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TODAY at the British Open
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The crowd at Midnight ... |
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Sat 22nd Sep - Day FIVE
What a Day ... what a Night
Eight matches to play on the glass court, with a noon start. Easy
you'd think. Well, no ...
We started with a women's match that was 2/1 8/3 after 55 minutes,
was then suspended until after the men's match that was due to
follow it - the shortest of the day at 48 minutes - and took a
further 20 minutes to finish.
So that was Gregory Gaultier and Rachael Grinham
through, and we were only an hour late. Time to catch up, surely.
Well, no. Natalie Grinham took almost an hour to win three
games, then Amr Shabana took a little longer to dethrone Nick
Matthew.
 Not
too bad then, the supposed hour's gap between sessions meant we only
started the evening session 45 minutes late.
No catching up was done by Tania Bailey, who took an hour and
twenty, despite winning the fifth 9/0, and nor was any done by
Thierry Lincou, taking an hour for his three games.
Surely Nicol David wouldn't delay the schedule? Trouble was
no-one told Natalie Grainger, so Nicol too won the decider 9/0 as we
fell further behind.
Starting over two hours late, the David Palmer/James
Willstrop match was destined to go to five, and sure enough it did.
At 11.30 Palmer needed an extra three minutes' injury break, and at
three minutes past midnight, after a 100-minute match, the
still-packed crowd saw the world champion end England's last hope
for the men's title.
So, after twelve hours and three minutes we had the semi-finalists.
To say "the top four seeds in both men's and women's events will
contest the semi-finals" doesn't really do the day justice, but the
fact is that eight of the world's best will be back tomorrow (ok,
later today). And there's plenty of time in the schedule ... honest!
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Men's
Quarter-Finals:
[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [6] Nick
Matthew (Eng)
6/11, 11/8, 11/9, 11/7 (69m)
[3] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt
[12] Peter Barker (Eng)
11/7, 11/8, 11/3 (48m)
[4] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt
[16] Ong Beng Hee (Mas)
11/8, 11/2, 12/10 (60m)
[2] David Palmer (Aus) bt [5]
James Willstrop (Eng)
12/10, 6/11, 12/10, 6/11, 11/5 (100m)
Women's Quarter-Finals:
[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt [5]
Natalie Grainger (Usa)
9/3, 9/3, 7/9, 2/9, 9/0 (58m)
[4] Tania Bailey (Eng) v [6]
Vicky Botwright (Eng)
6/9, 10/8, 9/4, 2/9, 9/0 (80m)
[3] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt
[8] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned)
7/9, 9/7, 9/6, 9/0 (75m)
[2] Natalie Grinham (Aus) bt [7]
Madeline Perry (Irl)
9/3, 9/6, 9/7 (54m)
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Women's Head to Head
Men's Head to Head |
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[3]
Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt
[12] Peter Barker (Eng) 11/7, 11/8, 11/3 (48m)
INTENSE AND TOUGH…
Never easy to play for a seat in the semis of the British,
especially when neither of the two players ever reached that stage,
and the tension was sometimes running high on the Sportcity show
court.
But those two offered us some pretty solid, accurate, clever and
precise squash, with Peter keeping up, and not only that, really
putting his French opponent under tremendous pressure with his
stunning “new” short game and his stylish length, for two games.
I guess the mountain must have looked pretty high to climb when
Peter came back on court trailing 2/0, and it took only 9 minutes
for an extremely motivated Greg to finish off the job.
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 "The
score doesn’t reflect the intensity of the match, yes, it was 3/0,
but it was a tough 3/0, we both played very well. Peter has been
improving a lot this year, he is on the right path, which makes my
life much harder than in the juniors!
"Last year I lost in the quarters, I was not happy with my
performance, this year, I prepared especially for this event, and
for the ones to follow, of course. I should be reaching my peak
soon, and I think I’m playing better match after match.
