First round play - final session

10.11.00 Birmingham, SquashTalk News by M Bronstein

[also: complete day one men's womens]

Squashtalk. October 11 running into Oct 12 2000

THE BRITISH OPEN AT THE NATIONAL INDOOR ARENA IN BIRMINGHAM. 000hrs GMT

ONG BENG, HEE, HEE, HEE
Malaysia's favorite son and best squash player, Ong Beng Hee will sleep well tonight - with a big smile wrapped across his face. He not only got into his second Super Series first round, he knocked out the world number ten, John White, the Australian Scotsman. It not only gives him his first appearance in the second round of a major tournament, together with his Hong Kong result, it will also catapult him up from his present ranking of 33 into the twenties where he won't have to go through qualifying.

SLOW START, RAPID IMPROVEMENT
I wrote that Ong did not play well in his first qualifying match and his coach, Neil Harvey agreed. "It was a very sapping court and Ong was very slow to get going. But he picked up and played very well in his second match when he beat Adrian Grant," he said. White won the first game on the slow plastic court in the National Indoor Arena but Ong responded by taking the second 17-14. He then audaciously stole third after being 14-16 down, with a cross-court dead nick into the back of the court to make it 16-16 before taking the final point.

"I think that was the decisive game," Ong said with a grin later. White stormed back by upping the pace and taking the ball early to win the fourth 15-14 and then tried to rush the fifth, twice hitting the ball back at himself. Ong slowed the pace, which White didn't like, and Ong took the game 15-11.

MARSHALL OUT
To take nothing away from Graham Ryding's win in straight games, it is becoming obvious that Peter Marshall is not the player he was and sadly seems to be going backwards. That he has managed to get back to number 8 in the world is a remarkable testimony to his iron hard determination, But he is now 29 years old and cannot summon the energy that he once did. On the fast glass court Canadian number two Ryding was not fully stretched in the 49 minute match and won 15-12, 15-4, 15-9, a scoreline that would have been unthinkable when Marshall was at his peak and world number two. Ryding will now play Australian David Palmer, world number 9, who beat Juha Raumolin in three.

POWER TO THE LEEWARD
There were a few question marks when Jonathon Power, the top seed in the absence of Peter Nicol, lost the second game to qualifier Lee Beachill, but then took the last two in his usual style with his combination of anticipation and magic wrist.

He finished at half-past midnight just when Del Harris was going on court to play Stewart Boswell.

The fact that I've been here for 13 hours, trying to keep up with the action on two courts as well as matches at the Edgbaston Priory club, may well account for the fact that I no longer am absolutely on the edge of my chair to see who wins. And this was a match I was looking forward to. Harris, seeded seven should have it all wrapped up, but Stewart Boswell is a hard man to beat.

Harris won the first game and from 11-11 in the second, every point was decided by a referee's decision. Each and every point became a battle in itself and you knew it would go to 14-14 and then extra points. Harris won two of his last three points on strokes, Boswell just one to give Harris the game 17-15. It is now 1.30 am and they have just started the third game.

RESULTS WOMEN FIRST ROUND RESULTS
Cassie Campion (Eng) bt Shelley Kitchen (NZ) 9-0, 9-2, 9-1.
Vanessa Atkinson (Ned) bt Vicky Botwright (Eng) 9-3, 8-10, 5-9, 9-7, 9-2.
Tania Bailey (Eng) bt Liz Irving (Aus)9-3, 9-1, 9-0.
Sue Wright (Eng) bt Rebecca Mcree (Eng) 9-4, 8-10, 8-10, 9-1, 9-2
Carol Owens (Aus) bt Salma Shabana (Egypt) 9-5, 9-2, 9-3.
Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy) bt Jenny Tranfield (Eng) 7-9, 6-9, 9-3, 9-4, 9-5. Natalie Grainger (Eng) bt Latasha Khan (US) 9-2, 9-1, 9-6.
Sarah Fitzgerald (Aus) bt Ellen Peterson (Den) 9-0, 9-2, 9-0.
Fiona Geaves (Eng) bt Annelise Naude (RSA) 10-8, 4-9, 3-9, 10-8, 9-1
. Pamela Nimmo (Sco) bt Sabine Schoene (Ger) 5-9, 9-3, 9-4, 9-6.
Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt Maha Zein (Egy) 9-4, 9-1, 9-4.
Linda Charman (Eng) bt Agnes Muller (Swi) 9-5, 9-7, 3/0 ret.
Stephanie Brind (Eng) bt Isabelle Stoehr (France) 3-9, 10-8, 9-4, 9-4.
Suzanne Horner (Eng) bt Natalie Grinham (Aus)9-4, 6-9, 9-4, 9-4.
Cheryl Beaumont (Eng) bt Claire Nitch (RSA) 10-9, 9-5, 9-5.
Leilani Joyce (NZ) bt Senga McFie (Sco) 9-0,9-0,9-1.

MEN FIRST ROUND
Omar El Borolossy (Egy) bt Bradley Ball (Eng) 15-8, 15-11, 15-8.
Alex Gough (Wal) bt Nick Taylor (Eng) 15-12, 15-13, 1-15, 5-15, 15-13.
Paul Johnson (Eng) bt Mark Cairns (Eng) 15-11, 15-12, 12-15, 15-3.
Mark Chaloner (Eng) bt Davide Bianchetti (Ita) 15-9, 15-13, 15-10.
Simon Parke (Eng) bt Stephen Meads (Eng) 15-12, 15-6, 17-16.
Paul Price (Aus) bt John Williams (Aus)15-11, 8-15, 15-4, 11-15, 15-10.
Martin Heath (Sco) bt Amr Shabana (Egy) 15-11, 15-12, 15-3.
Joseph Kneipp (Aus) bt Anthony Hill (Aus) 15-4, 15-3, 15-3.
Ong Beng Hee (Mal) bt John White (Sco) 12-15, 17-14, 17-16, 4-15, 15-11
Del Harris (Eng) bt Stewart Boswell (Aus)
David Evans (Wal) bt Derek Ryan (Ire) 15-5, 15-10, 15-8.
Ahmed Barada (Egy) bt Stefan Casteleyn (Bel) 15-10, 15-2, 15-1
Graham Ryding (Can) bt Peter Marshall (Eng) 15-12, 15-4, 15-9.
David Palmer (Aus) bt Juha Raumolin (Fin) 15-11, 15-9, 15-11.
Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt Amjad Khan (Pak) 12-15, 15-10, 15-4, 15-6.
Jonathon Power (Can) bt Lee Beachill (Eng) 15-5, 12-15, 15-5, 15-6.