|
|
|
|
|
Thu 31st, Round One, Bottom: |
Farhan and Tarek
impress in Cairo
The first round concluded at the Sky Club with another three
Egyptians progressing to the second round, and two shock
results.
Pakistani youngster Farhan Mehboob recorded the best win
of his career against world number 13 Cameron Pilley, but in the
final round of matches Tarek Momen topped that with a
sensational five-game win over world number two Gregory
Gaultier, saving two match balls in the process ...
|
 |
|
Farhan Mehboob (Pak) bt [13]
Cameron Pilley (Aus)
7/11, 11/5, 4/11, 11/8, 11/7 (80m)
[7] Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt [Q]
Simon Rosner (Ger)
11/8, 11/9, 11/7 (39m)
[11] LJ Anjema
(Ned) bt Joey Barrington (Eng)
6/11, 11/8, 11/9, 11/6 (81m)
[4] Karim Darwish (Egy) bt Renan
Lavigne (Fra)
11/7, 11/5, 11/7 (33m)
[16] Hisham Ashour (Egy) bt [LL]
Steve Coppinger (Rsa)
6/11, 10/12, 11/9, 11/6, 11/9 (66m)
[8] Azlan Iskandar (Mas) bt [Q]
Stephane Galifi (Fra)
11/2, 8/11, 11/2, 11/8 (42m)
[14] Borja Golan (Esp) bt Omar
Abdel Aziz (Egy)
11/8, 11/4, 8/11, 11/5 (75m)
[Q] Tarek Momen (Egy) bt [2]
Gregory Gaultier (Fra)
4/11, 11/7, 11/4, 5/11, 14/12 (64m) |
Top Half Matches
En Bref #4 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
"I have been training very hard for the last three months, I was
very tense for the last six months, I didn't take any rest.
"He is a very good player, he is very tough to beat. I played
well, but today I changed my game so I was able to win without
playing my own game, which I am pleased with."
 "I
was happy to get the lucky loser spot, and I was up 2/0 with the
chance to win again.
"I'm disappointed to lose from that position again but I played
well and I'm always doing my best ..."
 |
[16]
Hisham Ashour (Egy) bt [LL]
Steve Coppinger (Rsa)
6/11, 10/12, 11/9, 11/6, 11/9 (66m)
Hisham on fire
Marwan reports
 When
they said that Steve was the lucky loser everyone thought it
would be very tough match. Steve started very well, as he did
when he lost to Tarek he was keeping the pressure on Hisham and
not allowing him to play his game.
Today Steve had the chance again to win the match when he was
2/0 and 8/6 up, he was very near to winning but Hisham changed
his game
In the second game I thought that Hisham found his game when he
took the lead 6/1, but after that he started to hit the ball and
played lots of crosscourts and Steve is a strong player so he
was volleying it. Hisham had a chance to win the second when he
was 10/9 up, when they played the best point of the match, they
were both killing themselves on this point. Steve didn't have
any pressure so he was playing well and took the game to lead
2/0.
The third was very tough. Steve was up 8/6. At 8/8 Hisham hit a
magic nick, he surprised me with this nick at that time. This
nick gave him the confidence to win the game. In the fourth
Hisham found the right game, which made Steve run all over the
court.
 At
5/3 it was another good point Steve made Hisham do the running
in this point, Steve dropped it then Hisham just boasted it from
the front of the court.
The last game Steve was just playing a basic game he didn't want
to make any mistakes, then the game started to be closer, 6/6,
8/8, 9/9. At 10/9 Steve made a mistake gave to Hisham the match,
to go through next round.
The match was easily the best match of the tournament ... REALLY
it was very interesting ... |
 |
 |
|
Farhan Mehboob (Pak) bt [13]
Cameron Pilley (Aus)
7/11, 11/5, 4/11, 11/8, 11/7 (80m)
FARHAN NOT AT HIS BEST…
Framboise reports
 I’m
a big fan of the Pakistani player, I must admit, and I was a bit
surprised by the amount of errors, loose balls and wrong
tactical choices that the young man made today.
And to be
honest, I really thought that Cameron, who was way in front of
him all the time, who dominating the rallies quite heavily in
the first, was going to win that one easily. Then he started rushing things, tinning far too many
attacks, giving a bit of breathing time to his opponent who
started moving a bit better towards the front.
