Amsterdammer Berden a Winner
Jan 24, 2005, by Ryan Barnett, SquashTalk correspondent, Independent News Service © 2005 all Rights Reserved;

Berden Focused, Impressive   [draw/results]   

The Netherland's Tommy Berden was victorious in the final of the Talisman Energy Bankers Hall Club Pro-Am. Berden needed 58 minutes and an injury time-out before he was able to down Englishman Peter Barker 3-1.

On a beautiful sunny afternoon in Calgary the venue was once again jam packed as the locals chose to forego the mild temperatures and remained inside to watch the event's two best squash players go head to head. Safe to say there was not a soul who left disappointed on this day.

Little if anything to chose between the two as the opening game saw the score go back and forth to 7-7. Checking my notes, every one of Berden's first seven points occurred on the forehand side (Barker's backhand).

Perhaps a strategy ploy by the Dutchman?

"Peter has a powerful forehand" he stated. "Yes, I guess so. More than anything I was trying to twist and turn him, get him to lunge and stretch to tire him out. He's a big guy who takes up a lot of space on the court. I was working his forehand with a couple shots then quickly crossing to prevent him from getting in an early groove."

Both players took turns feeling out the referee in this opening stanza as well, looking for any and every possible advantage that they could exploit.

At one point Barker called the referee's decision "absolute rubbish" repeated it again just in case there was someone who missed it the first time round and was then issued a conduct warning for dissent. On the ensuing rally Berden managed to get that cross court to nick and thanks to a stroke established the first two point cushion of the match. A Barker backhand into the tin gave Berden game ball and this one ended 11-8.

In the second more of the same. With the score tied at 6 Barker then pulls away thanks to a No Let and a Berden backhand drop error. He takes Game #2
11-7 leveling the match and said the reason for his success was quite simple. "Hit some winners instead of errors at the crucial stage of the game."

In the early stages of Game #3, the score still at love all, Berden gets an English elbow right under the chin. Barker was wheeling around to request a let at the front of the court and the elbow was up. In this part of the world the call is usually 2 for elbowing and it's off to the box, however we're playing squash on this day. Berden was given 1 hour to clear the cobwebs and check his dental work. Thankfully he required only 8 minutes and play resumed. He returned showing no lingering effects and raced away to a 5-2 lead as Barker was finding tin with increasing frequency. He stretched his lead to 8-3 and took the all-important third game 11-6.

Game #4 was no contest as the Dutchman dictated the play and dominated the centre of the court. Barker admitted after "I've been struggling a little with my right glute and from the mid-point in the 3rd game onward it was effecting my play. I played okay, not great, maybe tried to force it a bit, but Tommy deserves credit. He's tough on these lively courts." Berden won the game 11-5 and the match 3-1.

Post match I asked him about the noggin knocker?

"I saw stars, then couldn't see at all as my eyes were watery. It was a good shot. I know it was purely accidental and he got me right here under my chin(points). During the timeout I decided that I was playing too conservatively and needed to be more aggressive. I began to attack more and he made some errors and you could say that the elbow ended up being the turning point of the match."

For his efforts Berden pockets $1400 US and is off to Ohio where he will attempt to qualify for the Dayton Open. The Barker brothers are headed back to London.

Final Result: [complete draw]
Tommy Berden(Ned) def Peter Barker(Eng) 3-1: (11-8, 7-11, 11-6, 11-5) 58 minutes

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