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TODAY in Hong Kong
2012
Saturday 1st Dec, Day SEVEN,
Semi-Finals
Fram & Steve in HK |
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En Bref Issue #4
Photo Galleries |
Finalists are decided in Hong Kong
It was another disrupted day in Hong Kong as the weather
intervened to prevent the completion of the semi-finals in the
spectacular setting of the Cultural Centre Piazza, Tsim Sha Tsui,
Kowloon.
Camille Serme and Nicol David won through to the
women's final before rain early in the first men's match meant
that James Willstrop and Ramy Ashour had to return
to Hong Kong Squash Centre to complete complete their passages
into the final.
Men's Semi-Finals
[1] James Willstrop (Eng)
3-0 [4] Karim Darwish (Egy)
11/8, 11/5, 11/9 (57m)
Play was suspended at
4/2 in the first game due to rain, and the match was moved to
the Squash Centre, where it was pretty much a full house as most
of the fans made their way across the water. Willstrop kept a
grip on proceedings, fending off Darwish's not inconsiderable
efforts to fight back and eventually won this 2010 final
repeat in straight games.
[5] Ramy Ashour (Egy)
3-0
[2] Nick Matthew (Eng)
11/9, 11/9, 13/11 (65m)
After taking two desperately close first games at the death,
Ram Ashour looked to be racing into the final as he sped to a
7/2 lead in the third. Nick Matthew fought back strongly, but a
couple of unforced errors at the end cost him as Ashour went
through to set up another England v Egypt clash for the title.
Women's Semi-Finals :
Camille Serme (Fra)
3-2 Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy)
11/9, 4/11, 11/7, 11/13, 11/6
(65m)
A match which swung one way and then the next, with Omneya
taking the lead, saving match balls in the fourth to force a
decider, but ultimately it was Camille who forged ahead to reach
her first Hong Kong - her first World Series - final ...
[1] Nicol David (Mas) 3-0 [8] Natalie Grinham (Ned)
11/8, 11/5, 11/6 (40m)
It was never easy, but the seven-time defending champion was
always ahead in this semi-final, Natalie staying in touch but
unable to break through as Nicol makes it 39 HK wins iin a row
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Camille Serme (Fra) 3-2 Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy)
11/9, 4/11,
11/7, 11/13, 11/6 (65m)
Camille capitalises in Hong Kong
 France's
Camille Serme progressed to her first WSA World Series final as
she overcame Omneya Abdel Kawy in an up and down four game
encounter on the Kowloon harbourfront.
A surprise finalist was already assured as two players outside
the top eight seeds took to the court in the spectacular setting
but it was Kawy, whose results so far had all been big upsets,
who made the better start.
As happened throughout the match though, a period of brilliant
winners was followed by a spell of less convincing squash and a
few errors. Serme took advantage to take the first game from 4/8
down but
could do nothing against Kawy's onslaught in the second.
Kawy continued to let leads slips as Serme again battled back,
taking the third game from 3/6 down and seeing two match balls slip by in the
fourth after recovering from 2/6. The Frenchwoman was on top from the outset of the fifth
though, her 6/1 lead never in danger of being overturned and after just over an hour closed out the match.
 It’s
very nice to get to play well again, I could see that the
players of my age are getting to the top 5, and here I was, down
in the ranking.
So, I’m really happy with that performance today…
I still don’t know how I won that first game, I was saying to
Greg after the first game, I was really behind, but she made a
few errors, and I just played as tight as I could.
In the second, Omneya is a bit like Ramy, or it’s a nick, or
it’s a tin! You really can’t do much about it, and she didn’t
let me play tight enough… You can’t even get to the ball,
because you can’t see it going from the racquet….
In the third, I didn’t panic, because I had prepared myself
mentally for that game against her, so I just concentrated on
keeping close to the wells, and making the rallies as long as
possible, because I know she doesn’t like it.
In the 4th, I didn’t panic either after losing the two match
balls I had, because I knew she had had some pretty hard
matches, 10 games played in 2 days, and that she was bound to be
a bit tired. I knew that if I took a good start in the 5th, I
was fit enough to keep a good lead.
