Fri 8th, Round One
Today is the only day with two courts in use, with all round one
winners going through to face one of the top sixteen seeds in
round two.
Glass Court:
Nicolas
Mueller (Sui) 3-2 Campbell Grayson (Nzl)
6/11, 11/4, 7/11, 11/7, 11/8 (70m)
Olli Tuominen (Fin) 3-2 Kristian Frost (Den)
9/11,
11/6, 13/11, 9/11, 11/8 (91m)
Karim Abdel Gawad (Egy) 3-2 Joe Lee (Eng)
11/9,
8/11, 11/7, 6/11, 11/4 (89m)
Saurav Ghosal (Ind) 3-1 Marwan El Shorbagy (Egy)
13/11,
4/11, 11/4, 11/5 (58m)
Cameron Pilley (Aus) 3-2 Nafiizwan Adnan (Mas)
11/7,
12/10, 11/13, 5/11, 11/4 (81m)
Abdullah Al Mezayen (Kuw) 3-2 Steve Coppinger (Rsa)
9/11, 11/9, 11/9, 5/11, 11/6 (73m)
Adrian Grant (Eng) 3-0 Yousif Nizar Saleh (Kuw)
11/3, 11/1, 11/7 (34m)
Ong Beng Hee (Mas) 3-2 Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy)
11/5, 8/11, 4/11, 13/11, 11/7 (73m)
Court One:
Leo Au (Hkg)
3-1 Omar Abdel Meguid (Egy)
5/11, 11/7, 16/14, 11/7 (72m)
Jonathan Kemp (Eng) 3-1 Chris Simpson (Eng)
13/11, 9/11, 11/6, 12/10 (54m)
Karim Ali Fathi (Egy) 3-2 Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Col)
11/6, 11/6, 8/11, 8/11, 11/4 (68m)
Grégoire Marche (Fra) 3-1Alan Clyne (Sco)
11/13, 11/8, 11/9, 11/8 (73m)
Mathieu Castagnet (Fra) 3-0 Adrian Waller (Eng)
11/8, 14/12, 11/4 (64m)
Ryan Cuskelly (Aus) 3-2 Siddarth Suchde (Ind)
12/14, 11/8, 4/11, 11/8, 11/9 (80m)
Ali Anwar Reda (Egy) 3-1 Max Lee (Hkg)
11/2, 11/13, 11/7, 11/8 (54m)
Zac Alexander (Aus) 3-0 Martin Knight (Nzl)
11/6, 12/10, 11/9 (43m)
Tough opening day at Qadsia as
Abdulla does Kuwait proud ...
If you think about it,
the format of the draw here means that we have, in effect, 16 of
the best quality qualifying finals you could have, where all the
players are fresh rather than some having to follow up a tough
opening match. So you'd expect some long and tough battles, and
that's what we got - plus a tremendous win for one of Kuwait's
own ...
 In
the first match on the Glass court in the Qadsia Club's
basketball hall, Nicolas Mueller needed five games to get
past a determined challenge from Campbell Grayson. The Kiwi took
the first and third games on a hot bouncy court, but Mueller
pegged him back twice.
A 5-0 start for the Swiss in the decider promised well, but
Grayson fought back to 5-all before Mueller surged ahead to
10-6. Two match points were saved Grayson put a volley dropshot
into the tin on the third, losing the match and earning himself
a conduct stroke for throwing his racket in frustration [so
that's 12-8 then?].
"It was a bit scrappy, but a win's a win, even 3-2," said a
relieved Mueller.
"In the last few tournaments I've always come up against the top
players first round, but this time I knew I was deeded to win so
maybe I put a bit too much pressure on myself. All credit to
him, he made it very difficult out there, just glad to win
really."
 The
next match was another five-setter, this time a tough, often
contentious, sometimes physical, all-Scandinavian affair.
In the end Finland's Olli Tuominen did just enough to
keep hungry and determined young Dane Kristian Frost at bay, but
he needed to come from 5-7 down in the decider to complete his
91-minute win.
"It became difficult to play after the way the refs started
the match," said Tuominen.
"We knew anything down the middle would be a stroke but it was
quite bouncy, difficult to keep it tight.
