TODAY at the Dunlop British Open

The main draw got under way with eight men's and eight women's matches, played from noon 'til late ...  men's matches on the glass court and on the scoreboard, women's matches on the glassback.

It was a real day of upsets, with the top seed and defending champion both going out in the men's event, and three upsets in the women's, including a second successive British Open win for Alison Waters over Vanessa Atkinson.

More reports, quotes, photos to follow ...
 

MEN'S DRAW & RESULTS

John White (SCO) bt
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY)
11/7, 13/15, 9/11, 12/10, 11/5 (75m)

[8] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt
[Q] Peter Barker (ENG)
11/8, 9/11, 11/4, 11/5 (57m)

[4] James Willstrop (ENG) bt
Azlan Iskandar (MAS)
11/4, 11/10(2-0), 8/11, 11/8 (51m)

[6] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt
[Q] Stewart Boswell (AUS)
11/7, 11/4, 11/7 (45m)

[7] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt
[Q] Mohammed Abbas (EGY)
11/6, 11/3, 11/10(2-0) (36m)

[3] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt
Lee Beachill (ENG)
5/11, 11/7, 11/5, 11/10(3-1) (61m)

[Q] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt
[5] Anthony Ricketts (AUS)
11/10(2-0), 11/10(2-0), 11/8 (56m)

[2] David Palmer (AUS) bt
Chris Simpson (ENG)
11/5, 11/1, 11/4 (25m)




WOMEN'S DRAW & RESULTS


[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt
Shelley Kitchen (NZL)
9/6, 9/1, 9/5 (44m)

[5] Vicky Botwright (ENG) bt
[Q] Lauren Briggs (ENG)
9/6, 9/2, 9/3 (35m)

[4] Natalie Grinham (AUS) bt
[Q] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA)
9/1, 9/1, 9/5 (39m)

[7] Tania Bailey (ENG) bt
9/1, 9/0, 9/4 (26m)
[Q] Annelize Naude (NED)

[Q] Natalie Grainger (USA) bt
[6] Jenny Duncalf (ENG)
9/3, 9/5, 9/0 (31m)

[3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt
Laura Lengthorn (ENG)
5/9, 9/2, 4/9, 10/9, 9/4 (83m)

Engy Kheirallah (EGY) bt
[8] Madeline Perry (IRL)
8/10, 9/4, 7/9, 9/5, 9/4 (75m)

Alison Waters (ENG) bt
[2] Vanessa Atkinson (NED)
8/10, 9/6, 9/1, 4/9, 9/7 (71m)

 

"It was tough for Stewart, coming off court last yesterday after a hard match with Alex and going on first today. It's hard going from Norman courts to the glass court so that worked against him too.

"I knew he'd be tired, so I was looking to extend the rallies where I could. I had to keep the intensity up, I knew that if I let him in he'd be tough. He lifted it at the start of the third, so I had to hang in to weather that, and I think he started to feel it after that."

"It's good coming to a tournament after a win at the Grand Prix, even though it's a non-ranking event it gives you a boost, but the first round is always the one you're likely to come unstuck in so it's good to get past that in three."

"I felt ok, but there were patches where he upped the pace and I wasn't reacting to it, I was just retrieving. He was just a bit too sharp today.

"I'll have a couple of days' rest then it's off to St Louis."

Natalie on fire
Steve's view

Many expressed surprise that the finalist of two years ago should be in the qualifier, and those in the main draw with a "[Q]" by their name will have been hoping to avoid the player, who enjoyed some years here in Nottingham.

Jenny Duncalf got the unlucky draw, and found herself up against a player in great form. Natalie could do no wrong, drops, volleys, boasts all going in like clockwork, while for Jenny nothing seemed to be working.

"I had a day off and a massage, and I felt great. "I tried to keep it tight and mixed it up where I could, but basically tried to keep her behind me. I thought she was feeling the pressure when she was 2-0 down, so I couldn't let her get the feeling she could get back into it. "There's so many matches to win in this event, there's no point in worrying about the next match, I'm just happy to be on court playing again and having some fun out there."

"When I was behind I realised that I wasn't going to play any better if I panicked, so I just tried to relax and play my game.

"I wasn't very comfortable at the start, I was hitting it a bit loose and putting too much short, which usually works against her but the court was too bouncy and she was punishing those shots.

"After she had the match ball in the fourth it was hard for her to get going in the fifth, so I got a good start, but in the end I was probably a bit lucky to win that.



"I was trying my heart out on there. I went on thinking I could win, but when you get to 2-1 up you start thinking about it. I was so far down in the fourth, but really dug in to come back.

"I was disappointed not to take the match ball, but at least she won it, I didn't hit the tin or anything, and I only had one whereas she had lots of game balls. We were both tired in the fifth but she got a good lead and I couldn't come back again.

