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 Netsuite Open 2012
17-23 Oct, San Francisco, Usa, $70k |
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23-Oct, Final:
[3] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) 3-0
[2] Nick Matthew (Eng)
11-7, 13-11, 11-9 (62m)
C’est Magnifique
Jay Prince reports
The headline pretty well sums up Gregory Gaultier’s performance
tonight over Nick Matthew in the final of the NetSuite Open Squash
Championships in San Francisco, California.
 The only disappointing
part was that when sell-out crowds are witness to a stellar
performance, they always want an encore.
Unfortunately for them,
Gaultier didn’t cooperate by not allowing the former World No. 1 to
earn a single game. Matthew himself was left with little to do but
applaud the Frenchman’s performance.
“I don't think I've ever played so well only to lose 3-0.” That
was how Nick Matthew summed it up. And he’s probably right.
Gaultier
was simply unstoppable tonight, putting his astounding quickness and
relentless attacking style to full effect. From the start, Gaultier
owned the left wall. More specifically, he owned the back left
corner where ball after ball found the full depth of the court.
Gaultier never looked back once referee Mike Riley said, “Love
all”—racing out to 6-2 and 7-3 up before Matthew began to recover
from what had hit him.
“In every game I was always two or three points behind,” said
Matthew. “When it was my turn I was always able to bring it back
level. But then he would go again. I was never ahead in the business
end of the games.”
 In fact, Matthew held a lead just once at any point in the match,
and that came when he snuck ahead at 2-0 to open the third. His best
opportunity was in the second game. Gaultier had jumped out early,
leading 5-2 and 6-4, but Matthew simply could not find a way to
garner a lead. From 7-7, the pair traded points to 11-11, but once
Gaultier had secured the lead at 12-11, he played a
masterful drop (a step-back backhand drop that would have made
Michael Jordan proud) at the left front, leaving Matthew
stumbling—and behind two games to love.
Throughout the match, Gaultier kept Matthew’s strength—cutting the
ball off at mid-court—at bay, while simultaneously controlling his
own tempo.
“I managed not to play too fast all the time; to mix the rhythm by
hitting some high balls to take control of the T,” said the newly
crowned champion. “I tried to take a few things out of his game as
well. It’s always interesting to watch all the guys play and see how
they play tactically. I was happy to do it.”
 When asked about Gaultier’s ability to neutralize Matthew’s typical
dominance at the middle of the court, Matthew simply said:
“He’s
always really deadly when he’s attacking on the left side. But
that’s the best he’s played against me in terms of his defensive
work,” conceded Matthew.
Perhaps the most impressive difference with Gaultier tonight was his
ability to maintain his composure—not only when referee decisions
didn’t go his way but, in particular, when Matthew succeeded in
closing gaps midway through each game. He credits a new perspective
on life after becoming a father for the first time eight weeks ago.
“I realize life is not only squash, and that was all my life before.
I always put squash into one box and it was only it. And when you
win life is beautiful, and when you lose it’s the end of the world.
So now it gives me a great balance.
"There’s other things important
in life. It gives me wings and has changed my attitude as well. It
makes me more calm on court. I’m a really happy dad, and my
girlfriend is really doing well. As long as Nolan is healthy, I’m
happy. It’s an amazing feeling.”
So a fabulous week by the Bay comes to a close, with players loving
what for most of them has been their first visit to San Francisco.
“It’s been a great week. You know, you get to a stage where you play
the same tournaments year in year out, and you come to somewhere
new, it’s been one of my most enjoyable weeks on tour for a long
time,” said Matthew.
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Photos:
Jay D.Prince/Squash Magazine
FROGS' TALK
Première victoire depuis un petit moment...
J'ai vraiment bien joué ce soir, j'avais une bonne longueur puis
j'ai réussi à rentrer pas mal de coups gagnants. Je suis vraiment
satisfait de ma semaine. Et demain, depart pour le Mexique.
Le tournoi était sympa, les clubs sont magnifiques ici et l'endroit
où le court vitré était placé etait magnifique.
Merci aux organisateurs et sponsors et espérons un autre tournoi
l'année prochaine.
Pour ma part, je tiens à remercier tous les gens qui m'ont
soutenu sur place, ainsi que toute mon equipe en France, la Fédé, mes sponsors, mon club le Set Aix, le Creps, Thomas, Mathieu,
Caroline, Stéphane, Renan et Dédé, mes partenaires d'entraînements
ainsi que ma famille et tous mes amis, désolé si j'en oublie...