"He played really well, and I had win every point I got,
nothing was for free. He won a lot of points at the front, and I
just couldn't keep the pace as high as I did in the first game,
it was tough to find my rhythm."
 A
third consecutive marathon followed as Karim Abdel Gawad
twice led, but was twice pulled back by Joe Lee. A 6-1 start in
the decider was enough to see a relieved Egyptian home 11/4 in
just two minutes less than Tuominen's tussle.
"I expected a tough match, we're both about the same age and
he's coming up the rankings fast," said Gawad, "especially for a
first round match where your body's not working properly yet.
 "I
was in too much of a hurry at times, he was always in front of
me and I had to work at getting him to the back.
"I'm very happy to go through, now I just hope I can do better
against Peter [Barker] than I did in Hong Kong."
The lengthy opening session was completed as Saurav Ghosal
beat world junior champion Marwan El Shorbagy in four games
which still took just short of an hour.
The scheduled two-hour gap between sessions had by now reduced
to just ten minutes, and the run of five-setters resumed as
Cameron Pilley took on Nafiizwan Adnan.
 The
big Aussie had a chance to win in straight games, but couldn't
convert his match ball at 11-10 in the third, then in his own
words he "went walkabout" in the fourth before easing through
the fifth.
"I played him in the world so I knew what I was in for,"
admitted Pilley. "But I knew what I needed to do and for the
first three games, apart froma few silly errors, I did
that.
"Then he stepped it up in the fourth and I went walkbout. I had
to get the initiative back and just take it a point at a time in
the fifth until I'd won."
 The
next five-setter was acclaimed by the Kuwaiti crowd as their
very own Abdullah Al Mezayen, who always performs well in
his home country and came very close to upsetting Daryl Selby in
the previous event, prevailed over big South African Steve
Coppinger.
Hitting some dazzling shots, the Kuwaiti number one recovered
from losing the first game to take the lead - all three games
finishing 11/9 - before Coppinger levelled. But a 6/1 start for
Abdullah in the decider proved too much for Coppinger to pull
back and as the referees awarded a 'no let' on the last rally
Abdullah's - and Kuwait's - arms were raised in triumph.
"Steve's a great player but I've always played well in Kuwait
and I really wanted to win it for the fans, and to give
something back to the coaches and the KSF who have supported me
so much," said Abdullah.
"I hope everyone comes to support me when I play Gregory
Gaultier, I'll give it everything I have but they have to
remember that he's the world number three!"
 There
was no second helping for the Kuwait fand though, as Adrian
Grant despatched wildcard Yousif Nizar Saleh in
straight games.
At 34 minutes it was the shortest match of the day (surely a
first for Adrian), but the young Kuwaiti was in no way disgraced
as he made Grant work for his second round spot - the second
game score of 11/1 in particular did him no justice for the
workrate he was putting in.
It was always going to be a tall order though, and so it proved.
The day on the glass court finished as it started as Malaysia's
Ong Beng Hee became the sixth 3-2 winner of the day as he
recovered from 2-1 down to beat Egyptian Omar Abdel Aziz.
 "Well,
everybody won 3/2 today, so I thought might as well join in the
trend," quipped Beng Hee.
"After I lost the first game, I went into my little, you know,
lalaland, I went to sleep.
"And I was very lucky to win the third, only just, not to
mention very lucky to win the 5th, down 5/1 - a lucky day
really."
Fram reports ...
SAURAV, GOOD DAY AT THE OFFICE
 Nothing
flashy from the Indian number onr Saurav Ghosal, at the moment
19 in the world, against a Marwan El Shorbagy that made a few
poor shot selection and too many unforced errors in the last 2
games. Saurav was accurate, very positive, and moving extremely
fast against the Egyptian that didn’t look that comfortable on
the court today.
"I was up 10/6 in the first, and Marwan gave it a big push at
the end, I didn’t do much wrong, and I was lucky to get that
crucial first game. The pace was frantic at the end, and I guess
I had a little dip in the second, where he got so nice shots in,
and that made the difference.
"In the third, I tried and opened up the game a bit, found some
nice length, and my short game was not flashy, but accurate
enough.
"Beating Marwan any day is a good win, the games I won I was on
top of him, which is a good sign squash wise, he is a good
player, I respect his abilities and talent, so happy to win."
