Commonwealth
Games 2002:
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2002 Commonwealth Games Quarters I
by Martin Bronstein in London, July 29 2002

[last update was 31-jul-02 ]

RORANI HAS TO GRINHAM AND BEAR IT
Rachael Grinham created the upset of the women's tournament today when she outplayed the former British Open champion and world number one, Leilani Rorani of New Zealand., in three games to ensure she went home with a medal. Grinham, 25, acknowledged that this was not the same Leilani that won the British Open saying that Leilani's movement was not what it was.

Nevertheless it was a superb win for the girl from Australia who has been domiciled in Cairo for the last year, which is probably why she won. It was a fine, engrossing match to watch; Rorani, even half fit, is an inspiring player, with an entertaining combination of power and guile that was good enough to take her to the top.

THE ENIGMA THAT IS GRINHAM

Rachel Grinham stands tall (photo © 2002 Fritz Borchert)

From the outset Grinham knew she had to move her opponent around and she did this with dogged determination, floating the ball down the wall, dropping from all over the court and occasionally crashing the ball to the back. She would not allow Rorani to dictate the pace and whenever the tempo rose, Grinham would bring it back down with a floating lob. Rorani thrives on other player's pace - here she had nothing to work with and hard to generate all her own power. The joke among the WISPA players is that nobody has worked out Rachael Grinham, evern her own sister Natalie. And Natalie jokes that even Rachael doesn't understand her own game. That all ends today and the top ten will also start treating the older Grinham with respect.

AS MANY ERRORS AS WINNERS
The first game was bitty, with rallies decided equally by winners and errors. Grinham kept the upper hand and when she won that first game 9-2 in under ten minutes, it was fair to say that we waited for Rorani to crank up the machine as she did yesterday. She came out for the second like her old self and she was winning the extended rallies, the rough edges having been worn off. When she had notched up a 5-0 lead, it seemed like the old order was returning, but Grinham did not fold and when a Rorani hit a backahdn boast into the tin, Grinham had her first point. Rorani got another point on a stroke but then Grinham hit a string of winners: hit a backhand boast, two backhand drops and a forehand drop to get to 5-6.

Rachel Grinham brings Leilani Rorani to a standstill(photo © 2002 Fritz Borchert)

Rorani put in a spurt to get to game point at 8-6 but a another error on a backhand boast (is that the most costly shot in squash?) gave Grinham her seventh point and then she floated a tight ball down the left wall which Rorani just scraped back for Grinham to drop into the nick. Rorani chose set two, Grinham finished the rally with an exquisite overhead drop into the nick and Rorani sealed her own fate when she hit the ball out of court to end the 13 ½ minute game 10-8 in Grinham's favour.

Rorani didn't give up and came back from 1-4 in the third but from 6-6 onwards it was obvious that she could not muster the fight and Grinham was exploiting her inability to turn quickly. The game ended with Rorani tinning the ball and she shook her head in frustration. It was a defeat but also a victory that she was playing at all after her Achilles Tendon surgery earlier this year.

For Grinham it was a great moment, her first ever victory over the talented New Zealander. "I've never come close before," she admitted later. "When I saw the draw I knew I had a chance and after watching her lose a game to Nicol David yesterday, I thought I could win. I didn't think too much about the match - if I have too many thoughts I get confused. I think I am playing my old game now after living in Egypt and training with Egyptian players. I love watching them - they use their shots and think about their game. I had been back in Australia where they made me concentrate on length and I lost my shots. Now I am finding myself again after travelling around."

BRIND GETS FRITZ-KREIGED
Stephanie Brind could have entertained similar thoughts of upsetting Sarah Fitz-Gerald when she had game ball in the first game of their quarter final. Brind has everything you expect of a top ten player: the shots, the movement and the strategy. But faced with world number one, Sarah Fitz-Gerald, this is simply not enough. The Australian has a toughness of mind combined with 15 years experience of world class squash. Briefly put, Fitz-Gerald knows how to have the last word. If her opponent hits fifteen great shots, Fitz-Gerald, unbeaten in 52 matches, hits sixteen. If her opponent tries to win with fitness by hitting 50 shots, Fitz-Gerald will still be there, hitting 51 shots. Brind was not cowed by this unbeatable opponent even when Fitz-Gerald built up a quick 6-1 lead in the first game. Brind showed her own toughness by clawing her way back and then continuing the push to game ball, 8-7. But it is in this sort of situation that Fitz-Gerald comes through and she duly took control of the situation to take the next three points to win 10-8.

