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TODAY at the ToC, Sun 24th Jan, Day FIVE
Framboise
reports from New York, Steve from Whitley Bay |
Top eight through to quarters,
some scares along the way ...
A slightly unusual look
to today's second round, with the top eight seeds facing some
opponents who wre making their debuts at this level.
Of the eight matches five were first meetings, with the head-to-head
stats in the other three reading Darwish 5 Hisham 0, Shabana 4
Walker 1, and Matthew 6 Boswell 2.
In the event it was the top eight seeds who all progressed to the
quarter-finals, but there were some scares along the way for a few
of them ...
[6] James Willstrop
(Eng) bt Ali Anwar Reda (Egy)
11/5, 11/6, 11/6 (39m)
[3] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [9] Alister Walker (Eng)
6/11, 11/5, 2/11, 11/2, 12/10 (64m)
[1] Karim Darwish (Egy) bt [12] Hisham Ashour (Egy)
11/8, 11/9, 11/8 (37m)
[7] David Palmer (Aus) bt [Q] Adrian Waller (Eng)
11/4, 11/4, 11/4 (30m)
[5] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt [Q] Nicholas Mueller (Sui)
11/5, 11/7, 11/7 (24m)
[4] Nick Matthew (Eng) bt [10] Stewart Boswell (Aus)
11/5, 11/5 rtd
[2] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt [14] Miguel Angel Rodriguez
(Col)
11/8, 11/5, 11/6 (36m)
[8] Wael El Hindi (Egy) bt Simon Rosner (Ger)
10/12, 10/12, 11/9, 11/7, 11/6 (79m)
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En Bref #4
Action Gallery
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I was a bit slow today. I started well,
but then, when he got injured, my mind was all over the place, how
bad was his injury, I was thinking far too much about him. And after
that, he controlled the whole match, I couldn’t get anything to the
back.
It was the first time I've played him, I’ve learned a lot from the
experience, and I’m hoping I’ll be able to play better next time.
All good luck to him for the rest of the tournament…
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[6] James
Willstrop
(Eng) bt Ali Anwar Reda (Egy)
11/5, 11/6, 11/6 (39m)
Willstrop
slips past Reda
Malcolm reports
Mohamed Reda, after his splendid win over Tarek Momen, had the
advantage in his match with James Willstrop of having Ramy Ashour in
his corner.
 He led 3/1 in the first game at which point Willstrop took a heavy
fall in the back left corner, turning on his operated upon ankle.
After the 3 minutes injury break, although looking tentative, he
regained composure and from 5/5, drew away to win the game 11/5.
Playing accurate, controlled squash, he led 8/2 in the second,
before Reda, who was acquitting himself well, came back to 6/9. That
was as far as he could go and Willstrop, moving with more confidence
again, won it 11/6.
Reda continued to compete but W was always calling the tune, and won
the third 11/6 ending with a crosscourt nick to the backhand side.
Reda will look back on the event with satisfaction, and Willstrop,
like other main contenders, was hitting the ball well. Providing
there is no after affects from the fall, he will remain difficult to
beat.
Frightening really.
I’m not sure what happened out there, I slipped, maybe on a bit of
sweat, not sure. It’s not painful, but then again, the injury in
itself wasn’t either all those months ago. I’m the most paranoid
person in the world in general, but in particular as far as this
injury is concerned.
After months of not knowing what it was, and then back in April, the
surgery, and all the recovery process, first the brace that comes
off, then the crutches, then the tape, every month it’s supposed to
get a bit better, and better. And then, a slip, and you just don’t
know if you’ve damaged anything. And you think, please, for crying
out loud, not that again! It is such a big mental thing…
Still, despite all that, I thought I didn’t play too bad today, I
thought he was a bit sluggish, he didn’t move as well as he normally
does. Mind you, he had a big match and win last round, and even with
a day of rest, it could be the reason.
I just hope my ankle won’t be swelling and that I’ll be fine
tomorrow.
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[3] Amr
Shabana
(Egy) bt [9] Alister Walker (Eng)
6/11, 11/5, 2/11, 11/2, 12/10 (64m)
MY IMPRESSIONS
 So
close. Soooo close yet again.
I was there when Ali beat Shabana on his “turf”, in front of his
wife and friend, in Cairo. I saw the total despair in Shaabz eyes
then, and the immense pride in Ali’s locks…
Today, Ali went on court knowing it could happen again. And he
nearly made it happen. Forget the 5th, which was an astonishing
game, where both players gave it their best.
