December 8th Afternoon Report: By Martin Bronstein
Exclusive to Squashtalk:
Dec 8th 1999, 5PM, Aberdeen
MARSHALL IS BACK
Martin Bronstein reporting from THE EYE GROUP BRITISH OPEN WEDNESDAY
WHENEVER THE PERENNIAL QUESTION of who is going to win this British Open comes up, somebody always says - after Power, Nicol, Barada and Parke have been fully analysed - don't forget Peter Marshall. One person who would like to forget Marshall is one of his training partners from the Nottingham squash hothouse, Alex Gough, the world number nine.
Marshall has jumped up from 109 to 29 in the world and judging from his performance this afternoon, he should greet the new year in the top ten. That stunning two handed accuracy (and disguise) is back in full flow and Alex Gough, who normally uses an effective all- court game got dragged into Marshall's exhaustive length game and only occasionally broke the rhythm by taking him to the front.
Canadian Graham Ryding was sitting near by and said the way to counter Marshall was to boast more and take him up front. "Marshall can't hurt you up front, he just pushes the ball for a drop," he commented.
But he can do it all day and when it did come to an exchange of drop shots, Marshall won as many as he lost.
He took the first two games 15-7 and 15-12 looking tired towards the end. Gough took the third and fell apart very quickly in the fourth to go 5-13 down. Suddenly he pulled himself back into the game with five quick points in a row with some razor sharp shots which Marshall couldn't handle. The run was stopped by a superb nick from Marshall to get to match point and he took the victory with a low drive.
EVANS WALKS IT
Marshall's opponent in the second round is another Welshman, David Evans, who plays number two behind Gough for Wales. Evans played Chris Walker and it should have been a close match - they are ranked 22 and 23 in the world, but Evans is on the way up while Walker, a veteran of England's world beating team, is on the way down.
He is a marvelously athletic player, certainly one of England's most entertaining, but he was constantly fooled by Evans ability to hold his shot and put it short or long as soon as he saw Walker's movement.
The hall rang with Walker's screams of frustration at his own errors but the vocalizing had no effect on the outcome and Evans, with the very wise and experienced Chris Robertson in his corner, took the victory in three 15-10, 15-7, 15-13.
BARADA LOOKING GOOD
Egypt's favorite sportsman, Ahmed Barada, could well be the first Egyptian to win the Open since Mahmoud Karim in 1949. This 22 year old beat Jonathan Power and Peter Nicol in the Heliopolis for a stunning win and has everything needed to take the trophy.
His fitness - once suspect - is up to par and his strategy and arsenal of shots are second to none. It is always a pleasure to watch him play as he mixes perfect length with high cross courts and his patented forehand drop shot. Stephen Meads, another veteran Englishman, now ranked 36, did well under the circumstances to take a game from him.
On top of the above-mentioned armaments Barada has now added a backhand volley drop - or perhaps he was using this match to perfect it. Time after time his racquet rose above his head to chop the ball down into the front left corner, too fast to be playable.
Barada is a disciplined player now - gone are the days of the histrionics each time a let or stroke was given against him. It was Meads who did the moaning to very little effect; he has never been the player that Barada is and although he took the third game the outcome was never in doubt as Barada went smoothly through to the next round 15-6, 15-11, 12-15, 15-9.
SCOTS CHAMPION GOES DOWN
John White, the Aussie who became a Scot and who knocked Barada out of the US Open, (17-14 IN THE FIFTH!) was bundled out of the tournament by another Egyptian, Omar El Borolossy in an exhaustive 66 minute five game encounter that should have been on the main court, rather than the subsidiary glass court hidden among the trade exhibitors.
White has entered the top ten in the latest rankings but can allow some strange results to upset his upward surge. They were evenly matched - both tall players who can put in the winners - and Borolossy had the impetus to come back from two down to win 15-12, 12-15, 8-15, 15-11, 15-11. It was a fine match to watch and it was a pity that the main court was occupied by a dud.
OWENS HAS A 15 MINUTE HIT
Vanessa Atkinson was in a car crash on Monday and although she played it down came out with a bruised finger. Whether it was delayed shock, we'll never know but against Carol Owens, she simply was in another world losing 9-1, 9-0, 9-0 in 15 ½ minutes - the second game lasting just over four minutes. Before the game started the marker asked us all to turn off our cell phones - perhaps he was worried that we would eavesdrop as Vanessa phoned in her game.
BAILEY MOVING INTO THE SENIORS WITH CONFIDENCE
Former world junior champion Tania Bailey from England lost to Natalie Grainger, who has just reclaimed her British nationality after South African residence. But it was an encouraging result which demonstrated Bailey's rising confidence and strength. Grainger considers herself a contender for the title and was simply too experienced for the 20 year old Bailey.
While she exhibited a good squash brain there were too many occasions where she just hit the ball, rather than placing it and Grainger jumped on them with glee to put them away. Bailey also failed to spot and anticipate Grainger's love for the backhand drop (shades of Susan Devoy) and time and time again, Grainger chopped the ball to the front left corner and Bailey was a yard short. But she is a reassuring player for England's future in the women's game.