DRIVE AND DROP, DRIVE AND DROP

Steph Brind almost took the first game against Fitz-Gerald (photo © 2002 Fritz Borchert)

The second games saw Fitz-Gerald settling into a pattern of length drives or cross courts into the back right corner, forcing Brind to boast thereby giving Fitz-Gerald the opportunity to execute her favourite shot - a backhand drop. And she does it beautifully, with the same sort of consistency of Susan Devoy, who practically built her reputation on that shot. The point was, even though Brind could see it coming she simply could not get up to the front left corner in time or the ball had disappeared down the nick. Brind forced Fitz-Gerald to win every point during their 36 minute encounter. There were some fascinating rallies as Brind probed for a chink in the world champion's armour - but it is, at the present time, impregnable. Fitz-Gerald won the next two games 9-3 and 9-1 but Brind can take comfort from the fact that she got closer than ever before.

"I was pleased," commented Brind who, at 25, is nine years younger than Fitz-Gerald. "I've never got a game off Sarah and I was just going into the match hoping I could get a game and obviously two, then three. But she is strong and takes the ball so early. I got to game ball in the first, but it takes a lot out of you," added Brind, the world number nine from Kent. For her part Fitz-Gerald was caught off-guard by Brind's strength. "The last few times I played her I've managed to get on top really quickly and she's fallen away, but today she really stuck with her game plan and tried to stick with me," Fitz-Gerald said. " I made a couple of errors that I normally wouldn't make and it made me a bit tentative and it allowed her to come back in. The I started thinking too much rather than getting on with the game."

A NEW YORK STATE OF MIND…REVERSED
Anybody who saw Chris Walker play David Palmer in New York in the Tournament of Champions in January will remember the acrimonious encounter which brought some loud tut-tutting from some of the older spectators. It ended with a 3/2 victory for the aging Englishman after a match full of incident, body contact and invective - both verbal and tacit. Palmer refused to shake hands at the end of the match and then again when Walker offered an olive branch 15 minutes later. All this was very much to the front of my mind when they stepped on the court today in their quarter final match.

SORRY, THE FIGHT'S OFF

Some hand checking but no fights ... (photo © 2002 Fritz Borchert)

But another blood bath (virtual) was avoided. Walker kept trying his old tricks, questioning every decision against him and requesting lets when he would have needed the Concorde to reach the ball - as well as a bit of barging, but the referee warned him early on about contact, told him not to question decisions and finally gave him a warning for dissent.

Palmer also contributed to the outbreak of peace by simply refusing to get involved with either the referee or his opponent. He has had temper problems in the past but today, however, he kept his cool - something he has been unable to do at critical times - and kept to his own game of well-hit length and wonderful volley drops. In truth the competition lasted about half a game and from 3-4 down Palmer quietly worked Walker around the court and then would finish the rally with a winner or a perfect drive to win 9-5. At 2-1 in the second referee Evans had had enough of Walker's constant queries and issued an official conduct warning for dissent. It did the trick and Palmer was left in peace to take the game 9-1. He was totally relaxed in the third and hitting beautiful winners while seeming to amble around the court and had the third game 9-1 in under ten minutes.

They shook hands amicably and then Walker went back and shook hands again. When asked why Walker replied with a grin: "He owed me one."

Palmer was succinct when explaining the difference between New York and Manchester: "Today was a fair match and I think Chris played unfair in New York. And I wasn't up to it in New York because I had spent Christmas in Australia with my folks and I wasn't fit or sharp enough so I got drawn into those long rallies, which is not my game. Today I was relaxed and if had to take two games to wear him down, I would have done. I had talked a lot to my coach about controlling my temper and I was not going to get into arguments with the referee. I was also running around Chris to try and play every ball rather than calling a let."

RESULTS
WOMEN'S QUARTER-FINALS
Sarah Fitz-Gerald (Aus) bt Stephanie Brind (Eng) 10-8, 9-3, 9-1.
Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt Leilani Rorani (NZ) 9-1, 10-8, 9-6.

MEN'S QUARTER FINALS
Peter Nicol (Eng) bt Graham Ryding (Can) 9-1, 9-2, 9-3.
David Palmer (Aus) bt Chris Walker (Eng) 9-5, 9-1, 9-1

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