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[8] Wael El Hindi (Egy) bt Mark Krajcsak (Hun)
                    11/9, 11/8, 11/6 (45m)
[4] Nick Matthew (Eng) bt [Q] Ryan Cuskelly (Aus)
                    8/11, 11/6, 11/2, 11/7
[10] Stewart Boswell (Aus) bt Rafael Alarcon (Bra)
                    11/6, 11/5, 11/3 (31m)
 Simon Rosner (Ger) bt [16] Renan Lavigne (Fra)
                     11/6, 11/5, 11/9

[Q] Nicholas Mueller (Sui)[15] Julian Illingworth (Usa)
                      11/9, 11/7, 11/9
[2] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt [Q] Alan Clyne (Sco)
                      11/6, 11/4, 11/5 (33m)
[5] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt [Q] Mathieu Castagnet (Fra)
                      11/9, 11/7, 11/5 (30m)
[14] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Col) bt [Q] Bernardo Samper (Col)
                      10/12, 11/3, 11/9, 11/2 (49m)
 

[8] Wael El Hindi (Egy) bt Mark Krajcsak (Hun)
                    11/9, 11/8, 11/6 (45m)

MARK SHARP

It was never a walk in Central Park for the Egyptian. Mark pushed him really hard for the first two games, and although the Hungarian was led 6/0 in the 3rd, he never said die.

The game was simple, Mark was putting the pace up, and Wael, the pace down. Lovely shots fused from both camps, exceptional retrieving from Mark, who look much more focused and accurate than he did the past few times I saw him play.

Wael, well, was Wael. In and out of the match at times, but lethally accurate at the front, and pretty fast on the move….

I’ve been working so much on my balance, and also, on my weakness, getting to the left front corner, I’m much better now in that department.

Still, I must say I’m disappointed, I played the right game today, I had my chances in both first games, and I would have liked to take at least one of them.

I didn’t get tired physically, the game was up and down, so neither of us was getting really pushed hard. It was the first time I played against him, and I found it very easy to play, he can be a bit difficult on court sometimes, not moving out quick enough, but today, he played a fair and clean match

At the end of last year, I played not my best squash, and I’m happy that I’m definitely playing better. I felt something special today, like I still have something in myself I can give…

I was a bit nervous today, it was my first time playing a tournament in my new home. I’ve moved here in NY and I’m now the touring pro at CityView in New York, so there was a bit of pressure to play against so many friends…

I’m glad I got through, but Mark surprised me and pushed me really hard in the first 2 games.

Nick cuts off the ball so well, you have to play very tight length to get pass him. I managed to do that for part of the game, but at crucial times, he is so experienced, that made the difference….

At times, when I was getting really tired, I lost a bit of concentration… I guess I’ve got to get fitter and stronger, I’ll stop losing those matches, and start wining them…

I tried my hardest out there today, I left it all on the court…

[4] Nick Matthew (Eng) bt [Q] Ryan Cuskelly (Aus)
                    8/11, 11/6, 11/2, 11/7

RYAN ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

Ryan played the perfect game to cause trouble to Nick today, but it took so much energy out of him, he could do it only for one game and a half, the first game and half the fourth. That reminded me of a match a few years back, where Nick was playing Ramy, and for a game and a half, he dominated the young up and coming Egyptian…

Nick was able to control his young opponent perfectly well after the first burst of surprise, but he had to stay on the ball and focused, and not opening the court too much, as the Australian would rush on the opportunity, and put pressure on the Englishman again.

A bit like Mark in the previous game, those coming up players are much closer to the top than their ranking indicates. Good effort, guys, really good.

I felt a bit flat today, the first match after the Christmas break… At the end of the season, you don’t even have to think about your tactic, it’s all in place, it’s all automatic, whereas suddenly, you’ve got to find your marks again…

I was hitting the ball OK, but there was no purpose to it, I was play a length, but not really trying to do something special with it… I was nearly glad to get annoyed with the ref, it put a bit more fire in my belly, and woke me up in a way…

He is a young lad, if some come on court not believe they can win, he rightly believed he could, although the odds were against him. I was like that when I was his age, I believed I could win…

He’s got a nice touch on both sides, and I’m sure we’ll be seeing much more of him. He is a feisty player, I can relate to that!

Simon Rosner (Ger) bt [16] Renan Lavigne (Fra)
                     11/6, 11/5, 11/9

RENAN SOON TO RETIRE…

For a few weeks now, Renan had informed me of his decision of retiring in the coming months. The French Team Captain, who’ll be playing his 20th French National in a few weeks, has finally decided that his life is elsewhere. Well, in Marseille in fact, near to the people he cares and loves.

