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Cathay Pacific 2001

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...Colin McQuillan reports from Hong Kong....

August 20, 2001 - The Chinese are great believers in fate and pre-destiny, and they would tell you with 20/20 hindsight that the Nicols of this world were not looking at fortuitous times in Hong Kong this week. Peter Nicol, the world champion was today dumped out of the first round of the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open Squash Championship which he has completely dominated for the past two years, been present in the last three finals and not missed thequarter-finals since 1994. He was beaten 15-12 5-15 15-12 15-8 in 58 minutes by Thierry Lincou, the 25-year-old French Champion.

Nicol David, the double world junior champion from Malaysia,starting out as a full time senior professional for the first time in the first event of the new WISPA Grand Prix circuit, went down in straight games in half-an-hour to the second seeded senior world champion, Carol Owens of (currently) Australia, acknowledging there was much for her still to learn.

NICOL DEFLATED
It was the first time in five years that the 28-year-old Scot-turned-Limey had lost uninjured inthe first round of a major competition. He went out of the first round of lastyear’s Florida Open, to Rodney Durbach, while suffering ankle problems. It was Lincou’s best ranking win in the game and came after a four month lay-off witha fractured racket hand.

“I just cannot tell you what went wrong,” Nicol said afterthe defeat. “I feel I am in the best shape I could be in and I came here afterwinning the Scottish and Irish Opens,and The Super Series Finals. I was really happy about that after all the flak Itook over changing to England. “I just did not play well enough here and Thierry played exceptionally well.”

LINCOU, ADOPTED NATIVE SON
Lincou chose the right location for his breakthrough win. He is half Chinese through his mother, having been born on Reunion Island in Indian Ocean and relocating to Marseille seven years ago. For local journalists in Hong Kong this almost like finding a favourite son. “I am based in Marseille and I support them in football, butthere are not many squash players to work with. I train and play all over the place,” Lincou said. “I work a lot in England, with players like Mark Cairns in Oxfordshire, and just before coming here I spent a few weeks in the Egyptianheat training and playing with Amr Shabana, Omar El Borolossy and Karim Darwish.

“The last tournament I played was the PSA masters in Egypt,then I fell backwards off a weight machine and fractured bones in my right handtrying to break my fall.. The time off the court has given me the chance to look at my game again andto build my basic fitness. “I went on court to attack Peter and it worked better than Iexpected. I lost form a bit in the second game and often I don’t recover fromthat. But this time I tried to concentrate on good length and width and to takeover the centre of the court from Peter. It went better and better as the game went on.”

Certainly the core of Nicol’s failure lay in that analysis.For a man whose entire reputation is based on rhythm and accuracy, the world champion’s range was sorely lacking under increasing pressure.

WALKER STILL SWINGING
British men’s hopes were not entirely dashed by the result,however. Chris Walker, the surprise 31-year-old British Open finalist in June,recovered from a sticky start against Tommy Berden, the Dutch Champion, to win14-15 15-10 15-14 15-11, Paul Johnson beat Peter Genever in straight games,David Evans beat Tim Garner similarly and Martin Heath beat Graham Ryding 15-14in the fifth game.

The best of these matches was the Heath win over Ryding in which either player would have been a proud winner of a splendid 65 minute display in which the penultimate rally for match point produced the best craftsmanship of the day before ending in a let to put then Scot through against the Canadian 15-3 11-15 7-1515-13 15-14.

Karim Darwish of Egypt, the junior world champion, apparently benefited also from the Cairo workouts with Lincou. He beat the British National Champion Lee Beachill 13-15 15-915-10 15-12 over 56 minutes. Stewart Boswell won the all-Australian battle for Canberraagainst Melbourne’s John Williams 15-12 15-6 15-13 in 50 minutes, but the ex-Aussie, John White of Queensland who now plays for Scotland, went down in straight games to Olli Tuominen, the Finnish qualifier.

DAVID LEARNS A LESSON FROM OWENS
In the women’s championship Carol Owens, the senior world champion who last week declared herself a New Zealander from September instead of an Australian, rathernervously defeated the junior world champion, Nicol David of Malaysia, 9-5 9-2 9-7 in 30 minutes. David gave Owens a trying time before bowing out 9-5, 9-2,9-7 in 30 minutes in the first round of the women’s event.

