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Tue 25th Mar, Day TWO:
Day Two at the spectacular
East Wintergarden venue, four more first round matches, from the
bottom half of the draw, starting off with two all-English
clashes ... L Horton reports
Round One, Bottom Half:
[5] Daryl Selby (Eng) 3-2 [Q] Jonathan Kemp (Eng)
5/11, 14/16, 11/8, 11/8, 11/6 (76m)
[2] James Willstrop (Eng) 3-0 [Q] Adrian Waller (Eng)
11/5, 11/6, 11/4 (34m)
[3] Peter Barker (Eng) 3-0 Saurav Ghosal (Ind)
11/5, 11/3, 11/4 (35m)
[6] Simon Rosner (Ger) 3-0 [Q] Ali Anwar Reda (Egy)
11/5, 11/5, 11/9 (37m)
Selby Survives, Willstrop, Barker
and Rosner ease through
 Daryl Selby narrowly dodged
a first round upset after part-timer Jonathan Kemp took him to
the limit at the Canary Wharf Classic in London tonight.
The world number 10 from Essex, playing in front a huge bank of
his own fans, looked like heading home empty handed as Kemp
produced a master class of racquet skills to take a two love
lead to leave Selby facing a mountain to climb.
Qualifier Kemp, now 33 years of age and playing only a limited
PSA calendar, blitzed through the opener 11-5 in seven minutes
and survived three game balls in the second to take it 16-14 in
a punishing 25 minutes.
The shock was on, but could the man from Ipswich hold his nerve,
and would his legs survive a Selby charge? The answer in the
third game was an emphatic NO as errors plagued the world ranked
number 47. Selby cranked up the pace, lead 7-2 and banked an
11-8 game win to signal the comeback.
“I told Daryl to increase the pace and take more risks,” said
his coach and dad, Paul Selby. “At two love down it was
pointless playing to Kempy’s strengths . We had to push him back
in the court and take chances.”
The tactic unsettled Kemp and paid dividends for Selby. The
fourth game was secured 11-8 and the match was as good as over
as the hard yards began to take it’s toll on the part-timer. A
quick-fire fifth went Selby’s way 11-6 and Kemp’s final task was
to accept the cheers and applause of a full-house who stood as
one to salute the player’s efforts.
“That was tough, tough, tough, “ admitted Daryl afterwards. “It
was probably good for the fans and good for Kempy, but it was
horrible for me going two down.
“But he allowed me back in and the fact that he is not playing
on the tour full time probably made the difference. I’m now
looking forward to an ice bath and 12 hour’s sleep, if my wife
Lucie will let me.”
 In complete contrast to the punishing Selby-Kemp showdown, three
times Canary Wharf champion James Willstrop barely broke
sweat as he easily despatched qualifier Adrian Waller.
The match up was a non-contest as world number five Willstrop
strolled to a 3-0 win in little over 30 minutes. The 6ft 3in
Waller from London found the gap in class to tough a hurdle as
he was put to the sword 11-5, 11-6, 11-4.
Even Willstrop and MC for the evening, former world champion
Peter Nicol struggled for words to analyse the game afterwards.
Instead they discussed the quality of the Winter Gardens venue.
“I love coming to Canary Wharf. It’s one of my favourite venues,
“ said Willstrop. Any more easy nights like tonight and he’ll
love it even more.
 Peter Barker became the second Essex man into the
quarters with an equally uncomplicated win against India’s
Suarav Ghosal.
Barker found little resistance from the 27-year-old world number
18, who put up slightly more opposition that Waller, although
the outcome was equally as predictable. Barker’s strength was
the key, often leaving Ghosal chasing shadows. As PSA TV
commentator Lee Drew said at one point:” I’m not sure that
Ghosal knows what to do here.” Drew’s fellow broadcaster, Kate
Mason, weighed in: “I feel sorry for Ghosal, I want to give him
a hug.”
Barker wasn’t handing out hugs, but it was close to becoming a
lesson as the England international romped home 11-5, 11-3,
11-4.
Afterwards he refused to tip himself for tournament glory but
conceded: ”I’d like to win this before I retire. I got to the
final last year. I’d like to go further.”
 The evening’s final match saw German No.1 Simon Rosner
end the challenge of Egyptian qualifier Ali Anwar Reda. Rosner
secured his third quarter final berth in four years using his
explosive power to full effect winning 11-5, 11-5, 11-9.
He will face Barker on Wednesday while Selby is paired with
Willstrop, Nick Matthew up against Omar Mosaad and Miguel Angel
Rodriguez gets a crack at Max Lee who removed Karim Darwish in
the shock first round result.
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Full
Draws
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