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Masters Chairman Martin Pearse
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Finals Day
Doom and Gloom, Happiness and Despair, that is the nature of
Finals Day and this time was no different.
In the W55 Bett Drysdale claimed her umpteenth (we are talkinc
circa 25 to 30 here) British title at Squash and Racketball,
beating Cheshire's Jane Law 9/2, 9/6, 9/7 in 22 minutes.
On the adjacent court spectators were amazed at the power
generated by M75 competitor Keith Allcock, but it was all to no
avail because he damaged his wrist tendons against many-time
champion John Woodliffe. The latter looked to be in control
though, despite the injury, winning 9/4, 5/9, 9/3, 9/1.
The M45 was a severe anticlimax as, with the score at one-all
andf Peter Gunter leading 4-0, Eamonn Price tore (badly) a calf
muscle and had to concede. A sad end to a match that undoubtedly
would have gone the distance.
In the M55 Mark Cowley avenged his closed defeat at the hands of
his long-ago nemesis Peter Alexander, winning 9/7, 9/2, 3/9,
10/9 in 43 minutes. Alexander's all-round court play and
retrieving was matched by the Middlesex player throughout, with
the referee always kept on his toes.
In the M70 lack of match practice seemed the reason top seed
Chris Stahl lost 9/5, 9/0, 9/1 to a very sharp Pat Kirton in 20
minutes. Stahl's legendary power was (temporarily) missing and
Kirton was far too quick and precise on the day.
In the W40 Senga Macfie looked invincible as she beat Andrea
Santamaria from Yorkshire 9/5 9/2, 9/0, whilst in the W50 a
Northern battle was in progress between the top two, Paula
Arrowsmith (Yorks) and Jacky Gardner (D&C). Jacky took the first
9/2 but Paula levelled 9/7 and then took the third 9/1. Gardner
levelled at 2-all but Arrowsmth had enough gas in the tank to
take the decider 9/3.
In the M40 Andrew Cross found Graeme Stewart invincible in
virtually every facet, and the Ireland number one took the PARS
match 11/7, 11/7, 11/7 in 44 minutes. No doubt Cross will be
happy to have been in the final after his semi-final win over
David Youngs.
The M65 saw another saga in the Rod Boswell - Martin Pearse
series, and the latter started strongly, leading 9/6 and 5/2.
But Boswell used his backhand boast for special occasions and
levelled at one-all. The third, in hindsight, was crucial, with
Pearse leading throughout and failing to take game balls, which
Boswell did on his first opportunity, kissing the racket frame
as the ball squirted into the nick to take a 2-1 lead.
The fourth was level at 5-all but Boswell's more precise drops
made the difference and he claimed a second Open title while
Pearsehas now lost three out of three.
In the M50 Mark Woodliffe completed a father and son duo, again,
as he dominated Jon Evns, the latter's all-court speed finding
Woodliffe's courtcraft too precise, and a score of 9/1, 9/3, 9/3
in 26 minutes.
In the M60 Keith Jones found Allen Brown much tougher to crack
than other opponents were last season, but Jones controlled the
the vital points to win 9/4, 9/4, 9/7. Brown, however, put up
his usual fight, and Jones knew he had been in a hard match.
In the W35 Senga Macfie claimed her second title, controlling
her match with Claire Walker 3/0, winning her second title
within a couple of hours. As Senga, allegedly, likes her ciggies
and red wine, is shows how much talent she posesses.
The final two maches saw Mandy Akin reassert herself as British
number one with a solid 9/7, 9/0, 9/5 win against Belgium-based
Rina Einy, nevertheless the latter will be very pleased with her
performances to reach the final, the scalps of Fran Wallis and
Linda Winder are not to be sniffed at.
Pride of place was the incredible ability of Ben Ford in the
M35, his all court craft and crosscourt volleydrops delighting
the crowd in a match played with a fantastic degree of fairness
with Ireland's Steve Richardson. Ford's 11/7, 7/11, 11/4, 11/5
victory was well deserved.
Congratulations to both players on a superb finale to a very
successful Open, run very efficiently as usual by Chris, Paul et
al, and thanks to all the referees, who seemed to enjoy
themselves.
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Semi-Finals:
First blood on the Saturday semis was to Mark Woodliffe,
whose effortless and elegant style was too clinical for 5/8 seed
James Ockwell, winning 9/2, 9/2, 9/4and in the bottom half a
spritely Jon Evans, who comes from Northumbria but wears
the Welsh Dragon, gained revenge over the legendary Ian Bradburn,
9/7, 9/5, 9/1.
In the W40 Bev Sawyer led 2/1 and 7/5 against Anna Santamaria
but the latter's doggedness saw her claim the fifth 9/1 in
an often gruelling encounter. Senga Macfie beat local
girl Alison Goy 9/0, 9/5, 9/2.