"I've put in a lot of work over the last few weeks, so although I'm really gutted to lose, I'm pleased that it's paying off in how I played.


 

"That was tough, he played well even though he had a hard match last night, he didn't make any mistakes.

"My shots weren't the best at the sart so I just tried to play the basics. He lost some energy in the last two games so I could start to play my shots more.

"Whoever I play next, John or Amr, it will be hard, I have to keep my concentration and do my best to win."

"I'm so pleased with that. I've not played her for a long time, but she's improved so much, gone into the top ten. It's nice to play a game like that, nom pressure, just give it all you've got.

"I was disappointed to lose leads of 8/2 and 7\2 in the first and third, and my mind kept going back to that when I lost a few points, so I just tried to concentrate and play my best.

"I've never done well in the British Open, even in the juniors, so this is a great win for me. When I saw the glass court yesterday I told Karim I'd really like to play on that, and now I've got the chance.

"I pushed too hard, and didn't just let it happen. I was 10/8 up in the second and tried to finish it, I changed how I was playing from how I got into that position.

"I've not been playing too well this season, but I've been getting better every tournament, so that's a positive. Tonight I didn't play great, just ok in patches. I just need to be more consistent.

"To take Azlan 3/1 like that is a good result for me, it's nice to be back playing squash, fingers crossed everything should be ok, I just hope I can keep going

"When I walked into this place last night I realised it's a great venue, a great place to play squash, probably the best British Open venue I've seen, and it's even better to be out there playing.

"I'm desperate to do well here, I just hope my body holds up.

"Nick and I play a lot at home, we know each other's games well. It's unfortunate that he's the man in form, but I'll just have to prepare as ell as I can and get on there and give it everything.

White back at Home
Steve's view

What a match these two gave the packed house at Nottingham University. Billed as John's homecoming, he didn't disappoint the 'family' that had turned out to welcome him back and will him on to victory.

Thrills, spill, dives, comedy moments, frantic and fantastic action, it had it all, the almost capacity crowd were off their seats applauding every other rally, and with a shock result at the end to boot .... 

"I feel great, it was a very tiring match, but I had a game plan and I stuck to it. "We both like to volley and put the ball away, and I was pleased to be able to get back into it after he won the fourth. "Just before the fifth game, Vaughan came up to me and said 'you can do it – give it 100%, do it for me' – and that was really inspiring. "That's the best I've played for the last five or six events. I'm happy here, I used to train here, it's a great facility and I'm pleased to be able to win for the University, for Nottingham, and for Vaughan. "I'll watch David play, have a bit of a rest and hopefully come back and do the same thing tomorrow."

"I felt good on there, hitting the ball and moving well. You can't afford to get into Annelize's game or she can make it hard.

"I'm glad to get off fairly quickly after the long matches I watched earlier on this court, and I'm looking forward to playing on the glass court now.

Tania Bailey

"Tania was just too good today, she didn't make any mistakes, all credit to her. I'm still looking to get past the last sixteen of the British Open, but I'll be back next year …"

"I played the right squash to get to 5/1 up in the first, but then for some reason I changed it to play completely differently, which of course didn't work.

Still, that's how it goes sometimes.

"I thought about last year, which was the last time we played, so I knew she'd be up for revenge.

"I should have taken the first, she dug in well to take that one but I thought I played well after that.

"At the end we were both very tired, but I just managed to hold on. I'm really happy with that.

"I've not played Engy for a while, so that should be an interesting match."

"I'm happy, that's the first time I've played four matches in a row for two years, I've been losing my first or second match so I'm very happy!

" I seem to catch Anthony at the right times, in Bermuda and now here. I knew Anthony had had some problems with his elbow, and that he hadn't played for a while so that gave me confidence going into the match.

"I was behind all the way in the first two games, but I seemed to play better when I was down, it took the pressure off a bit even though I had nothing to lose with him being the defending champion."



"There were no problems with the elbow, you just have to take your hat off to Bengy. He played really well and did the job. It didn't make much difference whether I was playing good or bad, he seemed pretty comfortable out there, all credit to him.


  

"I was determined not to get sucked into any sort of a match, he's a good young player and will be a great one, but I had no interest in making a match of it.

"He hasn't played much on the glass court, I could tell he was a bit uncertain in the knockup.

"The draw's opened up a bit with Shabana going out, but you need to take one step at a time, and that's one step closer."


 

"Shelley always just keeps firing up, her shots are always tight and you can't give her any room. There's no easy rallies, she really pounds the ball and you have to either keep up with it or try to take the pace off, which is what I was trying to do at the end.

