[ Today ] [ SEMIS ] [ QUARTERS ] [ Round ONE ] [ Qualifying Finals ] [ Qualifying Round One ]

Fri 21-Sep, Round One:

Simon Rosner (Ger) 3-0 [Q] Mathieu Castagnet (Fra)
          11/6, 11/3, 11/5 (49m)
[3] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) 3-0 [Q] Adrian Waller (Eng)
          11/6, 11/7. 11/4 (36m)
Adrian Grant (Eng) 3-2 [Q] Saurav Ghosal (Ind)
           7/11, 7/11, 11/3, 12/10, 11/6 (87m)
Alister Walker (Bot) 3-0 [Q] Chris Simpson (Eng)
           11/7, 14/12, 11/3 (57m)
Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned) 3-0 Jens Schoor (Ger)
            11/7, 11/4, 11/6 (36m)
[4] Peter Barker (Eng) 3-1 Borja Golan (Esp)
           11/8, 7/11, 12/10, 11/2 (85m)
[2] Nick Matthew (Eng) 3-0 Tom Richards (Eng)
           14/12, 12/10, 11/0 (48m)
[1] James Willstrop (Eng) 3-0 Daryl Selby (Eng)
            11/8, 11/7, 11/4 (59m)
 

Grant comeback stops Saurav as
English claim half the quarter-final places

There were no upsets on first day’s play of the Springfield Solutions British Grand Prix in Manchester, with all the qualifiers and the wildcard departing in the first five matches - although Saurav Ghosal had a matchball against Adrian Grant - and the evening was rounded off with a trio of English wins to give the hosts half the available quarter-final spots.

Schedule & Tickets

Draw & Results

Simon Rosner (Ger) 3-0 [Q] Mathieu Castagnet (Fra)
          11/6, 11/3, 11/5 (49m)

SIMON PERFECT

What a match from the German really today. He was perfect from start to finish, although the score doesn’t reflect the hard work they both had to produce during the first and second game especially (16 and 12 minutes respectively).

Mathieu’s tactics were in place, as in, the thought behind the shots were the correct ones, but the execution was poor really, liked tightness on the side, length was all over the place, and I guess it’s all credit to Simon, who really managed to put Mathieu under a heck of a lot of pressure.

It was a great opener to the tournament really, some furious rallies, beautiful attacking counter attacking, and stunning retrieval from both. But Simon today, was just too perfect. The German efficiency, as he would say, bless him.

“Against Mathieu, you know it’s going to be a tough match, he fights for each and every ball, and today was no exception. But I’m really happy with the way I played today, normally I find it difficult to get into the tournament, but today, I was confident from the start.

"It’s always a bit chance to get to the second round when you play a qualifier in the first round, so the pressure is on, but I was able to sustain it. Really happy with my game…”

Simon Rosner

“Ridiculous performance. I took a good squash lesson today. I normally get one a year, last year, it was Campbell Grayson, this year, it’s Simon. Thank mate!

“Joke apart, he played the perfect match, accurate, never showing any sign of tiredness or weakness, he was present both front and back.

"Whereas I lacked accuracy, length, concentration. I know it’s the start of the season… It showed!”

Mathieu Castagnet
  

[3] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) 3-0 [Q] Adrian Waller (Eng)
          11/6, 11/7. 11/4 (36m)

TWIST AND TURN, HARD AND LOW…

That was more of less Greg’s game plan against young lefthander Adrian Waller – does it go with the name Adrian to be lefthanded? – 50 in the world.

First game, the Englishman took a while to get used to seeing the ball/pace. He only got into the groove on game ball, 10/3, saving three of those. But Greg’s low and hard hit was just too accurate to be denied the first game in 6 minutes.

The second was more of a battle, with Adrian really getting into the match, volleying extremely well, and putting Greg under much more pressure he did in the first game. The rallies got longer, more intense, 5/4, 6/5, 7/6. Even if the Frenchman always had the advantage, it was much too close for comfort. Still, Greg takes it again in 12 minutes, 11/7.

The score of the third doesn’t tell the story, 11/4, it was still 10m of hard rallies, again excellent volleying from Adrian “he is too tall for me” smiled Greg to the crowd…. And if there was only going to be one winner, I hope that Adrian is happy with his match, because I feel he really got in the right pace/rhythm by the end of the 1st game, and showed some excellent attacking accurate game today.

"I was moving well today. Of course, having a baby coming into your life is a big change. First two weeks, you get overwhelmed by emotions, so you don’t sleep at all. And then, when the mum and the baby come back home, you don’t sleep much either of course!

"But I’m very lucky, Veronika is doing most of the work, as I’m barely there, with the training for the new season. You get used to sleep 6/7hours a night, and you get used to having something that feels your life. You cannot be selfish again, you have somebody else to think about all day long, it’s such a pleasure, it brings so much to your life.

"And on top of that, I haven’t had the chance to play squash for a long time, so I’m so hungry for playing, I’m enjoying it so much, and that I feel makes the difference.