Un très grand merci à Yves Tastet, Thomas Adriaens et Francois
Perrin pour leur aide cette semaine qui m'ont beaucoup aidé car j'ai
rencontré pas mal de problèmes, et qui m'ont sorti de la m....e pour
pouvoir rester performant durant le tournoi.
Merci à Monsieur Marche pour le coaching toute la semaine et la
venue de Cedric Hateau qui était très sympa.
A bientôt et merci à SquashSite pour la couverture du tournoi.
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  Netsuite
Open 2012
17-23 Oct, San Francisco, Usa, $70k |
Round One
19 Oct, Various Clubs |
Quarters
20/21 Oct |
Semis
22 Oct |
Final
23 Oct |
[1] James Willstrop (Eng)
11-4, 11-9, 11-9 (34m)
[Q] Alan Clyne (Sco) |
[1] James Willstrop
11-8, 11-8, 11-9 (53m)
Amr Shabana |
Amr Shabana
11-7, 12-10, 11-8 (43m)
[3] Gregory Gaultier |
[3] Gregory Gaultier
11-7, 13-11, 11-9 (62m)
[2] Nick Matthew |
Amr Shabana (Egy)
11-8, 5-11, 11-3, 11-5 (49m)
Alister Walker (Bot) |
Tarek Momen (Egy)
11-7, 11-3, 11-7 (32m)
[Q] Gregoire Marche (Fra) |
Tarek Momen
11-4, 11-7, 7-11, 12-10 (58m)
[3] Gregory Gaultier |
[3] Gregory Gaultier (Fra)
11-4, 7-11, 11-1, 11-1 (52m)
Nicolas Mueller (Sui) |
Hisham Ashour (Egy)
11-6, 11-4, 11-3 (33m)
[4] Peter Barker (Eng) |
[4] Peter Barker
11-7, 11-4, 11-4 (47m)
Laurens Jan Anjema |
[4] Peter Barker
11-7, 11-5, 6-11, 11-6 (56m)
[2] Nick Matthew |
Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned)
11-8, 11-4, 11-9 (48m)
[Q] Chris Simpson (Eng) |
Daryl Selby (Eng)
12-10, 11-7, 11-4 (50m)
[Q] Martin Knight (Nzl) |
Daryl Selby
11-6, 12-10, 11-4 (53m)
[2] Nick Matthew |
Julian Illingworth (Usa)
11-8, 11-9, 11-3 (53m)
[2] Nick Matthew (Eng) |
18-Oct, Qualifying Finals:
Martin Knight (Nzl) 3-0
Siddarth Suchde (Ind)
11-6, 11-5, 11-6 (61m)
Gregoire Marche (Fra) 3-1 Matthew Karwalski (Aus)
11-6, 11-7, 6-11, 11-5 60m)
Chris Simpson (Eng)
3-1
Ryan Cuskelly (Aus)
7-11 11-8, 11-8 11-5 (76m)
Alan Clyne (Sco) 3-1 Aamir Atlas Khan (Pak)
11-6, 12-10, 10-12, 11-3 (45m)
17 Oct, Qualifying Round One at various SF Clubs:
Martin Knight (Nzl)
3-1
Steve Coppinger (Rsa)
7-11, 15-13, 11-4, 11-6 (80m)
Siddarth Suchde (Ind) 3-0 Armando Olguin (Mex)
11-0, 11-6, 11-4 (21m)
Gregoire Marche (Fra) 3-0 Shahjahan Khan (Pak)
11-1, 11-6, 11-5 (39m)
Matthew Karwalski (Aus)
3-1
Zac Alexander (Aus)
11-9, 11-5, 11-8 (39m)
Ryan Cuskelly (Aus) 3-0 Chris Gordon (Usa)
11-9, 11-9, 11-7 (56m)
Chris Simpson (Eng) 3-1 Shawn Delierre (Can)
11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 11-5 (77m)
Aamir Atlas Khan (Pak)
3-0
Campbell Grayson (Nzl)
13-11, 11-8, 11-8 (41m)
Alan Clyne (Sco) 3-0 Jeff Young (Usa)
11-4, 11-3, 11-4 (24m)
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Gaultier dispatches Shabana,
Matthew takes out Barker
Jay Prince reports
 Frenchman
Gregory Gaultier, playing tight squash to take away the angles that
are favored by Egyptian Amr Shabana dominated their three-game
semifinal in the NetSuite Open Squash Championships in San
Francisco. Gaultier’s court coverage neutralized Shabana’s attacking
short game, and his length was just good enough to keep Shabana
trapped in the back corners.