But yet again, in the third, Farhan played really not his best
squash, I spotted a long rally where he played two lengths for
the whole duration! Cameron was just firing at will from the
front, and God knows he can do that, hard and at a very fast
pace…
It’s only in the middle of the fourth that Farhan started
developing his game, finding at last a perfect balance between
front and back, tiring Cameron who then had to start covering an
awful lot of ground.
In the fifth Cameron looked down and out, led 6/2. He suddenly
found a new wind, attacked perfectly, and climbed back to 7/7.
Feeling the danger, the Pakistani tightened his game, and never
let his opponent score another point…
|
 "I
allowed him to play good. My length turned to --- and he took
full advantage of it, by hitting some great shots.
"And he got more points that I did today, so he wins!!!"
  |
|
 |
"Yes, he lobbed a lot, he was
playing my game!!!!!!!!
"I felt a bit lethargic, although I’m perfectly fine physically.
I didn’t play much squash since the Malaysian Open, because I
wanted to rest a bit. So it’s good to get through 3/0.
"Simon slowed down the pace, and every time he was in trouble,
he would lob the ball, and forced me to play to the front. He
really played smart tactically, and created a lot of
opportunities."
 |
 |
[7]
Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt [Q]
Simon Rosner (Ger)
11/8, 11/9, 11/7 (39m)
SIMON IN PROGRESSION
Framboise reports
 Beng Hee had a good end of season, getting through to the Super
Series Finals, and winning on home soil in the Malaysian Open,
which is sooooo important for him and his difficult
relationships with the Malaysian Press who are prone to
criticise him a bit too fast.
After that win over his mate Azlan – who beat top seed Wael – to
get to the final, Beng Hee took a bit of breathing time, and it
showed ever so slightly today. Put under pressure by a very
motivated and fit Simon, he wobbled a bit at times, finding the
tin for not good reason it seemed.
But the days of self destruction are over Inshallah, and Beng
Hee got himself a tight but good victory in three against a
player who I believe will improve tremendously in the coming
weeks.
"It
was only the second time I played him, and this time was much
closer that when we played in Toronto. Maybe I could have taken
the second, but I made too many unforced errors.
"He played really well today, and the fact that he is 11 in the
world, and I'm 58 shows! A long way to go still…
"I’m now happy to go back home and work hard with my coach to
try and improve in the coming months. My goal is to get to the
top 50 by December. And I think that I can do it if I keep on
working the way I’ve been doing with him for these past four
weeks.
"And as Bengy is my team mate in Paderborn, I really wish the
best of luck for this tournament ...
 |
|
 |
|
[14]
Borja Golan (Esp) bt Omar Abdel
Aziz (Egy)
11/8, 11/4, 8/11, 11/5 (75m)
Long Rallies
Marwan reports
 This match was very long, they both play the same tactics,
they're both good runners who can run until tomorrow while
playing basic squash.
Borja was in control in the most of the match he was keeping the
pressure on Omar, not giving him any easy balls. In the first
two game Omar made many errors and Borja was just waiting for
them. In the third Omar Started to play more basic, it was very
tough this game, 2/2 3/3 4/4 5/5 6/6 8/8 then two mistakes and a
very good shot from Omar gave him the game.
After that some strange decisions from the referees which Omar
and Borja didn't like, Omar got nervous and Borja of course is
more experience than him so held his concentration better and
won the match to get through to the next round.
|
"It
was very tough match, I know that Omar has improved in the last
few months, he is a good player.
"I am happy to play well in the first tournament of the season,
I hope to play better for the rest of the season."
"In
the first game I started very late, I tried to come back but he
finished it. The second I wasn't there, the third I played
better, I started to play more length on the backhand and he
stopped taking the volley.
"He deserve to win though, he played better ..."
 |
 |
|
[11]
LJ Anjema (Ned) bt Joey Barrington
(Eng)
6/11, 11/8, 11/9, 11/6 (81m)
PHYSICAL TRIAL…
Framboise
reports
Eighty minutes for a four setter shows you how dwelling that
match was. Those two lads are extremely fit and strong, and when
I saw the draw, I knew we were going to go over the 80mn…
LJ is also very tall, and uses his height beautifully, both by
hitting very hard, and volley killing the ball. Joey, on the
other hand is definitely one of the fittest players on the
circuit, is genetically programmed to run and run till the end
of the world, his mum being a long distance runner, and his
father, well, surely you know who is father is.
He’s been working a lot on his short game, and was able to place
some lovely drop shots in the first game after pushing his
opponent way back. But soon LJ regrouped, and planted himself at
the front, hitting nice hard crosscourts, and volleying at will.