Gregory Gaultier

Adrian Grant (Eng) 3-2 [Q] Saurav Ghosal (Ind)
           7/11, 7/11, 11/3, 12/10, 11/6 (87m)

GRANT COMEBACK STOPS SAURAV

Qualifier Saurav Ghosal made a great start to the third match of the day as he sped into a two-game lead over his higher-ranked opponent Adrian Grant, taking the lead 11/7, 11/7 after pulling away from 7/6 in both games.

The Englishman bounced back in the third though, taking it comfortably 11/3, and leads of 7/3 and 9/6 suggested a decider was on its way. A stroke and two dropshots put Ghosal level though, and when Grant tinned a dropshot of his own he was facing match ball.

That was saved with a perfect length, a lloooong rally ended in a stroke, and at 11/10 Grant appealed a let decision which the video ref overturned to a stroke. A decider it was, then.

The fifth was close at the start, but from 5/6 down Grant took six in a row, with Ghosal left flailing on the floor trying to return the last shot, to take his place in the quarter-finals.

"What about you copy paste what I said last time I was down 2/0 and I won 3/2? That will allow me to catch my breath!

"I have a bit of a loss of confidence at the moment, so I was not at the top of my form when I started today. And I really don’t know why I am such a slow starter. I warm up really well, I get on there sweating and all, but I just cannot seem to find that burst of energy I get at the end of matches. I am trying to get the same feeling at the start of the match than I get in the third for example, but so far, I just cannot do it.

"Certain things do fire me up, like when I’m playing rubbish, I’m thinking, come on, this is ridiculous, or a bad decision, I get a positive reaction, but still, I just can’t be fired up from the start the way I would like to."

Adrian Grant

"Absolutely gutted to say the least ☹ good performance...just need to win." Saurav Ghosal on Twitter.

Alister Walker (Bot) 3-0 [Q] Chris Simpson (Eng)
           11/7, 14/12, 11/3 (57m)

ALI AGAINST CHRIS… YET AGAIN…

With all the PSA players around, you wouldn’t expect too many matches between a top 38 and a top 13. Well, Ali and Chris have met 5 times since November 2011 for crying out loud, the latest encounter I recall – I was there – was for the last British Open in May….

They used to train a lot with each other, they have the same coach, David Pearson. Needless to say no prisoners are taken and they both know each other’s game pretty well.

Intense and gruelling come to mind really. First game, 23m for 11/7, and second game, 20m for 14/12. Fast pace at times, with crazy volleying/retrieving/improvisation, then up and down the left wall, then mad pace again, throwing yourself on the ball and mad squash…

Chris never said die today, I never saw him do so, and Alister had the confidence that comes having never lost against a player. It was a good game, with Chris getting a bit frustrated at times, and both of them taking the ball pretty early…

"We both played good squash, tight. I was trying to stay in front as much as I could, and when I was able to, I was controlling the rallies better.

"But he’s got such racquet skills, if he managed to get in front, he was holding and driving, putting me under huge pressure. When he was, I had to scrap through a bit…

"I am now settled in NY, training with Ryan Cuskelly, Zac Alexander, Julian Illingworth, Bradley Ball, Paul Johnson and Richard Wade. And now that Thierry is in Boston, I’ll be going there a bit as well.

"A few really hard matches first round here, Nick against Tom, Daryl against James… Nice start of the season!!!!

"It’s nice to be back in the UK, I’m staying with Annette Pilling and Caroline Glain, and also spent some time with Jo and David Pearson. Really a good feel to be here."

Ali Walker

Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned) 3-0 Jens Schoor (Ger)
            11/7, 11/4, 11/6 (36m)

EDGY START

Both players didn’t have the best of starts today. A few mishits for LJ in particular on the backhand, a few too many errors for Jens, 5 UE in the first game alone. Both were a bit struggling to get used to the court, and it’s LJ that found his rhythm first, and the second was all about LJ.

But the German wild card kept the best for last it has to be said. He really found some exquisite attacks, moved well, and offered us a nice battle to finish the match, showing us what he could do on there, but maybe a little late…

“Not nervous at the start, no, but we only get 15m on court, which is a very short time, so you only start and get comfortable on there when you play your match really, and today, it took me a bit of time to get settled. Once I had the first game under my belt, I was able to play nice and relaxed.

It’s been four month since my last tournament, so I’m bound to be a bit rusty. But I’m happy with the way I dealt with it, and I’m roaring to go, ready to be a nomad again, four months is just too long.”

Laurens Jan Anjema

“I was struggling to find my rhythm, I just couldn’t get the ball to the back, and get the ball pass him. I was playing well in patches, I was controlling the rallies, played the way I wanted, but I did that what, 4 5 rallies per game… It’s not enough.”

Jens Schoor 

[4] Peter Barker (Eng) 3-1 Borja Golan (Esp)
           11/8, 7/11, 12/10, 11/2 (85m)

PETER A BIT WOBBLY….

This is the first tournament of the season, and it shows. For some, it’s the lack of matches, or a little injury that has been bothering them a bit. For Pete today I felt, it was a bit of both, he’s had a little niggling pain that prevented him to play recently, and it is the start of the season….

