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TODAY in Cairo ... Sun 20th, Day FOUR
Framboise reports from Cairo |
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Who is who.... ???? |
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En Bref #2
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Round Two in Cairo ...
It's down to the last 16, with six Egyptians, five Englishmen
and two Frenchmen leading the hunt for the title ... and some
seriously long matches ....
[1] Karim Darwish
bt [Q] Ali Anwar
Reda (played on GC)
11/3, 11/4, 11/7 (29m)
[16]
Cameron Pilley
bt [5] Nick Matthew
12/10, 11/6, 10/12, 13/11 (90m)
[4] Amr Shabana bt [11] Laurens Jan Anjema
11/7, 11/6, 11/5 (45m)
[12]
Alister Walker
bt [8]
Adrian Grant
9/11, 11/7, 11/9, 4/11, 12/10 (121m)
[10]
James
Willstrop bt [6] Peter Barker
8/11, 12/10, 7/1 ret inj.
[3] Ramy Ashour
bt [14] Azlan Iskandar
13/11, 11/3, 4/11, 11/6 (38m)
[9] Wael El Hindi bt [7] Thierry Lincou
11/5, 13/11, 13/15, 13/11 (110m)
[2] Gregory Gaultier bt [15] Mohamed El Shorbagy
11/9, 12/10, 11/5 (49m)
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[9] Wael El Hindi bt [7] Thierry Lincou
11/5, 13/11, 13/15, 13/11 (110m) |
WAEL, ZIP IT....
When I arrived, about mid second game, I was so happy to see a
match that was fluid, both players playing extremely well, nice
volleying from Wael, superb backhand drop shots and
counter attack from Thierry, with the Frenchman a bit
slow off the mark, taking the ball a bit too late, whereas the
Egyptian was superb of both possessiveness and tightness.
Wael was dominating the rallies for two games by his superb
talent. But then, he went and spoiled it. He started to chat
with the central ref, argue with one of the players
who was reffing who gave the wrong decision in his eyes, argued with
Thierry, with Renan who was supporting Thierry at the back of
the seats.... He was basically all over the place, stop, start,
stop, start....
His camp, both his brother and his coach, were asking him to
stay in the match, to concentrate, to stay focused. And of
course, after a few verbal and physical confrontations/
collisions, Thierry joined the fun... Rugby match describes more
or less the rest of the third....
Thank God both players calmed down in the
fourth, even if
there were still far too many contacts between the two. And
again we were able to see some great squash, great retrieving
and volley drop shots from Wael, who really was beautiful to
watch, and some superb
stretchings
from Thierry, who didn't want to let go of the match.
Still, the match goes to the man who wanted it more....
"If you want my opinion", told me Wael's brother afterwards, "I
think that in the first two games, Wael was the defending
champion, playing superbly, but after that, he ruined it with
his mouth..."
From the horse's mouth....
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MESSY...
Let's be honest here. This was NOT
a nice match to watch. Up to 6, 7, 8 lets for each point, both
players getting in each other's way, not much love lost between
those two, although there was never a bad gesture or word on
court - or off. Still, about as much pleasure to watch this
encounter as to have a root canal really.
It was messy people, didn't get
better in the fifth, where both players collided with each other
to finish on the floor, then Adrian taking a few minutes off for
what seemed like a dead leg, came back, then had both shoulder
and calf cramp, that seemed to ease ever so slightly during the
7 lets they played at 10/9, match ball for Adrian.
Cutting a long story short, Ali eventually takes the game 12/10.
No celebration, quick hand shake.
End of suffering. Literally. |
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PILLEY STICKS IN THERE...
Awful start,
Nick took, 6/0.
Uncharacteristic of him really. Two factors. 1, he didn't really
play a match yesterday - wild card - so no rhythm at all, no
real feel of the court. 2, he was flat from the British still.
Like James who nearly got out yesterday against Farhan.
 But
all credit to that Fiery Australian, God is that boy positive or
what! He was volleying at will, hitting extremely hard, playing
at a very fast pace that overwhelmed Nick rather badly, until,
well, 10/6 in the 3rd, match ball!
The British Open Champion's pride pushed him to save not only
the four next shots, but to take the game as well. And to go on
with the momentum in the
fourth, to 7/4. And we thought, oh well,
Pilley missed his chance, he went a bit negative when he had
match balls, forgot what took him there, and will be mentally
destroyed.
Well, no. Cameron picked up the pace again, stopped those silly
crosscourt right in Nick's racquets, attacked again, put
pressure at the back before going short, and came back to 8/8.
9/9. 10/10. 11/11.
Flip of a coin, you know the drill... A tin for Nick at 11/11
sets up the 6th match ball. And that's the one.
"Well play, Pilley", will actually say Nick to his opponent as
they leave the court.... |
"I did beat Nick last year in Hong Kong, when he was a bit under the
weather, he was ill I think, but then again, if you step on court,
you are expecting to win I guess...
At 10/6, sorry to sound a bit pretentious, but I was playing so well
up to then that I thought that one of my shots were bound to get in.
