TODAY at the Dunlop British Open 2006

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Two in a row for Nicol
Steve Cubbins reports

Nicol David retained her British Open title here in Nottingham with a performance worthy of her status as world number one and world champion.

The petite Malaysian dominated from the start, and maintained a tight grip on the match that Grinham, like David a former world junior champion, just couldn't break out of.

She tried though, how she tried. Right from the start the pattern was set, with both moving the ball to all corners of the court with a variety of shots – drives, angles, boasts, lobs, all were there as they tried to get each other enough out of position to have a chance of a winner.

Rachael was lobbing more, Nicol volleying more, and it was the speed onto the ball of the Malaysian that was creating more pressure. From 3-2 she opened up to 7-2 after a particularly long rally, got a stroke that Rachael wasn't happy with to get the serve back, and closed out the game 9-4.

The second was all Nicol. She was poised on the T like a tiger after every shot, volleyed everything she could, generally punching it to the back, and never looked like missing as she forced Rachael around the court until eventually a winner came or Rachael was forced into an error. A lovely caressed dropshot took her to 7-0 with Rachael stranded at the back and soon she was two up after two games of 11 minutes each.

The third was to last 13 minutes, but at the start it looked as though it would be quicker than that. 6-0 to Nicol came quickly. Rachael managed to slow the pace down a little and claw a few points back, but a miracle comeback was never really on the cards tonight for the Toowoomba girl.

Match ball was saved with a low drive, but at 4-8 Rachael played four consecutive volley-drops that Nicol reached with ease, crashing the final away for a winner. She only needed one more chance as she forced a loose return from Rachael, backed her away into the corner as she delayed and delayed her shot, then placed an ever-so-slow dropshot into the opposite corner.

Rachael's first British Open defeat in Nottingham, Nicol's title. Again.

"The only thing I was thinking about today was to try to get the ball away from my opponent and put her under pressure. This week was very hard, every match I had to make sure I was keeping the ball under control, it was hard work and I'm glad it paid off. "Rachael is so experienced, she changes up a gear without you realising it, and focus-wise it's hard to stay in the rhythm as she breaks your rhythm up so much. I was just trying to keep going … and I won! "It all started last year when I beat Rachael in Kuwait for the first time. You get the belief that you can win, and it all spins off from there. "I learned so much last year, and this year it keeps getting more and more exciting all the time. For the past weeks I've also been training with Sarah, watching the way she plays, nobody plays her way, and the way she puts the pressure on like she does. "This is another step for me, I 'm glad I kept pushing all the way and kept putting that extra pressure on. "And if I 'm not making much sense at the moment. I'm sorry but I'm all over the place ... I just won my second British Open title !"

ECSTATIC ENGLAND,
PROUD FRANCE…
Framboise reports

It was in front of a full house of cheering supporters that Nick Matthew got his first British Open title, putting him straight into the history books as the first home-grown Englishman to get it for 67 years. But that’s not all. He is also the only one to hold the British Closed and the British Open at the same time, I was told.

And all that in his first final. Not bad eh.

The boy could have easily choked today. He did it so many times against Thierry, he admits. “People always tell me I’m doing well against Thierry. Well, actually, yes I do well, I’m always up, and I lose! I had only won once in all those meetings, like one to ten or something”…

So, today was it going to be the day? After getting so many tough draws, after arriving in a few finals on an empty tank, Nick had Lady Luck smiling at him, with a much lighter journey than his opponent, who got on court today with 1h35minutes more squash in his legs…

Like yesterday, Thierry was supposed to lie down and die gracefully. But when he arrived on court, I realised that he was actually ready for battle, both mentally and physically. Tired, yes. Exhausted. Yes. A loser? Certainly not.

As David Pearson stated, Thierry played a perfect tactical match, he was patient, good length, right angles (you’ve got to be so careful because of Nick’s exceptional volleying), stunning drop shots from everywhere on the court.

Nick, on the other hand, played some extremely tight straight drives, probably the best I saw him play, and found some lovely forehand low drives that Thierry couldn’t retrieve, again and again.

“I don’t win a match with my legs, I win it in my head”, stated the Frenchman before his formidable performance against David in the semis. And tonight, we thought he was going to pull it off yet again, when looking down and out in the third, he got his 36th wind in the fourth…

But boy was it hard for my compatriot. From 8/8, he was digging so deep to reach each shot, that he accompanied with a guttural grunt. You couldn’t help but feel his pain. The man was beyond exhaustion. The man was hurting. The man was dying. And still, the man was hitting, and running, and winning.

In front of an astonished crowd all pushing for Nick, minus Greg Gaultier in Thierry’s camp, the Frenchman got a game ball at 10/9. There followed a mammoth rally that brought them both to their knees.

There was sweat on the floor, but Nick was not having the cleaners, he wanted to play on, he knew that his opponent had given it all. He thought he could finish him off in four… But it was not to be, as he was the one to put the ball in the tin, allowing the Frenchman to walk off court with an incredible comeback at 2/2 yet again.

But I knew then the end was near. I was looking at Thierry as Greg was talking to him. His face was deformed with pain and hurt. I knew that he had given everything. I knew that that was it.