And I soooo loved to play on this court, I didn’t enjoy that
much playing on a court for a long time, and I wanted to win
just for the pleasure to come back and play on it again
tomorrow!
 I
wanted more! I had a few nice wins, but I wanted more! I wanted
to play better than I did today, but Camille played very well,
she picked up everything, and she started to get in my mind.
I started to think too much, about what shot I should play,
where to play it…
I was up in the 4 first games, and then Camille came back, and I
now know what the other players feel, because that’s what I’ve
been doing to them, they were up in the score, and I came back
and beat them! So I hope that’s it now, I have experienced it,
no more!!
I want to thank my family who has been supporting me when I was
down and out, and also Hisham El Attar, Dr A. Shaker and his
tem, Mohamed Ali, Taner Salah, Dr Khaled el Sayes. I’m on the
way back, and I hope I will improve more and more.
But I’m happy with my performance, it’s going to better my
ranking! I did my best, I gave it absolutely everything I had.
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[1]
Nicol David (Mas) 3-0 [8] Natalie Grinham (Ned)
11/8, 11/5, 11/6
NICOL ON TOP, YET AGAIN…
 I
just had a quick look on SquashInfo (my bible) to look at the
H2H, and with going in too many details, the last time Natalie
beat Nicol was in 2007, in the Seoul Open. Since, Nicol has
overpowered Natalie 14 times.
On one hand, you could say that’s bad news, but on the other,
Natalie had nothing to lose. And that’s how she started the
match I felt. Extremely positive, hitting hard and deep in the
back corner, and soon enough putting Nicol under a lot of
pressure at the front, forcing the Malaysian to find the tin
more than usual.
Long rallies, really long rallies in that first game I thought.
Nicol gets a good lead, 6/3 then 8/5, but the Dutch won’t have
it and comes back close to 8/9. Nicol still outlasts her
opponent in some excellent rallies, 11/8 in 15mn.
The second is more one sided, although Natalie rallies well, but
Nicol runs away with the score, 5/2, 8/4, 10/5, and game 11/5.
You could think that being led 2/0 down and having lost 14
matches in a row would be enough for the Dutch to give up, but
that’s not knowing Natalie! She comes back with a vengeance in
the 3rd, and takes an early lead 3/0. Nicol digs her hills in,
3/3. Nice and disputed squash, 4/4. But from that point on,
Nicol just controls most of the rallies, and Natalie is pushed
into making a lot of unforced errors, losing the match actually
on one, 11/6…
 It
took me a little time to adjust to the court, it’s a new one,
so, I was maybe a bit late on the ball, my timing not at its
best.
Natalie was really sharp today I thought. She was constantly on
the ball, picked up everything, back and forth as usual… She is
a tough competitor, she just doesn’t stop. She didn’t reached
world number 2 by accident!!!
That court has got a feel that is very true, and when you work
the ball well, like I did in the 3rd, you are rewarded. And she
also made a few errors in that game.
Looking forward to my final with Camille, a new finalist for me
in Hong Kong. And in this sport, you don’t get to the final if
you are not a tough and great player, so I’ll have to save my
best for last….
I made a few errors in the second, because I was not attacking
enough anymore, I need to keep the pace up, and in that game, I
didn’t.
My game plan was good, I wanted to move her around, and I did.
It’s not about making the rallies last, and rally forever, it’s
about being positive and attacking and playing to the front.
Maybe not short, because she gets to every ball anyway, but up
and tight, because it’s more difficult to control the ball when
it’s really tight..
But I’m happy with the way I played.
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[1]
James Willstrop (Eng) 3-0 [4] Karim Darwish (Egy)
11/8, 11/5, 11/9 (57m)
JAMES: A MAGESTRIAL PERFORMANCE
This was a match/circumstances where James Willstrop showed why
he has managed to keep the World number 1 status for January.
 Karim,
fresher physically, having had no quarter to play after
Shabana’s withdrawal, seemed to have a game plan in mind: making
the rallies as long and gruelling as possible, trying to
capitalise on that advantage he had.
