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[1] Nick
Matthew (Eng) bt [3] Peter Barker (Eng)
5/11, 11/4, 11/1, 11/3 (58m)
ROBOTNICK…
 First
of all, time reference. Nick on this tournament had spent 149m
on court when he stepped on court tonight. Peter, well, 239m.
Add to that the London Boy arrived not exactly match fit here,
he had a bit of a niggle to recover from, and you have a pretty
“well cooked” squash player on finals day.
Still, he played the perfect tactic against the World number
one, who, like yesterday against Greg, didn’t have the best of
starts, having a few wobbles, and not looking as sharp as usual.
Peter was playing so well, attacking in the perfect position,
supported by an excellent “English” game, that put Nick under
immense pressure.
 But
those 15m of that first game seem to empower Nick, and also take
a freaking lot out of the Londoner. From that point on, it was
all down hill for the contender, whose movement got more and
more laboured as the rallies went on, and on.
Giving it all, was Peter? Oh yes, but fighting against “RobotNick”,
as Nick described his rhythm tonight, was just impossible for
him, as he was running on fumes and willpower. And the more
Peter looked drained, the more Nick looked empowered…
The score in the last three doesn’t reflect the energy that
Peter put in and the hard work he produced. But it reflects the
domination that Nick exerted on the match tonight….
 I
started well, I followed my game plan and played as well as I
could in the first game, but after that, it’s not only
physically, but also tactically that he showed why he is number
one in the world.
He adapted his game, got in front, I tried and go in front of
him, but just couldn’t, he was too strong in the middle, and he
made me do too much work.
And it became tougher and tougher, and the court turned to
water, and the water turned into sand, and the body got
dehydrated…
A bit disappointed, but it’s been a good week.
 In
the first game, part of me knew that he had a hard match
yesterday, and that he could be tired. So I was trying to
lengthen the rallies, but with no pace or rhythm really, and
therefore I didn’t put him under much pressure.
After the first game, I realised that I didn’t play too badly,
but that was the best he ever played against me, his width, his
length were just perfect, just too good.
It was hard to play the homeboy, the support from the crowd was
awesome, and we players thrive on atmospheres like that.
 From
the middle of the second, I made the court big, was more
patient, and from that point stayed on top of him. I got into a
“robot rhythm”, I became a robot player!
I was able to hit the ball whenever and wherever I wanted. And I
thoroughly enjoyed that feeling, it’s not everyday that you can
play at that level of game.
I want to thank Neil [Guirey], the patience he shows me, we are
such good mates, his work complements the work that I do with
DP. He is such a great help, and I always seem to forget to
thank him!
Ah, and there is a big sporting event coming to town in the
coming months, and if the IOC members want to call us, it’s not
too late, we’ll step in.
I’m always a bit edgy before a match, but I take my confidence
from Nick really. He’s been around the block, and he never
panics.
He knows that he can underperform at times, he is confident in
his own ability, and he knows he can up his game.
He is a pro and he knows exactly what he is doing.
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