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TODAY in Nantes Fram
in Nantes |
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09-Sep, Day FIVE:
Quarter-Finals Day - women's seeds suffer as top
four make men's semis ...
This afternoon's Ladies quarters at the Maison du Squash Club,
where three of the four matches produced upset results as
the top two seeds were beaten.
This evening men's matches at the Cité
Internationale des Congrès all went to seeding with three
English winners joining locas favourite and defending
champion Greg Marche in the semis.[1] Daryl Selby (Eng)
3-0 [Q] Joel Makin (Wal)
11/9, 11/5, 11/8 (55m)
[4] Gregoire Marche (Fra) 3-1 [8] Olli Tuominen (Fin)
4/11, 11/6, 11/7, 11/6 (63m)
[2] Chris Simpson (Eng) 3-1 [5] Declan James (Eng)
11/5, 4/11, 11/6, 11/7 (55m)
[3] Tom Richards (Eng) 3-2 [6] Karim Ali Fathi (Egy)
11/5,
11/9, 9/11, 8/11, 11/4 (76m) [3] Hana
Ramadan (Egy) 3-0 [7] Tessa Ter Sluis (Ned)
11/7, 11/6, 12/10 (21m)
[8] Laura Pomportes (Fra) 3-0 [1] Chloe Mesic (Fra)
11/8, 11/6, 11/6 (25m)
[Q] Julianne Courtice (Eng) 3-0 [5] Nadia Pfister (Sui)
11/3, 11/3, 11/5 (18m)
[6] Rachael Chadwick (Eng) 3-1 [2] Alexandra Fuller (Rsa)
16/14, 7/11, 11/8, 11/7 (39m) |
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I had to play my best squash to beat Joel today,
I think I played well, it was a 3/0 in an hour, that proves it
was a good game.
Yes, he was picking up so many shots, diving all over,
entertaining the crowds. I’m getting older, I leave that to him,
nowadays, I’m trying to stand on my two feet!
The court is really nice, it’s a beautiful court to play on, I
think it’s the same one as Canary Wharf. It’s quite warm and
bouncy, it’s quite hot outside, but I don’t know whether his
speed made it feel that way. I thought my length was good, but I
just couldn’t get it to die off, and he picked up so many balls.
He makes you win the rally three, four or five times, but I’m
really happy with the way I played. If I hadn’t have been as
sharp as I was and playing as well as I was then that could have
potentially been a big upset because he is playing much, much
higher than his ranking. Last month in the Australian Open, he
beat Paul Coll 3-0, so that says it all really.
I knew I was in for a tough game and I’m delighted that I came
off and won 3-0. And there were about 3, 4 lets in the whole
match, that’s the way it should be.
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[1] Daryl Selby (Eng)
3-0 [Q] Joel Makin (Wal)
11/9, 11/5, 11/8 (55m)
JOEL NEEDS TO HAVE FUN
This was a extremely entertaining encounter between two players
that never say die. And who run a lot. And retrieve a lot. And
play strong tight squash…
 I
cannot help thinking that Joel is a bit of a young Daryl. I
remember when I arrived on the tour, Daryl was solid all around,
very very fit indeed, but wouldn’t trust his shots ability and
would rely more on the depth than on the attack.
Joel has got shots in the racquet he just doesn’t use enough.
OK, credit to Daryl who plays so tight, but only when the Welsh
is back against the wall, about to die and be buried, that he
dares a winner, and out of nowhere, comes a “shot of the month”
burst!
 Daryl
changed his game over the years, added leafs and leafs and leafs
of weight of shots variations, height, speed, added that lethal
attacking boast out of nowhere, and volleys in the nicks on a
regular basis. And I feel that Joel has got to learn to relax,
enjoy his squash, and trust his racquet more. He’ll be getting a
few scalps soon if he does…
Back to the game, first game is 19m, hard, hard work from both I
must say, crowd enjoying it thoroughly, very close the whole
way, 1 tin Daryl, 0 from Joel, 1/1, 2/2, 3/3, 4/4, 7/7, 8/8,
10/8, superb retrieving from the Welsh that gets a nice volley
nick of his own, 10/9, but a stroke to finish, 11/9.