Joey was mentally as strong as ever, although he may have
stopped believing in his chances at the end of the 2nd. But he
still kept on returning every god darn shot that the Hollander
was throwing at him, covering a lot a lot of kilometres…
LJ kept his head, kept his game tight together, and was able to
outrun Joey in the end. A strong performance from both players,
with a Joey very calm about his defeat, very positive, and a
relieved LJ after a victory against a player he knew was going
to be hard to beat…
 "Before you play Joey, you know that you are going to have a tough match
mentally, because he is so strong both mentally and physically.
Which is a bit like my own game.
"Like for a lot of players, this tournament is a bit of a test,
we’ve been training so hard at the summer, so I was a bit
nervous at the start, and in the first game, I got a bit of a
shock, lost it, to gradually come back in the game. I’m glad I
found my rhythm and kept my cool…
"I just moved from out of the 16 to the top 16, which means that
I have to win the first round, there is a lot of points for me
if I do, but there is a lot of pressure too, but I’ve just got
to get used to it…
 |
 "I
was in and out mentally throughout the match, and in the third,
I got what I considered being a terrible call, and I suddenly
found myself 6/10 down! It’s a shame I caught the top of the tin
at 9/10…
"The margin for the three first games was really small. But if I
took an excellent start in the first, I didn’t in the second and
the third, and you just can’t afford to give 3, 4 points away.
"This is my first tournament in months, as I’ve been working on
a few things during the summer. I’m of course extremely
disappointed to have lost, but I’m much more philosophical than
I was, I’m got now a more intelligent view on things.
"I know what I did wrong, and what I need to work on.
"LJ is a tough opponent, very steady, and I look forward to
playing him again soon…"
 |
 |
|
" I don't know what to say, I can't believe it, I really can't
believe it.
"I didn't expect that I could win today, The first game he was
controlling so I thought that he would win like he did in the
World Open in 2006, then I said to myself to stop the mistakes,
and that was the key.
"I started to play more and more length and it worked very well.
"I am very happy, this is my best win ever and today is my mum's
birthday, I want to give it to her as a gift ...
"Very happy ..."
 |
[Q]
Tarek Momen (Egy) bt [2]
Gregory Gaultier (Fra)
4/11, 11/7, 11/4, 5/11, 14/12 (64m)
Momen shocks Gaultier
Marwan reports
It was my first time to watch Tarek playing like this, he was
stopping the mistakes, he played lots of length, and if we say
Gaultier's backhand at the front is dangerous, then Tarek's was
better today.
He played very well today it's a great upset, but of course
Gaultier wasn't at his best. No concentration at all, many
mistakes, I don't know what happened to him today, the Frenchman
had two match points but he couldn't take them.
The crowd, Tarek's dad, his sister and all the Egyptian players
were supporting Tarek today. And today is his mother's birthday
so it will be the best gift ever.
 Tarek
had the plan, and he was playing his best squash. In the last
game Gaultier was up 6/0 so we all thought that the match was
finished and Tarek had done a great job, but then he started to
come back, point by point, and the errors started to come from
Gaultier who was very nervous and the pressure got more and
more.
8/-all 9-all, then Tarek had his first match point but he lost
it with a great drop shot from Greg. then Gaultier had two match
points at 11/10 and 12/11, then Tarek won with a great killing
shot. He cried as Gaultier couldn't believe it.
Gaultier is a great player and he will be back next tournament
very strongly, but Tarek will enjoy it tonight and he has a
great chance tomorrow against Borja ... |
 |
|
 "I
did believe that Tarek could win, yes, at a certain point.
"It has to be said that Greg was a bit strange in the second
game, he made so many tins, but that doesn’t take anything away
from Tarek, who played extremely well.
"Tarek is studying for two more years in a university that
doesn’t allow its students non planned holidays, so he is quite
limited as far as travelling is concerned.
"We, Tarek's coaches, Hussein El Mesri, Mohamad Hatem and
myself, are doing our best to help him improve, and the sky is
our goal…"
 |
 |
|
[8]
Azlan Iskandar (Mas) bt [Q]
Stephane Galifi (Fra)
11/2, 8/11, 11/2, 11/8 (42m)
AZLAN IN CONTROL
Framboise reports
Is it because of the lack of matches at that pace? Is it because
he couldn’t handle Azlan's precision? But Stéphane just wasn’t
putting enough pressure on his opponent to take him out of his
comfort zone.
