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this page updated June 12, 2001 10:36 PM
Semis: Great victory for Walker; Fitz-Gerald fights nerves and comes back for victory.
Martin
Bronstein reports on the British Open Semis, Birmingham.
©
2001 Squashtalk, Photos: © 2001
Fritz Borchert,
Debra Tessier
WILLY WONDERFUL, THE HISTORICAL QUALIFIER Chris Walker today entered the history books with a stupendous victory to put him into the final of the British Open.
To
say he is a surprise finalist is to make the understatement of the century.
When
he knocked out John White 3/2 in the semis to earn his place in the final,
Walker became the first qualifier in the history of this event to make
the final. And at 34, he may also be the oldest finalist since the heady
days of Hashim and Azam Khan back in the 50’s.
I may write this several different ways, but Walker’s achievement cannot be praised too highly. The world of squash has made a legend of Hashim Khan’s astonishing first Open victory at the alleged age of 37. Walker is just three years younger. Barrington, Hunt, Jahangir and Jansher were all gone from the scene well before attaining Walker’s age. More astonishing is the fact that he spent six months of the last on a world tour and has played just a handful of tournaments.
WHITE IS NOT RIGHT 
It is generally agreed that White played it all wrong and put to much
ball at the front of the court where Walker was on it like a ferret. White’s
performance can only be put down to British Open nerves, which seems to
affect everybody, regardless of sex or age. Since his move to Nottingham
White has been winning five game matches. That he lost this one to a man
who has been through three qualifying rounds and three main draw matches
will probably haunt him for the rest of his life.
START WELL FINISH WELL
Walker started well and took he lead that he never relinquished, leading
8-4, and , after White had fought back to 8-9, Walker pulled away to 13-8,
the first game practically in his pocket. It was then that White started
to shoot some of his cracking winners, shots that even the speedy Walker
could not get and suddenly it was 13-13. Then Walker at the front made
two false passes at the ball before sending it to the back of the court.
White was left rocking on his heels. Walker served for the game and an
anxious White hit a long low backhand drive into the tin to give Walker
the game 15-13.
WILLY WORKS THE RULES
Walker (Willy to his friends) has been around a long time and works the
rules and referees very well. He got his first three points of the second
game from strokes, but this did not stop White who took the lead and kept
it to win 15-7 in 14 minutes. There
was very little indication of who would win as they could match eachother
for both speed and accuracy but when White led the third game 12-9 it
seemed that Walker had run his course.
But appearances can deceive. Her got a stroke followed by lucky nick at the back wall to get to 11-12 and then won a wonderful front -of -court tussle with finely cut drops shots on both side of the court. White then hit the ball at himself to give Walker a 13-12 lead but made amends with a tight forehand drive to pull level at 13-13. Walker got another stroke to get to game ball and finished it off with a disguised cross court slice that just grazed the front wall and died in the nick.
WALKER
GIVES IT AWAY
The fourth was almost no contest as White immediately went into a lead
and at 10-4 Walker decided to have a rest and gave away the last five
points, to tie the match at 2-all. Surely John ‘five-game’ White would
no polish off the old bloke with no hair? Not so, dear friend. Walker
had had a nice rest and raced off and despite some no lets and with the
help White’s would be winners hitting tin, led 13-7, just two points from
an historic victory. White got stroke to stop the run and then Walker
made three errors in a row followed by a denied let.
Suddenly White was back in the chase at 12-13 but then he made a very costly error with a forehand drop to stop his own run and put Walker at match ball 14-12. After a tense rally cut a wonderfully tight backhand drop which White cold simply not pick up. Pandemonium from a crowd approaching 2,000, most of them, naturally, limey’s. I must say, I gave a small cheer myself if only to recognise Walker’s sheer chutzpah. If he beats David Palmer in the final tomorrow, I shall be simply lost for words.
HISTORY DENIED. David Palmer put paid to the hopes of an all-England
final when he despatched a tired Lee Beachill in four games. Beachill
was not the same player who destroyed Peter 
Nicol
yesterday; as early as the first game when he allowed Palmer four easy
point (to go from 9-8 to 13-9) there were indications that he was tired
and that he had already climbed his own personal mountain for this Open.