The match was played in
the 4th, where Ali’s brain went dead, when he suddenly realised that
he probably was in the quarters of the ToC in front of his family,
how proud his father was going to feel…
And the game just went zooooom, out of his reach, out of his
racquet. The fifth, well, like Shaabz said, it’s a flip of a coin.
But Ali will replay that fourth endlessly for a few days, and kick
himself all the way back to England.
Still, it has to be stressed how in perfect spirit that match was
played. The respect, the friendship, even the fun those two were
having on the court was obvious to us all, and in my opinion, this
is the way Squash should be played. With passion, flair, talent,
intensity, and respect for the opponent.
Shabana
survives
Malcolm reports
Alister Walker came into the match in the knowledge that he had a
win over the world champion. He took an early lead in the first and
with Shabana not yet in gear, he held it throughout to go one up.
Walker was certainly up for it, whilst Shabana seemed to be
struggling for motivation. Class will out though, and Shabana oozes
that. He eased this way effortlessly to 11/5, hardly throwing a
hair, using his supreme racket skills to effect. There was not much
Walker could have done about it.
Shabana was looking interested now, but it was Walker who took a 3/0
lead in the third. He went to 10/2 after a brilliant rally at 5/2
which Walker finished with a stupendous backhand volleyed angle, and
went 2/1, Shabana disinterested again.
Were we on the verge of a major upset?
Shabana was soon 7/1 up in the fourth, recalling the second game, as
everything became easy again. He won it 11/2.
It had been a strange match, and who would turn up in the fifth, the
energetic Walker or the enigmatic Shabana? It was anybody's guess
and no betting proposition.
Shabana was soon 3/0 up without having to do a lot, then there was
an incredible rally at 4/1 with Shabana twice on the floor, John
White like, finally ending in a let. Shabana was in charge at 5/1,
but at 6/7 Walker was alive again. His behaviour though was becoming
oddly erratic, running into Shabana, trying to influence the
referees.
Lets abounded as Shabana remained passive. 6/7 became 8/8 and
Shabana looked as if he would rather be in Cairo with his children.
At 8-all Walker ranted about a clear stroke to Shabana and at 10/8
Shabana had the first match ball. Not to be though - tiebreak and
the world champion survived with a lucky bounce on the forehand and
a backhand straight winner, after having been on the floor again.
A strange match, but the fluctuations made the conclusion exciting,
giving the crowd and any partisan supporters heart-stopping moments.
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I’ll live to see
another day…
Last time we played, I was so much more confident, I was playing
home, I knew I was playing well, and I still lost. But today, it’s
the first tournament of the season, nobody is confident over nobody…
It was far worse today for me…
In the third, I just didn’t know what to do anymore. My mind was all
over the place, I felt lost on court, I felt out of my grasp today,
he was controlling the pace, he was controlling the game, and I was
lost. That’s the way I look when I’m lost.
He’s got an amazing reach, when he is in the middle of the court, he
can stretch and retrieved shots like nobody…
The 5th was a flip of a coin really…
One round more… I really thought I was flying home tonight. But now,
I’ll play another round tomorrow… We’ll see how the body will feel
though...
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It’s so difficult to
play against Hisham. I know him personally, but I can tell you I
don’t know him on court. You never know with Hisham, there is always
something new, every time, it’s a bit like you are playing him for
the first time…
You’ve got to be 100% focused, 100% mentally there, and being very
positive, because he is one of the best attacker of the circuit,
always ready to react…
I’m so frustrated. I should have won this match, I should have won
it. But Karim is such a strong player, I always say that he is one
of the toughest players on the circuit.
I’ve made some changes to my game, I’ve changed my racquet, smaller
head now, I’ve changed my rhythm, and I hope that now, what’s inside
my head is going to come out…
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[1] Karim
Darwish
(Egy) bt [12] Hisham Ashour (Egy)
11/8, 11/9, 11/8
Darwish keeps
his nose in front
Quick summary from Steve
 Having missed the final two major events of 2009, which saw him slip
from number one to number five in the world, Karim Darwish will have
been glad to get on court again against compatriot Hisham Ashour,
but even gladder to get off in three games that could have gone
either way.
