• TODAY • SEMIS • QUARTERS • Round TWO • Round One • Qualifying • Preview •

Round TWO:

[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [12] Adrian Grant (Eng)
                    10/12, 11/2, 11/2, 11/5 (45m)
[14] Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt Cameron Pilley (Aus)
                    11/2, 7/11, 11/9, 9/11, 11/9 (108m)

[3] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt [13] Olli Tuominen (Fin)
                    11/5, 11/5, 11/3 (30m)
[7] Karim Darwish (Egy) bt [16] Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned)
                   9/11, 11/7, 11/8, 11/5 (58m)

[6] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt [15] Azlan Iskandar (Mas)
                   12/10, 5/11, 11/9, 7/11, 11/3 (77m)
[4] James Willstrop (Eng) bt [9] Peter Barker (Eng)
                   10/12, 11/5, 11/13, 11/8, 11/9 (105m)

[10] Lee Beachill (Eng) bt [5] David Palmer (Aus)
                   11/7, 13/11, 11/9 (55m)
[2] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt [Q] Tarek Momen (Egy)
                   11/5, 11/7, 11/7 (32m)

EN BREF
Issue #1: Surprise Racket,
Refs in Force, Glorious Food, Change of Scenery

[6] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt [15] Azlan Iskandar (Mas)
                   12/10, 5/11, 11/9, 7/11, 11/3 (77m)

TIGHT

When in the car coming to the venue, I asked James at what time he was playing, he says “1.45”. He said. But when he told me that he came right after Thierry and Azlan, I told him straight off “nope, you won’t be playing at 1.45, James, that ain’t going to happen”. And I was right. Those two great accuracy players battled away 77m, and for ive games, stunning games.

Actually, I never realised how close Thierry and Azlan’s styles were. They so like they tight game, so like to volley drop, their best shot, backhand drop shot, they are both good retrievers, and they are both “rallies constructors”, like chess players. Azlan is better at the counter-attacking though, and Thierry is that much more patient.

It was a festival of TitiTight shots, as Shabana calls it, as in some great drives, they both moved each other around, trying their best to prevent the openings of their opponent, retrieved astonishingly, and made overall very few errors, except in the fourth for the Frenchman, where he made six errors in like eight shots.

At 2/2, it was absolutely impossible to pick a winner, and it’s only in the middle of the fifth, after yet again some two extremely fast pace, long and disputed rallies, that Azlan just snapped mentally, stopping running, and virtually offered Thierry the game on a golden platter.

He’s got great length, he is fast as a flash, and he likes to volley. In other words, he likes doing everything I like doing! Today, it was all about who had the control, the ascendancy of the T.

In the fourth, my focus just went out of the window, I guess that as the rallies were pretty gruelling, I may have had a drop in the energy level, and the head just went.

And whereas for the fifth, we had two very hard rallies in the middle of the game, that he both lost, and that’s very hard on the mental, I guess it must have hurt him a lot mentally..

I feel we produced a good match, and I’m glad to be in the quarters. I’m in need of some matches, I feel.

Thierry is such a great ambassador for the game, I’ve known him since I’m very young, and we’ve both got the same strength, the backhand drop shot. But I felt that if I had a lot of plays today, if I was able to set up the rallies, and give myself the opportunity, when it came to play the shot, play the volley, I just hesitated. And you can’t do that. You’ve got to play the ball, and that’s it, do what’s got to be done.

In the 5th, I got a bit excited, and stopped producing the work that was needed. And against Thierry, or against anybody of that level, you just can’t do that, becoming very negative, and not doing the work… And then, I tried to stay positive, but once he gets into a rhythm, he is like me, he is very hard to break…

[14] Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt Cameron Pilley (Aus)
                    11/2, 7/11, 11/9, 9/11, 11/9 (108m)

Bengy Survives ... just
Steve Reports

When Ong Beng Hee took a very quick game against an out-of-sorts Cameron Pilley, who just wasn't at the races, not many would have predicted a 100-minute-plus epic, but that's what we got.

It wasn't until he was 5/2 down in the second that the Australian came to life. He pulled back to level at 6-all then eased ahead to take the game, helped by a few Malaysian tins.



Another quick start to the third from Bengy, 3/0, followed by three errors and the first visible signs of frustration with himself. Cameron capitalised, taking an 8/4 lead but Bengy refocused, and retook the lead.

To cut a long story short, Cameron held a slender lead throughout the fourth, then it was close all the way through the fifth up to 8-all. They were tired now, unsurprisingly, and if Bengy thought he might have earned earned a stroke at some point over the next few rallies, at least the referees were consistent as they awarded ten consecutive lets.

The deadlock was broken with a cross-court volley drop by the Malaysian, Cameron levelled with a drop of his own, then at 9-all we had another five lets. At this rate we were heading for a two-hour match, but then Bengy produced two lovely backhand flicks, leaving Cameron for dead just as they had done in the first game an hour and a half ago ... some match ...

