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TODAY in Hong Kong: Tue
13th, Day TWO
Fram
reports, Steve Clicks away, and Malcolm rules... |
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Men's Qualifying Finals:
Miguel Angel Rodriguez
(Col) bt Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy)
11/9, 9/11, 9/11, 12/10, 11/8 (72m)
v Shabana
Julien Balbo (Fra) bt Max Lee (Hkg)
5/11, 11/4, 7/11, 11/8, 11/2 (82m)
v Darwish
Ali Anwar Reda (Egy) bt Tom Richards (Eng)
12/10, 11/7, 11/6 (46m)
v Palmer
Steve Coppinger (Rsa) bt Chris Simpson (Eng)
4/11, 11/8, 11/7, 11/4 (54m)
v Boswell
Chris Ryder (Eng) bt Amr Swelim (Ita)
13/11, 4/11, 11/8, 11/8 (65m)
v Khan
Saurav Ghosal (Ind) bt Nicolas Mueller (Sui)
11/7, 11/9, 11/9 (42m)
v Ashour
Renan Lavigne (Fra) bt Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (Mas)
11/3, 12/10, 9/11, 11/9 (70m)
v Barker
Jonathan Kemp (Eng) bt Mark Krajcsak (Hun)
11/8, 11/7, 11/4 (28m)
v Gaultier
Women's Qualifying
Finals:
Donna Urquhart (Aus) bt
Siti Munirah Jusoh (Mas)
11/4, 5/11, 11/7, 11/9 (35m)
v Hawkes
Elise Ng (Hkg) bt Misaki Kobayashi (Jpn)
13/11, 16/14, 11/8 (33m)
v N.Grinham
Dipika Pallikal (Ind) bt Joelle King (Nzl)
14/12, 11/5, 11/5 (40m)
v El Weleily
Orla Noom (Ned) bt Leung Shin-Nga (Hkg)
11/3, 11/8, 11/4 (18m)
v Waters
Song Sun-Mi (Kor) bt Christina Mak (Hkg)
7/11, 11/6, 7/11, 11/9, 11/8 (56m)
v Chiu
Low Wee Wern (Mas) bt Miwa Maekawa (Jpn)
11/4, 11/7, 11/6 (28m)
v Duncalf
Emma Beddoes (Eng) bt Kylie Lindsay (Nzl)
11/8, 12/10, 11/6 (28m)
v Massaro
Sharon Wee (Mas) bt Fiona Moverley (Eng)
7/11, 11/8, 11/9, 11/7 (33m)
v Kawy |
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Miguel Angel
Rodriguez (Col) bt Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy)
11/9, 9/11, 9/11, 12/10, 11/8 (72m)
WHAT A MATCH
People who do not bother watching the qualifiers fight for a
spot in the main event will never know what they are missing.
Today, for me the best match of the tournament so far, Miguel
and Omar offered us what squash is all about. A stunning battle,
fair although disputed, great rallies, attacking and retrieving
at will…
Omar is not your typical Egyptian, actually. He plays more like
an Englishman, with a very awkward move in particular to come
back to the T, patient at the back, and suddenly – especially at
the end of the games – seems to remember that he is Egyptian,
and finds stunning winners. And I just love his relation to the
refs, he is even more a Drama Queen than I am, and that’s hell
of a lot….
Miguel… How to describe Miguel…. Imagine a player with
Beachill’s patience and delaying skills, remote drop shots
Lincou-style, Aamir’s legs, and the whole of the South African
spirit and determination within one body. He is quite a feisty
little player….
Today, Miguel played at his best, patient and accurate, showing
that he has brains as much as stunning retrieving abilities
coupled with superb fitness. And what made the difference
today I believe, as the players really left their heart and soul
on the court, was the sheer desperation that the Columbian had
to win. He WANTED to win. The way he kept on throwing himself on
most of the balls in the fifth was a perfect display of his
determination.
"Today was a much
better day for me, I was used to the court, whereas yesterday, I
was struggling and got tired pretty quickly.