Hisham is nothing if not a shotmaker, and the match was pretty much
decided by his shots. Enough of them went in to keep the crowd well
entertained and to keep Ramy's elder brother always in contention,
but enough went down, often immediately after one of those
spectacular winners, to keep the top seed ahead.
Darwish was steady, made very few errors, was always ahead
throughout the match, but never by much. Hisham was generally a
point or two behind - the only time he led was 2-1 in the third -
managed to stay in contention enough to take all three games to 9/8,
but each time it was Darwish who took the crucial game-ending
points, aided and abetted by some Ashour errors of course.
Hisham ended the match extremely frustrated having got so close but
unable to take even one game, Darwish no doubt finished it very
relieved ...
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[7] David
Palmer
(Aus) bt [Q] Adrian Waller (Eng)
11/4, 11/4, 11/4 (30m)
Nothing special today,
just solid basic squash. I spoke to Shaun today, and we decided that
was probably the best tactic against him. I hadn’t seen Adrian play,
but after his win against Olli, I was not going to take it easy,
that’s for sure.
I tried and not give him any confidence, and gave a good solid
performance, I’m happy to get through 3/0 my first and second round.
This was a playable draw, I did good to take care of the first two
rounds, and that give me the best possibility to try and challenge
Karim tomorrow.
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I was mentally dead
really, more than anything else. I still feel 100% better than I
felt yesterday, but not good enough really.
To compete against
David, I would have needed to be at 100% today…..
This match was probably one step too far for me, but still I regret
I wasn’t able to perform better against him, to try and get the most
out of it. I’m pleased with my whole tournament, of course, but I
would have liked to play better today…
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I felt pretty good
today, but once on there, my first time playing Ramy, not that used
to the glass court where he plays on it constantly, I struggled a
bit to see the ball to be honest, he plays at such a fast pace…
Then I sort of got used to his speed, and I was able to see the ball
a bit better, I got into the game a bit more…
Overall it was a good match, although I played far too many unforced
errors, too many loose balls, but he puts so much pressure on you, I
was struggling to play the right shot at the right time.
It was a good tournament for me, I should get a few ranking points
from that, I really thought this was a wonderful venue, I had a
great time, and I hope I can say I lost to the winner of the event…
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[5] Ramy
Ashour (Egy) bt [Q] Nicholas Mueller (Sui)
11/5, 11/7, 11/7 (24m)
RAMY ON THE
CLOCK???
Jzzzz, with the speed the points were going in the first game
(4m57s) and up to 10/2 in the second, you would have thought that
Ramy was actually renting the court by the minute, and wanted to get
the heck out of there asap…
 More seriously, Ramy was impressive, but in his own way, so was Nico,
who held his own once he got a bit less overwhelmed by Ramy’s
astonishing speed.
The Swiss has learned an immense lot this week, even if he doesn’t
realise it yet. He has handled the pressure of the crowd, of the
surroundings, the glass court, the noise, playing the home favourite
in the first round, and the World number one in the second!
Not bad for a 20 year old…
And Ramy, oh well, he is hitting the ball pretty well, as Malcolm
would say. In my words, he is on fire…
Malcolm's view
Nicolas Mueller is a young player with a future I am sure, but
moving into the top bracket against Ramy Ashour was never going to
be easy and so it proved.
Ashour looked more comfortable with the racquet than in his first
round match against Mathieu Castagnet, and treated the New York
crowd with a master class.
 Attacking
with his characteristic inhibited flair, but combining that with
perfectly paced hitting to the back of the court.
To his credit, although Mueller couldn’t last much more than
25minutes, he acquitted himself well and will have learnt a lot. He
had a strong spell in the eleven minute third game wining four
points in a row before Ashour finished him off.
It all made for enjoyable watching and I would have loved another
ten minutes, as I am sure, would the crowd.
Should Ashour and Gregory Gaultier meet on Tuesday, don’t miss it.
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[4] Nick
Matthew (Eng) bt
[10] Stewart Boswell (Aus)
11/5, 11/5 rtd
BOZZA OUT
AGAIN…
You’ve
got players that seem to riddle pledged with recurrent injuries.
Nick Matthew is one of them, but so far, he’s been able to come back
every time, with a vengeance I would say.
But some others, like Mohamed Abbas, or Stewart Boswell, aren’t that
lucky. For Stewart, after his back that kept him away from months
and months, it would seem that he now has got his knee to worry
about.
