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Quarter-finals day two
JUNIOR CHALLENGE
Amanda Sobhy bt Olivia Blatchford
12/10, 11/8, 8/11,
11/2 (28m)
[4] Nick Matthew (Eng) bt [8] Wael El Hindi (Egy)
11/8, 11/4, 11/5
(52m)
[5] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bat [2] Gregory Gaultier (Fra)
10/12, 11/7,
7/11, 11/5, 11/6 (70m)
Quarter-finals day one
[1]
Karim Darwish (Egy)
bt [7] David Palmer (Aus)
5/11, 11/4, 11/9, 11/8 (62m)
[6] James Willstrop (Eng) b[3] Amr Shabana (Egy)
11/5, 11/7, 11/4 (31m)
LEGENDS TOUR: Peter Nicol bt Jonathon Power 11/9, 13/11
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En Bref #5 |
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[4] Nick
Matthew (Eng) bt [8] Wael El Hindi (Egy)
11/8, 11/4, 11/5
(52m)
Matthew eases
through
In the first of the evening's quarter-finals between Nick Matthew
and eighth seed Wael El Hindi, it was all Matthew as he controlled
the match from start to finish.
After being down 2-3 in the first game, Matthew did not relinquish
the lead for the rest of the match, winning 11-8,11-4,11-7.
 "I
never felt that I was really comfortable on there, there is such a
fine line between staying on top of your opponent, and him levelling
up. A bit like Shabana and James yesterday, if James didn’t do
everything right, Shabana could have become more involved, and the
match just could have changed like that. You can’t afford to give
them a little sniff, otherwise, they’ll take it up.
"I was happy that I was able to match Wael on his territory really,
because I was able to slow down the balls, and play a lot on the
left corner, which are normally his best features, slowing down the
ball, counter dropping, and attacking that left corner…
"A day of rest was maybe not a favour for Wael, maybe he got a bit
stiffen up after his match against Simon, whereas I’m happy now to
be fresh for my semis, especially after the pretty special semi we
are about to live…"
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"I think that Nick was pretty focused
today, and that made the difference. I didn’t feel the ball well
today, and I just couldn’t get him to the back of the court. I was
always on the backfoot, and he was constantly in front of me.
"I felt out of energy today. I guess I wanted so much to do well
here in my new home, I probably burnt myself a bit there. There is a
lesson for me to be learnt, sometimes, you’ve got to learn to relax
and take it easy even if it’s me the world to you…"
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"I was a bit short tonight, I took a long break which I desperately
needed, as I didn’t want to play squash anymore. So I didn’t have
the time for a lot of physical preparation, and I’m match short too.
I would say I was around 70%. And what is extremely positive, is
that I really wanted to win tonight.
"I was able to play squash, to get my shots in, I was moving well,
although I was not at my top, and I was so hungry, so motivated, I
knew I could win, no matter what.
"Ramy did a good match, a big match, but I’ll be back, bet your life
on that.
"Down but not out…"
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[5] Ramy
Ashour (Egy) bat [2] Gregory Gaultier (Fra)
10/12, 11/7,
7/11, 11/5, 11/6 (70m)
TWO ARTISTS AT WORK
 What
a pleasure that match was. How close that encounter, and how
beautiful those two amazing artists. Their shots, their way to slide
all over the court, a bit like swans on a winter lake, how they both
volley so opportunistically and take the ball so early, the angles
they find…
The tin shakes, trembles every time they play a drop shot, it’s so
close, a hair lower and it’s down, but no, it’s good, so delicate.
Perfection. Magic. Art.
Tonight, I knew that Greg was going to be a bit short. Match short.
Not enough physical stuff. And mental focus a bit weak. And when he
got tired at 5/5 in the fourth, I thought he would have trouble
getting enough pressure on the fired up Egyptian.
 If
Greg’s game was fully in place technically, there is one department
where he probably lost extremely important points, his height.
Normally, he is able to defend with a stunning lob, both straight
and crosscourt, that pushes his opponent right to the back. Today,
the ball was just not high enough around 90% of the time, and fell
at an angle Ramy could actually attack. Not good enough against the
World Number one…
Still, I know Greg enough to know how positive this match, even a
defeat, was for him. The Kid was hungry again, so hungry, and he was
focused, he didn’t get frustrated against himself, the racquet, the
court, the ref… It was all about him playing good squash, and the
opponent, on the night, being that much better. And as ever, he came
to salute Ramy, and congratulate him upon his victory. “You were too
good tonight mate”….
Ramy, well, as impressive as ever. That boy is improving by the
match. He seems to integrate what he does badly, and change it
almost on the spot, and absorb the strengths of his opponent, and
make them his. I truly believe his margin of improvement has not
been scratched yet. In other words, he is going to get even better.
Frightening thought…
 "I
haven’t seen Greg play that well for a long long long time, and for
long periods on there I kept on saying to myself, I’ve got to find
something different to do, I’m not going to win like that…
"I could see he was relaxed, the way he was laughing on court,
that’s when he is the most dangerous… So I needed to stay focused,
and to keep digging and digging.