"Today, I just found my game, and played pretty well, I thought,
although I realised that I was crosscourting far too much,
opening the court for his nicks. So I decided to be more
patient, to work on my length. I was fine physically, and I
could see at the end that he was struggling a bit.
"I’m so happy to get into the main draw, actually, coming to
Hong Kong and playing in the tournament was always a dream for
me, that’s the further away from home tournament for me, and I’m
absolutely delighted with this win…"
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"It took me a while to get used to
the court today, then I started to find my shots, and I made him
run an awful lot, but he just kept going and going. He is the
type of player that knows how to play when under pressure…
"I’m so disappointed not to win, I was so close, but Miguel is a
very fair and clear player, we never had much contact, it was a
really good match…"
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Julien Balbo
(Fra) bt Max Lee (Hkg)
5/11, 11/4, 7/11, 11/8, 11/2 (82m)
Balbo ousts local hopeful
Malcolm reports
Local favourite Max Lee began like the proverbial house on fire,
racing to an 8-0 lead, a combination of errors from the
Frenchman and winners from Lee, who was finding the length of
the court.
Balbo recovered to 5-8 in one hand before Lee re-established his
superiority to take the first 11/5.
Now it was Balbo's turn to race to a 9-1 lead in the second, Lee
making errors and playing with less precision. Balbo levelled at
11/4, but although the third was closely contested it was Lee
who took a 2-1 lead.
The match was extremely watchable, both players technically
proficient and it was no surprise when Balbo won the fourth to
take the match the full distance.
The impetus was with him now and as Lee tired Balbo's strength
took him comfortably clear, 11/2 to clinch a place in the main
draw.
After his slow start Balbo will be happy with the win, but Lee
clearly has scope to improve.
"A bit of a
nightmare really…. I find myself down 8/0 in the first game, 5
tins…. I was not able to play a drop shot – tin or 2 feet high –
or a proper length of the whole match.
"I just arrived too late in Hong Kong, and as I’ve been playing
at 13.30 HK time, as in 6.30 French time, I’m just out of my
marks, not able to move properly….
"All credit to him, he is a tough player, he is steady, volleys
extremely well, so the two combined, him playing very well, and
me awful squash..
"I just clinched that one, just sheer determination I guess…"
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Steve Coppinger
(Rsa) bt Chris Simpson (Eng)
4/11, 11/8, 11/7, 11/4 (54m)
"It’s all in the
mind… At one game up and 5/0 up, I just stopped playing the right
game… It’s so frustrating, I beat him at the British Open, I
wouldn’t say comfortably but, you expect to at least win the
next match… So disappointing…"
 "Chris
started very well indeed, and I really had to try and push my
whole self up.
"So I decided to use my strength, as in stepping
up the court and put my opponent under pressure, which was not
easy as he controls the ball very well.
"But I knew he just finished a tournament in Chennai, that he
was bound to be tired, and I had in the back of my mind that the
harder I would push him, the better it would benefit me…
I worked hard this summer, but for some reason, I had a false
start of the season, so having good results in the World Teams,
and especially having Rodney at my side there made a big
difference, but not as much as knowing that tonight, I’ve got
some money and a bed…"
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"Which date are we today? 13th? Well, this is my third
tournament in a row, and I played every day since the first of
October, if I was not travelling. Today was just one match too
many, I just didn’t have the legs….
"He played very well, he found some stunning winners, I wasn’t
able to prevent him to play his game… Now, I just want to rest,
and do NOTHING…."
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Jonathan Kemp
(Eng) bt Mark Krajcsak (Hun)
11/8, 11/7, 11/4 (28m)
KEMPY ON FORM
“So you like long rallies” I started the aftermatch interview
with Jonathan…. He laughed of course, as we had hardly 10
rallies that went over 10 strokes…
 Both
Jonathan and Mark were taking the ball very early, playing a
very high percentage game, hence a lot of tins for both, and
both retrieved an awful lot. Today, it was obvious that the way
to counter Kempy was to lengthen the rallies, as the Englishman
would get quickly frustrated and end up in the tin, but Mark
just didn’t have the physical or mental resources to do it.