So, a mid pace was establish, length, width, good weight on the
ball, and hit, hit, hit that ball for long rallies. Not one
point is won at the front, it’s all about technique and
accuracy. But as Karim gets a no let, taking the score to 5/2 to
James, the rain starts falling.
 Not
a big one. A drizzle. James frowns, Karim is not overjoyed
either. I have a flashback of El Gouna semis, where play was
stopped, and their semi was finish on the Movenpick court in
front of 7 people, including myself and the refs… Not again,
please.
After a few minutes, decision is taken to take the matches back
to the National Centre. Of course, by the time James/Karim are
packed away in a minibus with the refs on their way back to
town, the rain has stopped, and didn’t start again… Typical.
 Anyway,
here we go, the rest of us, in a big bus back to the National
Centre. The Centre having been restored to its normal
appearance, no press office of course, no tournament posters,
but nice Christmas decorations! Strange… Still, the spectators,
avid for great squash, have followed, and the place is fairly
packed! Good atmosphere. People eager for the show to start…
And on they come, Karim and James, immediately getting into long
rallies again. Like he started on the Harbour, Karim tries and
makes all the rallies so hard, so attritional, putting James
under extreme pressure, and James start to ploy. Karim comes
back score wise from 5/2 to 6/6, and takes the lead for the
first time of the match.
To be honest, I hadn’t seen Karim play that brilliantly and so
assertively for a long time. But if a younger James would have
found it difficult to keep up physically under such a rhythm,
James no1 doesn’t, and to be honest, could be rallying like that
all day and still have a good run at the end of the match to
make sure.
 And
Karim’s plan backfired. The rallies, still monumental and
marathon like, are now turning in James’ favour, and the
Englishman, having found a second wind, scores the next 5 points
to take the game most decidedly, 11/6.
That’s the turning of the match really I think. Mentally, Karim
“accuse le coup”, find it difficult to come back mentally and
physically from that loss, and will be lead 10/2 before losing
the game 11/5.
All credit to the Egyptian, he tried to apply his game plan
again, and started making the Yorkshireman do an awful lot of
work again. Karim comes back from 6/3 down and really takes the
game to James. 6/6. 7/7. 8/8. A tin will give James his first
match ball, 10/8, which he’ll lose with a tin, but he takes the
next one on a stroke, and is now in the final of the HK for the
second time in a row. Not a bad day at the office after all. |
Yes, the court change, we can’t
really complain, it’s a fact, it happens, we can’t ignore it,
the situation exists, and it’s the same for both of us.
Without being too kind for ourselves, it’s the best squash we’ve
played on there this week, if you consider that we warmed up,
played a few points, stopped, hanged around, then stayed in a
car for 20m, warmed up again, and played on a different surface
all together! Considering, I think we really made the transition
extremely well.
This is the best I felt on that court all week! I had the lead
when we stopped, which makes it a bit easier, it was harder for
him, he must have been in the car, listening to us chatting, and
thinking he had to come back, it must not have been easy.
The crowd in HK have been incredible, the atmosphere is amazing,
people are showing their emotions, and it’s great for us. I hope
that the weather will help us tomorrow…
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"That end of the
second. In my mind, I was 10/9 up, and I found myself 10/9 down!
My point of view is, at full speed I was trying to get to a
short ball, with a big hurdle in front of me, which was Ramy on
the floor, I tried my best to get over him and go and play the
ball, and I was prevented to do so. So in my view, it’s a
stroke. Now, of course, had we been in the Harbour, I would have
had a review, that was definitely 100% a decision I would have
asked to review! And maybe I would have seen on the video that I
was wrong, I don’t know. It would have been interesting to see.
But it wasn’t to be, can’t complain, nobody’s fault.
Now, I’m not going to apologise because I’m passionate. Because
I show my emotions on court. Did you see how the crowd reacted
with me? How loud they became in the 3rd? To be honest, I was
hoping them to carry me for 2 more games, but I only managed two
ridiculous points. All that support, to only get two more
points. I must have looked pretty ridiculous really, mustn’t I…
After that second game, I was really down, and for the first
time of my career, I really felt like throwing away the towel,
and go and shake Ramy’s hand, that’s to show how I felt after
that game. But I’m glad I came back and went on fighting. But
like I said after my match against Simon, I played the important
points well, that’s exactly what Ramy did tonight, he played the
crucial point very well. One might be lucky, but three? He must
have been doing something pretty right.
