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Sat 22nd, Day SIX, Semis
[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [8] Thierry Lincou (Fra)
7/11, 11/3, 11/3, 11/4 (45m)
[2] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt [3] James Willstrop
(Eng)
11/4, 8/11, 11/7, 11/2 (61m)
[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt [4] Natalie Grainger (Usa)
11/8, 11/9, 11/5 (39m)
[3] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt
[2] Natalie Grinham (Ned)
11/1, 11/7, 11/6 (24m)
Shabana and Nicol on course for four
 Defending
champions Amr Shabana and Nicol David moved one step away from
their fourth consecutive Hong Kong titles with convincing
performances on Hong Kong Cultural Centre's Piazza tonight.
Shabana shrugged off a first game loss to beat Thierry Lincou
with increasing authority while David held firm in face of an
early challenge from Natalie Grainger, also easing away towards
the end.
Shabana will face Gregory Gaultier in a repeat of last year's
final after the Frenchman beat James Willstrop in four, while
Nicol faces a Grinham in the final as last year, but this time
it will be elder sister Rachael.
Semi-finals Night - Malcolm's
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[1]
Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [8] Thierry Lincou (Fra)
7/11, 11/3, 11/3, 11/4 (45m)
Shabana the master
After a tentative start, world number one Amr Shabana moved one
step away from a fourth consecutive title in Hong Kong with a
performance of increasing authority to see off the challenge of
Frenchman Thierry Lincou.
Lincou got the better of a lengthy opening game where both
players seemed content to play themselves into the match, but
from then on the Egyptian assumed almost total control.
 "I
thought I made him do quite a lot of work in the first game, but
I did lose a lot of energy to do so, and I had a big drop of
energy at the start of the second, I started to play too short,
too fast, and that’s something you cannot afford to do against
Shabana.
"In the first game I was able to get him out of his comfort
zone, but after that he was the one that applied the pressure,
and the trend reversed completely, if he was the one pushed to
make an error to start with, I became the one to make it.
"I lost my clear-headedness, he took control, he varied his
shots beautifully, and if I was able to dominate him at the back
to start with, he became stronger than me there too."
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 "Today,
I tried to take it shot by shot. In the first game, I thought I
was all over the place. Nobody else is able to stick you against
the wall like he does, that’s his territory, and he plays that
tight, nobody can get him off the T. He was controlling the
court, he was doing whatever he wanted with the ball…
"After that, I tried to prevent him from making me round around,
I think he became a bit anxious at the start of the second, and
I think we both changed our tactic, I send him to the back, and
he sent me to the front…
"This court was so different from the ones we’ve been playing
on, this one has more grip, it was harder to move, the
temperature is ok, but it’s humid, if you lose your breath, you
are in trouble….
"I think Thierry played the right tactic against me today, but
he was unlucky to clip the tin…"
Amr Shabana
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"When you lack matches, you get out
of the habit of staying focused for long periods, But this
week’s been great, I’m not far off, I have no complaints, and if
you’d told me two weeks ago I would be playing four rounds here,
I would have told you you’re dreaming!!!
"Greg is one of those players that make you work that much
harder than you would have done against any players up to the
semis, and find you out in any lack of accuracy you may have.
"I would have liked to be able to move a bit more freely, to be
able to play my shots in better position, but it will come
back…"
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[2]
Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt
[3] James Willstrop
(Eng) 11/4, 8/11, 11/7, 11/2 (61m)
Greg sets up repeat final
Gregory Gaultier will face Amr Shabana in a repeat of last
year's final after a solid win over third seed James Willstrop.
The first was one way traffic for Greg, and the second was
looking that way for James - at 8/2 Greg had almost lost
interest in the game, but he won enough points to make it
interesting, even if James took it to level.
But the Frenchman resumed control in the next two games, running
out a comfortable winner in the fourth.
 "The
match was played in a perfect spirit, I feel that it’s maybe the
first time we played in such a fluid manner, maybe with the
years, we’ve learnt to respect each other and we are now able to
let each other play without getting in the way. There were so
few decisions today, and that’s the way it should be, it such a
pleasure to play in those conditions….
"At the start, neither of us had played on the court, we didn’t
have any marks, and nobody knew where the ball was going to end
up after we hit it!
"I think that after the win of the first game, I became a bit
complacent, but I came back quickly, and I didn’t give him any
easy points, and against James, that’s essential. Also, I made
sure that I was not rushing things, that I stayed patient, and
that I would show signs of tiredness.