"Tomorrow, whoever I’m playing, Nick or Shabana, I don’t need to
watch them play, I know their game in my brain! It’s actually
probably the hardest quarters, and I just hope they have a great
match, and that they play 5 hours… Make it 6 hours… Bring your
beds…"
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[3]
Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt
[8] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned) 7/9, 9/7, 9/6, 9/0 (75m)
Rachael takes it on the break
It was a good start to the match from the Dutch former world
champion, taking the early initiative, taking the ball early and
taking an 8/3 lead in the first. Grinham, playing as much by
instinct as by any particular plan, as she does, found her way into
the match and pulled a few points back, but too late for that game.
 Another
strong start for Atkinson saw her lead the second 4/0 but this time
Rachael's comeback started in time and she levelled at 5-all and
7-all. Both wasted golden opportunities to reach game ball, tinning
from easy winning positions, but it was the Australian who finished
the game off.
In the ascendancy now, Rachael moved ahead in the third, but at 8/3
clipped Vanessa's hand with her racket – we all know how that feels
– and after a couple of minutes shaking it, the match was suspended
until after the Gaultier/Barker match due on next.
That first session had taken 55 minutes, the delay around an hour
and a half, and Rachael's fears that Vanessa would benefit from the
break were proven correct when she saw her 8/3 lead cut to 8/6 in a
fiercely-contested restart. Eight handouts at that point, but
Rachael eventually took the game and the lead she had been
anticipating long ago.
The start of the fourth was tight too. Rachael led 4/0, but it took
16 rallies to reach that point. Te next five came quickly though as
Vanessa's challenge faded, and after a 20-minute second session the
two-time champion was into another semi-final, and mighty relieved
she was about it too …
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 "I
was just panicking in the break. Vanessa is playing very well at the
moment, your best chance is to wear her down, which I'd started to
do in the third. The last thing you want is a break where she can
come back out fresh again …
"I totally expected her to come out attacking when we started again,
she had nothing to lose and knew it would be mentally devastating
for me if I'd lost that game from 8/3 up.
"She was moving better and the ball is always bouncier at the start,
so it was difficult to finish that game off but I was so pleased I
did. I was surprised to win the fourth so easily, I thought she was
still fresh enough to challenge strongly there, but I'm not
complaining.
"It's always nice to reach your seeded position, I'm playing better
now than I have done for a while and the British is always a big
target, so I'm looking forward to the semis …"
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[2]
Natalie Grinham (Aus) bt [7]
Madeline Perry (Irl)
9/3,
9/6, 9/7 (54m)
Close, so Close ...
In the beginning it looked as though the younger Grinham would march
swiftly into the semi-final where her elder sister was already
waiting, and although she did get there in straight games, the final
two of those three really could have been anyone's.
All of Natalie's shots, those trademark boasts and drops, went up in
the first, but when they started going down she seemed to revert to
the more patient game we've come to expect of her, moving her
opponent around, picking everything up and pouncing only when the
time is right.
 But
Madeline was matching her at this for the most part of the second
and third games. At 6-all in the second it took a lovely long drop
and a crisp volley into the nick to open up some daylight. The third
was even closer, with Madeline leading 4/3 and 7/6. The Irish
champion tinned to put Natalie level, then looked up in anguish as a
lob stopped dead in the nick at the back to put her match ball down.
It took three attempts. Madeline was trying so hard to win that
final point, would have won it several times over against any other
opponent (bar one, maybe), as Natalie got everything - but
everything – back until finally Madeline hit the ball too loose for
a stroke to a relieved Natalie.
Tight margins, very tight margins ...
 "I
caught her by surprise at the beginning but then she caught up with
it she started moving better and it became very tight after that.
"I haven't had any practice on the court – apart from five minutes'
knock-up ! – so when my shots all went in from the start I thought
I'd just keep going for it, but if you play like that some are bound
to go down so I had to start paying a better length. My focus was
going in and out a bit during the match so I was pleased to hold it
together at the end of the second and third.