"We had several crucial points during the match, where it could have
gone either way, it’s not like the winner was decided at any point.
There were turning points in the third, the fourth, and the fifth.
"This was overall a good match, but I thought it was a bit unfair
for us to have to play such a match in the quarters! During the
match, I kept on telling myself, this is the final, surely, this
cannot be the quarters…
"I’m happy I’ve performed so well today, and I’m looking forward to
play Nick tomorrow…"
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Malcolm on Tuesday
It
seemed unlikely beforehand that Wael El Hindi would be able to do
much more than give Nick Matthew a solid workout, and so it proved.
The first game was well contested, but El Hindi was having to work
hard; he never led and lost it 11/8. Matthew ran clean away with the
second, quickly to 7/1 and then 11/4 without having to do too much.
He led 10/5 in the third, ending mattters with a perfectly executed
backhand volley drop.
A routine match for Matthew, but an ideal preparation for tomorrow's
semi-final. Doubtless he will have enjoyed watching Ramy Ashour and
Gregory Gaultier go the full distance in a high-paced match.
If
any match stood out when the draw was made it was the potential
quarter-final meeting between Ramy Ashour and Gregory Gaultier, and
what a match they provided. The quality throughout was supreme world
class and the Grand Central crowd gasped in amazement at the
wondrous athleticism and shotmaking of both players.
Ashour is invariably out of the traps in a flash, firing in from the
off and nothing was different as he led 7/4 before Gaultier caught
up with him at 7-all. Ashour served for the game at 10/9 but it was
Gaultier who won it 12/10, which gave him much encouragement.
However, Ashour led 7/4 again in the second, and this time there was
no looking back and he finished it with a backhand crosscourt nick
off the Gaultier serve, 11/7.
The match was being played at high speed, both players seeking every
opportunity to attack and there were no lapses in quality.
In
the third often crucial game following one-all, Ashour again led,
7/5, but from then on he didn't score again as Gaultier finished the
game strongly 11/7.
The world number one now had it all to do, but he led throughout the
fourth, ending it on his second game ball, to the delight of the
crowd who, like Oliver, wanted more.
Having been 1-0 and 2-1 down Ashour now had the impetus and with a
series of shorter rallies, which favours him, he went to 5/2 after
an exceptional rally which brought the crowd to its feet. At 8/3
Ashour hit two unforced tins and at 8/6 Gaultier still had a chance,
but Ashour hit a sublime crosscourt nick to go 9/6, made a
remarkable pickup, then won the rally for 10/6 and won the match on
an undeniable stroke.
The two players deserved the standing ovation and prolonged applause
they received from the New York crowd and they, the crowd, set off
home having witnessed a match they will not forget in a hurry.
Playing as he did Gaultier would hardly have expected to lose to
anyone in the world, and his composure and demeanour was the best I
have seen.
Ashour is as original a shotmaker as the game has ever seen and New
Yorkers have at least one more chance to witness his virtuosity in
the semi-finals against Nick Matthew. |
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ASIDES
Malcolm in Grand Central
Power v Nicol |
[1]
Karim Darwish (Egy)
bt [7] David Palmer (Aus)
5/11, 11/4, 11/9, 11/8 (62m)
[6] James Willstrop (Eng) b[3] Amr Shabana (Egy)
11/5, 11/7, 11/4 (31m)
LEGENDS TOUR: Peter Nicol bt Jonathon Power 11/9, 13/11
Malcolm on
Monday
Quarters Take One ...
If you're a fan of the Egyptian style of play, no need to worry as
each of the four quarter-finals features one of the Pharaohs.
Tonight's pair of matches saw top seed Karim Darwish, who
missed the last two major event of 2009 causing his ranking to drop
to #5, take on David Palmer, the 33-year-old Australian who
led Darwish 7-6 in a rivalry that has been going for the whole of
the last decade. This time it was the Egyptian's turn as he
recovered from a game down.
Then it was World Champion Amr Shabana, two-time ToC champion,
against England's James Willstrop. Shabana survived by the
skin of his teeth in the last round, needing extra points in the fifth to
see off Alister Walker, and although Willstrop won in straight games
he suffered an injury scare on the foot that kept him out for many
months. The stats didn't look good for the Englishman as he trailed
14-5, but in the event it was a comfortable win for Willstrop
against a jaded Shabana.
Shoehorned between those two matches was the Legends Challenge -
Jonathon Power v Peter Nicol, two recently-retired greats
of the game who have great memories of the ToC, Power with four
titles, Nicol three. They finished their careers with a head-to-head
record of 22-21 to Nicol (but Power ahead on points and games), and
tonight Nicol came from behind in both games to win the first of a
series of such events ... |
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[1] Karim
Darwish (Egy)
bt [7] David Palmer (Aus)
5/11, 11/4, 11/9, 11/8 (62m)
KARIM GETS
INTO IT…
I’m
not technical enough to know if it was David who played
outstandingly, or if it was Karim who was a bit slow to start with,
but the Australian dominated most of the rallies of that opening
game, placing his volleys beautifully at the front, supported by
some strong length at the back, and to be honest, he looked the
winner…
But Karim just seemed to gradually find him marks again, his length
and width first became more and more accurate, and he started to put
David under more and more pressure at the front.