And even in the second that the Frenchman won, he was not at his
top, the Malaysian seemed to lose a bit of focus there. Still, I
think Stéphane was gradually getting into it, and had he taken
the fourth things could have been different.
But as things were, Azlan just found his short game in the last
game, backed up by a solid physique, and some excellent length.
And that all together gave him the advantage over a Frenchman
who was really unhappy with his performance today…
 |
"I
was all over the place… I had everything on my side to play
well, but I never really got into the match…
"I played badly, even when I won that game I wasn’t playing
well, I never did anything but the ordinary…"
"The first game was quite comfortable, so I relaxed a bit too
much and started to take things for granted, opened up the game
too early, and made too many errors. And at that moment Stéphane
started to play well and pushed it nicely to the back.
"I thought the second and fourth were a bit scrappy, I really
think Stéphane is one of the most efficient movers around. I
finally got a good combination going, I’m happy that I was
mentally strong and secure…"
 |
 |
 |
|
Wed 30th, Round One, Top: |
|
[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [Q] Amr
Swelim (Egy)
11/9, 11/8, 7/11, 11/4
(41m)
[15] Omar Mosaad (Egy) bt [Q] Amr
Mansi (Egy)
11/7, 11/2, 11/8 (30m)
[6] Peter Barker (Eng) bt
Jonathan Kemp (Eng)
11/6, 6/11, 11/5,
11/4 (55m)
[Q] Ali Anwar Reda (Egy) bt
[10] Stewart Boswell (Aus)
6/11, 7/11, 11/7,
11/8, 11/9 (106m)
[3] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt [Q] Yasir
Butt (Pak)
14/12, 7/11, 10/12,
11/8, 11/4 (69m)
[9] Adrian Grant (Eng) bt [Q] Jan
Koukal (Cze)
11/6, 11/7, 9/11,
8/11, 11/5 (71m)
[5] Wael El Hindi (Egy) bt Karim
AGA Samy (Egy)
11/2, 11/2, 11/4
(22m)
[12] Olli Tuominen (Fin) bt
Davide Bianchetti (Ita)
11/6, 7/11,
9,11, 11/5, 11/8 (78m) |
Photo Galleries
|
|
 |
|
[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [Q]
Amr Swelim (Egy)
11/9, 11/8, 7/11, 11/4
(41m)
Shabana beats his training partner
Marwan reports
 They
always train with each other at the Gezira club so they know
each other very well. Swelim was playing very well today as he
surprised Shabana with his game, but of course Shabana is more
experienced than him,
The match started with long rallies, both waiting the mistake,
but it was always Swelim who made the mistake. In the Second
Shabana was completely in control as he was volleying and
keeping the pressure on Swelim and made him do all the running.
The third game was tough at the start 1/1, 2/2, 3/3, 4/4, 6/6
then Shabana started making errors which gave the advantage to
Swelim to win the game, In the the Fourth Swelim was a bit
tired, he tried but Shabana was in control.
The Prince Of Egypt in the second round now, he played well
today and he will get better day by day as this was his first
match since the Super Series finals. Swelim had a good result
this tournament, and it was his first time to get to the main
draw in Platinum Event. |
"I haven't played on a court like that before, so it was quite
strange.
"He surprised me in the match, he played very, but I played well
too. When I was 2/0 up I thought that he got tired so I started
making the errors, but he played really well today.
"I haven't seen Mansi play Mosaad before, but I hope to do well
after tomorrow."
"I played well today, I know it's his first match after the
Super Series so he didn't play his best, of course$he will get
better.
"I am happy with my tournament and I wish him good luck
..."
 |
|
 |
 "First
game it was quite tough, we played long rallies in this game,
then we played at a fast pace. In the second I was lucky I got
some lucky shots. Third game I was up then I lost my
concentration a bit.
"I will play with Shabana ... I hope to do well ..."
[15] Omar Mosaad (Egy) bt [Q]
Amr Mansi (Egy)
11/7, 11/2, 11/8 (30m)
Mosaad is ready
Marwan reports
We thought that the match would be very tough today, but Mosaad
was playing very well, keeping the pressure on Mansi who wasn't
at his best today - it was a bad day for him but he had a great
tournament so it's not a problem for him.
The first game was quite tough, they played long rallies, BASIC.
At 7/7 Mosaad found his game and started playing at a faster
pace. After that Mosaad was in control for the rest of the
match.
