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[2] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt [6] James Willstrop (Eng)
11/7, 8/11, 11/9, 10/12, 11/7 (82m)
BRUTAL SQUASH…
… between two Gentlemen of the game…
If the first semi was a bit short lived, with a stunning game
and a half, but nothing much happening after that for injury
reasons, this second match was as brutal as it comes.
Actually, it reminded me a match in
Sky Petrosport in 2009. The difference today was that it lasted longer, 82m
tonight, and that it was not played on an air conditioned
court…. Far from it.
Ramy started extremely well – for once – he can be a bit slow
off the starting block. But James came back with a vengeance,
leading 5/2 then 7/4, to set up his first game ball at 10/6, to
finally take it 11/8, greatly helped by five unforced errors
from the Egyptian.
And the third was crucial. What that boy gave in that game, in
that match, is purely and simply pure magic, athleticism, game
reading and utmost fitness skills. Ramy, the Lord of the
Retrieving…
James took an excellent start in that third, 6/1, again, a few
errors from Ramy greatly under pressure. But four unforced
errors and a few nicks later, we were back at 7/7. 8/8. 9/9. A
lovely backhand crosscourt drop shot. 10/9 for Ramy at the back
of yet again a stunning rally. And another immensely brutal
rally, and one Ramy’s trademark backhand crosscourt volleys
right in the nick to take the game.
That must have hurt James so much. Up 6/1. 7/4. And losing it
from a string of a racket. “I needed that one”, the Englishman
would comment later…
But again, as determined as he’s always been, James comes back
on court, and again, takes a great lead, 4/0. In a game where we
had barely any decisions, six lets at the most. And again, the
Egyptian claws back to 5/5, after the most ridiculously fast
paced rallies I’ve seen for a very long time, ending with a
crosscourt kill.
Here we are, level once again, 5/5. And 6/6. And 7/7. And 8/8.
And course 9/9. Match ball Ramy, 10/9. With a high crosscourt
lob that dies in that corner, James forces a tie-break, 10/10. A
backhand drop shot that is too far away for Ramy, game ball
James. Tin from Ramy.
2/2.
And why change the habit of a match time, James up 3/1. But Ramy
reacts quickly, and comes back at 3/3. And from that moment on,
the 160m+ that James spent on court in two days are counting
double compared with 100m for Ramy.
As he goes for his trademark long drop shots or volley drop
shots, the Englishman's legs just tremble that little bit that
make him clip the tin, and Ramy feels it, and goes for the
jugular.
The rallies get shorter, Ramy gets faster and faster, and James
is unable to make an impression on the rallies. Constantly on
the backfoot, he can only salute his opponent's great shots. And
if James saves one match ball at 10/6, Ramy gets the match,
11/7.
And the pure joy, relief, ecstatic happiness expressed by Ramy
proves that James was close. So close… So close.
As James concluded his after match interview: “Next time”.
Inshallah.
 "This
was hard, of course it was hard! It’s one of the toughest games
I ever played. But tonight, with the crowd cheering me, I just
couldn’t let them down.
"James played perfectly, he was ready to snap every shot, every
ball. He is hard to play against, you never know where he is
going to put the ball.
"At the start of every game, I would let go for a second, just a
second, but James is so clever at taking advantage of that split
second. And you know, every step, every footwork you do on that
court counts, and makes a difference…
"The toughest thing about playing Shabana, is that I know his
game, and he knows mine. So it’s all about mixing the game and
changing my squash when I play against him…
"I’m not going to say that my ankle is not fine, but it just
plays a little bit on my mind, still, I don’t think it made any
difference today.
"I’m so happy with this match, I think we played superb squash,
and I got out a lot of fitness out of it, I’m pushing, and
pushing, and I kept pushing until the last rally, and I still
have plenty in the tank. And that makes me very happy."
"This
match was a bit of a tightrope, try and keep the balance, and a
little thing was tipping the balance over, so fine, so fine….
"What can I say….
"I got him to make mistakes, that’s something. Because the last
times we played, he been on fire, and as far as I remember, he
only played one backhand nick the whole match, and that’s not
bad. I manage to, no, contain is not the right word, I don’t
think tonight either of us contained the other. It was all about
fast pace, accuracy….
"I had a big chance there. But even at 7/1, I never considered
that I would win that game. It would be silly against anybody,
but against him, it would be pure unthinkable.
"It’s something I’ve maybe got to look at, I often get the lead,
and now I have to see how I can close that lead.
"I did make a few unforced errors, but I let go of my arm today,
I was more relaxed that the last time I played him, where I got
a bit tense, a bit defensive.
"I think the big match I had last night helped me relax, I mean,
it was such a brutal match, I finished late, trying and sleep
was a nightmare because of the adrenaline pumping, so tonight, I
said to myself, b… it! I was still up for it, of course, but not
putting too much pressure on myself.
"And although I cannot be happy of losing, I HATE losing, I
shouldn’t be that disappointed as I don’t think I could have
done anything better, but I am still disappointed of course, I
think I could have won the match.
"Tonight, I guess I don’t think I could have done better, but it
was just not good enough.
"To finish I really want to stress, how Greg did yesterday, how
grateful I am about the way we’ve been looked after, it was the
same last year for the World Open, and I would like to thank
from the bottom of my heart all the people that have made this
tournament possible…"
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"I
think we both raised the game today, and this first game was
probably the hardest I ever played in my life, and in very hot
conditions as well. And Greg pushed and pushed, until he’s got
nothing left. He is a great athlete, that’s all I can say…