Concerning my back, I was fine when I got there, but I felt a
niggle during the first round, thank God for Jade our ES physio,
without her, I don’t think I would have played the tournament
really, being so close to the Worlds. And I really needed a few
points in the second to realise that I was going to be fine.
It’s the same problem that I had when I was young, but because I
am now stronger, it’s down to 25% of what it was. But it’s still
there, and I’ve got to be careful.
I can’t believe how unlucky I am!!!! I’ve been trying to get out
of the centre since 2004, never made it past the quarters here,
and for once in 13 years I make it to the harbour, they send me
back to the Centre!!!! Well at least, I managed to hit a few
ball today in practice. So I’ll be able to say “I’ve played on
the Glass Court on the Harbour”, even if it was only practice!!!
Overall, disappointed with the result, happy with the
performance. And the most important, my back is ok, and I’ll be
fine for the worlds. And I’ll go back tomorrow to watch the
squash…"
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[5]
Ramy Ashour (Egy) 3-0
[2] Nick Matthew (Eng)
11/9, 11/9, 13/11 (65m)
COULDN’T GET ANY CLOSER…
Drama. Passion. Upset. Conduct stroke. Crowd roaring and
supporting their man. Who said squash needed the glamour of a
superbly lighted glass court!!!! Just give the boys a ball, a
crowd, and off they go making the show…Ramy and Nick delighted
us tonight by producing a brilliant match, hard fought, and
still full of respect/fairness for each other.
 Let’s
stop for a minute and look at the stats. From the start of
Ramy's career, those two had major battles. First time ever they
played, in Qatar 2007, Ramy still a junior then beat him in 82m
in the semis. On Qatar's cold court, Ramy and his ridiculous
shots that nobody had seen before must have been devastating,
but still, Nick fought bleeping hard before accepting defeat.
And most of their matches have been of the same calibre ever
since. As for the recent h2h, Nick won the British Open, but
that is his only victory in their last 10 encounters…
Like for Karim, Nick had a physical advantage on paper, as he
had a day of rest courtesy of Shabana’s ribs trouble, but Ramy
didn’t seem to be affected at all to be honest. As the Egyptian
told me “we train very hard for that kind of situation. That’s
why we work so hard physically”.
So off they started. If Karim/James’ rhythm was sort of mid
pace, those two just went for it from the word go. What those
two hit, retrieved, changed angle, front, back, side, the other
side… And if one was managing to steal a two points advantage,
the other one would quickly close the gap, but it was Nick who
had a one point cushion most of the game.
 Up
to 7/7 that is. 8/8. 9/9. Great rallies, winners and amazing
pickups were flowing away,
and I was thinking, what a shame the IOC members were not there
to see how our players quickly adapted to what was thrown at
them, as they didn’t come to the National Centre unfortunately.
A mishit from Nick gives Ramy a game ball. And a superb winner
the game, 11/9.
But as he goes off court, Nick is calling for Jade, ES physio,
as he is getting back spasms. Oh great I thought, we didn’t have
anybody retiring today, yes, we need another upset! But no, with
her “magic sponge”, like we say in rugby, after 3 minutes, Nick
was back on court, and with the way he twisted and turned his
back for the next five rallies, we all could see that he was
fine thank Heaven.
The second is mirroring the previous game score wise really, but
the intensity has gone up about five notch on the Richter scale!
Each and every rally is fought “as it’s the last point of the
match”, as Borja would say.
 And
like the previous game, we have 7/7, 8/8. Nick is leading 9/8
when we have a massive rally yet again. Ramy is at the front,
re-dropping a shot, but has thrown himself on the floor. Nick
seems to have a bit of a strange movement there, not sure what
happened, and would luuuve to see the replay, as he seemed to
stumble over Ramy’s body, whereas Ramy is laying on the left of
the ball. Anyway, it is a bit confusing. It could be a no let in
our opinion, or a let, and the Refs quite understandably give a
let.
