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TODAY at the Nationals 2005
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EVENT
ROUNDUP
FULL MASTERS RESULTS NORTH-EAST MASTERS |
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Sun 13th Feb 2005, THE FINALS
Men's Final:
Lee Beachill
bt James Willstrop 11/3,
11/6, 11/3 (45m)
Women's Final:
Linda Elriani
bt Alison Waters 9/2,
9/4, 9/3 (30m
FIFTH FINALS FOR LEE AND LINDA
Lee Beachill claimed his third National title, in his fifth
consecutive final appearance, while Linda Elriani earned her first title in
her fifth appearance, ten years after her first.
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THREE FOR BEACH
Steve Cubbins reports
 Lee
Beachill claimed his third National title, in his fifth consecutive
appearance in the final.
Beachill started strongly, and never eased up as James Willstrop,
finally feeling the effects of hard quarter-and semi-final matches, never
seriously challenged his Pontefract and England team-mate.
Beachill was precise, keeping the ball deep and tight throughout,
restricting the attacking opportunities for Willstrop, who was forced into a
number of errors and several times caught out of position after punishing
rallies.
Willstrop never led in any of the three
games as Beachill pressed home his advantage, completing the victory in 45
minutes.
 "It
feels great to be National champion again," said Beachill. "I played
really well today, my form was good from the word go and I managed to get
the ball past James and put him under pressure.
"I think he was a bit tired from previous matches, but it's difficult for
both of us. We practice every day so we know each other's games inside out,
which I think makes it easier for me as I know where most of his shots are
likely to go.
"I've come out on top every time so far, but that's not going to last
forever so I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts, " said Beachill, only the
third player to win the title three times.
Lee Beachill bt James Willstrop
11/3, 11/6, 11/3
(45m)
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SHORT VIDEO OF
THE PRESENTATION
 "That
was a desperately disappointing performance. I was probably a bit jaded,
and Lee's got the game to exploit it if you're not quite there
physically, but it was still a poor performance on my part.
"In the end I wasn't even trying to attack, and that's not me and I
certainly can't afford to do that against Lee. I can only remember one
good shot I played all match. He was just keeping it so tight, giving me
nothing.
"All credit to Lee, he played very well, and I'm not at all disappointed
to lose to him, just in the way I did it ..."
James Willstrop |
 "I
think James was a bit tired from his previous rounds, and I thought I
might be after my match with Nick last night. But I had a good 24 hours
rest and felt fine today.
"I've been able to play hard matches back-to-back over the last couple
of years, which has helped me step up to the next level."
Lee Beachill |
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ELRIANI: ENFIN!!!!!!!!!!At last…
 Yes,
after 17 participations in the event, the former Miss Charman, now Mrs
Elriani (which proves what good taste she has), is British National
Champion.
And yes, I dare to say I’m happy. No offence to Alison Waters, who I have
been praising all week, as I truly believe that she will be one of the stars
of tomorrow, but I really wanted Linda to get her title at last…
The Lady has got a fiery temper, she is passionate, she goes straight to the
point, she is determined, hard working, talented… And you wonder why I like
her?????
 She
deserves the title. And she got it fair and square.
From the first ball, she kept control of the rallies, playing great volley
cross court lobs that kept Alison right in the back, and played nearly all
her backhand drives stuck to the wall, preventing Allison from attacking and
depriving her of most of her options.
Waters still played some great short rallies, and when she was scoring, she
seemed to be stringing the points together: from 1/5 to 4/5 in less than a
minute in the second, and 0/1 to 3/1 in the third in about the same time.
 But
Linda never lost her head, never lost her concentration. This was her day.
In 30 minutes of a good, solid and precise game, Linda Elriani enters the
History Books at last, and the tears on her mum’s cheeks are more eloquent
than any press article….
Bien joué Linda…
Framboise
 "It's
a lovely feeling, I've been waiting for this for 16 years. What a great
feeling to have your daughter achieving the number one position in her
country.
Chick
(Linda's mum) |
Linda Elriani
bt Alison Waters 9/2, 9/4, 9/3 (30m)
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 "Everone
was telling me that this was the year I could probably do it. But I kept
on concentrating on what I was doing.
"Because Cassie wasn't playing I
knew that if I played my best squash I could beat anyone in the draw."
"I know how Alison is able to play, I played her only two weeks ago in
Greenwich and I beat her 3/1, 9/7 in the fourth and the match was much
harder than today. So today I was here at 120%, no way was I going to
take her lightly.
"I think Alison got nervous, you get nervous anyway. She didn't seem to
be affected in the other rounds, she has great mental attitude.
 "I
felt I played well, the secret is to stick to what you know you need to
do, and when I felt her coming back into the match I kept saying top
myself "get the ball to the back again, and get to the front.
"The longer
the rallies seemed to go on the more it seemed to work in my favour.
Alison volleys well, so I knew I had to keep the ball very tight or she
would be onto it and put it away.
"I did get a bit nervous towards the end, thinking 'I could be National
Champion in a couple of rallies, but I just told myself to keep playing
my squash."
"When I played my first Nationals Alison was three, but at least
experience comes with age, and that does get you through a lot of
matches!"
Linda Elriani |
 "I
was very nervous, I think I got overwhelmed with the occasion - I was
pretty nervous when I woke up this morning. It's my first time past the
first round in the event, ever. If I get into a final again I will learn
to enjoy it more, not to get so tense and to smile much more.
"But overall I'm very happy, it's been a great week as I didn't expect
in my wildest dreams to get into the final."
Alison Waters |
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