"I’m so happy to be back here, playing a final against Shabana
tomorrow, may the best man win…"
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[1]
Nicol David (Mas) bt [4] Natalie Grainger (Usa)
11/8, 11/9, 11/5 (39m)
CLOSE BATTLE
Framboise reports
 Natalie
was in great shape in this tournament, she moves well, she is as
accurate as ever, and has the drive that moves mountains.
And she got Queen Nicol under enormous pressure during the first
two games in particular, forcing Nicol to play her best shots
and made her run an awful lot up to 8/8 in the first, and to 9/9
in the second.
If at the end of the first game, the rallies became longer and
longer, with Nicol pushed hard into the four corners, and
winning superb rallies in extremis, the end of the second must
have been event more frustrating for the American, as from 9/9,
she clipped the tin on the following two points…
 This
was a very entertaining match, between shotmaker Natalie and
NeverSayDie Nicol, where the crowd participated with “Hahhhs,
and Hoooos”, clearly entertained and enjoying every minute of
it…
And when Nicol tells me that she is still working hard to become
even more lethal, even more accurate, even more level headed
than she is now, I’m wondering who’ll be able to stop her in the
future….
“Sky is the limit” her coach Liz told me after Nicol’s first
British Open victory. I think they both meant it…. |
"The conditions were not too easy, but you just have to play and
do what you can. I think that I had an advantage due to my small
size, my centre of gravity is closer to the ground, and it’s
easier to control a court that is a bit slippery…
"Natalie is definitely one of the most deceptive players, you’ve
got to constantly adapt to her game, and if you give her an
inch, she takes it to a new level, so I had to make sure to keep
control at all time, and fight for every point.
"I worked hard to make move her around, and make sure that I may
force errors out of her, and that’s what I concentrated on for
the first two games, that were very much hard work. In the
third, I was much more relaxed, and was able to play my game
more freely, and to get some shots in. And I’m very happy to win
in three.
"There are still areas I’m working on at the moment, like
getting a real consistency on getting my focus at the same level
from the first rally to the last rally, and that so hard to
achieve.
"Also, I’m working on sharpening my technique, to make sure that
every shot is going in…."
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"I just couldn't do anything today,
it was so frustrating. I have no words for it.
"She did nothing wrong, she normally throw in a few unforced
errors, bit today nothing, they all went in. I almost lost the
first 11/0, how embarrassing is that!
"It wasn't even as if I was having a really bad day, hitting the
ball into the middle or anything like that.
"I was a bit hesitant to go short, I wasn't confident with my
timing as it comes of this front wall much faster than the one
in the club, but that wasn't the reason, I don't think I was
doing much wrong.
"Sometimes you can put it down to having a bad day, but it
didn't feel like that, I just couldn't do anything ..."
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[3]
Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt
[2] Natalie Grinham (Ned) 11/1,
11/7, 11/6 (24m)
THE ARTIST IN CONTROL AGAIN
Framboise reports
Like Rachael mentions, it looked like she had a very good day
against sister Natalie tonight. And if she was impressive the
night before against Isabelle, the fact that Nat run and run,
and chased the ball endlessly as only she and Nicol can, made it
even more dominant.
 It
was like Natalie couldn’t find any tactical solutions to put
Rachael under pressure, and even if the youngest was able to
apply a slightly better pressure in the middle of the second,
getting as close as 6/7 score wise, the oldest just lobbed her
way back into controlling the rallies…
There was still some superb points, but what Natalie had to do
to win a point is nobody’s business. She had to work so hard,
and I guess that she must have used the last drops of energy she
had left from her gruelling encounter with Jenny the day before
to do so.
Also, I wonder if the conditions here do not suit Rachael to the
T, because I remember their match here, in 2005, in the semis of
the worlds, where Rachael dominated the rallies in the same
manner, although maybe not as flamboyantly, but still, it was a
3/0 victory then as well…
 "Today
was a really good day, I was hitting the ball quite well, I was
hitting shots under pressure that you normally put in the tin,
but today seem to just get in, it was just a very good day.
"For Natalie, it was quite the opposite really, she was playing
the same shots as me, but kept on clipping the tin. I think her
long match yesterday must have played a big role today, because
there is no way I would win that comfortably if she was 100%.
"But I’m not going to complain, it’s been a while since I’ve
been in a final….