Flat as a pancake the Hungarian was… And Jonathan just took full
advantage of it, playing at an extremely high pace, twisting and
turning his opponent to perfection…
"I did play him
once in PSA, in the TOC, and I was 2/0. I was able to come back,
by playing a more patient squash that I would normally do. And
today, I was determined not to put myself in the same position…
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"In the first game, I played a bit slower than I wanted, so I
decided to hit the ball harder, as you get so much reward on
that court, and I was able to take its time away from him…
"Is that court perfect for me? Well it is, and it isn’t! It’s
really dead, so in that sense, it suits me fine, but I also like
to break up people’s rhythm, but on there, nobody can actually
have any kind of rhythm…
"Finals of the qualifiers are always tense, it’s such a
difference between nothing and the main draw, it’s such a relief
to win that last match…"
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Saurav Ghosal
(Ind) bt Nicolas Mueller (Sui)
11/7, 11/9, 11/9 (42m)
Saurav back on song
Malcolm reports
Saurav Ghosal will have been disappointed to miss the whole of
the World Team Championships in Denmark through injury, but with
his ankle standing up, he played well to beat the very promising
Nicolas Mueller 3/0 in a match where attack was never far from
either of the players' minds.
The Centre Court is well-suited to those with attacking
intentions and the result was a most entertaining match played
at high speed, where movement was at a premium.
 Ghosal
was rarely behind in any of the games, leading 8-6, 8-3 and 8-7.
He was able to finish each game off, but not easily, for
Mueller, with his calm disposition, resisted stoutly. He has
such an array of shots that nothing was ever certain.
It was an exciting and entertaining match by two young players
who have much to offer, both in their play and demeanour.
"It was hard, it
was very hard, I’m super happy to get off 3/0…
"Nicolas played really really well, and I had to play my best squash to
beat him. It all came down to a few crucial points that I was
lucky to play better.
"My ankle is the best it’s been since the Team event – that’s
where I injured it. It was much better than yesterday, I really
can’t complain to be able to play as well as I did today after
two weeks off.
"It was a clean and fair match, it always is with Nicolas,
that’s the way it should be always, good squash.
"Hopefully, I can do well tomorrow… This was a good day for the
Indians, as Dipika won too…"
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Chris Ryder
(Eng) bt Amr Swelim (Ita)
13/11, 4/11, 11/8, 11/8 (65m)
"It was one of
those matches where neither of us really played our best squash.
He was controlling the rallies better, it just came down to the
quality of the length. The one who would get the better length
would win the rally…
"When I played him at Wolverhampton, I played the way I’d like
to play all the time, I really played well, so it was difficult
to play against him today, thinking, well, you’ve got to play
like you did last time, perfectly!!!! I ended up doing a lot of
running…
"What made the difference today? Determination probably. I was
pretty up for it…"
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Renan Lavigne (Fra) bt Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (Mas)
11/3, 12/10, 11/9, 11/9 (70m)
"The only way I
could win points against Renan was to play the ball past him,
and keep in the back corners. But I was too slow on the ball
today, this is my fourth tournament, Equador, Baltimore, Team
Event and this one. It’s not so much the matches than the
travelling, it’s more mental than anything else… But I’m not the
only one, it’s the same for all the players…
"It was the first time I played him, but I had seen him play a
lot of times, so I knew what to expect, I knew he doesn’t let go
of anything, so I prepared well for the match, got a good warm
up…
"I took a pretty good start, but at 2/0 8/8, I got a bit tense,
and he came back in the match. In the 4th though, I was in
control, I was always ahead, although he started to claw back…"
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Donna Urquhart (Aus) bt
Siti Munirah Jusoh (Mas)
11/4, 5/11, 11/7, 11/9 (35m)
 "She's
improved a lot since I last played her, and it was getting tight
at the end but I really didn't want it to go to five.
"I've been playing well and qualified for the last couple of big
events, but I still have some nerves for some reason. I made so
many errors in the second, I just had to dig in after that. It
wasn't pretty but I'm glad to get through …"
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Elise Ng (Hkg)
bt
Misaki Kobayashi (Jpn)
13/11, 16/14, 11/8 (33m)
 "The
first two games were very tight, and it was so crucial mentally
to get the second.