Joel “accuse le coup” in the second, tired as you would be if
you had work as hard as he did to absorb Daryl’s pace and
variation, 5/0, 6/1, 9/2, 10/3. A bit of second wind for the
Welsh, but 4 tins in that game alone, 11/6 Daryl.
It could have been the end of it, but it wasn’t. At all. As we
think that the Welsh is on his way out, he goes up 6/2, playing
finally attacking squash. Daryl won’t have it, straighten the
shots and put more pressure at the back, finding some lovely
angles that kill the quads, back 7/7, 8/8. Two ENORMOUS rallies
at the point, with Daryl attacking relentlessly, and Joel
diving, saving, running retrieving like a lunatic, but who pays
the price of those efforts made by tinning the last two points,
11/8, 21m last game.
What a battle, what a fair game that was. Loved it. |
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[4] Gregoire Marche (Fra)
3-1 [8] Olli Tuominen (Fin)
4/11, 11/6, 11/7, 11/6 (63m)
OLLI IS JUST INCREDIBLE
That’s it. I mean, Greg played very well, especially in the last
game, but Olli, WHAAAAOOOOOOO!!! The man is 37 years old. 37
bleeping years old!
 And
he put so much physical pressure on Greg the Frenchman just
didn’t know what to do… 5/1, 8/3, 11/4 it was, and when the Fin
took a 2/0 lead in the second, I started to think that this
would be a biiiiig upset for the event, as the Acrobat is the
only Frenchie left bless him.
The second was a better game from the French but still, he was
into Olli’s game, fast and furious, hitting everything sooo
hard, no variation of pace, just hit and run and then trying to
find feathery winners, but that’s Olli’s game, that’s Olli’s
trademark squash. And at 5/5 in the 2nd, no winner’s name was on
that board I tell you. Still a nice finish for the French 11/6
in 14 m, first game was 12….
 Third
Olli is a bit tired finally, 5/1, but the Fin just keeps getting
second wind, bless him, and close he comes back, on mammoth
rallies, 7/8! Again a good finish for Greg, 11/7 but in
17minutes! They are working so hard, so fast.
Only in the 4th, Greg will start playing a more varied game,
nice lobs, drives, a bit of fluid movement instead of rush rush
rush all the time. Olli has got to defend now, but still going
strong, thank you very much! At 6/2, it could be finished,
especially as a lot of tins have started to creep in. Again some
incredible rallies – watch the replay it’s quite a nice match
truly – and when Olli seems to be back on track, two unforced –
or are they – errors just stop his come back, 6 errors in that
game alone, and it’s 11/6 in again 16m.
So well done Greg, of course, supported by a very vocal feminine
support, but what a performance, what a squash and fitness and
determination and guts display from the Finn. Chapeau. |
It felt good to end the match like this.
I felt a bit stressed in the first two games, I tried to relax
as much as possible and tried to win differently. I’m just happy
to win 3-1 against a good Olli Tuominen tonight.
I’m not sure why I was stressed, I guess playing at home, it was
the will to do well, to show good squash, and I forgot to play
basic squash. I didn’t play my best squash, but I just couldn’t
let it slip, especially in front of such a crowd. It’s amazing
to have so many people supporting us.
Last year, I came here to find my marks and start the season.
This year, I’m the number four seed, I just reached my seeding,
so now I can relax, it’s all a bonus from here. I hope I’m going
to let go of the stress and play my best squash, produce a big
performance, and not have any regrets.
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I felt good throughout, not
tired, more mentally at the end I think.
In the first game, I was not positive enough and that’s not good
enough against Chris.
Second, yes, the balance was perfect,
third I lost my head a bit, made too many tins, fourth, I think
I got it back a bit, but by the time I got a few winners, it was
a bit too late.
I take that as a good learning experience, you can train so
hard, but you cannot reproduce mental intensity, and I’ve got to
lower the error rate to compete at that level, and I think that
once I get that experience, I’ll be able to get to the next
level.
But I have no regrets, I left everything on the court
today, and if I can keep on improving, then that’s a good sign.