Two nights ago, Shabana looked fluid in his movement in the cold Bay
Area conditions, but tonight he was a step slow, despite building a
small cushion of 8-6 and 10-8 in the second game. Gaultier, showing
patience and precision, scratched his way back to draw even at
10-all before finishing off the game 12-10.
It was more of the same in the third. Neither player appeared to be
too eager to draw points out, but instead chose to attack short off
the volley. An early lead by Gaultier to 3-1 was quickly erased and
became a 5-3 advantage for Shabana in a single hand. From there,
Gaultier drew even and they exchanged points to 8-all before
Gaultier slammed the door, 11-8.
 In
18 career meetings on the PSA Tour, Nick Matthew has dropped just a
single match to his good friend and fellow Englishman, Peter Barker.
That single loss came in the Hong Kong Open in 2010. Prior to that,
Matthew had strung together eight-straight wins, and has since
rattled off nine more. Make that ten after tonight.
The World No. 2 and second seed in San Francisco had little trouble
securing the first two games, though he needed 32 minutes to do it.
In both games, Barker held his own until the midway point then
watched Matthew run away from him. Matthew played error-free and
utilized his wing span at the mid-court to prevent Barker from ever
getting comfortable—11-7 and 11-5 to Matthew.
The third, however, was totally out of character for Matthew who
prides himself on keeping his errors to a minimum. But up 5-2, the
former World No.1 committed three unforced errors and had three
consecutive stroke decisions against him to carry Barker all the way
to 9-5 in a single hand. Another pair of tins from Matthew in the
front court after he had reached 6-9 and the game was Barker’s.
With renewed focus, Matthew quickly put Barker away in the fourth.
Matthew punished Barker with pace and length, perhaps anticipating
the downpour of rain that let loose in San Francisco just minutes
after the match ended. Barker, too, apparently was ready to put an
end to his nightmare fourth game but committing three straight
unforced tins, handing Matthew the game 11-6.
With the bleachers covered for the night, crews will have their work
cut out for them in the morning if the rain continues to fall.
Tomorrow it will be the Frenchman Gregory Gaultier taking on Matthew
for the 19th time on the PSA Tour, a rivalry in which Gaultier holds
a slight edge, 10-8.
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Photos:
Jay D.Prince/Squash Magazine
FROGS' TALK
Deuxième finale consecutive, je suis content du niveau de
performance que je produis depuis le retour à la compétition, malgré
une préparation cet été perturbé par de nombreux évènements.
J'arrive à produire du super squash et suis plutôt en bonne forme
physique.
Aujourd'hui une autre finale et je compte bien la prendre ce coup-ci
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21-Oct, Quarters Part Two:
English double in quarters part two
Jay Prince reports
Despite falling behind Daryl Selby in
the second game of this evening’s first quarterfinal match at the
NetSuite Open Squash Championships, 10-7, World No. 2 Nick Matthew
never looked to be out of control of the match.
Matthew simply did what he does best—play error-free squash with
commanding court presence by driving the ball deep to both corners
to force his opponent into scramble mode. In that second game,
Matthew ran the table with five consecutive points to erase the
deficit built by his English countryman and good friend, taking the
game 12-10.
The opening game was Matthew’s from the start. With long rallies,
neither player appeared to be eager to take the ball short. The cold
conditions suit Matthew’s reach across the mid-court, and he ran out
to a comfortable 5-3 lead before extending it to 8-4. Midway through
the game, Matthew started taking the ball short on the backhand
side, and Selby couldn’t answer.
The third and final game was never in doubt. Matthew needed just
nine minutes to finish Selby off, 11-4.
The nightcap showed off Peter Barker’s short game and total court
control in dispatching Laurens Jan Anjema, a methodical 11-7, 11-4,
11-4 47-minute encounter.
Afterwards, when asked about the cold San Francisco evening air,
Barker acknowledged that the conditions are more suited to his game
than Anjema’s. “Obviously with the court playing more dead, I like
to attack the front of the court,” commented Barker.
Jessica Winstanley, interviewing Barker, noted that steam was rising
off his warm body. The bundled capacity crowd got a good laugh
watching the steamy man his friends call Spider Man.