In the M60 an unbelievable balltle lasting 78 minutes between
two of the doughtiest players you will come across, Larry Grover
of Guernsey and Allen Brown of Jersey. Grove's length was
better and he led 2/0 after 30 minutes, and he went 6/1 up in
the third too. Cue Brown to play his first trickle boast, and
from then on the match opened up.
Brown's incredible retrieving - he literally covers more miles
on a squash court than any of the other 150+ competitors - saw
him equal, and destiny always favours the underdog who comes
back from the dead. 10/8, 9/7, 9/5 in another 48 minutes saw
Brown finally raise his fists in triumph.
Problem is, he has to play a very fit and fresh Keith Jones,
who easily controlled the ultra fit Barry Featherstone. Jones,
the world champion, will be very difficult to beat.
W45 saw the nearest thing to a female cage fight, two of the
toughest competitors on court together, and Mandy Akin
with a point to prove. Heather Tweedle, the no 1 seed closed out
the first game, but the feisty Akin took the third 9/0 and from
there progressed to yet another final.
M45 saw another incredible game of world class squash when
Peter Gunter sneaked past top seed Yawar Abbas on court ten
after the latter had game ball in the fourth and, ultimately,
final game.
In the M55 Mark Cowley proved too strong for newcomer
Rustom Batwala, winning 3/0 albeit closely contested. Meanwhile
there was battle royal on court nine between former champion
Peter Alexander and world travelled banker Duleep Adihetty,
fresh from another intercontinental trip. Adihetty's feather
volleys are a sight to behold (unless you are his opponent) but
eventually the athleticism of Alexander and his phenomenal
retrieving saw him trickle boast the final shot to sneak a 3/2
win.
Belgian-based Northumbrian Rina Einy achieved one of her
life's ambitions to reach a British Open final with a
nail-biting 9/7 in the fifth victory over W45 seed Linda Winder.
On court ten, with both players knowing their opponent to be
Peter Gunter should they win, Eamonn Price and Murray
Scott gave the gallery a full money's worth with the former, as
consistent and reliable as always, edging the fourth after being
5/8 down to win 3/1. Typical.
In the M65 Rodney Boswell allowed Ken Johnson a 2/0 lead,
but crept back into the match bit by bit to level at two-all.
Boswell led in the decider until the Tynesider drew level at
7-all. Boswell clinched the vital two points to put himself into
the final with Masters Chairman Martin Pearse, who led
5/8 seed Dave Hardern 9/0, 9/0. Hardern retrieved a seemingly
lost cause at 4/6 down to take the third and looked likely to
cause another upset as he led 7/4 in the fourth. Pearse however
came through in one hand to enter his third British Open final.
In the W50 a very very close match with a much-improved Tammy
Bennett having match ball against the redoubtable Jacky
Gardner, who displayed typical Northern grit to edge the
match 10/8 in the fifth. Herewith the scores: 10/9, 8/10, 9/10,
9/5, 10/8, 62 minutes, fantastic to watch ... 'a good battle'
said Mark Winder, the referee. Top seed Paula Arrowsmith
was on top form, winning 3/0 over Lynne Davies
In the M75 Keith Allcock took out many times Open
champion Lance Kinder. In the other half John Woodliffe edged
Malcolm Gilham 8/19, 10/9, 9/0, 9/2 to enter the final - yet
again. Another Woodliffe British Open double ?
Jane Law was ecstatic to enter the W55 final, winning 9/7 in the
fifth against Susan Meadows, a local derby. She will play
Britain's leading Racketball title holder, Bett Dryhurst.
In the W35 Senga Macfie looks invincible, winning 9/1,
9/1, 9/1 against WISPA's Sam Mueller. Claire Walker is
returning to top form, beating the flying serious crimes
Policewoman Christine McMullen 9/2, 9/7, 9/5.
Former European supremo and WSF vice-president Chris Stahl,
tanned from his Maltese homebase, reappeared on these shores to
remove Teesider John Shaw 9/6, 9/3, 10/8. His opponent in the
O70 final will be Pat Kirton, who won 3/0 in 18 minutes
against Roger Middleton, and was seen practicing his serve on
his own half an hour later, still wearing his England shirt and
shorts from the sixties when he first represented his country.
In the M40, an absorbing and fascinating encounter ended with
Galen Le Cheminant's amazing touch and dexterity being
overshadowed by the all-court excellence of Graeme Stewart,
despite some refereeing decisions that left both players amazed
and confused.
In the end Stewart dominated the fifth to enter the final with
3/4 seed Andrew Cross who took out no 2 seed David Younga,
again 3/2, on the adjacent court. Youngs, seemingly in control
at 2/1, found Cross's retrieving too good and the final game
wasn't as close as Youngs would have liked.