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[2] Chris Simpson (Eng)
3-1 [5] Declan James (Eng)
11/5, 4/11, 11/6, 11/7 (55m)
CHRIS TOO CONSISTENT, DECLAN LOST HIS
DISCIPLINE
Going to make a long story short people, because it’s been a
verrrrrry long day for me, and I’m starting to have my eyes
going square, keyboard like!!!
 First game, Chris is being too Chris for Declan, consistent at
the back, patient and tight, while Declan is just not
challenging his opponent enough: lack of consistency on the
backhand and not volleying enough to put Chris under any kind of
pressure.
But in the second, it’s a like a miracle. Declan suddenly
realises he is 6’8 (kidding but you see what I mean) uses his
height to volley brilliantly, with his reach he gets everything
back, and his backhand is suddenly dying in the back….. 11/4.
Chris is outplayed
But in the 3rd, the young Englishman gets a bit excited, goes
for too much at the wrong time, too early, and loses his
discipline completely. Whereas Chris, who went all tins in the
second, get his groove back, 11/6, 2/1 Chris.
The fourth is more balanced, but by that time, Chris is
completely confident he is wining this one, and Declan well,
maybe lacking a bit of experience and match fitness at the
level/speed.
But it was a great match, fair, intense, and the crowd carried
the boys throughout, what an atmosphere….
Dec and I haven’t played a lot,
but we’ve trained a lot and we actually played in the final of
the tournament the same size as this in Paris at the end of last
season. I knew that he was playing above his ranking, above his
seeding here and it was a very tough draw and a very tough
match.
I tried to stop Declan from having the middle of the court
because he’s very big and his skills are his strength, so I
tried to keep it very tight. I thought I did that very well,
apart from the second game when maybe I hit too many errors. In
that second, I hit how many? 4? That 4 too many….
In the first, I’m very happy with the way I played, that’s my
best game of the match, but in the second, I served, and he went
short, and I served again, and he went short again. That was the
sign of things to come that he didn’t intend to stick to the
same format, and show how clever he is. He really took me by
surprise.
Then, I think I got used to come in and out of play instead of
staying in the one rhythm.
I know how hard Dec trained during the summer so I don’t think
he was physically tired at the end, more a mental tiredness, a
drop of mental intensity more like. He is a big boy so twisted
and turning will take a bit more out of him, and I knew that if
I could get long rallies, it would suit me more than him.
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[3] Tom Richards
(Eng) 3-2 [6] Karim Ali Fathi (Egy)
11/5,
11/9, 9/11, 8/11, 11/4 (76m)
HOLD THE PRESS: FATHI IN A FIVE SETTER…
AGAIN
Karim I love you to bits, but why. Why do you always have to
play five setters. Why? You think you are Joey Barrington? Joey
was like that, playing systematically 5 setters, AND the last
one on court, keeping everybody up. And if you have to keep
everybody up, then WIN!!!!
Joke apart, it was a great match, extremely entertaining for the
packed, absolutely packed crowd, warmed up by an MC, Romain, who
absolutely adores squash, and is milking everything he can from
the atmosphere – amazing – from the Cité des Congrès.
Karim starts trying to match Tom on the physical side – he
trains with Peter Barker, need I say more about a solid first
game – and from the middle of the game, is under a lot of
physical pressure, making 5 unforced errors, 0 from Tom, 9/3,
11/5 in 14m for the Englishman.
Second is as bad to start with for the Egyptian, 6/2, 8/4, but
suddenly, Karim seems to realise that going for shots too soon,
and making quick errors is not going to help his cause. He
becomes more patient, puts more depth in his shots, and starts
to attack more cleverly. And it works… He scores 5 points in a
row, 9/8.
Here, we have a bit of a “line calls” festival, with first Tom’s
ball that is called out, changed to a let, then in the following
rally, where it’s Karim’s shot that is called out – it’s on my
side, I see it good – and the refs again turn the decision to
let. Karim gets a bit excited when Tom gets to 9/9 on a very
lucky bounce bless him, and tins the next two points… Tom says
thanks mate… 11/9, 20 long minutes.