Today, Simon played a big match I thought, and played the perfect tactic against the Old Fox, but to be honest, Renan was not on the court today. I guess he was thinking that it was his last ToC, and a lot of memories, a lot of thoughts, the presence of his dad, come here to see him for the first time in an international individual competition, all that was a bit too much for him.

I know that he’ll be back on court next with more oumf, and will chase that little black/white ball his normal dog with a bone aggressiveness. But today, Simon takes the spot, rightly. The German played perfectly and rightly deserved his victory…

I’m glad I was comfortable on the court today, because for the past two days, I was training on the glass court, and to be honest, I couldn’t see the ball AT ALL! But today, it was fine from the start.

After I put my basic game right in place, I really tried and attack as much as I could, because against Renan, that’s the best tactic, as he likes to rally and make the points last as long as possible.

And I was happy with the fact I made very few unforced errors today…

The decision had been taken for about a month now, to stop my career, and today, somehow, I just couldn’t. My heart wasn’t there…. My strength, my trademark has always been my determination and my will to fight, and at the moment, it’s gone, so there’s not much left…

I still want to play the Team events, to play with my mates, to play for my country, but for myself, it doesn’t turns me on anymore. I have too many projects in my head, that led me elsewhere… I want to be back home, and when the mental is not 100% connected with what you’ve got to do, it cannot work…

This year, I’ll be playing my last French Championship, which will be my 20th in a row, I started at 15, and never got injured, and then the European Championships in Aix. That way, I’ll get to stop on round figures…

Tis about time I let the young take the baton…

I wasn’t far off today I feel. For somebody who didn’t play a match since India, it was not too bad! I first took a few days off, and then, I got injured in my right wrist at the end of December, so, this is my first match back…

The blood injury didn’t help either, it annoyed me, I lost the next 5/6 points I think, but hey , he is the upcoming young player, he’s been giving a few good scares to top players, I knew it was going to be tough, and overall, I can’t complain, great crowd too!!!!

[Q] Nicholas Mueller (Sui)[15] Julian Illingworth (Usa)
                      11/9, 11/7, 11/9

Mueller ends home hopes
Malcolm reports

The opening match of the evening programme saw American’s best player Julian Illingworth against the promising Swiss youngster Nicolas Mueller. An encounter with home interest and the promise of an entertaining match.

No doubt encouraged by vociferous local support, Illingworth began sharply, reaching 5/1 impressively. Mueller has plenty of ability and settling he recovered to 5/7, both players doing plenty with the ball.

Mueller levelled at 8 all and with Illingworth non less comfortable, he had the first game ball at 10/8, and won it with a delicate backhand drop on the second. An interesting first game.

Mueller, maintaining the impetus of the second half of the first game, led to 5/1 quietening the crowd, but this time, it was Illingworth who recovered to 5/5, neither player with any negative intention. Now, there was nothing in it, though Meuller had a gbetter look about him, Illingworth perhaps feeling home expectations.

A bleeding knee led to a stoppage for Illingworth who was now 7/6 up – perhaps not surprisingly, Mueller resumed the better and soon reached 10/7, winning the game with a rally that had Illingworth all over the place.

After the American’s bright start, the odds were now stacked against him with the 2-0 lead, Mueller was looking comfortable, but Illingworth somehow managed to lead 6/5 before Mueller drew away 9/6. Urged on by the packed crowd, he levelled at 9 all, but with two weak tins he handed the match to Mueller.

The swiss is a talented player with a Federer-like disposition. He has a future.

I’m so happy I won, although I was aware he was injured. It’s so difficult to play against somebody injured, and today was no exception. I was going short short short at the beginning, and it took me a while to realise that I had to make the rallies last and go play deep to beat him.

This wasn’t my best squash, I’m really sorry for him he wasn’t at his top physically, especially as he was playing in front of his homecrowd, but I’m really looking forward to playing in the next round….

[2] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt [Q] Alan Clyne (Sco)
                      11/6, 11/4, 11/5 (33m)

GREG IN EXPLOSIVE FORM

If people had doubt about Greg’s hunger for climbing back to the top of the game today, they only had to watch the clinical demonstration he made against up and coming young player Alan Clyne.

Alan is famous for his digging in ability, and his speed on court. Today, Greg never let him get comfortable. They still played some ridiculous fast and furious rallies, it was a very entertaining match, played in the spirit intended, but there was always only going to be one winner ...

I’m so hungry it’s surreal. I’m so motivated, I’m hungry again, and I’m back on the merry go round, baby!!!!!

