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Sat 4th Dec, Round Two,
Top Half:
[24] Hisham Ashour (Egy) bt
[12] Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned)
11/7, 11/9, 11/7 (47m)
[16] Alister Walker (Eng) bt [29] Joey Barrington (Eng)
11/3, 11/4, 11/3 (33m)
[14] Azlan Iskandar (Mas) bt Mark Krajcsak (Hun)
13/11, 11/5, 11/7 (44m)
[10] David Palmer (Aus) bt [21] Jonathan Kemp (Eng)
11/4, 3/11, 11/7, 10/12, 11/4 (57m)
Palmer fights for climactic farewell
Richard Eaton reports
[1] Nick
Matthew (Eng) bt [27] Shahier Razik (Can)
11/5, 11/1, 11/7 (33m)
[7] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt [22] Omar Mosaad (Egy)
11/6, 11/8, 11/3 (38m)
[3] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [28] Ali Anwar Reda (Egy)
11/7, 11/1, 11/7 (29m)
[5] Grégory Gaultier (Fra) bt [30] Farhan Mehboob (Pak)
11/6, 11/5, 11/4 (42m)
Big Guns open fire in
Saudi ...
The schedule pitched the top seeds into action later in the day
at Sunset Beach, and Nick Matthew, Thierry Lincou, Amr
Shabana and Gregory Gaultier all showed they mean business
with impressive straight game wins.
Earlier in the day Hisham Ashour turned over a new leaf
as he upset 12th seed LJ Anjema with an untypically disciplined
performance, Alister Walker and Azlan Iskandar both won
handily enough, while two-time champion David Palmer
emerged unscathed from an up and down five game encounter.
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[24] Hisham
Ashour (Egy) bt [12] Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned)
11/7, 11/9, 11/7 (47m)
The real Hisham
Ashour appears
"That's what I've been trying to do all my life," said a
delighted Hisham Ashour after ousting 12th seed
Laurens Jan Anjema in straight games.
It wasn't a typical Hisham match - far from mixing outrageous
winners with unforced errors and getting frustrated with
himself, today Ashour Senior essentially played 'normal' squash,
happy to rally it out, happy to retrieve, but more than happy to
throw in winning boasts, drops and volley drops when - and only
when - the opportunity arose.
The Egyptian led for the vast majority of the match, only in the
middle of the second did LJ manage to get briefly ahead, but
Hisham didn't panic, as the old Hisham might have done, he just
kept playing steady, waiting for, and taking, the opportunity to
throw in his winners.
 "I
told you I was getting there," he continued. "I used to feel
heavy, so although I knew I could kill the ball, retrieving was
a problem and I had to go for winners too soon. Now I've trained
hard, lost weight, and I feel I can retrieve for as long as I
want to, so I don't have to go for winners.
"I can wait for the opportunity, then the normal Hisham Ashour
comes out. People probably think, 'oh he's getting tired, he'll
hit the tin soon', but no, you don't have to create the
openings, they will come, and when they do your true style can
come out.
"I'm even more motivated for the next round now, I want to show
all the people that believed in and helped me that I'm good, I
want to pay them back ..."
[16] Alister
Walker (Eng) bt [29] Joey Barrington (Eng)
11/3, 11/4, 11/3 (33m)
Ali eases through
Malcolm reports
Joey Barrington, off duty from his commentating role, has
had back problems and Alister Walker has looked a little out of
sorts recently, so the outcome of this match was hard to
predict.
 Walker
began more purposefully than in his previous match with Steve
Coppinger, leading 8/2 and looking more like his old self,
winning the game with ease 11/3.
The second was little different as Walker continued to be in
control, taking a two-nil lead 11/4 and looking a different
player from the one who struggled in the first round.
Barrington, wearing ankle protection, battled, as he does, but
it was all uphill from start to finish against a more incisive
Walker, who won the third 11/3.
Barrington can take solace in the commentator's box, Walker
should and will be encouraged by his performance.