 The third was crucial, and at 9/9, it was anybody’s, especially as
there was never more than two points between the players with long
and disputed rallies where the two players taking the ball very
early indeed, but a little tin from David, after a funny bounce from
Karim, and a stunning backhand drop shot later, it was the Egyptian
who led 2/1.
From that point on, Karim, liberated mentally, let go of his arm,
and the rallies became shorter and shorter, as he found some
trademark forehand drop shots that come out of nowhere, and
practically irretrievable. David, despite a little interruption due
to blood injury at 10/7 in the fourth, was able to save one match
ball, but had to shake his opponent's hand after the following short
rally...
 In
the first game, I felt so lethargic, I didn’t want to make the rally
last, I went far too early to the front, and against David, that’s
not good enough.
I went to the front too early in the first game. I needed to get the
ball deeper and make him run.
I knew that David was probably not 100% physically, so I had to move
him around far more, and only when I had a good opportunity, go for
my shots. But at the end, I really had to push hard to win those
last points…
I haven’t been playing competition for a while now, so I need to get
my confidence back, I need more matches like that to find my shots
again, my first two matches were not as hard as this one… But now,
I’m in the semis….
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Tonight, I think my tactic was perfect, especially in the first
round, but that I was not physically strong enough yet, and at the
time I needed to, I wasn’t able to push hard enough, and obviously,
anything loose at the front he’ll finish off…
I thought I was maybe a bit unlucky at 9/9 in the 3rd, he played a
funny bounce shot, if I’d gone 2/1, it would have been a different
match maybe…
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[6] James
Willstrop (Eng) b[3] Amr Shabana (Egy)
11/5, 11/7, 11/4 (31m)
JAMES DOES THE
JOB
One
of the great things about “living” with the players on the tour day
in day out is that you learn to recognise their body language. And
as far as I was concerned, there was no way Shabana was going to win
tonight.
Was he tired from his huge match yesterday? Was he feeling his knee
hurting? Is he a bit out of shape because of the stoppage for injury
he had at the end of the year?
Probably all of the above.
And as James said, the man has won everything, sometimes it must be
hard to motivate yourself when things are not going your way. James,
on the other hand, is still starving for victories, and he is in my
book, looking good in this one…
 It
was alright, but pretty average for us I thought to be honest. We
seemed to always have good games, but today… Maybe he was tired or
not feeling at his top physically, I watched his game yesterday
against Alister, it was pretty intense…
Even when he was competing today on rallies, the quality just wasn’t
there, from either of us. I just did what I had to do, nothing
amazing in that. It’s always good to win though…
The guy has been at the top of the game for so long, he won
everything under the sun, he is a bit the Ronny O’Sullivan of
squash. And when he is not feeling quite alright, he doesn’t say
anything, he keeps quiet and don’t say anything…
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Malcolm on Monday
Palmer,
looking lean and well prepared, quickly took a 5-0 lead over
Darwish, who is generally a quick starter, before the top seed had
settled into any sort of rhythm. Darwish was working hard to get
involved, no doubt realising that to give Palmer too much leeway was
not a good idea. He recovered to 4-8, but Palmer was playing with
control and authority and took the game 11/5 with surprising ease.
A couple of exquisitely-timed forehand winners lifted Darwish's
confidence and he went to 5-2 in the second, Palmer taking the
referees to task, as he sometimes can. Darwish continued to prosper,
Palmer's early dominance evaporating, and he won the game 11/4. The
first two games recalled the uneven Shabana-Walker match of
yesterday.
The third was properly contested and crucially Darwish edged it
11/9. He continued to keep his head in front in the fourth and at
10/6 Palmer had to come off to attend to a trifling blood injury. He
resisted briefly on the resumption but Darwish became the 2010 ToC's
first semi-finalist.
James
Willstrop had looked in good form in his first two matches and with
his ankle holding up after his fall in the second round, it was
clear that Amr Shabana would have to play more evenly than he had in
his match with Alister Walker.
The first game began with
disciplined, controlled squash, but with the score at 5-all Shabana
lost patience, and wit it persistence, and Willstrop con it 11/5
convincingly.
Willstrop continued to play with discipline, delaying and moving the
ball around, so that Shabana was beginning to look uncomfortable. As
his discomfort grew, so he offered less and less. The match recalled
their meeting in the British Open, rather than the brutal semi-final
in the World Open which Shabana won, and it was not long before
Willstrop led 2/0.
After early token resistance by Shabana in the third, Willstrop ran
out an easy 3/0 winner.
Clearly in his match with Walker Shabana was not at ease with
himself, but then he survived. Against Willstrop less than somewhere
near his best was never likely to be good enough, nor was it, as
Willstrop played a good match of tactical awareness, shrewdly
executed.
Their best matches have been physically demanding and it was clear
Willstrop was ready for that. Shabana knew at 5-all in the first
that this was not likely to be his day.
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