Mosaad will play against number one seed Amr Shabana, it will be
very interesting to watch this match ...
|
|
 |
|
[6] Peter Barker (Eng) bt
Jonathan Kemp (Eng)
11/6, 6/11, 11/5,
11/4 (55m)
NEVER EASY PLAYING A MATE…
Framboise reports
Of course, of course, the two English Boys, both left handed,
who have been mates for a long time, and have asked to share a
room, had to play together. How do you say in English, Sod’s
law??
But funnily enough, those two don’t play each other that often
as Joey is actually “living in the North” mentioned Peter – as
if it was a disease or something, laughing through his eyes of
course. They do train together for National Squads, but that’s
about it. And believe it or not, they never played each other in
PSA.
 So,
a bit of the unknown for bother of them, and an excellent start
for Joey who really found some stunning shots, like Saurav finds
them, right in a spot in the front corners, millimetres to the
tin. And they are damaging those shots, especially when coupled
with a succession of close to the tin again attacks or volley
kills.
But as ever, Peter weathered the storm, and clawed back from a
slow start to take the first game, only to drop his intensity in
the second. Joey jumps on the opportunity, and took the second
with maestria.
The third was crucial, but Kemp took a terrible start,
accumulating the unforced errors to be led 6/1 and 7/2 to
finally lose 11/5. From that point, physically and mentally
tired, he didn’t believe in his chances anymore, and Peter win
the last one comfortably…
 "Until
6/3 in the first, I thought I was playing really well, but I
then got a bit lost mentally. He started to straighten up, and I
didn’t adapt to his change of game and kept trying to open the
court too early, I lost my way…
"In the second, I was more in control, and at 5/6, I saw that he
was a bit physically down, so I took advantage of it. Shame I
couldn’t take that first one, to put a bit more pressure on him…
"I didn’t know what to expect, we train together but it’s not
the same. After the second game, I know what I needed to do, the
question was to implant it. But he is physically so strong, and
I wasn’t at the end, and he is so fast, he gets balls that other
people wouldn’t. He is so hard to beat…"
 |
 "I
didn’t know what to expect, everybody knows how ultra talented
he is, and especially from the standing position. So I tried to
make him move around.
"In the second, I switched off a bit, physically a bit tired
too, but after that, I tightened up the game, tried and did the
good things – not that I did many of those today.
"Now I’ve got a couple of days to rest, and I’m happy to get
through.
 |
|
 |
|
[Q] Ali Anwar Reda (Egy) bt
[10] Stewart Boswell (Aus)
6/11, 7/11, 11/7,
11/8, 11/9 (106m)
TOUGH CALL…
Framboise reports
One thing is sure, Reda will sleep well tonight, and will
definitely enjoy the good day of rest he’ll benefit from the
split first round…
 Like
yesterday where he was down 2/0 against Saurav, he took an awful
start against a very sharp and precise Bozza. But as the match
unfolded he started to relax, find tight length and stunning
smooth attacks, tiring the Australian who probably left the
third go thinking that it didn’t matter that much, that it was
just a hiccup along the way.
But it wasn’t. Getting more and more frustrated as he couldn’t
get to the ball – Reda was a bit slow to clear the path to the
ball and in my humble opinion has got to work on that – Stewart
tensed up, fought hard, retrieved as much as he possibly could,
but with the momentum and a large support camp behind him, the
Egyptian now believed that he could win. And he finally did
after a nail biting fifth game…
Compared to yesterday, the refereeing was of a much higher
standard, extremely fair. Yes, they were a few not so good
decisions – in particular one at 9/9 in the fifth, that gave
Reda a match ball that he actually transformed first try with a
stunning Ace serve… Frustrating is the least you can say.
But on a match that lasted 106 minutes, five long games, and end
11/9, with I would say around 200 decisions, you’re bound to
have some errors, aren't you? And as Bozza admitted a bit later,
"you can’t blame the refs, I’m lost the match well before the
refs intervened…" |
"I don’t know what to say!!!!!!!!!!
"I don’t know why I played so badly in the first two games all
the time, maybe because I was so nervous…
"Stewart is such a great player, in and out the court. I’m so
happy to have played against him, I used to watch him play when
I was 8, so it’s an honour for me to win this match.
"I absolutely need to thank my coaches, the four of them, they
are working so hard on me, Ahmed Matany, Hatem Hassan, Amir
Wagih and Mohd Sayed."
 |
|
"I was very nervous today, I knew that I was going to play bad
because I know myself if I am going to play well or if not, so I
was expecting what I did
"I am going to the doctor today, I hope my leg will be fine.