Still, Thierry took a formidable start in the fifth, 4/0, that made the two England Coaches sitting next to me “slightly worried”. But Nick didn’t lose his head as he may have done a few weeks back. He remembered his defeat in Cairo that was probably the best life lesson he ever had. He turned on the “consistency switch”, and just played the ball, the way he knows how, and pushed. And pushed. And pushed.

Thierry, dead inside and out, could only react. The crowd felt that Nick was about to make History. That this was it. And it was.

Thierry, defeated at last, his legs and whole body having at last giving up on his formidable mind, walked off court, emptied. But if England is mighty proud of Nick, who gives them back this legendary title, France is mighty proud of Thierry, a magical champion who will be a role model for the generations to come. And as for me, I’ve never been as proud of my little brother as I was tonight.

As the last point was played, an ecstatic Nick raised his arms toward the Heaven. I could have sworn he just touched it ...

"As an Englishman, it’s great that Nick won. But the fight that Thierry has put on tonight, to even make the final such a great show is all credit to his courage. Tactically, the way he played tonight whereas he was not fresh was absolutely superb and I’m sure he’ll be up for a few more title, and so will Nick hopefully. "I’ve seen Thierry play for about 8 years now, the first time was when he was in John Elstob’s team. He is an absolute credit for the game of squash, and he should be proud of his contribution to the game."

"I had trouble with his serve to my backhand, it was so tight. I tried to go crosscourt, but tinned a couple so had to try playing it straight again.

"I'd not played him for a year, he trains hard and is very fit. You have to watch him like a hawk, he's lightning quick and has a deadly dropshot on the backhand."

"The court is lovely, the organisation and venue are great, they even brought my final forward so that I can watch my son play in his Over 45 final.

"That's my third British Open title, I won at O55 and O65, but lost a few finals in the O60s."

"I've been working in Switzerland for three years, but managed to take a week's holiday to play in this.

"Last time I played Alan was five years ago in the National O40 semis, I won 10/9 in the fourth and went on to win that, and the previous time was five years before that when he beat me in the final of the amateurs.

"It's nice to be able to play in the same event as my dad, there a family tradition to keep up, but he's leading 3/1 ..."

 

"I found a good length in the first, but Ellie did the same in the second and third, it was a struggle to get back into control, but luckily the fourth and fifth went my way.

"It's my second British Open title, I'd certainly like to keep on playing, as long as I'm fit enough I'll keep on coming back."

 
"I only play on glass courts in league finals in Holland, but they're not the same as this court. Not to take anything away from Carol, she played a great match, but this court suits her game mire than mine – she has a lovely length, wherea I rely on breaking up people's rhythm which you can't do on there.

"In the first I couldn't see the ball, and by the time I'd adjusted she'd already got eight points, which is a bit late really. I let the fourth go, got to 3/0 up and then took a step back for some reason.

"Well done to Carol, it takes a lot to win a championship at any level, let alone a British Open."

 

DUNCAN TOO CONSISTENT…
Framboise reports

As was to be expected, the first game between Duncan Walsh, just turned 40, and Colin Payne, playing his last year in that age group, was a tough one that lasted over 23 minutes. The time got stuck a few times, at 3/1, then 3/4, and 8/4, Duncan serving, and it would take 4 game balls to the Park Nottingham Man to finally grab such a vital game…

If the second was as close score wise, the rallies were not as long, the change of serve not a frequent, and in 11 minutes, Duncan was now up 2/0.

Legs feeling suddenly very heavy, Colin was mentally a bit lost at see, and although he still run and fought on every rally, he didn’t put as much weight in the ball, to Duncan's great relief it has to be said, who was over the moon not to have to play a 4th game, as he slightly injured himself at the end of the 3rd….

The Ultimate Dark Horse
Steve Reports

They say he's well-known in South Africa, and the word was that if he ever ventured out he'd win any masters competition he entered (or so the legend goes ...)

Unknown to the seeding committee, Gordon Daniel took out the number one and number four seeds on the way to the final, where he came up against second seeded Keith Jones.

It looked as if the fairy-tale was to end on the penultimate chapter as Jones took a 2-0 lead in a match that was always fiercely, but fairly contested.

By the time I arrived Gordon had started his comeback, was in fact well on the way to levelling it. He's one determined character, but at one point Keith needed to give him a lesson in English court etiquette - Gordon's reaction to a lucky winner was a loud "love it, love it!".

"We normally say 'sorry' in our country," said Keith, bringing laughter from the packed gallery on court two (well, about 15 people, that's all you can squeeze in).

Keith had his chances in the fifth, leading 5-2 and 6-4, but there was no denying Gordon's determination, and after 79 minutes the fairy-tale was complete and we had an unseeded champion.
    

GREAT ENTERTAINMENT…
Framboise reports

Alex Gough was in a very good spirit and mind today. He was determined to win the match of course, but still put his “exhibition mode” switch on, to the greatest pleasure of a good crowd who had came to see that over 35’s final.

The rallies were never very long, full of explosive and flamboyant shots that did finish a few times in the tin, but who cares...

We had a great time, especially when on match ball, Alex insisted that the ref announce “championship point”.

“I want to hear it at least once”, he stated…

And Mr Gough takes his first British Open title. Like Ross Norman told me a few years back, “it doesn’t matter if it’s an age group British Open title. It’s STILL a British Open title…”

Hear hear….
  

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