Beachill lost the first game 15-11 but rallied to win 15-12 in the second
to tie the match. The wonderful winners that left Nicol gasping were now
going down as errors and the third game was over in 11 minutes 15-10 to
Palmer. The final game was pure fatigue and Palmer had it in ten minutes,
15-10 to earn his first place in a British Open final. It’s been one helluva
week for the men.
IN FITZ AND STARTS
The women have given us a very different story with the top four seeds
finding their way into the semi-finals. Sarah Fitz-Gerald and Leilani
Joyce produced a final of great drama, but, and I am almost alone in this,
not great or even memorable squash.
Indeed, I found the first two games lacking in any real imagination or strategy. Yes, there were some wonderful gets and the skill was in evidence but I got the feeling they were both on automatic pilot. Fitz was into her stride first to a 7-4 lead but Joyce beavered away to produce some nervous squash from the Australian to win 10-8 after 20minutes. The wobbles got to Fitz in the second game and Joyce was all over her, playing her usual game, untroubled by nerves. When she won it 9-3 in 12 minutes it indicated that this might be another Open debacle for Fitz-Gerald.
AND
NOW THE RESURRECTION
Fitz-Gerald finally started thwacking the ball when she realised her golden
backhand drops were giving her nothing. The pencil-thin Joyce started
to show signs of tiredness: between points there would be slow walk to
the front and then back to the box before serving, ten valuable recovery
seconds for a fit body. The game was over in ten minutes 9-2 for Fitz
but take nothing for granted, because Joyce may have been having a rest.
This seemed to be the case when she took a 4-0 lead in the fourth only
for Fitz to come back from 4-6 to win 9-6 and
force a fifth game. 
Now
the fatigue was really showing on Joyce’s face and in her body language
so when Fitz led 6-2 in the fifth it should have been all over.
But she went for a silly drop, lost the serve and Joyce,
who is a pretty good fighter when the chips are down, gave Fitz another
case of the wobbles by coming back to tie it at 6-all.
Joyce stopped her own run with an error and from that moment Sarah Fitz-Gerald, former world champion, made sure of her place in the final to win 9-7 and end a gripping 75 minute battle. Fitz-Gerald admitted nerves and tension had affected her performance. She also said that a voice in the crowd crying ‘Come on Australia helped to turn it round for her in the third game.
MORE
NERVES, MORE LOOSE PLAY
It will be an all –Australian final with Fitz-Gerald facing world champion
Carol Owens, who was hot favorite to trample all over fourth seed Linda
Charman-Smith only to find herself 2-1 down to a player with one leg completely
strapped from below the knee. 
Charman-Smith
was playing very well indeed while Owens was tense and nervous which led
to her overhitting. Almost none of the beautiful Owens touch was evident
and Linda was killing her at the front of the court.
Owens had to work very hard indeed to get out of trouble and she took the fourth 9-2 to tie the match. She finally found some rhythm in the fifth and when she led 6-0 it was virtually all over. She won 9-1 from a tired Charman Smith and told me later that the pressure came from the expectations of other people who told her she had the soft half of the draw compared to the top half which contained Campion , Joyce and Fitz-Gerald.
“The hardest thing was getting to the final. Now I’ve got over the nerves I can relax and enjoy myself tomorrow,” she said. But I’ll believe that when I see it.
SEMI FINALS
Sarah Fitz-Gerald (Aus) bt Leilani Joyce (NZ) 8-10, 3-9, 9-2, 9-6, 9-7.
75 mins.
Carol Owens (Aus) bt Linda Charman-Smith (Eng) 9-6, 2-9, 8-10, 9-2, 9-1.
66 mins.
Chris Walker (Eng) bt John White (Sco) 15-13, 7-15, 15-13, 4-15, 15-12.
86 mins
David Palmer (Aus) bt Lee Beachill (Eng) 15-11, 15-12 15-10, 15-10. 65
mins