Third is so tense, as Karim seems out and to the changing rooms
at 5/2, hits Tom who was on the left side – “Fram, I swear it
was a mishit I didn’t mean it”, I do believe him, he called his
lets today - and gets a stroke. It’s Tom’s turn now to get
unhappy, plus a no let that could have been a simple let, and we
are back at 7/7, with the Englishman a bit frustrated and a
crowd supporting the Egyptian. A little wall of China for Karim
at 9/7, the ref sees it and warns Karim, but a few long rallies
and strong contacts later, Karim pockets the third, 11/9, 19m,
and the crowd LOOOOOOVES HIM!
Tom is not in the 4th, 4/1, Karim is controlling the pace, and
the angles. And that he doesn’t extremely well, 8/4, 10/6 and
11/8 in 11m.
Back to the drawing board for Tom, who finds the discipline and
focus he had in the first game, while quite understandably, the
Egyptian has lost of Mental Energy – and legs – in the coming
back from Hell… Tom is just the Boss in the 5th, 7/2, 10/3, 11/4
in 8m.
Still it was a very good game, thoroughly enjoyed it, although I
must admit I would have preferred we started a bit earlier than
11pm….
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All summer I worked on my physical and mental fitness, Abbas and
Hossam have been talking to me, made me work, I’m getting
better, but I’m not there yet.
I should have won that second, I was up 9/8, and I lose 11/9…
Not acceptable.
I switched off a little bit for the two games I
lost. He played better, he played well, and I was really annoyed
with myself after the fourth game.
I just thought that I had done so much training throughout the
summer, so I might as well give it all I can in the fifth and
luckily it paid off.
Last game was a typical example of what I can produce when I
have only one option, one game, and give it all in it. The
discipline I showed, I would have liked to have it from 2/0 up,
it would have made my life simpler, and yours!
Oh well I got there in the end…
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[3] Hana Ramadan (Egy) 3-0 [7]
Tessa Ter Sluis (Ned)
11/7,
11/6, 12/10 (21m)
Good battle on there
 A
lethal Egyptian at the front, and very hard hitter moving well
Dutch, finding lovely nicks in the two back corners, and you
have a great match, very entertaining, although short!
First game dominated by the Egyptian, 9/1, who just “want to
finish the point too quickly” and only wins 11/7. She goes on
with the momentum, 5/2, 9/4 to take the game 11/6.
Third is the most interesting, a lot of good rallies, close to
start with, 3/3, then Hana finds some beautiful shots to fly
awat 7/3, only to see Tessa clawing back 7/7. 8/8.
Some superb disputed rallies there, 10/8 for the Dutch, who
won’t be able to close it though, and the Egyptian scores 5
points in a row, 3/0, 12/10…
 I
got into the match a bit late, and I feel she was dominating
patches in the 1st and 3rd, I seem to have leads, but then she
would come back strong. I think it’s because I wanted to finish
the point too early.
I should have been more controlling the T, and keep running
around it, and I feel my shots were a bit too short. I’ll have
to fix this.
I found myself down score wise, like 6/1, just giving the balls
away, anything loose and she is so good with drop shots and
volleying…
In the third, I went back to my game, tighter and harder, I wish
I could have gotten more out of it, like I have 2 game balls,
but I just stopped running for some unknown reason!
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Extremely inconvenient we should have to play
against each other that early, that’s the problem with my
ranking.
Although I’ve been able to play relaxed since my return from
injury, on this one, impossible.
I was tense from the first shot to the last, not sure if it’s
playing in France or against a French girl.
But well, I’m happy I was able to go through it, sometimes you
have to win when your game is not that well in place, it’s part
of the game.
I was a bit worried with that court, very slow and which absorbs
shots on the front wall, because she is such a dangerous player
and she can make a kill so easily if you give her time, so I
just focus on my speed to take the time away from her
It was a very hard match against a player that has improved
immensely, a coming up player that has worked hard and deserves
her climb in the rankings.
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[8] Laura Pomportes (Fra)
3-0 [1] Chloe Mesic (Fra)
11/8, 11/6, 11/6 (25m)
SHAME IT’S THE QUARTERS
Those two should not have met at the point in the competition,
but because of Laura’s injury and her absence from the courts
for months, her ranking dropped from 51 to 108. Hence that
meeting with the top seed Chloé, WR58.
