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TODAY in Madrid: 26th October, SEMI-FINALS ...
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26-Oct-07, Semis:
FINAL DAY MINUS
ONE...
 The
line out is not that much of a surprise, really, seed 2, 3 and 4 are
actually in the semis, but of course, of course, our Queen is
missing, courtesy of Shelley Kitchen - for those of you who would
have been on the moon for the past two days...
 It
has to be said that the venue does look stunning, that it does
attract interest from passers-by, and that last night, the
spectators' turn up in a country where squash is far from being a
major sport is a superb reflection of the good organisation that
this whole event has received.
For the Spanish fans, Javier Muñoz (from Teledeporte) and
Constantino Casas (Spanish Squash National Team Coach), will be
commentating the retransmission of the semi-finals on
Teledeporte between 9h30 and 11h30 Saturday morning, and the
final LIVE from 21h00 on Saturday evening.
As for the results of tonight, your bet as for the finalists is as
good as mine. For the first semi, Grainger is extremely hungry for
the top, but then again, Rachael has found both confidence and game
in the recent weeks.
For the other one, Tania has got to be the underdog, as she suffered
a bad sinusitis infection just before the event, and had to play a
bit more squash than her counterpart. Still, she has got something
to prove to herself...
So, all open, all suspense... All squash, in other words....
READ HOWARD'S DAILY ROUND-UP
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Howard's Round-up
Quarters
En bref
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"I was a bit nervous before going on - not because it was a
semi-final, but because I wasn't so comfortable on the court
yesterday. But once I got on, I was timing the ball better - I play
a bit better when I'm nervous, I focus better
I have a different game plan for different people - but I'm not
going to say what that was tonight.
I haven't really thought about what's like to be in my third final -
but it would be nice to win one! Hopefully I'll play as well in the
final as I did tonight.
What do I feel about winning the World Open title? I've already got
my ultimate goal, winning three gold medals in the Commonwealth
Games. I don't want to put too much pressure on myself - I don’t
need to win every single title there is!
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NATALIE TOO
OVERPOWERING...
It was even colder on that court than it was yesterday, and like in
Qatar two years ago, I could see the ball slowing down in the air,
forcing the two girls to miss-time the ball a few times, and
especially Tania, because she was the one under constant pressure,
running after that ball all over the court.
Natalie, like yesterday, had a few "senile moments", as in, I put
everything in the tin, and I make my life as difficult as I can, as
she does, but overall, she produced a superb exhibition of running,
hitting and retrieving during those 41minutes.
One thing. Tania is a superb athlete, extremely gifted, and
tremendously hard working. She seems to be the only one who is not
aware of it. The lack of self confidence of that girl is
astonishing....
Still, three finals for Natalie in 4 years. As she put it herself,
"Would be nice to win one, wouldn’t it?"....
 "Different
player from yesterday, different day…. Natalie is a step above the
rest of the girls really, we are working to try and catch up, but we
are not there yet. She has got that extra speed, that extra pace…
The court was a little deader tonight, I had to be that much forward,
and today, I didn’t have the stretch in the legs to get to the
front. I was slightly heavier in the legs, and if you can get away
with it against some others girls, you can’t against Natalie…
I played well in patches, I pushed myself really hard all week, I
can't really say that I'm disappointed to lose as I must say that I
would have taken a semi-final at the start of that week! She played
rally well, played the ball really tight - I couldn't maintain the
way I played for the whole match because of the way she played.
I'm really pleased that I made the semis - I didn't win, but I was
pleased with my performance. I feel confident that I'm close to the
top three in the world - even though I think they are another level
ahead.
But I've learned a lot recently - I used to run around at 100mph all
the time. It makes me realise how valuable all the work I put in
over the summer was. . I'm still learning a lot and know the
weaknesses in my game which I've got to work on…"
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FIRST FINAL FOR
THE SISTERS
 What
a battle! Cold court? What cold court! Those two played nice drop
shots, of course, but did they both run and retrieved!!!!
Still, Rachael seemed to be that much quicker to get to the ball,
although Natalie was moving as well as I ever saw her move.
The first game seemed to be stuck at 5/5, and in a few seconds,
Natalie was walking off court. But from that moment on, the points
just floated nicely in the direction of the Australian, and although
WISPA President saved two match balls, Rachael had the belief that
she is again at the top of the world, whereas Natalie clearly lost
confidence in her chances in the 4th....
And that's that belief that carries Rachael to her first ever Tour
Final against her baby sister for that elusive title that none of
them as succeeded to clinch yet...
"It was so nerve-wracking - it was obviously a great chance for
Natalie and me to be in our first major Tour final together, and she
had already won her semi. But even though I've won most of the
recent matches against Natalie (Grainger), she's one of the best
players, especially on that court.
The match seemed so fast - I'm not used to games going that fast - I
had to try and relax and slow it down a bit.
I'm sure Natalie and I both want to win the title - which neither of
us has done - but, in a sense, the best thing is us both reaching
the final. At least it's going to be one of us that wins - and
whichever of us loses, we won't be as disappointed as we would be
losing to someone else.
It's just like it was in the Commonwealth Games - the excitement was
over once we'd both reached the final!"
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"I knew it was going to be the toughest battle tonight. Rachael is
on form at the moment, she is playing well. We had a close one in
Vassar, she managed to sneak in that one…
The thing is, it’s the World Open, and I’m so excited to be on
court, I’m enjoying every minute on there, I’m moving well, but she
stuck it up, she played really tough, I threw a lot at her, and she
kept her focus.
During the second, she started lobbing away, it's her game, and I
stopped hitting. I should have kept on hitting it away...
One thing is sure, the title is DEFINITELY going to a Grinham!
Listen, I’m positive, I’m happy, but I really hope they are shaking
in their boots, because the Fighting Machine is here, and here to
stay…
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 As
it was getting towards the end of Natalie's match, I was getting to
g really nervous - just like at the Commonwealth Games, when I had
already won my semi and had to wait for Rachael to get through hers.
I've just spoken to Mum and Dad at home - Mum was watching the live
scoreboard on a dial-up connection and I woke Dad up. He said, 'I
thought that might be why you were ringing'....
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