[3] Tom Richards (Eng) 3-0
[Q] Mahesh Mangaonkar (Ind) 11/9, 12/10, 11/7 (48m)
Tom on fire, Mahesh getting closer.
I
know that Mahesh was disappointed with his performance: he
shouldn’t be. They both played a superb squash today, fast,
intense, great variation of pace and height.
Tom, so hungry after a few months hindered by hamstring
injuries, was flying on there, and Mahesh was matching him
shot for shot from the word go: 4/4, 5/5, 7/7. The Indian
having made a lot of work has a little drop of focus, Tom
zooms up 10/7, but Mahesh is right on his hills, clawing
back to 9/10 to finally lose it 11/9.
The second sees a great start from the Indian that seems in
control, well planted at the front of the court, from 2/0
up, 3/3, 4/4, again he goes up 7/4, 8/5.A few errors at the
wrong time for the young contender coming from the
qualifying, 10/8 for Tom. Again Mahesh won’t go quietly, and
forces a decider, that Tom snatches again, 12/10.
Mahesh will keep on playing lovely counterdrops and counter
attack, never letting Tom be comfortable really, he even
goes up 4/1, only to be caught up 4/4, 5/5. A big push from
Tom,9/5, to finally close it 11/7.
Great game, nice pace, lovely ball circulation for sure!
Reasonably
happy with the way I played tonight. He played well, we have
a bit of a similar game, we both like to volley to put
pressure on our opponent.
Of course, there are a few things that need to be looked at
like I was down on every game, and that’s not good enough. I
shouldn’t have to rely on grinding my way back in.
He had a tough match yesterday, and in a way I think it
freed him up, he was moving very well, and all credit to
him, although he was tired, he kept pushing very hard.
I really wanted to reach the final you know. I recovered
well from yesterday, I was not tired. Today is not a problem
of physicality, but of bad tactical choices. And if I was by
chance playing the right choice, at the right time, then I
would make the unforced error.
My tactic was simple, but I seemed to arrive a bit too late
on the ball, and then, I kept making the wrong choices, and
especially at crucial times.
I feel I should have been up 2/0, which would have given me
a big confidence booster. But at the end of the games, I
became so passive, which is sad after doing all the work.
I’m not satisfied with my game at all, especially losing 3/0
for the third time in a row. But I’m happy with the way I am
learning to deal with pressure. I have done a lot of work on
it, and I am looking forward to work some more this summer.
[2] Nafiizwan Adnan (Mas) 3-1 [Q] Vikram Malhotra (Ind) 12/10, 11/7,
8/11, 11/8 (52m)
Never comfortable for Wan
And
the third Indian on tonight, Vikram, didn’t fail to impress
the knowledgeable crowd. Playing the man in form Wan who had
some pretty impressive results lately, playing definitely
the best squash of his life since he moved back to the UK,
he truly took the game to the Malaysian, keeping the
suspense till the last shot.
A first game as close as it comes, 2/2, 3/3, 4/4, 5/5, 6/6,
7/7. The crowd is loving it. Wan seems to have the control
finally, 9/7, but no, we are back at 9/9, both moving
extremely well, and finding some astonishing
attacks/retrieving. 10/9 game ball, ending in a tin for Wan,
10/10.
And Vikram serves out bless him.
11/10, a no let, and it’s 12/10 Wan. That was hot and close
baby…. Crowd is buzzing!
The second is pretty close up to 6/6, but this time, Wan is
able to close the points rather quickly, 11/7.
Back in contention in the 3rd, Vikram seems to have gone up
a notch in his squash: relaxed, intense, he moves his
opponent beautifully from side to side, a few unforced
errors from the Malaysian and it’s 11/8 for the Indian. We
now have a match!
What a fourth. The other match being finished, all the
spectators are squashed on the court 2, trying to watch the
last match of the night. And they are rewarded! Intensity,
drama, a few strange calls, but that didn’t have any
incidence on the outcome of the game thank God, so close!
2/2, 3/3, 5/5, 7/7. Experience talks at the end, with Wan
able to handle the pressure better I feel, but Vikram never
putting a foot wrong.
Best match of the day, ending 11/8 for the Malaysian….
In
the first game, I was only thinking about wining quickly,
not thinking too much about today, more about tomorrow! And
that was a big mistake. I know that Vikram goes for his
shots. And today, they all went in!