The day finished with two well-contestd M35 finals, Ben Ford
finally subduing a spirited challenge from unseeded Richard
Davies 11/6 in the fifth, Steve Richardson needing one
game less to get past Nick Staunton to set up one of the
minority finals between the top two seeds.
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Quarters:
Susan Meadows was the only winner in the W55, beating Jane Hill
3/0, whilst in the W50 the main upset was the elimination of 3/4
seed Karen Hume, 7/9 in the fifth against the chirpy Tammy
Bennett, who lost the first 0/9. Paula Arrowsmith claimed
bragging rights over local girl Sue Pynegar 3/0.
In the W45 another surprise was no 2 Fran Wallis losing to Rina
Einy, 10/8 in the fifth for a big shock. Linda Winder and Mandy
Akin both progressed.
Only one match was played in the W40 as Big Bad Bev - aka
Beverley Sawyer - eliminated Sue Smith in straight games.
The M65 saw two shocks - Dave Harden sprung a complete surprise
taking out world champion Chris Ansell 3/0 while Adrian Wright,
down 0/2 and 1/6 levelled at two-all with Ken Johnson but it was
the thanned Northern hero who prevailed to enter the semi.
Previous M65 winner Mike Clemson found his nemesis, masters
chairman Martin Pearse, seeded 3/4 in his first M65 tournament,
too powerful as he lost in three, while Rod Boswell came back
from an early deficit to take Graham Fisher 3/1.
The M60 saw Keith Jones, the out and out favourite, cruise
through against Muke Broomhall, whils 3/4 seed Barry
Featherstone had a hard 10/8, 9/6, 9/5 win over Peter Smith.
Hardest match was Jersey's Allen Brown's 52-minute win over a
doughty Ian Graham, while no 2 seed Dave Lumsden withdrew at
match ball with a torn hamstring.
The M55 progressed as expected, with Stuart Hardy blowing a game
comeback against Rustom Bativala, Mark Cowley lost the first to
Ronnie Bell before allowing the latter seven points in the next
three games. Peter Alexander and Duleep Adihetty progressed to
their expected semi-final.
In the M50 local boy Gawain Briars found James Ockwell too hot
to handle, as did former Leicestershire star Simon Rollington
against his former teammate - captained by your chairman - Mark
Woodliffe. Woodliffe was precision personified, and probably
gained a massive revenge for past matches. Ian Bradburn put a
stop to 'shadow' Alan Griffiths and Jon Evans, seeded 5/8, was
too clinical for no 2 seed Alan Thomson, a revenge for the home
internationals.
M45 sees Eamonn Price v Murray Scott and Peter Gunter v Yawar
Abbas, who all won easily - some quality squash in store
tomorrow.
The M40 saw Graeme Stewart semove Simon Street 3/0 and Galen Le
Cheminant prevail against the perennial Glen Ragou.
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Last Sixteen:
Despite the tennis weather outside, there were well over 150
players contesting the first standalone British Open Masters, at
the famous Nottingham Squash Club.
Early Rounds
In the MO40’s, Bedfordshires Nick Lavery shaded Scotlands Colin
McMullen 3-1, whilst there was no real surprise in 3/4 seed
Andrew Cross taking out Peter Goodings 11-6 14-12 11-5. David
Youngs (2 seed) and number 1 Graeme Stewart proceeded, not
without effort. There was close matches, one in particular
lasting 58 minutes with Simon Street 5/8 edging Bruce St Ledger
11-6 in the fifth.
In the MO45, all the top seeds progressed without too much
pressure. The MO50’s produced a strong draw which saw former
British number 1 Gawain Briars take out Steve Barlow 9-0 9-0
9-4, James Ockwell 5/8 seed delighted his admirers with a
clinical despatch of Neil Harrison and Alan Thomson straight
from the airport after a weeks holiday negotiated a tricky first
game against Nick Peel.
The MO55 has three stand out, top drawer players looks a hard
one to call. Peter Alexander, Duleep Adhihetty and Mark Cowley
all stand a chance. Athleticism, touch and fury, a wonderful
mix, all progressed easily.
The MO60’s looks like a Keith Jones and Dave Lumsden final,
although others might disagree. Jones removed Scottish number 3
Alex Sinclair 9-0 9-1 9-1 and Mick Broomhall took out 5/8 seed
Phil Godfrey 9-5 9-6 9-0. Geoff Howes went through round one
only to fall to Ian Graham in a close encounter 9-7 10-9 9-5.
The MO65 saw no surprises, Tommy Elves was in his usual
non-mercurial mood – lost log books, wife refused to cook his
baked beans, but made up for it later with a surplus of guiness
and brandy. Chris Ansell fresh from a week in Barcelona found
the courts exactly to his volleys liking, beating Syd Spittle
3-0.
The only match played so far in the Women,s was the perennial
traveller, Lynne Davies who graced the court beating Lesley
Sturgess 9-7 9-2 9-5 – a good result.
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