[1] James Willstrop (Eng) 3-1 Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned)
          8/11, 11/5, 11/3, 11/5 (66m)

RUNNING OUT OF STEAM ?

Last time those two played against each other was in El Gouna. And LJ started brilliantly back in April, really taking James by the throat, playing at the perfect fast pace which is needed to take James out of his comfort zone and force the errors out of him. But after that, as I recall him telling it to me himself, he just couldn’t sustain the pace/speed, and ran a bit out of steam for the next three games.

I feel that maybe it was the same story again today. With the difference that it’s James who rushed beautifully out of the blocks, forcing a stunning pace/variety of shots all over the court that forced LJ to use all his physical stamina/reserves to counterattack/retrieves James’ lethal attacks.

And he did it beautifully the Dutch did. He really asked the right questions, twisting and turning the world number one, and from 6/5 in the middle of the first game where he took the lead for the first time to the end of the game, LJ was in command. But at what price. So much energy left on the floor to pick up those all over the court James’ shots….

The timing of each game tells the story of the match: 26m. 11m. 9m. 10m.

From the second game on, LJ kept on fighting with all he got, but James was at the front most of the rallies, and LJ on the back foot. And when LJ was attacking - brilliantly I might add, James just went on his "retrieve everything under the sun" mode, and forced the errors out of his opponent. The Dutch had moments of brilliance, finding some great return of serves or crosscourt nicks, but the score is “sans appel” 5, 3, 5.

If James’ weakness was in the past his fitness, he and his trainer Mark Campbell – who also trains Nick Matthew – turn it round to make it his strength…

“I had to cover a lot of ground today, LJ is very strong physically, we’ve spent two weeks in Colorado training together, so I know how strong he is! I know he is pushing mentally to get up there. It’s a good result for me to beat him 3/1, happy with that.

“We sure played a lot of angles tonight, when people talk about Chess and squash, well that’s what it’s all about, using all the angles of the court, working each other out. I did hit a few nicks, but he found some stunning crosscourts as well. He really got me sharp for tomorrow.”

James Willstrop  

[2] Nick Matthew (Eng) 3-1 Alister Walker (Bot)
         9/11, 11/8, 11/4, 11/3 (58m)

NICK HAD TO WORK HARD…

It was a strange match that one to be honest. First we had an Alister on fire, who couldn’t put a foot wrong, honestly, playing as well as he can – reminded me his match against Shabana in Sky Open Cairo a few years back, match he won. Then the fire got completely extinguished!

Alister was just finding the perfect length, and also the perfect width. The people that played Nick know how hard it is to pass the World Champion, and tonight, Ali did that to perfection, thanks to a spotless width.

Nick seemed a bit agitated, not settled, for most of the two first games I thought. Making uncharacteristic unforced errors, a few mishits, asking some strange reviews soooo early in the game… Ali really got under his skin it looked, especially after taking the first game, 11/9.

And I thought – like Nick himself, that Ali was going to lead 2/0 when he got away with the score, 8/5 in the 2nd. But Nick ain’t World Champion 247 times for nothing. Suddenly, he tightened his game, got all the neurones connected, got his “patience jacket on”, stopped the silliness, concentrated on the basics – getting the ball to the back, and then wait for the opportunity. And that coincided with Ali losing the patience he had from the start: the boy went too short far too early, tried and forced it, and as it’s often the case, changed his game and forgetting what took him there….

As the Champion he is, Nick used his experience to get right back in the game, and it’s like something snapped in Ali’s head. Was it the work produced that was just getting the legs heavy, or the focus that just went out of the glass court, and from the attacker, he became the defender….

Not sure, but one thing is sure, it was a game of two halves.

“Ali sure makes you work hard, but it’s funny how quickly things turn round, I was facing going 2/0 down and maybe going home, and the next thing I know I’m 7/1 uo in the third!

“He was immaculate for the first two games in particular on the backhand and frustrated the hell out of me – can I say that? – and the best compliment I can make him is that I had to change my game. James spoke earlier about the game of chess, that’s exactly how it felt for me tonight.

“At the end of the second, he snatched a few unforced errors that gave me a bit of breathing space, maybe he rushed a bit. You know, for three years, we trained day in day out together, same coach, same trainer, so we know a lot of each other’s game. But today, he surprised me how well he played.”

Nick Matthew