All the games I won, I played simple, not going for too much
too early, waiting for the opportunities to play the right
shot.
But my squash was way much better than yesterday, way better
from a mental point of view, more consistent.
In the first game, I was too tense, thinking about wining,
then went up 2/0 and went the whole other side of the
spectrum, far too relax in the 3rd! I just couldn’t find the
balance between the two, too relaxed or too tense!
In the 4th, I mixed the pace rather well, playing fast, but
then when I was under pressure, slowing it down, a more
controlled pace.
Tomorrow, I’m playing Tom. I think we played once in Qatar,
and he beat me 3/2. I am thinking positive, so I’m hoping it
will be a great match, that I will win 3/0!
I think I could have done better. It was a decent match. He
had a great year coming to this event, and today again, he
played really well.
I didn’t execute the game plan well enough, and that cost me
a lot. But that’s part of the learning, part of the
experience: I’m growing in confidence, moving and playing
better.
Onwards and upwards from there.
[1] Saurav Ghosal (Ind) 3-0 Joe Lee (Eng)
12/10, 11/5, 11/5 (47m)
First game was crucial
A
packed house and a strong – logical – support for Joe Lee
against Top Seed newly married Saurav Ghosal, the second of
the Indian trio in the quarters.
A high quality match, truly superb – even ridiculous amazing
stunning – squash at times, with a first game dominated at
first by the Indian that is on every ball really, from 1/1,
2/2 to 7/3. But gradually, Joe is getting used to the fast
pace imposed by the India, and start to put him under
tremendous pressure: 6/8 then 8/9, even forcing errors out
of the Indian racquet on game ball, 10/8, 9/10, 10/10.
Another ridiculous rally on the Indian’s third game ball,
ending by a little clipping of the ball for the Englishman,
and it’s 12/10 for Saurav.
From that moment on, Joe is putting so much pressure on
himself trying to finish the points, he finds just a few too
many errors to be able to take Saurav out of his comfort
zone: the Indian has got too much time to adjust his shots
and Joe is making more and more work. Still a superb match,
the crowd is disappointed, but diverted for sure.
Winning
a tie-break is always crucial, especially the first game as
it’s a confidence booster. But I feel today I was not as
loose as I would have liked to be, not hitting my targets as
I would have liked to do, either at the front or at the
back.
But he played some great squash, he was reading my game
well, guessing it right more often than not, putting me
under even more pressure.
But from the middle latter of the second game, I got a bit
more comfortable, feeling the ball better, moving the ball
better. And that’s why the second and third were not as
close, although there were some top rallies, he kept on
playing very well, putting away the ball…
[4] Alan Clyne (Sco) 3-1 [Q] Jaymie Haycocks (Eng) 11/8, 10/12,
11/7, 11/5 (49m)
Jaymie as dangerous as ever
The
home favourite – Jaymie plays for the Wimbledon Surrey Cup
Team who was playing Colets for the title tonight actually –
took a great start, being extremely positive, taking the
game to an Alan that was a bit on the backfoot to start
with: 3/1, 6/3, with the Scot coming back 6/6, 7/7, 8/8.
Jaymie kindly gives 3 unforced errors to his opponent, Alan
takes it 11/8 – the longest game of the match for sure.
Alan has got a bit more attacking and looks good in the
second, 7/3, 10/6, when Jaymie just plays the best squash he
can: volleying everything, finding superb short game that
Alan cannot retrieve all, forcing the Scot to make a few
uncharacteristic errors. And we are in the tie-break, a
squeeze on the backhand plus another tin from Alan – the
reverse of the first game really, and Jaymie equalises
12/10, 1/1.
Alan tightens up his game in the third, 6/2 up, Jaymie is
still very much alive, 6/7, but a few nice shots in a row
from the Scot, 11/7. He’ll keep the momentum going, 7/3,
11/5….
All
the games were tough, until the middle of the games where he
was a bit more tired, but still it was very tough to put the
ball away on this bouncy court, but then again, he seemed to
managed to get the ball away pretty well! He played quite a
few attacking shots on there tonight.
Lately I’ve been playing well, a very positive squash, I
feel I didn’t do that enough tonight, I need to be back
trusting my game.