Anjem, spent the majority of the match trying to solve the puzzle of
how to get Barker out of the middle of the court. When successful,
Anjema capitalized by taking the ball early with sharp drops.
Barker, however, was moving fluidly and reaching virtually every
length Anjema placed without much difficulty.
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20-Oct, Quarters Part One:
Shabana and Gaultier Rule the Night
Jay Prince reports
 For the eleventh time since 2004,
England’s James Willstrop and Egypt’s Amr Shabana squared off in a
PSA quarterfinal, with Willstrop holding a slight edge (6-4) before
tonight’s opening match on the spectacular McWil Courtwall glass
court at Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco, California.
In Philadelphia a week ago, Shabana looked as lean and fit as he’s
been in the last five years. And it showed tonight as he took out
the No. 1 seed in three straight—11-8, 11-8, 11-9.
The chilly San Francisco air favors the Egyptian’s attacking style,
mixing knee-bending boasts from the back and mid-court with
inch-perfect length. When asked about the conditions, Shabana said,
“I actually don’t like the cold. It does help with control of the
court, but I’m not used to it and worry about getting injured. So I
never stop moving around.”
 Willstrop just never seemed to get going. After dropping the opener
with several errors and strokes against him, Willstrop did pull
himself together early in the second game while building a sizable
lead, 7-2. But Shabana simply kept making the court longer and
wider, while also drawing gasps from the capacity crowd with
eye-popping court coverage.
In essence, this was Shabana’s match from the start. Willstrop
appeared to be suffering from a cough, though earlier in the day he
was excited to get going.
In the second quarterfinal, Gregory Gaultier of France hammered away
at Egypt’s Tarek Momen to run away with the first two games.
Relentless length on both sides of the court, made possible by the
supreme quickness and balance of Gaultier who seems to be able to
reach any ball on the court.
In the third, Momen played a more free-flowing game, attacking
short—particularly on the left side—with positive effect. Drop
exchanges were going Momen’s way for the duration and he cut
Gaultier’s margin to 2-1.
In the fourth, Momen again ran away with the game while Gaultier
became frustrated and made a handful of errors that he can be prone
to make when he becomes distracted by referee decisions with which
he disagrees. But down 10-6 and staring straight into the headlights
of a deciding fifth game, the wheels came off for Momen. Coupled
with a pair of errors and Gaultier stepping forward to attack with
higher pace, Gaultier rattled off six straight points to punch his
ticket into the semifinals where he will face Amr Shabana.
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Photos:
Jay D.Prince/Squash Magazine
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19-Oct, Round One:
England Stars Shine Bright in San Francisco
England’s James Willstrop and Nick Matthew, seeded No. 1 and
No. 2 respectively took the first step toward meeting for the 46th
time in the last 11 years—a rivalry that has been dominated by
Matthew with 35 wins to his credit (the World No. 2 hasn’t lost a
PSA match to Willstrop since 2007, a run that includes 15-straight)
Up first at the San Francisco Bay Club tonight, the 6’ 4” Willstrop
took on a 5’ 8” qualifier in the form of Scotland’s Alan Clyne. In a
fast and furious display of volleys, drops and attacking boasts from
both players, the first game went to Willstrop 11-4. But Clyne kept
things close in the second, ultimately falling 11-9. The third game
is where things got interesting. With nothing to lose, Clyne stepped
up the attack by cutting balls off and sending Willstrop to the
front court repeatedly, racing out to a seemingly commanding lead.
Willstrop, however, recovered and put his World No. 1 experience to
work, rattling off nine consecutive points, taking the game 11-9.
Next on court was Shabana taking on a feisty Alister
Walker of Botswana. Despite beating Shabana just once in seven
career meetings, Walker has only fallen in three games once. Though
close to the end, Shabana took the opener 11-8, but then nearly
disappeared in the second, falling 11-5 quickly. Shabana snapped out
of it after a few tins early in the third, using near-perfect length
to run away with the third, 11-3. The fourth brought a bit of
controversy after Shabana apparently requested a “non-audible let.”
Once sorted out, Shabana found his focus and rolled into the
quarterfinals with a convincing 11-5 fourth game.
After failing to qualify for the Delaware Investments U.S. Open in
Philadelphia a week ago, Frenchman Grégoire Marche booked his
place in the main draw of the NetSuite Open but unfortunately for
him, drew Egyptian Tarek Momen in the first round. Momen’s
surgical precision from the word go was simply too much for Marche
who fell in just 32 minutes.
