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TODAY
at the Wimbledon Club Squash2 Open |
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16-Mar, Day FOUR,
Quarter-Finals:
Seeds assert in Wimbledon
quarters ...
 After a series of upsets
in the first round, at least one surprise semi-finalist was
guaranteed at The Wimbledon Club, but on quarter-finals day it
was the top seeds who asserted their authority in contrasting
fashions.
 The top half of the draw
saw two all-English matches, top seed James
Willstrop beating Joe Lee in straight games while Declan James,
the third seed, met qualifier George Parker in a clash of
the reigning British U23 and U21 champions and emerged a 3-2
winner.
 In the bottom half of the draw Egyptian second seed Omar
Abdel Meguid, winner of two PSA $15k events in February,
beat local boy Charles Sharpes in four games while in the
battle of the qualifiers England's
Joshua Matthew beat Matthew Hopkin to reach a $25k
semi-final for the first time.
Quarter-Finals:
[1]
James Willstrop (Eng) 3-0 [6] Joe Lee (Eng)
11/8, 11/5, 11/6 (38m)
[3]
Declan James (Eng) 3-2 [Q] George Parker (Eng)
6/11, 11/5, 14/12, 9/11, 11/6
[Q] Joshua Masters (Eng) 3-0 [Q] Matthew Hopkin (Aus)
11/5, 11/7, 11/2 (25m)
[2]
Omar Abdel Meguid (Egy) 3-1 [7] Charles Sharpes
(Eng)
9/11, 11/6, 11/4, 11/5
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Photos by Patrick Lauson
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Nothing left in
the tank today. But then again, I didn’t think I was going to
get through the first round of the qualifying… I had nothing
left, it was horrendous, as you could see on the court.
Very happy with my mental strength those past days, but tonight,
not much I could have done, he was just too good when I’m off
the pace. I rely on my speed and retrieving abilities, so when
that’s gone… But still, happy with my week…
I think he was feeling the few 3/2 he had this week, plus he is
coming back from injury, and he did give me a few cheap points
in the middle on the first 2 games.
In the 3rd, I just played solid squash and waiting for him to
make a few errors. Happy with my performance and not giving away
any cheap points.
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[Q] Joshua Masters (Eng) 3-0 [Q] Matthew Hopkin (Aus)
11/5, 11/7, 11/2 (25m)
Joshua still on course…
 You didn’t need to be a clairvoyant to see how that first match
would go.
After a few rallies, it was obvious to all how Aussie
Matt Hopkin was tired from his previous matches.
Still he went
for everything, tried a few winners, found a few too many tins,
and retrieved still a heck of a lot for an exhausted boy.
Josh made a “sans faute” no error match today. Fast on his feet,
he was getting on the ball very quickly, and was attacking the
ball “Shorbagy Senior Like”, killing it nice with a flamboyant
style.
Lovely match, I would like to see them two when both fresh. I
think it must be a pretty interesting mix of styles…
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[3] Declan James (Eng) 3-2 [Q] George Parker (Eng)
6/11, 11/5, 14/12, 9/11, 11/6
Gruelling and Intense English Squash
If you think that all English Players are endlessly sending the
ball to the back, you never saw Declan playing George!
What a great match. Loved it. Again, like for Omar/Charles, a
stunning performance from the ref that managed to keep a very
tired George/digging in Georges in line, allowing him to focus
on his squash instead of endless and painful discussions. Those
two battled out beautifully tonight. Battle it was, but a
brilliant and intense one.
 First game, against all odds – after his 100m match we were
expecting him to be flat – George is controlling the court
beautifully. Working on mixing the height on the ball, and
cutting off his team mate rather well, Georges takes the first
game 11/6.
If Dec takes the second easily 11/5, the third is a huge battle,
but George seems to be going well, stepping into Declan’s
territory, finding superb drives glued to the walls, good lead
7/4. Long story short, Declan strings the points, 10/9, George
will save 3 game balls, will have a chance to take it, but bows
14/12, frustrated with a No Let that seems harsh to him at
11/11.
 He soon realises that the ref is consistent, and a no let in the
beginning on the 4th makes him realise what the line is, and
from that moment on, not a word will come out from Intense
George. But if he is up again 7/3, he’ll let his opponent again
come back in the match. The rallies are long and gruelling, but
tight and accurate squash it is, with stunning attacking/retrieving
from both. 7/7. 8/8 9/9. A stroke and a winner laster, George is
forcing a decider, 11/9.
A very close start of the game, 1/1, 2/2, 5/5. But now the 100m
of the previous day just caught up with the contender, and
finally, finally, George starts to slow down and find the tin
more than winners. Declan closes it down 11/6.
Hat to both of them. That was good squash boys, really good
squash. |
It was a good
quality match, the refereeing was good and consistent.
In the first, his quality of shots was too good, and I gave him
too many crosscourts, and he was moving me around. So after that,
I straightened my game and closed the angles down and he gave me
a few unforced errors.
