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Peter Barker (Eng) bt Farhan Mehboob (Pak)         11/5, 11/5, 11/6 (22m)

"I went 5/1 down pretty quickly, it might have been nerves at being first on in a big event, but I recovered fairly quickly and after that I felt quite comfortable.

"It's strange playing a fellow left-hander, I'm used to playing down one side of the court, but his forehand is so strong I had to keep it down the other side as much as I could.

"It's great to see the British Open back to being staged in a great venue like this, and at Super Series level, I'm looking forward to seeing how far I can get …"



"I had a foot injury for three of four months, and although I've had some good performances recently I'm not really fully fit yet, so playing three tough games in a row was a bit much for me at the moment. Peter's playing very well though, he has more experience than me and plays good shots."

Wael El Hindi (Egy) bt Cameron Pilley (Aus)
              11/9, 10/12, 5/11, 11/7, 11/7 (81m)

“BOTH THE SAME”…

Oh boy. A long 81 minute match, with so many interruptions, so many lets, so many discussions (very polite I must stress) with a ref who did his best to handle a difficult encounter between the young, tall and hungry Australian Cameron Pilley and the cheeky and experienced Egyptian Wael El Hindi.

As the man in the hot seat said as one of the players argued the let awarded to his opponent, “you are both the same”. Some “get on with it” were heard a few times from the crowd, and we were a few to wish for more squash and less chatting….

Wael seemed a bit out of it, mentally I mean, and sometimes didn’t seem to try even, which gave wings to a Cameron who didn’t need more incentives to try and create an upset. The Australian was controlling a lot of the rallies, but failed to win too many of them, and he made a few too many errors at the crucial times

And when the Egyptian starting really putting his mind into it in the fifth , Cameron, maybe a bit tired from all the work he had produced during the whole match, wasn’t able to find an answer to Wael's short game …
 

"I always start very lazy in the first round, it's good to get rid of all the tension and bad shots but it can work against you, I might have lost. I can’t feel my shots at all, my mind is not in the match. For example, I was 2/1 down, and I felt like we were playing up to 15 or something…

"I never felt tired in the whole match, which gave me more confidence, but at 2/1 down he started playing attacking shots and I had to work hard to stay in there, it could easily have slipped away. And in the fifth, I knew that it had to be done, if not in the fifth, when???

"I'll just have to have a better start tomorrow …"

"I thought I was playing pretty well, and it was quite clean, but when it gets tight he starts his usual tactics and the game starts getting very messy.

"You have to play so well to beat him, you might be playing well enough to beat some other guys, but it makes it really difficult …

"I'm really happy with the way I'm playing, pity I couldn't win today but I'm looking forward to the US Open now, where I play Greg for the first time ever."

Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt Jonathan Kemp (Eng)
              11/7, 11/4, 11/8 (30m)

"I thought that in the end, I was getting up to match pace, I was getting more comfortable. The movement was a problem today, and it’s such a faster pace…

"I played quite well in the third, then made a few errors, he played a few nice shots, and was back in the match really.

"I’m not sure if I’m happy not to have to play again tomorrow, or unhappy because I didn’t play as well as I should…

"He is so hard to play against, he gets everything back, you’ve got to win every point. That’s why I need to get back to hard work in the coming weeks…"

Adrian Grant (Eng) bt Alister Walker (Eng)
     11/13, 11/7, 11/1, 11/8 (60m)

"The first game was just nip and tuck, I didn’t seem to get into my momentum in that game, and I made a couple of errors at the end.

"From that point forward, I got into my rhythm. Still, Alister has been troubling a lot of top guys recently, his game has come up a lot, so I had to keep my discipline as much as possible, not letting anything trouble my concentration, and keeping with it.

"Alister I think got frustrated in the last game with some calls, and that knocked him off his concentration, and he gave me a few cheap points at the end…."



"The first game was very close, I was glad to clinch that one, but at the end of the second, he started being very accurate, and it took me until I was 2/1 down to find what I had to do to get him back behind me again… Still, the last game was 11/9, so, pretty close…"

Nick Matthew (Eng) bt Daryl Selby (Eng)
               11/5, 11/7, 11/8 (50m)

"I've played many time on this court, it seems a little colder and deader when it's out here in the main arena, but it will probably warm up later when the place is full.

"Daryl's capable of hitting winners at any time, like he did at the end of the second and third, and I saw him push David [Palmer] close last week in Birmingham so I knew I would have to work for this, not just go out and expect the win.

"It's nice to get the first one under my belt, whatever form you're in coming into the tournament, you feel like you're into it after that.."

"If I can put it all together I definitely have a chance to retain the title, I'm fitter and stronger than I was last year, but then so is everyone else …"

Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt Alex Gough (Wal)
       8/11, 11/5, 11/9, 10/12, 11/9 (69m)

WHAT FAIR PLAY…

This was the kind of match, ladies and gentlemen, that should be shown in squash schools all over the world. Two warriors fighting on a show court, oblivious to some strange calls, giving each other points and lets back, with a special mention for Beng Hee, who really gave them back at crucial times….

Two competitors, intelligent, clever, both tactical astute, physically fit, playing stunning squash, accurate, precise, entertaining, offering superb firework-like rallies to us, a feast of good squash after so many “let please” matches.