"She kept putting on the pressure and kept creeping back up, but I just managed to hold on. Happy to be through in three ..."

"I've only had 20 minutes practice on these courts, the bounce is completely different so it took a little while to get used to it.

"Isa was probably tired after playing three qualifying matches, which is a lot, but she played good squash to get back from 5/1 down in the third. In my mind I was probably already off court, so I ha to refocus on what I was doing before.

"I'm not sure when we'll get to practice on the glass court, but you do need to practice, it's no good looking for a black ball on there!"



"I started pretty well, but I didn't know whether I was playing the right tactics or not. Maybe I needed to be more determined to get on the 'T'.

"In the middle of the first I lost my length and she started to play drops from the back and lobs. When she plays like that I just lose my legs, and she did that for two games.

"Greg told me to keep her at the back, which worked for a while in the third but I got a bit tired and couldn't keep it up.

"I need to play more matches at this level, my fitness is ok but I'm not used to playing so many long rallies, so many different styles.

IMPERIAL GREG …
Framboise reports

I don’t know why, but I’ve got the feeling that I’ll be writing that headline a few times more in the years to come.

No, I promise you, I’m not “saying that because he is French”, but the Kid has got the most natural instinctive game of squash I have ever seen. Not flamboyant as such. We are not talking Egyptian style here, no, but… look, imagine a perfect mix between Jonathan Power and Thierry Lincou (minus the Magician’s volleying, Greg doesn’t have that yet), and you have Greg.

The consistency of the Frenchman, the out of nowhere shots of the Magician. Sprinkle on that a “shot sense”, as in, he just knows where to place the ball. He is like a computer with a racquet in hand, he just feels where the ball has got to go to make the most damage. And the icing on the cake, a true belief that he can beat anybody in the world.

Lethaaaaaaal.

Today, he was playing the nicest man on the circuit, Gentleman Abbas - who’s been training with Shabana for the past 10 years - an up and coming player who has the discipline and the shots to make it to the top five. But he was struggling on the court today, he doesn’t play that often on the glasscourt, didn’t have much chance to practice on this one, and kept playing catch up for the first two games.

He tuned up in the third, started to put some real pressure on the Frenchman with some exquisite feathery drop shots, but couldn’t hold his 7/2 lead, and got finally caught up7/7. Still, he kept pushing, saved a match ball, but the Kid placed two stunning backhand drop shots to seal the match off….

LEE NOT THAT FLUID…
Framboise reports

I still missed the first game (see en bref, guys), where Lee played extremely well, and just arrived at 4/4 in the second, as the match was starting to turn in favour of the Frenchman. I knew at first glance that Thierry was right in there, as his movement between serves were slow and controlled. That’s normally the sign he is full blast, and bad news for his opponents….

On the other hand, Lee was technically as good as he could be last night. Lee’s game is not a flamboyant in your face one. But his length and the angles he’ll send the ball in the back prevent you from attacking, pushing you further, and further back, until he kills you at the front. And even if you have the silly idea to attack, his retrieving is astonishing, and he’ll transform your short shot into a winning length glued to the walls…

But to be at his best, he needs to be able to move freely and fluidly, which he couldn’t do last night. It became really obvious in the third, where he was penalised with four strokes as he was struggling to get out of the way.

All was played in the fourth, really, as there was absolutely nothing between those two, both taking control each their turn, long rallies, intense, both players perfectly focused. What a battle that was. The audience, quite rightly, was supporting their man, and the atmosphere was superb really.

Alas for the crowd, it’s the bloody Frog that got first shot at the match, getting a first match ball at 10/9, on a backhand drop shot, no let for Lee, that prompted the first “Come On” from my compatriot. But Lee hadn’t said his last word, and with exactly the same shot, he forced a tie-break.

A few great rallies followed, with a Lee on fire, and a Frenchman just a bit too negative in his game, a bit “I don’t want to lose that” more than “I want to win this” kind of feel and lost his second match ball. Adjusting his strategy, Thierry got a bit more at the front, put Lee under more pressure, forced the error. 11/11. A lucky bounce out of a crosscourt gave him his third match ball. A tinned crosscourt from his opponent gave him the match.

That was close from close…. And now, another encounter with mate Greg Gaultier, which is not good news for either of them….

"If I play well and feel physically fine, I know I can beat Thierry. Squash wise, we are very close, but tonight I felt physically poor. I was happy with the way I hit the ball, with the way I played, and despite the fact I didn’t move well, we were still very very close…. "I felt fine before the match, and at the start of each game, but when it got tough, I was struggling physically. And when Thierry feels that he’s got the upper hand on you physically, it gives him a lot of confidence…"

MEN'S DRAW & RESULTS

WOMEN'S DRAW & RESULTS

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