"She played very well against our top junior yesterday, so I
knew it was going to be a tough match."
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Orla Noom
(Ned) bt
Leung Shin-Nga (Hkg)
11/3, 11/8, 11/4 (18m)
"Happy with that. I was 4-0 up in the second and let her get a
few quick points to get back into it. We went up to 8-all but
she made some mistakes at the end.
"It wasn't the best squash of the week, but a win is a win and
the main draw is the main draw. It's nice to be playing well and
if you can win too that's a good bonus …"
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Dipika Pallikal
(Ind) bt Joelle King (Nzl)
14/12, 11/5, 11/5 (40m)
Pallikal upsets King
Malcolm reports
Dipika Pallikal, just 18, may not have fulfilled her and India's
best hopes in the World Junior Championships in Chennai earlier
this year, but she will be more than happy with her 3-0 win over
the much-improved New Zealander Joelle King.
The
first game was a see-saw affair, Pallikal mixing winners with
unforced errors with King looking less than comfortable. She
served three times for the game, but it was the youngster who
took it on her second game ball, 14/12.
Pallikal reduced the error-rate substantially in the second,
still hitting the winners and taking control from 4-3, easing
away to 11/5 and a two-game lead.
King had never looked at ease against Pallikal's range and
variety and though she was level at 4-all in the third it was
the Indian girl who won the game 11-5 to give her a coveted
place in the first round proper.
King will be disappointed, but Pallikal proved that she is a
young player of immense promise. With experience she may soon be
tumbling the best …
 "Joelle
has been playing really well and she's beaten a top ten player,
so I knew it was going to be a lot tougher than when I played
her four years ago in the juniors.
"But I've been improving too, training hard and Malcolm has been
a great influence for me. My game is more structured now, rather
than just going for shots, which is what you need if you want to
make any progress in the seniors.
"The first was tight, but I really wanted to win that, so as not
to give her confidence, after that I felt more comfortable.
"Moving to England has been a good influence for me, there's
more opportunities with leagues and tournaments, more practice
partners, and it's helped me mature in my game .
"I didn't like Hong Kong before – I was ill in one tournament,
just failed to qualify for another, played really badly in the
world juniors here … but now I love it !"
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Low Wee Wern
(Mas) bt Miwa Maekawa (Jpn)
11/4, 11/7, 11/6 (28m)
"I've been to Hong Kong a few times in the juniors, but this is
my first time in the seniors, so it's very pleasing to qualify
after not making it through the world open qualifiers.
"There were patches where I played well, and others where I
didn't, but I managed to get through, the first match is always
the hardest."
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Song Sun-Mi
(Kor) bt Christina Mak (Hkg)
7/11, 11/6, 7/11, 11/9, 11/8 (56m)
"I beat her 3/1
last time we played so I knew I was in with a good chance of
winning, but she's always difficult to play and being on her
home courts with the crowd behind her made it tough too.
"I'm very happy to be the first Korean to qualify for a major
event like this, I don't mind who I play next I'm just happy to
be there …"
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Emma Beddoes
(Eng) bt Kylie Lindsay (Nzl)
11/8, 12/10, 11/6 (28m)
 "It's
always going to be tough against Kylie, she has such good racket
skills that anything short or loose will be a winner or go past
you.
"It was a bit of a battle today. I felt ok in the first, then
went 9-6 down in the second. I relaxed a bit then and managed to
sneak the game.
"I qualified here last year so this is my second time in the
main draw. Happy to qualify, don't mind who I get, it's always
nice to play one of the top girls.
"She was being coy about it being her birthday today, didn't
really want people to know before she played. We're good friends
though, and we're going out to celebrate with her tonight – if
I'm still invited, that is …"
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Sharon Wee
(Mas) bt
Fiona Moverley (Eng)
7/11, 11/8, 11/9, 11/7 (33m)
"A win is always good! I've been training hard, but the young
ones are getting better all the time so I'm just hanging in
there, and pretty proud of myself to be playing top 30 level
still.
"Whoever I get in the main draw it will be tough, but I'm
looking forward to it …"
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