 Broadgate EN BREF
ROUNDUPEverything you didn't think you needed to know about Broadgate ... |
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ROUND UP It
was a “strange” tournament this year. First of all, we had the Boss’
injury, that misbalanced the Fleet Group, depriving us of one of the
most anticipated matches of the week, Power/Nicol.Then we had the arrival of Anthony Ricketts on the last day. Shame to have him only for one day really. He deserved a weekly ticket… And one cannot not mention the “refs” hard week. A few players have been questioning a number of decisions made by our officials. Right or wrong, this is not the place to discuss it. The only positive point was, in my view, Nick Matthew’s proposal of more collaboration between players and referees in the elaboration of the decisions’ rules.  During this event, young James Willstrop really showed us that he is close, so close… His matches showed maturity, mental strength, and of course, how flamboyant and entertaining his game is and will be for a number of years to come. His match against David Palmer was remarkable, and his second game against Lee was exceptional. Same notice for Nick Matthew. Getting stronger by the match, more confident in his talent, he is at last fit, that nagging back injury has not reoccurred, and next season could see him flourishing as well…  Also I was once again extremely impressed by David Palmer’s perfect attitude. He kept his calm, and he had some close matches, against James, Lee and Jonathan, and never had a word or a bad comment about the refs. We all know that he had problems in the past, but he is working very hard to overcome his outbursts. And God knows I know how hard it is… Ask anybody whose been in close contact with me under pressure, they’ll ALL tell you I’m no blipping picnic…  And on a more personal point of view, I must say I’m really happy (and proud) that his coach, Shaun Moxhan, reputed for staying as far away from the spotlight as possible, has accepted to talk to me after David’s matches. Like I said again and again, the more I speak with the true specialists of this game, the more I realise how I little I know… Now, let me be a bit French here, and be proud of my compatriot.  Thierry had a group filled with his “old demons”: Power, Shabana, Nicol. Three players he always has trouble against, more mentally than anything else. He beat Power on the first day, Shabana on the second, a formidable recovery from two games down, 0/3 in the third. Then he found himself playing a fresh and determined Anthony Ricketts, the player who denied him of his first ToC title. He beat the Strong Australian in a titanic battle, saving three match balls in the fourth. And talking about saving match balls, need I remind you about his semi against Mr Squash Lee Beachill where he saved seven.  So, yes, he lost in the final. But he beat a few good people this week, including the winner of the event. He just beat them in the wrong order… And we cannot ignore the Champion of this week, Mr Magic. Once again, surpassing everybody, outlasting the best, surprising us by a three love victory when it was said he could hardly walk… So much talent, invention, variety of shots, pace and rhythm…  And to finish, you all know my utter admiration for Jahangir Khan, for the Champion he was, and the way he dominated the Squash World for so long… But for a few years now, nobody, NOBODY has been able to predict the winner of a tournament. And it’s probably the best thing that ever happened to our sport… |
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| FATHER AND SON… You may not be aware, but if you are reading these lines, it’s because one day, a Marketing Director advised one of his clients, who was looking to raise his brand’s profile in the City, to have a look at “Squash”, and more particularly to the Event “Super Series Finals”… This man’s name, Martin Fox, his company, Egg, and the name of the client… oh come on, this is not rocket science now, is it… Yes, Brit Insurance… But the story doesn’t stop there… Last year, Martin’s son, Matthieu, yes, like the French name, came to the Final, and was so impressed by it all, that he decided to start playing squash… and during the whole season, he only lost… one game… And today, he was lucky enough to get to play a game with former World Champion Ross Norman… Lucky young man, you could say… But in fact, we are the lucky ones, as without Martin’s father, we probably wouldn’t be here, now, would we… |
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Broadgate EN BREF
Issue FOUR Everything you didn't think you needed to know about Broadgate ... |
Being
the son of a Squash Star is no picnic, let me tell you…
Oh
well, she must be French…
Jonathan
Power was really doomed today you know… After breaking a string in his
racquet, he got a split shoe! 
So
off he went again to change his racquet for the second time… Was he
going to do a “Joe Kneipp”??? (who got through three racquets in the
final last year, and ended up playing with a spectator’s racquet???)
Starting
working at last. Oh, calling Céline Lincou, mum, to tell her news of
Thierry. Starting working at last. Phone call from my mentor, Joe Shaw.
12.30 pm
4.00
pm
5.00
pm
6.45
pm
7.50 pm
8.10
pm
9.45
pm
But thank God I
was sitting near John Massarella (who was resting after his Lincou/Power
match, a perfect job as usual…) who offered his jacket to me as we started
the game. I refused politely, but 30 minutes later, as I actually couldn’t
move my fingers to write those words (OK, exaggerating slightly, but come
on, do you want a story or what?), he reiterated his offer, and that time,
the hell with conventions and politeness, I accepted gladly, and was able
to see the last game without too much discomfort…
Yes,
SATINDER BAJWA, the Super Series Final promoter, ex Jansher Khan’s
manager, has been organising, promoting, staging this event for ten years
now. Isn’t that remarkable?
And as
remarkable, the Boss, Mr Peter Nicol Sir, has been participating to
all of them. Ten years for him too…
Another
anniversary, ok, maybe not as prestigious, but as Howard Harding
was reminding us, the new PSA scoring PAR to 11 was exactly one year old
today!