"I'm working hard for my money these days!

"He was a bit heavy at the start, and at 5/2 in the second I lost focus, which is the biggest thing with me. I'd like to thank Omar [Abdel Aziz] for all his help in between games. He sat and watched for two hours, and I lost focus a lot of times, I was under a lot of pressure from Cameron, but Omar really helped me pull it back together when I needed it.

"To finish with those two backhand flicks, well they could easily have gone down and that would have been the match to him, so I just thank my luck on those ones today.

"Ten games and three hours play in two matches – I'm ready for revenge on Shabana!"

"Brutal, absolutely brutal.

"I really felt up for the match, but he was a lot sharper than me at the start. It was just a grind to win the games I won, but considering how I was feeling I'm fairly pleased to have pushed him that close. Sometimes you just have to play like that, but it's not pretty to watch.

"He hadn't played one of his flicks for a game and a half, and then at 9-all he plays probably his best two of the match …"

Foot repairs needed for tomorrow ...

[4] James Willstrop (Eng) v [9] Peter Barker (Eng)
                   10/12, 11/5, 11/13, 11/8, 11/9 (105m)

BATTLE OF ENGLAND

Oh. My. God.

Mentally, Peter had a slight advantage I thought today. Having nothing to lose against his team mate, on a traditional court, Peter started extremely well, showing his firm intention to win the encounter, attacking at the right time, with the right shot.

But hey, James didn’t come to Kuwait to lose in the second round, and even after losing the first game on the tie-break, he cruised through the second one, but took a terrible start in the third, to find himself down in no time 8/2.

Peter is going to finish this one quickly, we thought. We couldn’t have been more wrong. It took 44 minutes to Peter and six game balls – he became a bit defensive at that point, and seemed to forget how he got to that point - from 10/5 to eventually 13/11, to take what should have been the turning point of the match.

And when James came back in the fourth, he was white as a sheet, tired both mentally and physically. Peter took advantage of it, to take the lead, 5/2. Yet again, we thought well, this is it, James is cooked and well done.

That maybe was the case, but did the Pontefract Golden Boy showed guts and determination there, taking the game 11/8, and somehow, breaking his team mate spirit on the way. We could see at the end of that game, how frustrated, and how sad Peter was, to have let go of such an opportunity…

But now, it was up to Peter to show his character. And yes he was disappointed, and yes, he was tired, very very tired, but he fought back, and like James, attacked, retrieved, run, both defending their space and showing their skills both at the front, and on the side walls…

At ever, at 9/9, it’s a flip of a coin, isn’t it? Today, the coin fell on James' side. But on a personal note, this was a stunning match, played by two gentlemen, who both showed some superb talent, guts, and panache.

"Today I had an opportunity to go 2/1, and feel good about it, and get a momentum from it. But by the time I got there… it took me too much energy.

"To give him credit, it was a hard game of squash he dug in more than I did…

"It’s frustrating, because you’ve got to attack him, but not opening the court too much.

"But it’s only a game of squash…"

So much for saving energy…

If there’s any difference between the top 8, and the top 16, I guess it’s the experience of the big matches. And maybe that today, it made a big difference.

I created a lot of belief in myself with my recent results, and I’ve got to believe that I can get through those matches… But it’s like treading water on there, it’s so much hard work, especially on that court, which is like a leveller, although playing Peter on any court would have been as hard as it was today.

Peter had so much opportunity in the third, he was up 8/2, and although I was hugely disappointed to lose the game, really extremely disappointed, I thought that if he made me work hard, I also put him through work.

Pete has improved so much recently, it’s getting more and more difficult to beat him, and he is definitively going in the right direction. And that proves what we were saying about it being so tough to get rid of the top 16….

I’m so proud to be able to win a match like that, it’s got so much more value to fight hard, and dig in against a player such as Peter, and actually, getting through such a match. I’m so happy, so proud…

[7] Karim Darwish (Egy) bt [16] Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned)
                   9/11, 11/7, 11/8, 11/5 (58m)

Darwish on the Attack

An entertaining game to watch, two players intent on taking every opportunity that presented itself, both adept at hard kills, deceptive flicks and boasts, and both very, very good at retrieving.

It wasn't all like that, of course, but it certainly wasn't one of your up and down the wall chess matches.

On the day Karim Darwish was just better the game the both chose to play. The Egyptian squandered a 7/4 lead in the first, but apart from the first few rallies of the second he was never behind again.

By the fourth game LJ was being pressured into taking too many risks as Karim sped around court making some sensational recoveries, often returning the shot with interest into the nick.
 

"I know he's a very good player, so I had to be aware, but I was a bit sleepy in the first game, I was ahead for the whole game then lost it, I should have won that one.