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Semi-Finals Night
Malcolm on the Harbour
Unusually the men's squash hasn't quite taken off in Hong Kong,
with David Palmer and Ramy Ashour forced to retire in their
quarter-finals, only the Amr Shabana/Karim Darwish match lived
up to expectations.
The men's semis, though, were not far off the mark. Thierry
Lincou won the first game against Shabana, before the world's
best player slipped into a gear that has been shown to beat
anyone in the world. He took the next three game sin style,
declaring his intent to defend his record in Hong Kong.
The second men's semi-final did not disappoint either.
A mammoth first rally indicated tha both players, Gregory
Gaultier and James Willstrop, knew what was ahead. Gaultier won
the first game 11/4, though it was by no means as easy as the
score indicates, Willstrop making a few marginal errors as he
sought to attack.
As the game opened up more the Englishman became more successful
and it was Gaultier's turn to make a few errors. Willstrop took
the game 11/7 and moved readily into a 4/1 lead in the third. At
this point he caught Gaultier with the racket, which caused a
short break to the play.
Although the Englishman got to 5/2, the flow of his game was
disrupted and Gaultier, who often plays in bursts, recovered
well to eventually win the game 11/7.
Not much ran for Willstrop at the beginning of the fourth and
what should have been a 2/0 lead became a 2/0 deficit. Gaultier,
sensing that his opponent was beginning to struggle with his
movement a little, raised the pace and from then on always
looked the probable winner.
Although it was a demanding enough match, Gaultier had had a
comfortable run to the semi-final and he will be fresh enough to
offer a serious challenge in the final.
Neither of the women's semi-finals took off.
Natalie Grainger had moved well enough in her quarter-final win
over Alison Waters, but Nicol David is another matter and the
adopted American was always under pressure. Add to that she
appeared to have trouble with her foothold, repeatedly wiping
the soles of her shous and occasionally slipping. As David took
control Grainger looked increasingly dispirited and the match
finished quite tamely.
Nor did the Natalie-Rachael Grinham match excite. Rachael
called the tune throughout and at no time did she look in danger
of defeat. Natalie's consolation will be that at least her
sister is in the final.
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Back to the waterfront
In 2005 the final stages were held on the waterfront of Victoria
Harbour, next to Hong Kong Cultural Centre, and after two years
at the Holly Wood Plaza shopping mall the all-glass court
returns to the location overlooking Hong Kong island's famous
skyline.
As well as the prime seating behind the front and back walls,
the sides are open viewing and there will also be a big screen
so that passers by can watch the action.
The bad news is that it's a very gray day in HK, and although it
doesn't look look like raining, it's certainly not the glorious
weather we've had over the last few days ...
Quarters review & semis preview from
Malcolm
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Quarters review, semis preview
In three of the eight quarter-final matches players failed for a
variety of reasons, to complete - a strange state of affairs.
With world no 1 Nicol David well in control, Omneya Abdel Kawy
stopped chasing in the second game and didn't show for the
third, a thigh injury being responsible. A lively-looking
Thierry Lincou was 2/1 up and well in front in the third when
Ramy Ashour came off with hamstring problems - his departure
more sudden and unexpected. Then in the last match of the night
David Palmer, 2/0 down and well behind in the third, conceded to
Gregory Gaultier not injured, but unwell.
Amr Shabana, in Hong Kong where he thrives, staved off a strong
challenge from Karim Darwish and James Willstrop never looked in
danger of defeat against Cameron Pilley.
Natalie Grainger impressed beating Alison Waters, Rachael and
Natalie Grinham set up a family semi-final, though Jenny Duncalf
only succumbed to Natalie 12/10 in the fifth in the best
contested match of the day, which overall did not quite live up
to expectations, but still appeared to satisfy the capacity
crowds.
So to the glamorous setting of the harbour, live TV on Pearl,
Sarah Fitz-Gerald's commentary and semi-finals day ...
Lincou has looked on very good terms with himself and although
Shabana raised his game yesterday and generally has the measure
of the Frenchman, it will be surprising if this is not a
contest.
Gaultier has had an untroubled run to date and Willstrop has put
paid to three watchable opponents with conviction. Their rivalry
goes back ten years and it is hard to imagine that this will be
straightforward for either.
Grainger, moving and playing well in her quarter-final,
impressed but how much she can disturb David remains to be seen.
The Grinham sisters' matches are usually well worth watching and
the family is guaranteed a finalist, which should be some
compensation to whoever loses.
Whatever the outcome of all four matches, squash, it is hoped,
will be the winner.
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