GRAND PRIX FINALS 2002
Finals photo gallery
Men's Final:
[2] Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt [3] Alex Gough (Wal) 15/12, 15/12, 17/14
79m
Women's Final:
[2] Rebecca Macree (Eng) bt [1] Cassie Campion (Eng) 9/3, 9/3, 2/9, 10/8
58m
BECKY AND BENGY CLAIM GRAND PRIX TITLES
Malaysia's
Ong Beng Hee claimed his first Prince Grand Prix finals trophy,
beating home favourite and last night's conqueror of Peter Nicol, Alex Gough
in three games.
Beng Hee always lead in the first, and subdued the home crowd, taking the
evenly-matched second game with three winners from 12-all. The third game was
tight also, with the the players trading the lead, until Beng Hee reached
match-ball at 14-13. A tin followed by a winner caused the Malaysian to plead,
too late, for "one, please!". It was to be his soon enough, as he claimed the game 17/14 and the title.
Rebecca Macree produced another Grand Prix Finals shock in Nottingham, as
she overcame top seed Cassie Campion in a 58-minute final. Macree started
strongly, streaking to a 6-0 lead before Cassie settled into her game. At 6-2
there was a long series of hand-outs, before Macree found the winners to take
the first game 9-3. The pattern was repeated in the second, with a nick serve
finishing the game with the same score.
Campion recovered her composure to establish a quick lead in the third, and
despite a series of collisions and lets which were clearly causing Campion
some consternation, she pulled a game back, taking it 9-2.
The fourth game started with a series of punishing rallies, but Campion
moved ahead from 4-all to 8-5 and looked set to level the match. Macree was
not to be denied though, as she recovered to 8-all, at which point another
collision brought Cassie's frustration to the fore. A Macree winner followed
by a Campion tin and it was all over.
Finals photo gallery
Men's semi finals:
[3] Alex Gough bt [1] Peter Nicol
15/13, 11/15, 6/15, 15/9, 15/10 90m
[2] Ong Beng Hee bt [4] Nick Matthew 11/15, 13/15, 15/10, 15/2,
15/6 85m
Women's semi finals:
[1] Cassie Campion bt Jenny Tranfield 10-9, 9-5, 9-3
[2] Rebecca Macree bt Pam Nimmo 9-0, 9-2, 4-9, 9-6
GOUGH STUNS NICOL IN NOTTINGHAM THRILLER
AS BENGY BOUNCES BACK
Semi-Finals
World champion Peter Nicol suffered a shock defeat
tonight when he was beaten by Welshman Alex Gough in the semi-finals. Gough,
playing at his home club, took the first game and then produced a dazzling
recovery from 2-1 down to beat the world No.1 in 90 minutes of pulsating
squash.
Nicol, the defending champion, was soon under attack as Gough rapidly
constructed a 10-3 lead in the opening game. Nicol clawed his way back to
13-14 but then lost out to a "harsh decision" by the referee.
Nicol then appeared to take control of a fast and furious match to lead 2-1.
However, the effort seemed to take its toll and Gough stepped up a gear to
seize the initiative and level at two-apiece. Gough jumped to lead 6-1 in the
fifth but two monumental rallies helped Nicol close the gap. Parity was never
reached and eventually the Welshman got home 15-10 to book a place in the
final.
Gough's victory follows a sensational victory over defending champion David
Palmer in the recent British Open and once again he was in imperious form.
On a night of high drama the finals nearly lost their second seed too, when
Yorkshire's Nick Matthew lead 2-0 against Ong Beng Hee. Matthew had
edged the second game 15-13 and when he tied things up at 10-10 in the third
another upset looked on the cards.
However, Malaysian Beng Hee is known for his coolness under pressure and a run
of 5 straight points pulled one game back. From then on there was only going
to be one winner with Beng Hee taking the next two games for the loss of only
a handful of points from the valiant Matthew.
Cassie Campion eased through to the women's final with a straight
games win over Jenny Tranfield. The top seed looked to be cruising at 7-2 in
the first but the athletic Tranfield battled back to lead 8-7 and 9-8.
However, a trademark Campion forehand kill saved one of the game balls and
after that she never looked back.
Campion will play second seed Rebecca Macree in the final. Macree
was racing away with her match against Pam Nimmo, taking the first two 9-0,
9-2. But the gutsy Scot dug in and edged the third before being out fought in
the fourth.
Men's quarter-finals (Tue):
[1] Peter Nicol bt Mark Cairns 15-5, 15-12, 15-12
[3] Alex Gough bt Tim Garner 15-12, 15-8, 11-15, 15-4
[4] Nick Matthew bt John Russell 15-8, 15-10, 15-9
[2] Ong Beng Hee bt Bradley Ball 17-14, 15-11, 17-16
Top seeds progress in Nottingham
Men's Quarters
All top four seeds in the Prince BSPA Grand Prix
finals progressed safely to the
semi-finals, with Peter Nicol enjoying a more comfortable passage
against Mark Cairns than he did in last year's 108-minute final.
This time Nicol removed Cairns, now managing Winchester and playing
part-time, in 48 minutes. The longest match of the night, and the
only one to go beyond three games, was the 60-minute battle between
third seed Alex Gough and Grand Prix champion Tim Garner. No.2 seed Ong
Beng Hee had to work hard against Bradley Ball before squeezing home
in 57 minutes. Ball attacked solidly but Beng Hee hung on to win
17-14, 15-11, 17-16. The quickest contest of the evening was Nick
Matthew's 30-minute demolition of John Russell.
GRAND
PRIX FINALS
The 2002 Prince Grand Prix Finals kick-off this Tuesday at
the Park Squash Club in Nottingham.
With their new exhibition court built as a
result of lottery funding, it is the ideal location for an event of this
calibre which boasts 7 players in the Worlds top 16 in the Men's and Women's
competition.
First match on court on Tuesday, features the mercurial talents of John
Russell and the Yorkshire grit and determination of Nick Matthew, the fourth
seed. Matthew knocked Russell out of this year's British Open in straight
games and it is difficult to see any other result.
Second match on see third seed Alex Gough take on Prince Grand Prix winner
Tim
Garner. These two players faced each other on three occasions during the
season with Gough's exceptional racket work seeing him home every time, though
Garner did extend him to five games on two occasions. With Gough playing at
his 'home' club, he is the fancied player to progress.
Third match on sees a re-match of last year's Prince Grand Prix Final with top
seed and World number 1 Peter Nicol looking to triumph again over Mark Cairns.
Now the General Manager of Winchester LT & SC, Cairns has always been a
committed player and this is no easy first round match up for Nicol, though he
will be expected to move into the semis.
Last match on the centre court features second seed and World number 8 Ong
Beng Hee and Bradley Ball. The 'Brads Attack' has been in outstanding form
this year in Super League and he will be looking to unsettle Ong, no easy task
as the Malaysian is one of the most composed players on the circuit. Once
again, it is difficult to see an upset, and so Ong is the likely victor.
Matches start at 6pm and tickets are still available for all three nights from
Zoe@nsrc.co.uk