"For the semi-final you have to shut out he fact that you're playing
your sister, but she beat me last time so the pressure's on her …"
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"That was really, really close. I knew that she was going to come
out firing once I got my head around what she was doing and I
started to keep it wide and deep to stop he playing dropshots it
felt much better.
"Then it was really close in the second, I just didn't quite get the
luck at the end, and in the third I really thought I was there, but
I just couldn't quite finish it.
"In the last two months I feel I've really moved up a level, I had a
very close match with Nicol in Holland and now with Natalie. I'm
really happy with my form and with some more big tournaments coming
up it feels like with a bit of luck I might be able to take one of
them …"
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[1]
Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [6] Nick Matthew
(Eng)
6/11,
11/8, 11/9, 11/7 (69m)
SO MUCH AT STAKE…
One of the biggest fear that Nick Matthew carries in his heart is
that his British Open title would be his only prestigious victory.
And that’s why this match, this quarter final today, was so vital,
so crucial in his eyes. He probably wanted to prove to all that yes,
last year, he may have had an easier draw that his opponent in the
final, but hey, what about all the times he didn’t, and that he did
rightly belong to the world top four by getting to the semis this
year, at minimum.
And oh my god did he start beautifully, and outplayed the World
number one, by mixing pace, style of shots, weight on the ball for
the first two games, and especially by counter attacking like I’ve
never seen him do before. He was like a man on a mission, finding
nicks and winners that even Shabana, used to training with Legend
Ramy, couldn’t retrieve. And that says it all.
But was it experience? Was it fitness? Or was it the pressure
getting to the Englishman? He started to get to Shabana’s attacks
just a fraction of a second later, and the counter attacks became
less sharp, and he had to cover more and more ground to stay in the
rally.
 And
the third. 3/0 for Amr. Then 4/3 for Nick. 7/5 for Amr. 9/7 for
Nick. Shabana’s attacks are getting more lethal by the shot, but
Nick won’t let anything go, he just gets the “un-gettable”, and
hangs in there, and weathers the storm. We all know what the Prince
of Egypt is like, as able of brilliance as he is of platitude. So,
who knows…
… “If only I can stay in there, clinch the third, everything is
possible”, Nick must think. But a backhand drop shot that finds the
tin, 9/8. A superb winner for Shabana. 9/9. And that famous out of
court lob, 10/9. And with a trickle boast, the Egyptian walks out as
Nick throws his racquet in disgust as he climbs down the stairs.
He will never recover. The Prince of Egypt is never as dangerous as
when he is ahead. And if the Englishman stays with him until 6/6 in
the fourth, the Warrior Shabana will only take three minutes to
reach his second and final match ball to win the game 11/7.
But Nick is there. He is. As he says in his after match interview,
he just needs a bit more consistency in the challenge. Because for a
game and a half, Nick Matthew was a better squash player than the
world number one.
He was.
 "From
when I won my British Open title, I’m definitely a better player. I
have that all around game now, it’s time for me to maximise my
weapons, like a Shabana, who when we get to 9/9, he doesn’t think
twice, he can just put the ball in without thinking a split second.
"The third was crucial, but at 9/9, I put a lob out of court, and I
can’t say that I missed my chance, that I lost the match there, but
it was such an opportunity, and after that, coming back from 2/1 was
a different story…
"I just need to get better at what I’m good at, and add new
dimensions to my game, to be able to challenge consistently for the
titles…"
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"I didn’t have the best of draws this week… But then again, last
year, I lost in the first round, so I couldn’t do much worse this
year…
"Nick is an incredible player, I just beat him only 3/2 here in the
Super Series Finals, so I knew that it was going to be so close. He
has improved a lot, there is much more variation in his game, and
having won the British Open gave him a lot of confidence.
"Today, I felt a bit edgy, I was so nervous, my arm came sort of
static. So I told myself to calm down, which I did in the end.
"I played better, but I still need to improve, there are some
lapses, like in the third, which was crucial, I took a good start,
then I let him run away with five points. But it gets better as you
win more matches.
"It’s so different to have the crowd by you, and the English
players, you can feel, they really love and are ready to play when
they have the crowd by their side.
