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this page updated June 7, 2001 12:14 AM
Second Round:
Chris Walker turns back the Clock... ousts Evans
June 6, 2001
Martin Bronstein reports on the British Open Second Round, Birmingham. © 2001 Squashtalk. File photos: D Tessier © 2001
WONDERFUL WILLY WALKER
So what has Chris Walker (Willy to his friends) been up to recently? Well.
Last July he and his American
girl friend Michelle 
went
around the world
for six month, including a stop off to see the Olympics in Melbourne, came
down to earth in November, went back into squash, broke up with his girl friend
and beat the reigning British Open champion David Evans in four in the second
round of the 2001 British Open.
Sounds an unlikely What-I-did-on-my-summer –vacation essay, but amazingly enough it’s true. Walker, just three days from his 34th birthday and hardly match sharp, having played about three tournaments in the last six months, knocked out David Evans, the world number four in four games to make the quarters.
Evans,
who became the first Welshman ever to win the British Open last year, has
had spotty form since then,
but could not summon
up his best squash
when faced with
the very experienced
Walker
who has been on the circuit for 13
years and was once world number four. He rang alarm bells when he went to
a 11-4 lead in the first, but Evans came back to 12-13 and then forced extra
points which Walker took 17-15.
Evans took the second 15-9, to fulfil expectations but Walker but Walker put his nose in the lead in the third and kept it there to win it 15-9 and then raced to a 7-1 lead in the fourth. Evans’ confidence was shaken and worse still, Walker was reading his famous delay and driving the ball for winners.
Walker was now in full cry and hitting some superb dropswhich the lanky Evans could not scrape up. Evans knew the game was up and resigned himself to the inevitable upset. Walker held his arms in the air, and the jinx of the British Open struck again. Since 1997 no player has been able to win the title two years running.
“I’d been training, played hardball in Toronto for three weeks and missed Hurghada because my ranking had slipped below the top 32. But I did three weeks training in the last month and I felt good,” Walker says by way of explanation of his two victories over Omar el Borolossy and Evans. He has also moved out of London back to his apartment in Colchester and back among his friends like Del Harris. He has also made a bet with Ross Norman that he would be back in the top ten at the age of 35.
“The only one who has confidence in me is me,” he joked. “I got to the semis of the British Open back in 1995, so I’ve been here before.” He hasn’t however, been on this new glass court before and so it was a very fast learning process. “It’s a true court but quite dead. But if you play good length, you get dividends.” Walker tore bits of his tatty squash shoes as he spoke saying that he was waiting for new shoes from his latest sponsor, Squash Design of the US.
He has his own racket from Black Knight called Walker’s Weapon, but is not on the England world performance program and therefore not getting lottery money, which he says he would dearly like to achieve. So, although Willy is ranked 33 now, just watch him in the next few months.
SECOND
ROUND RESULTS. [see draw]