[14] Azlan
Iskandar (Mas) bt Mark Krajcsak (Hun)
13/11, 11/5, 11/7 (44m)
Azlan's away at
last
 "It's
hard to be here a week and not play," admitted Azlan Iskandar,
who after an early arrival and a first round bye got his world
open campaign off to a good start with a straight-games win over
Mark Krajcsak, the Hungarian who created one of the first round
upsets.
Iskandar led early in the first game, 5/3, but Krajcsak, playing
neat and tidy squash, overhauled him and earned a game ball at
10/9 but couldn't convert as the Malaysian took it 13/11 at the
second attempt.
Iskandar, no doubt buoyed by that, opened up a 7/1 lead in the
second and closed it out 11/5 shortly after.
It was the Hungarian though, who started better in the third,
but although the rallies continued to be well-contested,
Iskandar slowly regained control, caught up at 6-all and again
closed it out well to reach the last sixteen.
"I made a few too many errors in the first," he said, "but I
tightened up in the second and felt much better. I eased off at
the start of the third, went 5/1 down but managed to get it back
together.
"It was good to get a game at last, but definitely happy to win
three-nil and now I have another day off ..."
[10] David
Palmer (Aus) bt [21] Jonathan Kemp (Eng)
11/4, 3/11, 11/7, 10/12, 11/4 (57m)
Palmer beats up
and down Kempy
David Palmer added to Australian success (their women's
team recaptured the world team title this morning) with victory
over Jonathan Kemp in an up and down match where the swings had
much more to do with the Englishman than his opponent.
 "I
won the first game quite easily," Palmer explained, "not by
doing much, just moving the ball around and he made the errors.
He cut them out in the second, and I just kept doing the same
thing and he was picking them off for winners."
Kemp's improved form continued into the third as he established
a handy 7/4 lead, then frittered it away with more tins as
Palmer regained the lead 11/7.
In the fourth it was the Australian's turn to lose a lead as
Kemp, looking very determined, recovered for 4/6 to lead 9/6 and
10/7. Tin tin tin and it was extra points, winner winner
and Kemp had forced a decider.
Sadly he just imploded in the fifth. After taking the first
point Kemp hit the tin six times, all unforced, and there was no
way back from there, not against David Palmer, anyway.
"I should have won the fourth really," added Palmer, "so it got
a bit too close for comfort, but I got there in the end. I would
have taken 3/0, but I've had a good runout, and with the rest
days you probably need that, two matches first up is better for
me so the rest day coming up is a bit of a waste.
"I've played well every year here, although the court is
normally colder than it was today, so hopefully I can keep that
going ..."
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[1] Nick
Matthew (Eng) bt [27] Shahier Razik (Can)
11/5, 11/1, 11/7 (33m)
Matthew in Charge
Malcolm reports
 Shahier
Razik has been plying his trade for a long time, famed for
his ability on outside courts and to play long demanding
matches. Dealing with top seeded Nick Matthew on the
glass court would not be the opponent or setting he would
choose, if there was a choice.
In the first game Razik eased his way around, with little
apparent effort, whilst Matthew deceptively appeared to be
working the harder. Not too long, though, and Matthew, as pacey
as Razik is paceless, was one game up, 11/5.
He was soon well clear in the second, too, 10/1, with Razik
working hard but looking as unruffled as when he first came on
court. One more point and Matthew was two games up and
unchallenged.
A brief flurry by Razik in the the third took him from 1/5 to
5-all. Matthew paid more attention, went to 9/5 and closed out
the match out 11/7.
Razik's challenge was not severe enough to test Matthew for what
lies ahead, but he looked eager and sharp.
[7] Thierry
Lincou (Fra) bt [22] Omar Mosaad (Egy)
11/6, 11/8, 11/3 (38m)
Lincou looking
good
Malcolm reports
There are plenty of appealing matches in the second round and
the Thierry Lincou - Omar Mosaad confrontation was without doubt
amongst the most interesting - plenty of players in the crowd,
too, a sure indication that there should be something to watch.
