somebody
trying to bet £5.00 on Laura, but couldn't get anybody to match him)
on Tania, and especially not herself.
But like Jacklyn, her yesterday's opponent, said about Tania, even
tired, she still runs and she still fights.
My opinion of this game? Laura was up 10/9 and 4/0. And she froze.
From that point on, her game seems to get out of synch. I know she
said that she didn't mind Tania's state, but everybody knows that
it's so hard to play an injured player. And she was still playing
for a place in the quarters of the worlds...
But Tania. What to do but bow to the spirit, guts and determination
of the English Number one who impressed us all by just saying alive in
the competition.
 "Before
the game I was confident I could win, the last couple of times we
played went to 3/2. And no, I was not nervous getting into the
quarter finals, and no, I didn’t feel that bad for Tania, because as
far as I’m concerned, when you step on court, you are fit to play,
it’s not that, it’s just… I don’t know what to say, except I just
played awful today.
"It’s so difficult to get into any consistency of play against her,
because I feel that she asks a lot of lets. Add to that, my short
game was not working today, every time I would go for a drop shot,
or it would end on a let, or it would be very high, and that’s my
fault.
"I couldn’t find any rhythm today, I felt it was really scrappy the
whole game…"
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 "I'm
really disappointed.
"I've been playing well lately, I started well today too, but I
didn't get to play my game, I got sucked into hers.
"And at the end, it became a bit physical, and I was more worried
about where she was than actually playing the ball.
"It was such an opportunity, I so wanted to make it onto the glass
court tomorrow. Oh well, I'll go home for a day, hit the drums, and
get all refreshed for Qatar."
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"It’s always difficult to play against
the Grinhams, both sisters pick up, pick up, pick. They actually
play a bit Asian way, we like doing that, run everywhere…
"We had a lot of long rallies, but I just couldn’t finish them (and
the court is so bouncy!).
"When you play a top player, you should concentrate on each and every
point, not just give them away so easily. But I play 1 good point,
and then I let two go away. That’s always my problem…"
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If I was Rebecca's coach, I would
forbid her from playing drop shots for matches and matches. Why? Because
she is so good at it, she's got such a touch, she has a tendency
to use that weapon just a bit too much.
But she really got back into the game every time she was thinking "length",
and not "short".
Still, how frustrating it must be to play that devil of Natalie, who
forces you to win the rally time and time again, forcing you to get
closer and closer to the tin.
I must say players like Natalie are for me what squash is all about.
They hit. They lob. They drop shot. And they "pick up, pick up, pick
up"....
"I felt good, I felt as if I was playing well. She's quite fast.
"But tomorrow will be quite different, it'll be a lot colder.
Omneya's very talented with the racquet and she had a tough match
today.
"We all prefer playing on the glass court - it'll be much fairer for
everybody."
Natalie Grinham |
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SAD ENDING...
How awful when such a great close, fair and disputed match ends for
injury. It's Vicky's back again that snapped. Vicky felt something
going wrong at the end of the second game. No wonder, with the
battle those two had at 6/6, then 7/6.
Changes of serve for ever, long rallies, loads and loads of pick
ups... As her back was still a bit fragile, no wonder, as I said,
that it went.
I know Jenny will be happy to be in the quarters for the first time.
But still, it was obvious that she was not as pleased as she should
have been, had she won the "proper way".
 "It's
never nice to win like that - but I thought I played well and
deserved to win: I had a game plan and stuck to it - I didn't make
many errors and was hitting a good length.
"I'm looking forward to playing on the glass court - though I hear
the weather forecast suggests that it will be only one degree!
"But I'm ecstatic really - it's good to be in my first world
quarter-final."
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"I felt a twinge on my right side when Jenny pushed me forward at
the end of the second game.
"It was shortly after the British Open that I played a league match
near my home when I felt a similar twinge, and woke up the next
morning with the left side of my body paralysed. Tania Bailey was my
saviour - luckily she was staying with me that night and helped me
get dressed and took me to the EIS in Manchester. It was two days
before I regained feeling - and some time before I was back to
normal.
"I guess I just haven't been put under that kind of pressure since
the British Open - but I didn't want to risk anything like that
again, so I had to retire. If I have to lose to anybody like that,
I'd rather it was to an English player!"
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"All the matches here have been tough -
and Alison's a really tough player. But the games take a lot out of
you, both physically and mentally. It makes for really limited
opportunities - you can't really win at the front of the court.
"We all really prefer it on the all-glass court. It's a lot easier to
go from any court in the world onto glass court as they tend to be
the same.
"All I'll need tomorrow is about 15 minutes to get used to the court
- yet sometimes it can take up to two days to get used to other
courts."
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CAT AND MOUSE...
 God,
was that match a fantastic advert for squash that was. You had the
up and coming young, fit, fast and hungry player, against the more
mathematician of all the players on the circuit.
I must say watching Rachael build up her spiders web is quite
fascinating. Alison had the good plan though, she played fast, she
played precise, and varied.
But Rachael just moved her like a pawn on a chess board. You send me
this? I lob you, and lob you, and lob you till you drop. You hit the
ball? I absorb it and spit out a stunning feather drop shot. You
attack at the front? I hit to the back...
And so on.
Alison played a superb game today, probably one of her best
performances ever. She hardly made an error in the first game. But
she couldn't contain the clever cat that is the Elder Grinham, and
she got tired chasing the ball all over Madrid...
 "I
had a few disappointing results on the last four tournaments, and I’m
rather pleased with my performance today.
"Rachel doesn’t play like anybody else, she holds the ball so well,
and she plays so many lobs, that help her to get out of trouble. And
it's very hard to get a winner from a lob!
"I think my disappointing results are due to the fact I’m not
applying myself enough, not planning my shots enough, I just turn
up, and rely on my speed and fitness too much. Against those players,
you can’t afford to do that, Rachael is too clever to arrive on
court with no game plan.
"That’s why I’m happy with my performance today, because I was
thinking each rally, what I was going to play…"
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"I felt very good in the second and in
the third, and hey, somebody’s got to kill the ball on that court!
"I feel good at the moment, I move well, and tonight, I felt like I
had a lot of choice, it was a matter of making the good one.
"No, I haven’t lost weight, I just look like I have, I’m just a lean
mean fighting machine!!!!!!"
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