FINAL: James Willstrop (Eng) bt Anthony Ricketts (Aus)  6/11, 11/9, 13/11, 11/3 (58m)
  

What a beautiful
final that was ...
Framboise from Islamabad

I didn't know what to expect when those two boys came on court this afternoon, as they had never played each other before ... no reference.

To start with, let me congratulate Anthony Ricketts, the 'used-to-be-boiling' Australian. His behaviour in this tournament has been exemplary. He didn't lose his temper once, he didn't argue with the referee, he didn't get frustrated with himself or his opponent ... and god knows, he was under pressure a few times ... long and disputed games with Darwish, Gaultier, Power ...

No, Anthony, I told you today, and I'm repeating it here, you have improved so much, and it's good for you, it's good for squash, and it's good for the spectators who can now enjoy the superb quality of your squash without the distractions.

Game One
And Anthony did start very well today. Firmly planted on the T, he was pushing the young James Willstrop to the back, again and again, imposing his game, not giving him any chances to attack, forcing him to attack from insecure positions and to find the tin, the tin, too many times ...

The rally at 2-all lasted for ever, and I mean for ever ...  James was patient but his shots were slightly loose, whereas Anthony was precise, his cross-courts were deep and at a perfect angle, preventing the tall young man from volleying.

At 4-all James quickly found the tin on an attempted volley drop, and it was a sort of liberation for the Australian who started adding point, after point, after point, to finally win the first 11/6, in 16 minutes.
  
Game Two
The beginning of the second was still Anthony's, but James started to find some exquisite backhand drop-shots instead of the tin. And it was like something clicked in his head. Confidence came back. His shots became heavier, he was now controlling the rallies, pushing the Australian to the back, dropping, then slowing down, pushing Anthony more and more out of his comfort zone, who now had to work harder and harder to pick up the lethal attacks ... up and down the court, again and again.

4-4, 6-6, 7-7, 8-8, 9-9, another great backhand drop-shot from James, 10-10.

That's when James won the heart of the packed audience.
Anthony placed an extraordinary length that James should never have got ... but he did. Anthony sends the ball to the front, and James gets it ... again, and again and again. Eventually, to the great joy of the spectators, James wins the point and he ends up winning a very close game indeed, 11/9 in a long 17 minutes.

The Third
The third was pure magic. When you have two great players, one with length and winning shots, the other with the angles and retrieving magic, the result is squash with a capital S.

And trust me, the spectators in Islamabad know what squash is all about, and they appreciated every minute.

During the whole game, there was never more than two points between the players. A combination of volley-drops and drop-shots from James, retrieving and lobs from hell from Anthony, lengths, drives, cross-courts ... we had it all.

Ricketts had three game balls, at 10-8, 10-9 and 11-10, but James's backhand drops were just shaving the tin, forcing his opponent to dig deep into the physical reserves he didn't have any more ...

17 minutes of pure perfection, and 13-11 for the tall boy ...

HistoryMade
The final game lasted only 8 minutes, as Ricketts was now paying for the long matches he had during the tournament.

And with the last 11-3, James Willstrop had become the sixth champion of the Pakistan Open, after Amjad Khan, Peter Marshall, Jonathon Power, and of course, of course, Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan.

The young man's joy was so great ... his smile said it all.

At twenty-one, another player from the Pontefract pool is making history ...

Roundup: Framboise on a great week in Pakistan ...

Roundup
Framboise on a great
week in Pakistan
 
EN BREF
Everything you didn't know
you needed to know ...

James in Islamabad
Thoughts of a Champion
 
Pakistan Reports
Reports from earlier rounds

The Last Day
Framboise's great day in Islamabad
 
Official Site from Islamabad

En Français

“Think how many points I'm going to lose next year, between the World Open and winning the Pakistan Open!!!!! “I think I was lucky, well, maybe I also played well enough to get rid of my opponents quickly, like I did against Nick in the semis. And I knew that Anthony had a much harder run, and although he is the spitting image of fitness, he is not superman, and I knew he couldn't go on playing at that level day in day out forever. “So, I knew that, if I could hang on in there, be patient, he would eventually tire. And he did. “I want to thank two people back home who have helped me, Damon Brown, who has helped me get fit, and my brother David Campion. And of course, my coach, my father, the man who has made me the player that I am, Malcolm Willstrop.  Also big thanks to sport england and the EIS who have given me funding and physio and massage support. And my mum, she is always with me, she inspires me in every match I play.... ”   James Willstrop

“I think he played the right game. He managed to get winners in there I couldn't do anything about. And I felt physically flat, after all that court time (5 games v Darwish, 4 v Gaultier, 5 v Power), and they were all hard games. I had a couple of game points in the third, that normally I would have taken, but today, I was just flat, out of energy... “He played very well, he took the ball early, he kept the pressure, whereas I hit too many loose balls. “I think James has the potential to get to number one, like another 6 or 7 players. A few of us that have the potential, but sometimes the draw can make a big difference. “I'm happy that I managed to control myself much better now. At the moment, I still have to think about it, but I'm sure that in a few months, that will be me... “I haven't been home since July, I can't wait! But now, I'm on my way to India...   Anthony Ricketts

Pakistan Reports: Reports from earlier rounds