For Borja, well, his season has started already. He had the European Clubs Championships and a few days ago, the Malaysian Open where he lost in the semis again the Champion to be Tarek Momen. Sharper he was from the start, and very composed I thought, full of authority on there.

The first three games were long, tough, hotly contested and frequently disputed. Barker took the lead 11/7, Golan struck back 11/8, with Peter making 5 uncharacteristic errors, a sign of lack of focus in my opinion.

As we had “several lets” to say the least, the Englishman was trying to explain to the ref that Borja was not making enough effort to get to the ball, while Borja was making the point that he just couldn’t get to the ball, or play it for that matter!

Borja seemed to be getting the better out of Peter’s frustration, forcing him to make again to many errors, to lead 7/3 and 10/7 in the 3rd, but failed to capitalise as the Englishman regained the lead 12/10 with a run of five unanswered points.

Focus now way back in place, Peter was much more composed, calm, incisive at the front, with a purpose for each shot. Borja on the reverse, maybe tired from the Malaysian tournament/jetlag (it was now the middle of the night for him), maybe mentally flat after being so close to leading 2/1, just couldn’t put as much pressure on his opponent and Peter eased through the fourth 11/2.

“You know that a match against Borja is going to be ultra competitive, and yes, four month is a very long time without matches, I lacked a bit of mental sharpness today.

“Sometimes, you need something to trigger your response, and today, when I found myself 7/3 down, I knew I had to do something different. And I was a bit more precise after that.

“Rusty is a good word to describe it really…”

Peter Barker

[2] Nick Matthew (Eng) 3-0 Tom Richards (Eng)
             14/12, 12/10, 11/0 (48m)

Matthew finishes with a flourish

England were now guaranteed four quarter-finalists with world number one and two James Willstrop and Nick Matthew still to come, both playing compatriots.

Matthew, last year’s runner-up, faced Tom Richards, who gave the world champion an almighty run for his money in the first two games.

But the Surrey man couldn’t capitalise on the game balls he had in each as Matthew went two-nil up 14/12, 12/10, and an 11-nil whitewash in the third did nothing to improve Richards’ mood.

“It’s always the same thing on this court, I did watch some early matches as well, the ball is always bouncy for the first game, first game and a half. After that, it’s going deader and creates more space, and the battle is on!

"I think I played the important points well, we had two tie-breakers, and whereas he was patient all through the games, suddenly he tried to force it, too impatient, too anxious, maybe a bit of lack of experience there.

I still have got the same problem, it’s a weakness of mine, I work very hard to establish a nice lead, 7/4 or 10/7, and then I’ll lose three points in a row! DP is always nagging me about those “three points”, and again today, I did it.

"It’s something I’ve got to work on. I could very well had found myself 2/0 down today, after having had game balls in both games.

"That’s why in the 3rd, I was making sure I was getting it right. Greg Gaultier is about the best in the world at that, he is the best at not losing any time or energy in the early rounds, he is ruthless and I so admire him for it, I really try and work on it….

"Tom is improving all the time, he is one of the players to watch. Normally, players who arrive in the top 20 have got good all around games, but lack weapons. For Tom, it’s the opposite, he always had the weapons, he needed the consistency, which he now has, and that’s why he is number 12 in the world now. I think he’ll have a strong season.”

Nick Matthew 

[1] James Willstrop (Eng) 3-0 Daryl Selby (Eng)
            11/8, 11/7, 11/4 (59m)

JAMES STILL UNBEATEN….

In 15 matches, coming back to ’94 in the British Junior U12, James always found a way to beat Daryl, and today again, Daryl just couldn’t find solutions to break the curse.

It’s like, how can I say. Daryl doesn’t do anything wrong. He is consistent, he runs very well, got an excellent game plan – simple, but efficient, keeping the ball as far away from James as he can, and takes him to the front to win the point at the back, and not the reverse, as so many players do. And in patches it worked wonders. In particular in the second game, where I could see James getting a bit tired after the enormous work he was made to produce at the start of that game.

In the first, well, James was just in control, 5/1 then 6/3, but Daryl really found some great attacks to come back to 7/8. Still, James, imperial at the business side of the game, closed it out in 18m, 11/8.

Like I said, in the second, it was anybody’s game, Daryl was even up 6/3, only to be caught up 6/6, 7/7. A few great intense rallies there, and again at the end of the game, the world number 1 pulling away, scoring 4 points in a row, 11/7.

The third, well, Daryl was getting frustrated with James’ movement, lost a bit his focus, went for silly shots, and gave a few precious points too many to his opponent, who basically only had to take what was offered to him.

“There were a few cobwebs that need to be cleared out, there’s no way you’re going to be in top form at the start of the season.

"I was ready for some physical spells, and I had to hang in during that second game, and when I managed to pull away it gave me a boost for the start of the third.”

James Willstrop

"I played well in two games, at 6/3 in the second, the game got broken with a few too many lets, which didn’t help me I feel as I had the momentum.

"I’m happy with the way I played, except in the 3rd, where I lost both consistency and a bit of my head, which is not fair on anybody, and especially not on my Dad who had to drive 6 hours from London to see that. And now he back driving all the way back tonight. I already apologised to him…"

Daryl Selby