The 17-year-old from Penang matched strides with her illustrious opponent in the opener and was very much in the hunt in the early part of the match (4-4 in the opening game) and she had a great chance of extending Owens when she led in the third. Experience prevailed over youth and the 30-year-old Owens' cause was helped by three unforced errors. A marginal decision denied Nicol a stroke at 7-1 in the third game game.

Owens seized the opportunity and worked her way back to 6-7.She levelled courtesy of a stroke and on her second matchball saw Nicol's attempt at a forehand boast find the tin. It had been a closer call for the world number two than she had anticipated.

"I was a bit over keen,” Owens admitted “In these conditions, you try and keep the rallies short. When that did not work, I went back to basics. I thought I could win quickly against a known rallier, but it did not work out too well". She had beaten David two years ago in the Milo Open at Kuala Lumpur. She remains an Australian officially for this tournament, but this could be her last event under the famous green and gold flag.

“I am not sure about the Commonwealth Games yet, but I amreceiving support from New Zealand Squash and I have lived in Auckland for thepast three years, so I think everything should go forward from next month,”Owens said. The Malaysian youngster was unconcerned about such matters: "I subconsciously changed my game plan in the third",

Nicol said. "I got a bit nervous. It was a lesson for me. This is my second year on the world circuit . I definitely need more exposure". Jenny Tranfield defeated Cheryl Beaumont in an oddly displaced all-Yorkshire encounter 9-6 9-1 9-1 in just 15 minutes, and the seedings were upheld elsewhere as Australia’s Grinham sisters, Natalie and Rachael, and Liz Irving went through along with Fiona Geaves, Tania Bailey and Vanessa Atkinson.

THONGS DON'T WIN MATCHES
Irving, a 35-year-old qualifier, upset the organisers a bit by dumping England’s Vicky Botwright 9-7 9-6 4-9 10-9 in 48 minutes. Irving, the experienced Australian coach living in Amsterdam, who has been successful in elevating Vanessa Atkinson's game, showed Botwright that experience and sound tactics win out over appearance.

Botwright is the young player who earned international headlines by modelling a thong at the British Open and her management have extended the theme a bit by raffling the garment in Hong Kong to celebrate the start of the new WISPA Grand Prix.

The garment is to be presented to the winner on Thursday and the Eye Group would have been pleased to still have had the original wearer in the competition. Atkinson disappointed the local journalists by destroying Christina Mak, the only home grown Hong Kong player to qualify for the main round by right, 9-1 9-0 9-5 also in a quarter-of-an-hour. The top Hong Kong player, Rebecca Chiu, plays Stephanie Brind tomorrow after drawing the wild card.

Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open Squash Championships Qualifying Finals:

First Round Results:
Men:
Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt Peter Nicol (Eng) 15-13 5-15 15-1215-8
Chris Walker (Eng) bt Tommy Berden (Neth) 14-15 15-10 15-1415-11
Olli Tuominen (Fin) bt John White (Scot) 15-13 15-9 15-10
Paul Johnson (Eng) bt Peter Genever (Eng) 15-11 15-7 15-11
David Evans (Wal) bt Tim Garner (Eng) 15-11 15-4 15-8
Stewart Boswell (Aus) bt John Williams (Aus) 15-12 15-6 15-13
Martin Heath (Scot) bt Graham Ryding (Can) 15-3 11-15 7-1515-13 15-14
Karim Darwish (Egy) bt Lee Beachill (Eng) 13-15 15-9 15-1015-12

Women:
Carol Owens (Aus) bt Nicol David (Mal) 9-5 9-2 9-7
Jenny Tranfield (Eng) bt Cheryl Beaumont (Eng) 9-6 9-1 9-1
Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt Laura Keating (Aus) 1-9 7-9 9-4 9-09-3
Vanessa Atkinson (Neth) bt Christina Mak (HK) 9-1 9-0 9-5
Tania Bailey (Eng) bt Ellen Petersen (Den) 4-9 9-5 9-5 9-5
Natalie Grinham (Aus) bt Wendy Maitland (Scot)9-4 9-7 9-6
Fiona Geaves (Eng) bt Aisling Blake (Ire) 9-4 9-0 9-1
Liz Irving (Aus) bt Vicky Botwright (Eng) 9-7 9-6 4-9 10-9

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