"Now, for tomorrow against Greg, last time he beat me 3/2, I was up
2/1, so I hope I can win just one more game this time. To beat him,
like with any of the top 10, you’ve got to keep pushing until the
end. The minute you stop pushing, you lose."
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[4]
Tania Bailey (Eng) v [6] Vicky
Botwright (Eng)
6/9, 10/8, 9/4, 2/9, 9/0 (80m)
Swings and swings …
When two training partners meet on the court they do a lot of their
training on, and they happen to be the fourth and sixth seeds in the
tournament, it's a fair bet that what you're going to get is a long,
close, hard battle that is hard to predict until the outcome finally
arrives.
And that's what we got.
The rallies were long, the shots ere tight and the retrieving was
pretty impressive. Rallies needed to be won, they were rarely lost
by poor shots. Vicky did most of the winning in the first, although
it too a lob that dribbled out of Tania's back corner to seal the
game.
Then it was Tania's turn. She was looking more and more assured as
the second game progressed, led 6/3, and finally took it with her
own half-nick at the back of the court to level matters in more than
one way. Tania took the lead as she got the better of a relatively
scrappy third game – some good rallies, but a few errors from each
of them this time.
Fortunes were to swing again – twice. Vicky played a blinder in the
fourth, moving from 2/1 down to 8/2 up in a single hand, but somehow
it all changed round in the decider as Tania, after taking seven
hard-fought rallies to get one up, raced through the next eight to
clinch a place in the semi-finals.
Vicky wasn't too disappointed. She'd tried her heart out, and played
well, but by the middle of that fifth the writing was on the wall,
and as she said, by her Manchester standards - and expectations,
probably - it was a really good performance.
Tania will take her place in the semis, but Vicky will take great
heart ...
 "Because
we know each others' games so well it's always going to be that kind
of match, that's the downfall. I thought I was playing well to win,
which I was pleased with because on my normal Manchester form I
would definitely lost 3/0 to Jenny yesterday. So I'm actually pretty
happy to take the world number four to five games
"It's not like I played rubbish in the fifth either, the rallies
were still tight but she was hitting some really good shots that
were just clinging to the wall. It's a pity really, the scoreline
shows a really hard match, then there's a random 9-0 in there!"
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"We were both hitting the ball well and it was really hot on there,
we were both picking stuff up really well. It was nip and tuck all
the way in the first three, then Vicky played really well in the
fourth – I don't think I did anything wrong, she just played better
than me.
"I never really felt in control, but I really wanted to win, winning
this title would be the best thing I can do, so I came out in the
fifth determined to play my game and fortunately it all went well
for me.
"I could have done without this tough a match before taking on Nicol
or Natalie, they're both great players with completely different
styles. I even had to change my bandana during the match, and I
never do that!"
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[4]
Thiery Lincou (Fra) bt [16] Ong
Beng Hee (Mas)
11/8, 11/2, 12/10 (60m)
THIERRY (NEARLY) TRANQUILLE…
Two facts.
One, I don’t think that Beng Hee really play his game tonight
against a player that he respects maybe a bit too much, although his
recent victories could lead you to believe that this is a false
assumption. But really, from the word go, the Malaysian was playing
“petit bras”, not letting his arm go freely, and it seemed that he
was trying to match Lincou at his own game of length, width, and
tight at the back game, a game at which the Frenchman is one of the
best in the world. And whereas Bengy played “à la Beng Hee” the
previous rounds, today, he never seemed to trust his own
instinct/game enough.
 Two.
Thierry Lincou is back in town. I haven’t seen him play that well
for a very very long time. Patient, focused, accurate, relaxed,
fluid on the court, he kept the unforced errors to a minimum, didn’t
fall in his usual “super starts” as he calls them, and although the
first game was extremely close to say the least, he was making his
opponent do all the hard work, a tactic that quickly paid dividends
in the second, as a Malaysian frustrated and emptied by all that
retrieving from the start of the match could only look at the
scoreboard flipping away….