When I had the injury I started to be more and more nervous.
"He was at his best he played very well today, I hope I will
play better for my next match ..."
 "I
did my best today, I tried very hard. I didn't have anything to
lose, the pressure was on him coz he is number 3 seed, and I had
a chance to win.
"He is a very good player, I like him, and I wish him good luck
..."
 |
[3] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt [Q]
Yasir Butt (Pak)
14/12, 7/11, 10/12,
11/8, 11/4 (69m)
Ramy survives ...
Marwan reports
 That
was very tough match today as Yasir was playing at his best, he
was doing everything and he had a real chance to win when he was
2/1 up and 8/8.
In the first game Yasir had two game points so he had the chance
to win that game, then at 4/3 in the second game Ramy had an
injury to his leg so he stopped for three minutes and it was
hurting him. For the rest of the match he was pushing off on one
leg.
When he back to the court he was completely out of control, he
made too many errors and but Butt took the advantage and had the
confidence back to win the game 11/7. The third game started
very well as Butt was just playing basic and killing himself to
get to every ball.
 Ramy
was nervous at the start and after he got the injury he started
to be more nervous. Ramy had a chance to win the third when he
was 10/9 up but two mistakes helped Butt to come back strongly
to win the game.
The fourth was very close point by point 6/6, 7/7, 8/8 then Ramy
took the lead 10/8 and finished the game with a magic lob. The
last game Yasir has lost the confidence and Ramy started to play
his game, he hits the nick many times.
Ramy gets through to the next round, and of course he will get
better for the next rounds. I hope his leg will get better - he
is going to the doctor today so I hope it will be ok, but Butt
had played his best squash of his life...
|
|
[5] Wael El Hindi (Egy) bt
Karim AGA Samy (Egy)
11/2, 11/2, 11/4
(22m)
"I'm glad to go
through easy today, it's just the start, I am looking forward
for my next match ..."
"He is very experienced, he is a very good player. I was so
nervous, I can do better, but he is a top ten player so I can't
compete with him now, but soon I hope ..."
 |
 |
 |
[9] Adrian Grant (Eng) bt [Q]
Jan Koukal (Cze)
11/6, 11/7, 9/11,
8/11, 11/5 (71m)
 "In
the third and fourth, he let me come back… Still, I made a few
less errors than in the first two.
"I’m in the middle of my training, and I just can’t go as fast
as I need to, but if I can go to five against Adrian when my
speed is not what it should be, it means that I’m not too far
off.
"I can’t wait to go back home now it’s finished and get back to
work…"
 |
|
 |
|
[12] Olli Tuominen (Fin) bt
Davide Bianchetti (Ita)
11/6, 7/11,
9,11, 11/5, 11/8 (78m)
ANOTHER TOUGH FIVE…
Framboise reports
I missed the first game, as they move the match from court 4 to
court 3, as we were sooooo late on the last one. By the time I
arrived, I saw a splendidly precise and fast Davide controlling
a not so patient Olli.
But as the match went on, Davide happily collected three conduct
warnings (first one I assume was racquet abuse, didn’t see it,
the second, ball abuse, third, time wasting), then a conduct
stroke for time wasting at 8/9 in the fifth…
Meaning that as he got more and more tired, he got more and more
frustrated. Olli on the other hand, never lost his calm – went
close a few times – and took the opportunity in the fifth that
the Italian was handing him on a silver racquet by making a few
unforced errors at the worse of times…
 "In
general, I needed to keep the pace a bit slower than he would
have liked, because he thrives on a crazy pace, to give me time
to go back to the T, which I didn’t do in the first.
"From the second, I was able to give myself more time, tactic I
tried to reproduce in the fifth, but by that time, I was getting
very tired, and it was very hard to keep the rallies going…"
 |
 "In
the first I played very well and took a good lead, and if I made
a few errors at the end of the game, it didn’t make that much of
a difference.
"In the second and third, I just couldn’t get my game together
and he started to play very well. As he always does when he does
play at that level, he was calm, patient, steady, playing very
safe, pushing the ball to the back. And I was not patient
enough, and went too short.
"In the fourth, I found my length again, it was a long game, and
as you saw, the fifth was a bit of a trouble, but he gave me a
few at the end…"
 |
|
 |
|
"We
played lots of times before so I knew what I was going to do. In
the third I made a few errors, but I played well overall. Anyway
looking forward for my next match ..."
"I
played a lot on the front which didn't help me at all today. I
played ok, but he is very dangerous at the front ..."