 They
have met officially 5 times, and Laura only lost once, it was in
Monte-Carlo Classic 2011.
Needless to say that today was nothing fun for either of them,
Laura being as tense as possible trying to prove and reclaim her
French positioning and Chloé wanted to make sure that her actual
ranking 58 is well deserved and that the improvement she’s made
in her game would give her the upper hand against her dangerous
opponent.
 Let’s
make a long story short, Laura was always in front the whole
match, and Chloé always had to play catch, hence with maximum
pressure.
First game, 5/2, 7/4 and 11/8 for Laura, a few errors – nerves –
from both. The second is closer, 2/2, 4/4, Laura takes a
comfortable lead 8/5, Chloé finds some great shots both at the
back and at the front, 6/8, but errors that creep in at crucial
times for Chloé, and it’s Laura, 11/6.
Third is starting badly for the #1, 4/0, but pride kicks in,
3/4, but again, the errors at crucial time, 8/3, and even if she
saves a match ball at 10/5, she finally bows 11/6 in 25m.
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[Q] Julianne Courtice
(Eng) 3-0 [5] Nadia Pfister (Sui)
11/3, 11/3, 11/5 (18m)
JULIANNE IS BAAAAAAAAAAACK!
 Julianne
Giant Killer Courtice is back in SquashTown people, beware.
That young lady that played in Juniors for England, being
national champion U17 and U19 went to study in Manchester Uni,
then got herself a job as a physio, but realised that hey, “I’m
not getting any younger” and started playing serious squash
again.
Yesterday, she took the first game out of Local Hope Enora
Villard in 3m, 11/4 I think from memory, and basically, she did
the same to #5 Nadia Pfister today.
 Nadia
did very little wrong, she just was completely out played.
Accuracy, speed, placement, clever shots at the worst of times,
the Swiss just couldn’t find solutions to stop the English
player from dominating the rallies.
In the third, she managed to take a little lead, 3/2, but
Julianne just scored 7 on the trot, 9/3, to take the game and
match 11/5.
Only one word, impressive. |
I was playing a lot as a junior,
did the whole Junior thingy, was playing for England U17 U19,
then privileged my studies, but still was playing a bit of
squash, and played a couple of tournaments in the country.
This is only my second tournament abroad.
As I’m not getting any younger, if not now, when??
I think my strongest points are the fact I’m strong, I like
playing at a high pace and hit hard, but my biggest trouble is
my high unforced error rate.
I did better today than yesterday on that front… But still, I
need to work on reducing it.
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This was soooo not a chopping in any way shape or
form, it was soooo hard!
Last time we played in the Irish Open, she was not playing as
well, but recently, she won the Swiss Open, and she is playing
very well.
She is a solid, fit and fast player, I thought I was going to be
tough, and you know what, it was!
I’m very happy I get to play on the glass court, first time on
SquashTV, against a good friend of mine from England.
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[6] Rachael Chadwick
(Eng) 3-1 [2] Alexandra Fuller (Rsa)
16/14, 7/11, 11/8, 11/7 (39m)
TOUGH ONE
When the last quarter started, the winner was not obvious, I
tell you that. Just the first game Rachael had 4 game balls and
Alexandra 2, 16/14!
 Both girls taking the lead each their turn, finding some lovely
winners – well that could have been winners but the opponent
happened to run a heck of a lot – and making both a few untimely
errors!
Looked like Rachael had the upper hand, but excellent reaction
from Alexandra in the second, helped in that task by 5 unforced
errors from the English girl, 11/7, we were back at 1/1.
Third is dominated the most game by the South African, 4/2, 7/4,
9/6, but she seems to drop a bit physically after some pretty
gruelling rallies, and three errors from 8/8, 11/8 Rachael.
Fourth is very close, 1/1, 2/2, 3/3, 4/4, 5/5, 6/6, but again I
can feel a drop of energy from the spirited South African, and
she cannot stop an All English semi, 11/7….
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