Saurav Ghosal CLOSE
ONE
 Omar
Abdel Meguid had a 2/1 record against Leo Au, and started full
of confidence, capitalising on a too defensive game from his
opponent, surprising him nicely with a few backhand boasts to
take the first game 11/5.
Second game, far too many errors from Meguid, coming back from
5/1 to 5/5, but couldn’t catch up the second time, 11/7 to Au.A
very disputed game, 3 games ball each, but it’s finally the HK
player that clinches that crucial game, 16/14.
Leo went on with the momentum in the 4th, and at 8/5 up, it
looked he had the match in hand. Meguid, once again, played
catch up to edge at 7/9. He set up a superb crosscourt kill,
that he had to put in the tin! And just to make sure, he tinned
the next one as well, 10/7 match ball.
At the end of the day, too many unforced errors for Meguid,
WR44, who didn’t seem at his ease against Leo, WR40.
"In the first game, I was not focusing enough on the attack,
too much on the defence, and my body just wouldn’t react fast
enough. From the second, I had better length, and stopped
playing that many shots in the middle that he would finish at
the front.
"He is a big guy, so I have to make more effort to go round him
that I normally would against another player."
Leo Au CHRIS, NOT
THE RIGHT TACTIC?
 I
didn’t managed to see the end of the game as yours truly was
taken to hospital to take care of a recalcitrant flew, but I saw
the three first ones, and yes, Kempy played better I saw him
play for a long time, but I thought that Chris just didn’t play
the right game. He kept playing short and fast, which in my
mind, is milk to a baby for Kempy.
Plus a bit of nerves from Chris, having had some excellent
results recently, better ranked now against a semi-retired
player, and we have an upset…
"I played really well, very pleased with that, better than a lot
of my performances when I was training properly!
"We've played a lot so I knew what to expect, but he's improved
a lot so it was always going to be tough. That was probably the
straightest I've ever played, it's nice to win playing sensible
squash."
Jon Kemp
LATE FLIGHT FOR MARCHE
 Well,
Mathieu Castagnet and Greg Marche were supposed to leave
Marseille for Frankfout Wednesday morning at 8am, then take a
flight to Kuwait. On Wed, their first flight was cancelled, they
came back the next day, got safely to Frankfurt, only to hear
their flight was also cancelled!
They eventually got a Qatar Airways arriving in Doha this
morning at 6, and finally arrived in KW at 9am, at the hotel at
10, to play Alan Clyne at 3 for Marche, and Waller at 6pm for
Mathieu.
Needless to say I was not betting much on a Small Greg victory,
especially after he lost the first game while having 4 game
balls from 10/7 and 11/10.
But if Alan played well, he made a few uncharacteristic errors,
and that must have given the Frenchman confidence. Very long
rallies, a lot of running and retrieving for both, but the
underdog coming through eventually in 4.
 "Already
arriving that late, you are not that keen to play on, but when
you know that you are playing Clyne, who just won’t let go of
anything and won’t give you anything, you know you are on for a
long fight.
"But the good thing is I had to be more precise, especially
after losing the first game. I got better and better, the legs
seem to loosen a bit. A victory like that really help with the
morale, I was really down after losing a close match to Campbell
in Richmond, especially as I thought I went up a level in the
ToC. I realise nothing can be taken for granted, you’ve got to
play each match to the full, nothing is won…
"Really happy with the victory today."
Greg Marche
MATHIEU IN THREE
 Well,
like for Grégoire a bit earlier, I wouldn’t have put any of my
money on Mathieu against Adrian Waller today. You know about the
flight palava, but I guess that in a way it gave the two French
boys an incentive! Not to lose despite that bad flight delay.
Adrian played the right tactic tonight, taking the game to the
front, and to be honest, had he took the second game (he had 3
game balls), not sure Mathieu would have hold 4 or 5 games. But
the Englishman just tinned far too many shots – 4 in the first,
6 in the second, and 5 in the 3rd. I guess it’s credit to
Mathieu for retrieving everything but the kitchen sink, but
maybe a lower percentage attacking game would have sufficed to
put the Frenchman under pressure.
I feel the game changed, in the 2nd, Mathieu found himself 10/8
down, and it’s like something clicked in his head. We got the
first fist pump, and from going through the motions, Mathieu
became the aggressor, finally taking the game 14/12, the turning
point really.