But the 4th and 5th were just brutal, brutal squash. One of us
would get three points lead, then the other one would take it
back. Brutal. It was like that the whole two games.
I thought he would be tired from yesterday, but he played great
squash, solid squash. In the 5th, he gave me a few unforced
errors, and I was a bit more consistent, but a great game.
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I was 6/2 down in
the first, he surprised me, picking up my shots very well,
moving fast, and attacking a lot.
For the first half of the game,
he was in front of me. I came back, 10/9 and I make a silly
error, like I tend to do.
After that, I picked up the pace, and I was more comfortable
when I was in front of it, I really enjoyed the game, I was
adapting and changing my tactic as the match went along.
He got
a bit tired because I was now in front of him and he had to do a
lot of work, but he really retrieved very well, and got some
great winners off the forehand return of serve as well.
A clean and fair match. Again, thanks to the ref, a good job as
usual.
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[2] Omar Abdel Meguid (Egy) 3-1 [7] Charles Sharpes (Eng)
9/11, 11/6, 11/4, 11/5
Impeccable Game
OK, I was a bit worried about that match between Omar and
Charles. Silly me. Two perfect gentlemen out there, thanks to a
perfect mannered referee in the person of Mr Steve Richardson,
who else. Lee Drew, if I was you, I would grab the man and get
him on even asa. He is the real deal. He speaks to the players
at the start of the match, making sure they realise he knows a
bit about squash, and what they may – or may not – be up to.
Then come a few harsh no lets or stroke at the start, they
realise they won’t get away with it, and believe me, they both
just get on with things, the ball is played, no fishing, no
stoppage, no endless discussion. Just squash. YES!!!!
Charles started superbly well, taking the game to the Egyptian
who got a bit on the backfoot, not used to that style of game
coming from the young Englishman.
If he lost the first game, Meguid still forced Charles to make a
hell of a lot of work - loved that defensive lob Charles, great
shot - and it paid of in the next three games, the Egyptian up
8/4 in the 2nd, taking it 11/6, then a much closer game up to
4/5, then again Charles efforts starting to wear the legs, 11/4.
Same story in the 4th, 3/3, then off Meguid wen, 9/4, 11/5.
What a pleasure it was to have that great crowd, very
knowledgeable, supporting loudly their man – nice to hear a
vocal English crowd for once – and yet, appreciating and
saluting the skills and volleying on the Egyptian. A true
sportsmanship example that crowd was. Good players, good squash,
good crowd.
 He was a little
slow at the start, and I capitalise on that, while I set off
quite quickly. He stepped up a lot, but I still took the first
game. Around the middle, he is ruthless, with the volleying, he
takes his space well.
There were no problems at all in the game, fair game, of course
there are going to be a few interferences and traffic problems
because he is a big boy, but nothing nasty or anything like that.
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[1] James Willstrop (Eng) 3-0 [6] Joe Lee (Eng)
11/8, 11/5, 11/6 (38m)
No Ref needed
How many calls were they in that match? One? Two? Not many more…
James was on form today, and he had to be. Cause Discreet Joe
was played superb squash – like he did last week in Canary Wharf
– and found a counterdrop/volley drop squash that put James
under a lot of pressure, especially at the start of the 2nd and
3rd game, 3/0 and 4/0 respectively, before James found his
groove and “déroule son jeu” impose his style.
A few errors from Joe, but forced really, and those two offered
us a beautiful game of squash, fluid, mixing height and angles,
finding lovely attacking shots/defensive tight length that
delighted a packed audience.
 Mixed emotions
really. Like last week in Canary Wharf, I can mix it at that
level, but in the final third of the game, I let myself down I
thought, because I had established an early lead as well.
I can do it, it’s all about sustaining it for longer. And after
that run of tournaments, I will looking at working on that,
getting three four minutes more each game, and I may be in….
At the same time, you have to believe you can do it, not to
mention he played some unbelievable shots, quite inspiring as
well…
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Not sure why I let
him take good leads in the second and third, all I can do is try,
it’s hard to get rallies off, he had good spells, not sure why
that is, you’ll have to figure out that one by yourself [ha ha
ha.. I’m blond remember].
The court? Well, you think you’ve seen every court there is to
see in the world, and I never saw a hard court like that before!
It takes shots quite nicely, but it’s severe squash on there,
the movement is severe, it’s very quick, quick movements, and
it’s three times or four times more intense for the shoulder to
get the crosscourt to the back, you have to be very careful
otherwise it fall in the middle of the court, and he volleys it,
it’s quick and dead off the front wall…
Joe made a few unforced errors, but it’ because I put him under
a lot of pressure, I need those errors in my game. I had to be
intense and plays sharp squash to win today and if I was him, I
wouldn’t be too disappointed with my performance. But he may
have a different opinion…
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