You CAN'T THINK THAT!!!!, even if you are at 10/2 up... And he put
the intensity up, went up short, and got it all back.
After losing the third and all those match balls, it would have been
easy to let him have all the momentum, and save myself for a
fifth.
But I'm happy I stuck in there.
In the fourth, we had some hard rallies, that took a lot out of both of
us, but I was the one 7/4 down. So I really waited for the right one
to go short, was more patient, no cross courts, and from 8/8, it was
50% really, it all came down to the one that would play a good
rally...
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 "I
think at the start, I paid for the British Open, I took awful starts
in the first two games, it would take 5 or 6 points before I would
actually find the speed I normally have.
This is the best he ever played against me, and as he was injured
last week when I played him, I didn't expect such a game I guess. He
had confidence in his shots today...When he gets everything together,
body and mind, he is pretty dangerous!!!!
I'm happy I was still determined in the third and fourth... I guess
playing the wild card has two sides to it, yes it gave me a bit of
an extra day of rest after the British, but it also meant that I had
no preparation and that the speed caught me off guard... Can't have
it all!
Now until Christmas, it's going to be very hard to be playing well
all the time, as the calendar is pretty hectic, but the Boys Alex and
Lee are working very hard for us to have a better schedule next year...
Still, I can't use winning a tournament as an excuse really, and I'd
rather win one and lose the next one in the last sixteen than lose two
semis...."
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I was leading in the 2nd, but I lost a bit of concentration, played
a few tins in a row, I was trying to play too fast.
I put my head down from then, without looking at the score, trying
not to open the court, and to close the angles to prevent him from
volleying, as he does it particularly well...
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[2] Gregory Gaultier bt [15] Mohamed El Shorbagy
11/9, 12/10, 11/5 (49m) |
GREG ROCKS, BUT STANDS
Never easy to play a talented young Egyptian - aren't they all -
in front of his home crowd. And Greg learnt his lesson from last
year's defeat, and was geared from the word go.
It all came down to nothing, a few shots at the end of
each game. And Mohamed could have won both of the two first games...
 "I
didn't feel tired... I've learned a great lesson today, how to
finish crucial points...
Because what made the difference tonight was his great experience,
he showed how a great player he was at the end of the first two
games, 9/9, 10/10, he just played so well, and finished off the
points...
I made an error there, I changed my game, and instead of going on
being patient, I went for shots.
In the third, I lost my concentration, and by the time I had it back,
I was down 8/3....
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[1] Karim Darwish
bt [Q] Ali Anwar
Reda
11/3, 11/4, 11/7 (29m)
"I’m soooo unlucky, three
times I played on a glass court, and the fourth time, I get to play Karim
Darwish!!!
Tonight, I was really paralysed on there, I was playing such a basic game, I
was tetanised at the idea of playing the World Number one…
He was moving so much better than me… And now, I’m going to train and work
hard on my attacking game…"
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[4] Amr Shabana bt [11] Laurens Jan Anjema
11/7, 11/6, 11/5 (45m)
THE PRINCE LOOKS SOLID…
Man I really like when Shabana is looking that good. When he accepts the
rallies, when he is patient and yet explosive, when he finds the perfect
balance between length, and width, and sets up his magic at the front.
LJ played his game, he was patient, solid and strong at the back,
counterattacked well too, but if he was able to put pressure on the Egyptian
in the first game and a half, Shabana grinded him slowly to push him so far
away in the back that it was a very long way to get to the front, forcing
him to arrive that little bit late.
Twisting and turning the Dutch, he then prevented him to volley as much –
and as well – as he was doing in the first game, and the result never was in
doubt in my mind tonight…
 "I
felt sharp tonight, I needed to be because LJ is very dangerous, he plays
fast, he has a good reach, and winds you out, you find yourself tired very
quickly if you are not sharp…..
It made the difference in the crucial points, but I never was able to relax,
I needed to stay extremely focused…
Mid 2008, I lost interest, I lost the fire, when you are defending,
defending constantly your title, your ranking, you take the habit of only
defending, and you forget to attack. So in 2009, I tried and came back after
I lost my title and my ranking, but the body didn’t follow.
This time round, the body is fine, the mind is fine, I’m enjoying it again,
it’s a nice balance. I know an athlete’s career is only lasting so many
years, 13, 14, 15, I know it’s got to end sometime, so I’m just enjoying it
right now…"
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[3] Ramy Ashour bt [14] Azlan Iskandar
13/11, 11/3, 4/11, 11/6 (38m)
 "He
plays at such a fast pace, he makes you work so hard, it’s the next level I
guess. I’m working hard to try and reach that level….
I think that maybe I could have moved a little better, I was hesitating too
much, and against Ramy, you don’t hesitate. Same for my shots, I could have
been more confident, more positive with them.
"My length was good, what’s the good of it if you don’t use it to create
opportunities….?
"Also, I’m used to a traditional squash, and Ramy definitely doesn’t play a
traditional squash… He looks like he is in good shape, I wish him luck for
the rest of the tournament…"
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