The third saw Bengy refreshed for a few points, firing and moving
well again, but Lincou by then had the confidence that comes from
leading 2/0, and at 9/8, was putting so much pressure on his
opponent that he put an “easy” backhand drop shot in the tin,
setting up a first match ball for the Frenchman.
Then, Thierry suffered from his right eye, asked to get off court to
dry it with a towel. A bit of ruffling, Bengy will save two match
points, but again the pressure and again a backhand drop shot that
finds the tin.
I don’t think that the spectators who witnessed the Frenchman's not
that great performance on this same court a few weeks ago during the
Super Series Finals would have bet a penny on having him in the
semis of the British Open …
 "He
didn’t allow me to play my game, and I got so frustrated, I said to
Malcolm after the first game that he didn’t give me anything, he was
playing high, he was playing low, and forcing me to do nothing, or
do too much.
"After Thierry led 2/0, he got even more confident, the weight of
his shots became even better, and although I was trying to break the
rhythm, I just couldn’t get past him…
"Maybe I just need to win one game to be able to let go and play my
game…"
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"Playing Bengy is always tough, I’m so happy to win in three, as
last time in Dayton he beat me 3/2. Recently, I’ve been struggling
against him, he is really tricky for me to play, but I think that
tonight was the best I’ve played him in a very long time. I think I
didn’t allow him to develop his game, and I succeeded to frustrate
him a bit.
"I’m glad I found my consistency tonight, which I lacked last night,
that I found my focus. And because I was more concentrated on my
length, I was so much better at the back of the court, which allowed
me to volley more and to move more freely…
"I think that when we were playing, his shirt, his sleeve maybe
caught my eye, and it became irritated, it was all blurry…. Not sure
what it was really, but my eye couldn’t stop crying…
"Winning 3/0 at this stage of the competition is crucial. I learnt
my lesson from yesterday, 3/2 against Abbas, I had a talk with
myself that I can’t let points go like that, that I’ve got to fight
from the start..
"Getting to the final of the English Grand Prix was a confidence
builder, I’m looking forward to playing well, I’m enjoying myself on
court, and after six months of injury, I think I found my form
again."
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[1]
Nicol David (Mas) bt [5] Natalie
Grainger (Usa)
9/3, 9/3, 7/9, 2/9, 9/0 (58m)
Nicol survives …
Nicol David survived a scare against Madeline Perry in Holland a few
weeks ago, and she survived another scare tonight against Natalie
Grainger ... didn't she just.
It was all going according to the blueprint for two games. Natalie
Grainger relies on getting on top of her opponents, forcing them to
the back, then picking off anything loose with those flat drops that
find the nick so often, and those crashing drives that leave the
opponent watching the ball fly past them.
 Trouble
is, Nicol David doesn't do loose. And even when she does those flat
drops and crashing drives have a nasty habit of coming back, with
interest.
9/3, 9/3, here we go again, Natalie must have thought. But she
didn't. She wasn't thinking that at all. She was determined this
time to impose herself, and as the third game wore on she did. They
were shortish rallies, but with very few errors, and pretty much
every one ended up with a winner … and more and more of them were
coming from the American's racket.
Her determination was clear by the exclamations after every setback,
every winner. "C'mon". "No way". "C'MON". "COME ON!!!". "COOOOOME
ONNNNN!".
And as Nicol tinned her return of serve at 7/8 …. "YESSSSSS!".
The fourth was a rarity. Nicol, under pressure, scurrying after the
ball, often in vain. "Come on, Grainger." Come on, hit it." Nicol
was putting it loose, and Grainger was putting it away with those
flat drops and crashing drives … the world champion was on the run,
on the ropes. Arms raised as Nicol's return of serve went out,
Grainger was level.
The world champion, the world number one, and the winner of the last
two British Opens is never more dangerous than when she's down
though, and from the start of the fifth she was tight again. She was
onto everything again. And she was winning again. Grainger wasn't
the force she had been – "Let's go", "C'mon, work", "Slack" – and
Nicol took advantage. Grainger had taken the fourth in just eight
minutes, but Nicol topped that, taking the fifth in just six.