The first game, 4/0 for Beng Hee, then 10 points for Alex, who takes it eventually 11/8. Then the second, the Malaysian, too good. The third, well, read Alex’ quote, it says it all.

In the fourth, what a battle. 3/3, 5/5, 6/6, 7/7, then Beng Hee set ups match point 10/8, but will end up losing another match ball, and then the game, 12/10.

The fifth is a classic really, with Alex down 10/5 match ball, climbing back to 10/9, and a Bengy trying desperately to hit that “self destructive button” he so loves, but misses it just.

What a match. Thanks guys.

"Alex is not the one you want to play in the first round, he is such an experienced player, and I don’t know if I was nervous, or excited, but in the first round, you never know what’s going to happen, so I’m really happy to win and pretty excited to be playing here, in the biggest tournament in the world. And I always play well in the British Open…

"In the fifth, I got pretty nervous, very stressed, I saw that he was tired, but I started to get the wrong shot…

"We played such a fair game, it’s rubbing off, Alex is such a fair player, there were no cheap lets, just play the ball, so you want to be fair as well, shame that all the players can’t be like that…

"I’m not even tired, don’t get me wrong, I’m tired mentally, but not that much physically, as we didn’t play that many long fast rallies, more mid pace rallies where we were trying to outplay each other…."

"We were both very edgy at the start, not too confident on the court. But in the first game, I was pretty accurate on the backhand, and he was a bit all over the place, he didn’t get it together.

"In the second, although I did a lot of work, I opened up the court too much, and in the third, I was feeling good at up 9/9, and I constructed a rally very well, I was in perfect control, and I went for too much, a crosscourt kill, and it ended in the tin. After that, he gets a great shot, and that’s it. That was quite crucial that third.

"We were giving each other points back that the ref didn’t give right, and there was one I actually asked Beng Hee if I could keep the stroke, to compensate for an earlier no let one, and he said OK…

"And I really hurt myself on that slide in the fourth, I just went for it and then realised that I couldn’t stop!

"That’s why I’m still playing matches, to play matches like that, where it’s straight forward, where the player is fair, and you just get on with it…."

Karim Darwish (Egy) bt Aamir Atlas Khan (Pak)       11/13, 11/5, 11/9, 11/8 (46m)

THAT WILL DO FOR NOW…

A slightly out of touch Karim, playing a bit too short a game for his own good, against a fast and furious Aamir, and we nearly had an upset today. That junior is so determined, he moves so well…

Once he understands that he’s got to get the length before playing at the front, he’ll be lethal, as he makes very few unforced errors.

Karim’s experience paid off tonight, but he knows he’ll have to raise his game tomorrow against James Willstrop…

"I felt comfortable on there, I was playing well. There was a call in the third, 9/9, the ball was down, and the ref saw it good, to finally give a let, but that should have set me up for game ball for a 2/1 lead. That was the turning point.

"All credit to Karim, he played well, but I’m glad I had a chance to beat him today, which would have been very good for my confidence."

"The first game was very tough, Aamir is an excellent junior player, he’s got a good chance to win the World Junior title….

"Not happy with my performance today, mentally, that was not good enough, I was flat, and I’m hoping that I’ll play better tomorrow. I took a late flight yesterday because I was injured up to now, my wrist, but I felt good and I decided to come, and I’m glad that tonight, I felt fine.

"To beat somebody as fast as him at the front easily, I need to be more aggressive, and today, my shots were not deep enough…."

James Willstrop (Eng) bt
[Q] John Rooney (Irl) 
      11/7, 11/5, 11/4 (32m)

"He plays at such a fast pace, and he's accurate too, something I have to try and copy. I just can't sustain that kind of pace for long enough at the moment.

"It's obvious I've got a lot of work to do, physically, but that's the easy part of the game, getting fit – I've got a lot of hard work to look forward to over the next couple of months.

"I'm pleased with the week, and I know what I need to work on so the next couple of months will be a challenge. I've got to reach a level of fitness before I can show what I can do with the racket … bring it on!"

"I started to feel really tired in the second, I haven't been able to do much since my illness and travelling back from New Zealand.

"I was playing well at the start, then lost my length and she started playing well, putting in drops and making me work really hard.

"I didn't think I was going to be able to do it when I was down in the fourth, but I was lucky that she made a few mistakes which let me back in and I just about held it together from there …"

"It was tight all the way in the first four games, neither of us were playing at our best, making mistakes in the early part of the games so it was just a question of who held their nerve better at the end of the games.

"In the fifth I got a few points ahead and I thought that she might tighten up. I got a bit of luck yesterday with Dom pulling out and I think the energy I saved from not playing helped in the end …"

"In the first game, I couldn’t find my length, she was playing well and keeping me into the back, I couldn’t get in front of her at all.

"But if I lost the first game, I still made her do a lot of work. For that point on, I was able to relax, find my length, then volley more, and logically find my shots, still taking my time and not rushing the issue…

"Glad of my two days, yesterday a tough match, today as well, I succeed to win both in four, so glad to win in those conditions…"

"I think she got a little tired in the third, it was certainly more comfortable than the first two!

"I expected it to be hard and long, Aisling is playing well at the moment and has had some great results. I'm happy to be off in three, save some legs for tomorrow …

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