The end of the season was rubbish, that’s for sure, but I stopped for a good while, to think about something completely different, and now, back in training three weeks ago, and now, motivation is the world…

I played him in the Worlds, and I thought I’d learned a few things, I thought I would have taken some experience from it, but he puts you under so much pressure, he takes the ball so early, he never let me implant my game. I like to volley but he is so fast I had the impression I was constantly behind the ball…

If I could change something, I would probably try and concentrate more on my length, and probably hit it harder. It was so hard to come from the Yale Club for the qualifiers, where the court is very bouncy, to this, where the court is so true. You have to be very positive to win on there, and I probably wasn’t enough today…

He surprised me, I didn’t expect him to play like that at all. The first thing I quickly realised about him, is that he had nothing in the world to lose, not even 1%, he was so relaxed.. I could see him the way he was moving on the court, how free he was, how fast he was on my shots, so light, actually he was moving before I was playing the shot, and he was there so fast!!!!

So I decided to play like him, to relax and move fast.

He is a smart player, and today, he played very well. At the end, I was contented to be able to contain him, I was able to move him better and better, and that’s a perfect first round for me, like a wake up call… I know now I’ll have to be more alert…

[5] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt [Q] Mathieu Castagnet (Fra)
                      11/9, 11/7, 11/5 (30m)

MATHIEU DIGS IN…

I have to say I was not surprised by the closeness of the match, as I thought that Mathieu had the perfect game to annoy Ramy.

More laid back than the Frenchman, you’ll have trouble finding. He never gets annoyed, he doesn’t get excited, he just enjoys his squash, he loves picking up difficult shots, conterdropping them, and slowing down the pace.

Perfect tactic against Ramy.

And we had some stunning rallies, with Ramy attacking at will, and my Mathieu composed, calmly, finding the good counter drop, the right lob, the good drive, that pushed Ramy to make a few errors.

The old Ramy may have gone for closer to the tin shots, and make a mess of it all. But not today. Today, Ramy is world number one. He knows that when things get tough, you don’t go mad, you just get everything…. at the back, and go back to basics….

It was such a good game to watch, the crowd wouldn’t have minded another game of that, and supported the Frenchman, hoping he would take it to a fourth. But Ramy would have none of it, and a bit tired to dig in all the shots in the book, Mathieu finally said die, but he’ll be so proud of his performance, especially after the doubts he had a few months ago about his squash.

Bien joué mon petit…

I did a good match I thought. For my French Squash second level, my project was actually Ramy’s game, so I watched and analysed his game for hours. And I guess I integrated a few of his mechanism at the front. I can’t say I could read them every time, but I was not as lost on there than I thought I would be…

What is ever so frustrating when you are playing Ramy, is that you are 6/1, and you think, right, I know he’ll get a few, but I surely have enough to carry me to the end of the game. WRONG!!!! He’ll find 10 nicks, and you get to 11/6 before you know it.

You have to be on your guards constantly, and you lose such an amount of energy just wondering what the heck he’s going to come up with…

But I’m happy, I put a few good things in place, I have to keep on going that way, it’s a good sign for the future.

I realise how luck I’ve been to play both Shabana and Ramy on the glass court in a matter of weeks. It was an extraordinary experience not to mention opportunity, from which I’ve learned a tremendous amount. And I also realised that I’m now much more comfortable on the glass court than I was as a junior…

[14] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Col) bt
[Q] Bernardo Samper (Col)          10/12, 11/3, 11/9, 11/2 (49m)

Rodriquez wins Colombian matchup
Malcolm reports

The draw, as draws sometimes perversely do, brought together the two leading Colombian players. So not just a place in the last 16 was up for grabs, but national pride was at stake too.

It was Samper who got away to a start, pining Rodriguez back, leading 6/0 before Rodriguez scored a point. Encouraged, he recovered, to 5/7 and achieved parity for the first time at 9 all. A tinned forehand volley by Rodriguez gave Samper a game ball, but Rodriguez forced the tiebreak, had a game ball himself before Samper took it 13/11, doubtless relieved, having led 6/0.

It had been a watchable first game and Rodriguez, sprung into retaliation, began like a house of fire, and was 7/1 in no time. He was playing at higher pace and Samper’s rhythm was disturbed. Darting about. Rodriguez won the game 11/3 in no time at all, cancelling out Samper's hard earned first game.

Rodriguez was now dominant and as Samper tried to regroup, Rodriguez went to 5/2, but to his credit, Samper did not yield and got to 5/6 before Rodriguez re-asserted and took a 2/1 lead 11/9, Samper having saved 4 game balls, before a bad bounce beat him on the fifth.

Samper continued to resist and while he is a quick enough, Rodriguez had an edge in that area. He raced away in the 4th, to 8/1 and won the game 11/2 at the first time of asking.

It had been an enjoyable end to the day, a match played in fine spirit, which saw Rodriguez confirm his status as his country’s number 1 player.

I was pretty comfortable at the start of the match, controlling the rallies well, and moving him around, but then, he stepped up the pace, and I was pushed way at the back… I was tired, but it was also a mental thing, I guess… I was too anxious to do good in front of my home crowd I guess… the legs were not responding as they should have… And Miguel played really well…

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