Was it a scare? You bet. Did she survive? Didn't she just.
 "I
kind of let her get away in the first two, but then I got on top of
her, I finally got on top of her.
"First, it was too random, I wasn't putting enough thought into it.
"Second, I started to get it right, but it wasn't quite enough, and
too late.
"Third, I had to step it up a bit, if you're too predictable she
guesses, but once I managed to step it up and get a good length I
could start playing winners from the middle.
"Fourth, perfect.
"Fifth, I slackened off when I needed to step it up again, and once
she got a few points up that brought her confidence back.
"I'm disappointed I lost, really disappointed I lost the fifth 9/0,
but I'm glad I finally managed to impose myself on her. In the
fourth I could feel it, the aura had gone …
"Ahhhhhhhh. …. ****."
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"I felt good in the first two games and went for it right from the
start, but then she started going for her shots and hit some really
good winners.
"She was rushing me, she was on top of the ball and well sharp in
the fourth game. I was rushing to get to every ball instead of
working my shots. I should have regained my focus faster, but I knew
I had to step it up in the fifth and make sure she didn't have any
time. I just had to give it all, match her and really keep my focus.
"This event on its own is the highlight of the year, along with the
worlds, you just have to give it your all however you feel and
whatever's happening .."
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[2]
David Palmer (Aus) bt [5] James
Willstrop (Eng)
12/10, 6/11, 12/10, 6/11, 11/5 (100m)
What a match ... what a finish
It started well past ten o'clock, but no-one left - they all wanted
to see this match, a rematch of the English Grand Prix semi-final,
and the last Englishman taking on the world champion and three-time
British Open champion.
They weren't disappointed ... well, apart from the result.
"I think I played the big points well tonight.
"We were at one game all, I thought I was playing pretty well in the
third, and I ended falling on the point of my butt. I just couldn’t
feel it at all. Not good. For a while after that, every time I
lunged it was painful, and I was pretty worried. But then the
adrenalin kicks in, and you don’t want to lose any point…
 "If
James always gives 100% when he plays away, he will give 200% in
Manchester in front of such a great home crowd, so pretty happy to
win today here. And thanks to the Aussie support, it’s nice to have
that kind of vocal support here especially.
"Last week I lost against James in Birmingham, and I learn a thing
or two in that match, so I tried to played a bit better today. Also,
last week, I had less energy. Tonight, I had a bit of drop of energy
again in the fourth but the work had been done, and I was waiting
desperately for the second wind to start kicking in, and finally, it
came in the fifth.
"Thierry and I have played hundreds of time, we know each other
quite well, I’m just going to get some rest and try to recuperate,
hopefully tomorrow we won’t play that late… I can’t believe it’s
past midnight, and we are still here!
"I said recently that there was one more British Open Championship
in me, and I hope this is the one, that's why I tried so hard
tonight …"
David Palmer |
"To his credit, he
played a top fifth game, and made it hard for me, I just couldn’t
keep up with it really. He had a great 3/0 kick start, and that’s
not a big help to find yourself down after all the work I had done
for the whole of the match.
"I gave it everything I had, and when I play a match like that I
can’t complain. I thought it was a very good game of squash. Of
course I’m extremely disappointed, I wanted to win this tournament
desperately, but it comes down to two players doing their best on
the day, and he put the ball away better than me in the fifth.
"And at the end of the day, at 5/3 in that game, I thought I won the
rally, and I over reacted to the let given, also because he swore
and didn’t get reprimanded by the referee who probably didn’t hear
him. My ball was good, I’m sure of that, and I just lost my
concentration, and never recovered after that.
"But that’s my fault, I shouldn’t have let this incident get the
better of me. If the refs make a mistake, well, I should be able to
just put it out of my mind, and just get on with things.
"You learn all the time, I’ve learn a big lesson tonight, which I
will not forget…"
James Willstrop
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