Mosaad errors took Lincou to a 6-1 lead without much ado and so
far it was all too easy for Lincou. But it didn't stay that way
and Mosaad recovered just as easily to 6/7. Stung, perhaps, by
Mosaad's response, Lincou came back to lead 10/6 ad took the
game at the first attempt.
An awkward slip by Lincou in the front left meant Mosaad led 5/3
in the second, and not for the first time the big Egyptian ran
into Lincou unnecessarily, resulting in a caution from the
referee. A stroke took him to 6/4 but a deft backhand short
angle from Lincou made it 5/6 and a well-executed lob 6-all.
A soft stroke gave Mosaad a 7/6 lead, Lincou countered with
another winner and there was a tension to the match, each
knowing how crucial a 2-0 lead could be. A stroke gave Lincou
game ball 10/8 and another the game and a two-game lead worth
its weight in gold.
Lincou, movint it seems as well as ever, quickly led 5/1 in the
third and it was hard to imagine a way back for Mosaad. 5/1
became 10/3 as Mosaad's resistance lessened, and it was all over
11/3.
 Lincou
will be content to have seen off a dangerous opponent so
convincingly. Mosaad strikes the ball beautifully but has
movement problems to resolve.
"That was much better than in Chicago," said Lincou, who had
lost to Mosaad in the recent US Open. "There is was cold and
dead and I just couldn't get him off the 'T' but here it was
bouncier, I could get him moving more."
Asked about his prospects about a second world title six years
after his first, Lincou was coy. "I don't think about the end of
the tournament, I just try to keep focused on the match of the
day, and that's when I play my best. It's great to have the
French support team here before, during and after the match, it
really helps me to stay relaxed."
[3] Amr
Shabana (Egy) bt [28] Ali Anwar Reda (Egy)
11/7, 11/1, 11/7 (29m)
Shabana on Song
 "It's
great for us to have so many good youngsters coming through in
Egypt," said reigning world champion Amr Shabana after disposing
of one of that bunch, Ali Anwar Reda, in straight games, "you
can't afford to relax with them pushing us, so it keeps us older
ones on our toes."
Reda threatened his elder countryman in the first game, but at
6-all Shabana stepped on the gas as only he and a couple of
others can, and in the third when he did the same from 6/5.
But Reda showed enough that he may son be posing a stiffer
challenge to the top players. "He just needs to work hard and
get a few more matches against the top guys," advised Shabana,
"but with the likes of him, Mosaad, Shorbagy and others coming
through it's looking good for the future.
[5] Grégory
Gaultier (Fra) bt [30] Farhan Mehboob (Pak)
11/6, 11/5, 11/4 (42m)
Greg completes the
set
Great friends off court, and pretty friendly on court too, most
of the time, Gregory Gaultier and Farhan Mehboob
have similar styles of play, both are very quick around court,
both with very quick swings. Lots of rat-a-tat rallies, side to
side, forward and back, it's sometimes hard to keep up when
you're watching, so how they manage on court is a marvel.
 Thing
is, Greg is just better at his game than Farhan is, so although
the Pakistani was never out of contention, he never really
threatened to extend the match either.
Greg got to 8/2 in the first before Farhan joined in with a run
of points, too late, and although Farhan made it tough up to
4-all in the second he quickly subsided thereafter.
A 6/1 start in the third was always going to be enough for the
Frenchman, making it a clean sweep of three-nil wins for the big
guns in tonight's matches.
"I've been struggling a bit since I got here," admitted
Gaultier. "It took one and a half days to do a six-hour journey,
and I was pretty tired when I arrived.
 "I've
had a couple of hard days training, so I knew I wouldn't be at
my peak today, but once I got on court I felt, not 100%, but
sharp, and I was moving well, I think I did well today.
"I want to play now, but we have another day off, that's just
how it is you have to deal with it. The court's good, a bit
lively but the bounce is true, and you know that if you hit a
good shot you'll be rewarded." |
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