Momen will have his hands full on Saturday evening when he seeks to
win for just the second time in six attempts against the
third-seeded World No. 3, Gregory Gaultier of France. Though
Gaultier’s first two games in the opening round with Switzerland’s
Nicholas Mueller were hotly contested, with Gaultier taking
the first 11-4 but dropping the second 11-7, Gaultier never looked
back in the final two games, dropping just a single point in each.
With four matches on the docket at Stanford University, England’s
Daryl Selby, seeded No. 7, kept the evening on schedule with a
solid 50-minute win over qualifier Martin Knight (New
Zealand). But it wasn’t easy by any stretch. Selby and Knight traded
points throughout the opening game with good use of length and drops
that stayed tight to the walls. All square at 10-10, Knight
chastised himself, saying, “I’ve got to hit the ball away from the
middle.”
Problem was, the tin got in the way in each of the succeeding two
points, handing the game to Selby, 12-10. From there, Selby asserted
his control of the court, forcing Knight to retrieve balls to the
point of near exhaustion in the middle of the third game. Selby
finished off the match in style, with a dominant third game, 11-4.
Up next for Selby, on Sunday, will be compatriot Nick Matthew.
Standing in Matthew’s way at Stanford was American Julian
Illingworth. Currently World No. 28, the 8-time U.S. National
Champion jumped out to a solid start, taking a 6-3 lead over
Matthew. A nick that moved Illingworth to 7-3 seemed to get Matthew
going as he leveled the game at seven, then took advantage of four
errors by the American, ultimately taking the game 11-8. In the
second game, both used high volley’s to good effect while attacking
and defending, but the difference in the game was a number of
unforced tins from Illingworth from the mid-court area while Matthew
played error-free—securing the game 11-9. Matthew took control of
the final game at 2-2 when Illingworth lost some of his sharpness.
Not to pass up an opportunity, Matthew finished off the match 11-3.
The sole qualifier from England, Chris Simpson, faced a
formidable task in the first round when meeting World No. 9,
Laurens Jan Anjema of the Netherlands. Anjema put his elevated
stamina to excellent use by playing tight drives mixed with sharp
balls to the front corners to win the 15-minute opener, 11-8—which
is when he stepped on the accelerator. The second game was
noticeably quicker in pace, with Anjema putting his southpaw reach
to good effect, forcing Simpson into hurried recoveries and riskier
shots. The result was a methodical 11-4 for Anjema. It was more of
the same to 7-5 in the third in favour of Anjema, when Simpson let
everything go in a desperate attempt to stay alive. That approach
worked, temporarily, when Simpson garnered a 9-8 advantage. At least
until Anjema woke up and finished off the match with three quick
points, 11-9.
The second shortest match of the night featured England’s Peter
Barker who jumped all over Egyptian Hisham Ashour in just
33 minutes. Ashour, like his younger brother Ramy, is creative on
court. But tonight, that creativity caused him more harm than good.
Barker, seeded No. 4, dominated the early stages, racing out to a
7-1 lead before Ashour showed any resistance. After surrendering a
handful of points, Barker played near flawless squash, using a
combination of length and drops to finish the game off, 11-6. From
there it was all Barker. Ashour simply offered little hope in the
final two games, dropping them 11-4, 11-3.
18-Oct, Qualifying Finals:
Fast Paced Qualifying finals in San Francisco
Fast-paced play seemed to be
the recipe for success at the Bay Club for the qualifying finals of
the Netsuite Open, as first New Zealand’s Martin Knight
ramped up the pace to put an end to Siddharth Suchde’s hopes of
reaching the main draw, and Frenchman Gregoire Marche
followed Knight’s lead in his four-game win over Matthew Karwalski
of Australia. They face Daryl Selby and Tarek Momen.
The evening’s longest match took place at Stanford University where
England’s Chris Simpson and Australian Ryan Cuskelly traded
the first two games. With the match in the balance to start the
third game, the pair punished each other with brutally long
exchanges—until Cuskelly appeared to run out of steam. After
seventy-six minutes Simpson was into the main draw and up against LJ
Anjema.
Scotland’s Alan Clyne punched his ticket into the main draw
by upending Pakistan’s Aamir Atlas Khan in four games, where he now
faces top seed James Willstrop.
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