Nick, really not happy with the decision, expecting a stroke,
starts to explain that he really wanted to play the ball, but
that he was prevented to do so. “Decision has been taken, please
play on, Mr Matthew” states the ref.
But Nick doesn’t budge. Standing with the door opened, his back
resting on the side wall of the entrance, he stays silent and
motionless for a minute, and states as a matter of fact “this is
the worst decision in history”.
“Conduct stroke for descent. 10/9, Mr Ashour to serve.”
 The
crowd goes ahhhhhhhhh. Nick’s face completely white, as if the
blood had been drained in a split second. “Why?? What did I
say??” “You know perfectly well what you said. You said, this is
the worst decision in History.”
“Ok, it was said in the heat of the moment, I apologise for it.
And you are still happy to give a stroke at this stage of the
match?. Who else is happy with that decision”, adds Nick to the
crowd. Nobody breathes.
The two get back on court. Needless to say that this rally is
pretty short, and that Nick tins the ball.
Let’s have a look at what happened there. Yes, Nick was wrong to
make that comment. But it’s not like it had been a nasty match
up to then. Those two were on their best behaviour, especially
after their last encounter that had turned into a bit of a war,
then commented heavily on the Social Network (I even got caught
in it!). So, both of them barely addressed the ref up to then.
I personally feel that the decision given – let – was the safest
one. And that Nick should have been warned “Mr Matthew, no more
comments, or the code of conduct will be applied”. That would
have been enough, especially due to the exceptional
circumstances the players had to adapt to, and the stage of the
match. Giving a stroke was over reacting, and probably due to
the lack of experience of the young ref who was
centre-refereeing the match. I guess we all have to learn…
Nick looked like he was going to stop the match to be honest. If
he hadn’t had Chris Robertson, ES National Coach, and Jade in
his corner at the time, being led 2/0, back hurting, he probably
would have. But no, he changed his shirt, and came back on
court, with the crowd now loudly in his corner – whereas before,
Ramy was the crowd favourite. And we are grateful he did.
Because that game is one of the most hard-fought I ever came to
see.
Nick took an awful, awful bad start, trailed 7/2, it looked like
Ramy was seconds away from the shower. But Nick is a fighter,
he’s got a force within him that made him overcome some many
hurdles, he was not going to give up that easily. And with his
normal fashion – hitting hard and low, fighting for every shot,
moving extremely well – he strung the points to come back to
8/9. But he tins a volley drop shot – which I thought was good,
but he called it down, bless his honest socks, and offers Ramy
his first match ball.
 With
two superb drop shots, Nick forces a tie-break, 10/10. The crowd
is now roaring, cheering, supporting the Englishman, only too
happy to see a fourth. Ramy goes a bit junior on us, going to
too short too soon, and tins the third match ball. At 11/11, all
is possible, but Nick tins the next two points, forced to make
the error by a Ramy making the rallies long again.
And it’s on his fourth match ball that the Artist wins this epic
encounter, 11/9, 11/9, 13/11. I’m exhausted. The crowd is
ecstatic. Ramy’s finger is bleeding again. And it’s going on
1am. When I think that some people get bored in life…
"It
was a fair game, it was a great challenge too, it’s never easy
to beat Nick, such a calibre of a player, it’s like James, I
always enjoy playing the top players because they make you raise
your game to theirs…
I’m happy with my overall performance, and truly really forward
to playing James tomorrow on the glass court in the harbour,
because believe it or not, I NEVER PLAYED THERE!!!! Even the
year I won, we were playing in the Mall, so I never got to the
Harbour, and I’m dying to play there!!!
 I’m glad I won. I would have been happy with the win no matter,
3/0, 3/1 or 3/2!!! I’m happy because I kept my discipline, I
didn’t play like a junior, well maybe for two or three rallies.
The change of venues, well, in my mind, I had prepared myself
for it, I didn’t want it, as I said I really wanted to play on
the glass court there, but I was mentally ready for the change.
Well, those past 5 days felt like 5 years, and 6 more to live
through in Qatar for the Worlds, 6 more years!!!!!! But we have
to keep doing it. That’s what we train for. That’s what we live
for."
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