"After that I tried to make him move as much as I could, put it into the corners. He has good shots but they're less effective when you make him twist and turn. Towards the end of the third he started to tire, and I took full control in the fourth.

"Les than an hour, that's good on these courts, so I'm pleased to be going into the quarter-finals fresh …"

[10] Lee Beachill (Eng) bt [5] David Palmer (Aus)
                   11/7, 13/11, 11/9 (55m)

“DU GRAND BEACHILL”

This could be called, "Beachill Returns - He is back, and he is p. off."

I thought that PSA Vice President was in superb form today, I very rarely saw him play better. Frankly, he didn’t give a chance to a slow David, who seemed a bit lethargic, and never really settled into the match.

But it may have something to do with Lee’s positive and sharp game. Alert, fast to move, playing clever shots that wrong footed the Australian so many times, and to be honest, it never looked like the Englishman was going to lose this encounter.

Maybe it was a question of hunger for victory and motivation? For David, it’s one more match to get to a quarter. But for Lee, it was much more than that. To prove to the world, but most of all to himself that he was still, as ever, a winner.

And a threat not to be ignored for the title…

I don’t think I played that well today, it’s been a while since I’ve beaten a top ten guy, I had a few hard 3/2, but I didn’t have such a win, and you wouldn’t believe the confidence you get from a victory like that.

Yesterday, I beat a very good player 3/0, unfortunately, nobody will know about it, because my match was the only one not to get any coverage…. But I feel I played better today. I think I play around the top 10 level, and maybe a bit above today, and I’m glad that I was able to prove that to myself.

I guess a win like that was on the cards for a little while now, I’ve been hitting the ball very well recently, just not getting the win. And very happy to be in the quarters of one the biggest events in history…

"I felt good before the match, but on the court, I felt as flat as possible, and so slow. I was waiting for things to happen and not taking charge of things.

"A slow court, a slow match, I was just pushing the ball around with no purpose. I guess I made so many unforced errors, because I was so frustrated that the pace was so slow, I just was trying to force the issue.

"It was pretty hard for me on there, I was trying to stay calm, not to get frustrated with myself, but that didn’t work either! Not to mention that we had so many lets, like 2/3 every rally, impossible to get into any kind of rhythm. And if in the middle of the second, I started to get more positive, at 10/10, I went back to waiting for things to happen…

"One of the worst bad days at the office as possible. Not good, not good."

[3] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt [13] Olli Tuominen (Fin)
                    11/5, 11/5, 11/3 (30m)

It was my first time on the glass court, so I had to get used to it, take my marks.

I didn’t play too badly, I was in control of most of the rallies, which allowed me to create a few opening, and to finish off the points.

Good thing is I’ll be fresh for my quarters tomorrow.

[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt
[12] Adrian Grant (Eng) 
         10/12, 11/2, 11/2, 11/5 (45m)

In the first game, I was a bit on the back foot, because Granty is so dangerous when he is on the T. But after that, I made sure that the ball stuck to the wall to prevent him from attacking. And I think that he became a bit too anxious, and that’s why he made too many unforced errors.

I was moving better and better as the match went on, but every rally was tough, I had to make sure that I was on top of him every time, because when he gets control of the rally, he never let it go. I was never able to relax…

[2] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt [Q] Tarek Momen (Egy)
                   11/5, 11/7, 11/7 (32m)

NEVER IN DOUBT BUT…

Ramy was not really afraid of losing this match, and the first two games didn’t do much to make him change his mind. But Tarek suddenly found his rhythm, and his shots started to slide in nicely, forcing Legend Ramy to run and run, and actually turned the game on.

But as ever, Ramy is a chameleon, he adapts quickly to the level of play he got to evolve at, and was able to apply that much pressure back into the game, to take Tarek at his own style of game, as in, stunning shots at the front.

And the crowd will be happy. They saw Ramy run, being under pressure, a nice third game with excellent rallies and still, the favourite finishes on top. Perfect evening for them…

Tonight, I didn’t not play because my shots didn’t come in, but because I just couldn’t see anything, not even my own shots! And that was happening right from the warm up.

"Maybe the lighting is different from the traditional court, I don’t know. And it’s not the first time I’m on the glass court, it’s just the first time it happens to me.

And Ramy didn’t need that, did he???

Once Tarek gets going, it’s impossible to stop him, you know. This guy is an engineer, he doesn’t play squash all the time, and I tell you, when he does, he is going to be awesome. Every time we play – he comes and trains sometimes with me in my club – we play very hard 5 setters.

But there’s one thing with him. If his shots go in, and they work, it’s fine, but if they don’t go in, he is struggling! And tonight, that’s what happened in the first two games, that were really not hard for me at all

So I started relaxing, and that’s when he started playing really well, and made it very hard for me. But on the glass court, you play the shot, and it just goes in the right way, and comes out with the right angle. It’s just wonderful..

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