Nick will be sorry of course, but I’m sure he won’t be unhappy to
have played two comfortable games instead of the very close matches
that those normally play, and keep his energy for his quarters…
Malcolm's view
All the main contenders have looked in excellent shape and Nick
Matthew showed in his abbreviated match with Steward Boswell that he
is going to be hard to beat.
Boswell seemed to feeling his leg in the knock up, but once the
match started, he moved well enough, Matthew’s extra pace and more
clinical finishing looking to be the problem, Matthew’s straight
backhand volley was especially effective and he controlled matters
into a 2/0 lead.
At this moment, Boswell indicated that all was not well and had to
concede. Disapointing for a player who always gives 100%. The damage
did not look severe, so hopefully, he will be soon back in action.
Matthew can now look forward to a quarter final against Wael El
Hindi… |
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Greg is a very strong player, he plays
extremely fast squash, and anything you leave loose in the middle,
he’ll finish it off.
So I tried and put him under pressure by pushing my shots at the
back, and when I had opportunities, I would try and attack. But I
was a bit too stress, he never let me relaxed, and I made far too
many unforced errors. I guess now I realise I should have slowed the
pace down much more….
I had little trouble with blisters, and I wasn’t moving at my normal
100%, but no excuse, he was just too good and too fast today.
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[2] Gregory
Gaultier (Fra) bt [14] Miguel Angel Rodriguez
(Col)
11/8, 11/5, 11/6 (36m)
MIGUEL AS FAST
AS A BULLET
I so love watching that young man play squash. Miguel is like a
Colombian Renan Lavigne. He runs and runs, and runs, and finds some
lovely drop shots between two runs.
Fair and honest, Miguel plays a formidably spectacular squash, as he
not only retrieve the irretrievable, but also, read the game of his
opponent as a clairvoyant, and 9 out of 10, can guess where the kill
is going, offering a stunning reflex volley that enchants the
crowds, times and times again.
Even Greg, famous for holding the ball rather well, got caught at
Miguel reading game.
The Frenchman still prevailed still three love, but it was not as
comfortable I’m sure that he would have hoped/expected. Well played
Miguel, that’s for sure…
 I
was lethargic on court it was unbelievable. Problem sleeping last
night, I had the head in the sky I felt… Oh well, I did what I had
to do, not that it was my best squash, but going to the next round
is what was important. Now, I’m going to concentrate on getting
ready for the quarters.
Miguel is so fast, he is retrieving shots, it’s incredible, you
think you’ve won the point, and you see the ball coming back in
play! He is a little Speedy Gonzales, and he guesses extremely well,
he surprised me several times by guessing my shots…
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[8] Wael El
Hindi (Egy) bt Simon Rosner (Ger)
10/12, 10/12, 11/9, 11/7, 11/6 (79m)
NAUGHTY
NAUGHTY
A question for you.
When a child is naughty in the classroom, and the schoolmaster
doesn’t do anything about it, letting the child disturbing the
others, who is to blame? The kid? Or the teacher….
I’m sure you know where I’m going, don’t you…
Tonight, I guess to simplify, we could say that Simon was the good
kid, Wael the Naughty one, and the refs, well, the teacher that
didn’t really see what was going on…
In my opinion, Wael and Simon played two superb first games of
squash, where speed, intensity and accuracy were stunning. And
tonight, at that game, Simon was just that much better.
But in the middle of the third, Wael got tired, and still playing
very well indeed, he moved less and less out of the way of his
opponent, creating at times what I would call, the “Wael Wall”… And
the teacher didn’t really comprehend what was going on, keeping on
giving no let to the Good kid, and stroke to the Naughty one…. So
the Naughty Kid just went on doing it… Why shouldn’t he???
 At
the end of the day, the Naughty Kid ain’t to blame is he? The
teacher should have known better. But then again, who put him in
charge of the classroom, if he actually didn’t know better….
Simon learned a great lesson tonight I’m sure. He’s learnt that next
time something like that happens to him, he’ll keep the ball away
from a situation where the ref has got to intervene. He won’t play
in that left front corner as much. He’ll show more obviously to the
refs what is going on there. And he won’t fall in the trap of
getting frustrated and losing the direction he so beautifully set up
for himself… It’s called experience.
Wael, bless him, played superbly tonight. He knows all the tricks in
the book, and used them beautifully to his advantage, to live
another day under the ToC limelight…
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