The third, Adrian fought on every ball, but made too many errors
yet again, giving Mathieu that secure feeling he couldn’t do
anything wrong.
 "I’m
not going to lie to you, but from the 1st of Jan, I saved like
10 match balls and 15 game balls! Ali Farag in the TOC, 8 match
balls, Shahier, I eventually lost, but still saved 3, Grégoire,
saved 3 game balls in the French Nationals. So when I get into
those situations, at 10/8 down like today, I’m just full of
confidence, I give it a big push, and it can surprise my
opponent. And because I’m confident, I’m going for shots that
actually work!
But it was a funny day, the only thing I was thinking of was
just to make it on time to the venue, and then thought about the
match! And I had played Adrian a few years back in St Louis, I
knew what to expect, although his game has improved
tremendously.
Maybe the fact I’m having a good spell of result make my
opponents wanting to finish the point a bit early, because I
retrieve an awful lot, and maybe I manage to frustrate them a
bit.
It’s just a pleasure to play somebody like Adrian, great guy,
very fair, straight player. And I guess that the hard training
we do day in day out pays off on days like that when you just
try and survive one rally more…"
Mathieu Castagnet
WHOAAAA…..
 Well,
at some point, I turned to Saurav sitting next to me and asked
“OK, tell me the truth, who is that boy on the court, and what
have you done with Sid????”
The Indian boy just played the best squash I ever saw him play,
finding superb attacks backed on great length. And when it gets
down to 9/9 in the 5th, it’s Russian Roulette, isn’t it…
I don’t think Ryan expected such a masterclass from Sid today,
and maybe was a bit casual, well, until the middle of the 4th,
where he probably saw the writing on the front wall.
 The
Australian was at times more getting rid of the ball than really
constructing points, and Sid, reading his opponent’s game rather
well, was able to take full advantage.
Pace was mad and furious from the first rally to the last. And I
feel that Ryan is a bit lucky to get away with it today, it all
comes down to a few tins here and there, and maybe a bit of
experience under extreme pressure. Today, the WR50 gave the WR
28 a freaking good scare… Well played to those two, a
tremendously enjoyable match.
 "It’s
one of those days things were not happening, and I managed to
play some sensible squash at the end. It was not pretty, but I
got it eventually.
I think I was lacking patience, also, I was not mentally
switched on all the time, I was up there for two or three
rallies, and then switched off. I hadn’t played a tournament for
a while, and it’s only at 6/1 down in the 4th that I realise I
was about to lose the match, and that I started playing more
sensible squash.
I’m happy with the way I came through in the end, as I was not
feeling at my best today…"
Ryan Cuskelly
 "I
am down to 48 in the world, I was up 23! What happened is that I
got two injuries at the same time, knee and calves, so I
couldn’t play for a while, and I lost half my points in three
months!
But I’m now back in shape, my good win in Richmond gave me
confidence, and I’m happy to get through today, despite a very
long flight from Richmond – delayed twice – and looking forward
to a day of rest tomorrow. Ah, and also I’m getting ready to be
married in June…"
Ali Anwar Reda
ZAC, 6 POINTS IN A ROW…
Not sure what happened in the first game, wasn’t around, but to
be honest, not sure what happened in the 2nd either, as Martin
was up 10/6 game ball, to lose the next 6 points to render the
game 12/10 to a grateful Zac!
 We
just heard a bit roar as the New Zealander went in the side
court between the second and third, bless him. And if like Ryan
Cuskelly a bit earlier, Zac was shooting the corners a bit too
easily/quickly I thought, the Australian regrouped and played
more patiently in the 3rd.
At 7/7, everything was still possible for the New Zealander, and
idem at 9/9! But Zac just found two great shots, and the mass
was said, as we say in France….
“Yes, I’m aiming for those short sharp points, I’m trying to
play them after 5, 6 shots, but I guess that I got a bit carried
away and played them after 2, 3, which as w bit too much.
"The win of the second one was massive, and it got me through
the third one really, because it’s been a long day, one hour
late, it’s hard for everybody, and having a 2/0 lead is crucial
at that time of night!
"There were a lot of 5 setters today, really happy to win 3/0…."
Zac Alexander
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