SquashTalk >News > Italian Mega Open Semi Finals

Golan Still Reaching the Heights
by Martin Bronstein © 2002 SquashTalk

May 10, 2002 © 2002      

Mega Italia Open Semis in Brescia Italy

Borja Golan, the Spanish Junior, is maturing fast indeed. As a qualifier in this tournament he was expected to take an earlier exit when he was drawn against the glittering future world junior champion James Willstrop. Instead Golan sent Willstrop packing in three games, then swept aside Christian Drakenberg in three games in the quarters to earn a challenge on second seeded Hadrian Stiff.

Now Stiff has been around for a long time; he lives with Peter Marshall in Nottingham and has probably the widest range of world class training partners in that fair city of any other player in the world. But despite all these advantages Stiff could not contain the tough-minded Spaniard and after an engrossing 90 minute battle, it was the small Spaniard who came out the winner.

Golan's plan was to go short whenever possible — "this court is good for the short game" and he stuck to his game plan, even when his drops were hitting tin. But they were causing more damage to Stiff when they came off, usually after a long, well planned rally from both players as they sniffed for a weakness in the other, suddenly Golan would produce a drop shot from the back of the court that left Stiff helpless.

NOT TOO FAST, NOT TOO SLOW
Perhaps Stiff should have tried to speed it up, cutting down Golan's time for his elaborate, almost ballet-like shot preparation on his backhand in order to make him rush the shot. But he didn't and Golan went short at every opportunity. Nevertheless Stiff led 2/1 and suddenly got very tired in the fourth, and when Goland opened a 6-1 lead, Stiff had half resigned himself to giving it away and saving himself for the fifth. And then he thought better of it: "I thought I need to hurt him, to get him tired for the fifth. But he just kept on moving," he told me later. Golan squared the match takingt he fourth 15-4.

SPEED DOESN'T WORK EITHER
Stiff started the fifth at double speed, but Goland was unperturbed, just carried on playing tight and short whenever possible. He led to 7-all and at nine all showed just focussed he was after diving full length to get a ball and then getting up to retrieve Stiff's shot and then going on to win the rally. Stiff must have know right then than this was not his night.

Then Golan hit a purple patch, hit some incredible winners to get to 13-10 and then another dive to win the point for match ball, at which stage Stiff hit an overhead shot into the tin and after 90 minutes, Goland the qualifier, was in the final. Stiff said he was hurting all the way. "In the fourth I lost concentration after he got away to a good start. But he's the type you have to be careful of - he's got nothing to lose. But he won because he was better than me tonight," Stiff said generously.

ALL SPEED AHEAD
The second semifinal was completely different: played at twice the speed as Italian champion, Davide Bianchetti outshot and outplayed Peter Pastijn, the Belgian champion. Pastijn tried everything he could think of but the fast Bianchetti, tall, thin, all arms and legs, was never pushed and always seemed in the right place to languidly crack the right shot.

"I spent the first game looking at Davide's backside, I couldn't get in front of him," Pastijn complained later. "And when I tried to put him off with speed, he was always there, his racket ready to play the ball. I've nevere seen him play that well." Which just about summons up the entire match: Bianchetti moves very well, his long legs allow him to get to anything and his long arms reach forward to deliver inch perfect drops. And he almost never hits a loose ball. He won in three, to the delight of the totally Italian crowd and should have no trouble with Golan if he manages to keep up that lightning speed to put Golan off his own measured game.

PERRY HAS A MATCH IN STOEHR
The women's semis were a disappointment. Ireland's Madelaine Perry, the top seed, was far too sophisticated for the naïve Australian Amelia Pittock, who is just out of junior squash. Not that Pittock was useless; she showed flashes of wonderful insight and skill, great towering lobs and three or four beautiful drop volleys, but her shot selection was indicative of her youth. Her volleys left the ball sitting up for Perry to punish, which she did without second bidding. And even when she had Perry on the run, she never finished the rally with a killer drive. It was all over in 25 minutes in Perry's favor and she will meet Isabelle Stohr of France in the final without ever having been tested.

TWO A DAY, TOO MUCH FOR EASTON
I'll make Helen Easton's excuses for her; she had a hard five game battle this afternoon in the longest of any women's matches, and she played a fairly fresh French Champion in Isabelle Stoehr. Easton was stale, did little with the ball, while Stoehr was using all her shots to keep Easton off rhythm. The scoreline of 9-3, 9-1, 9-2 tells the story and I am willing to bet that Stoehr will never beat the English girl that easily again. A disappointing match but when the quarters and semis are played on the same day, this sort of burn -out peformance is bound to happen.

SEMI-FINALS
Men:
Davide Bianchetti (Ita) bt Peter Patijn (Bel) 15-8, 15-8, 15-11. (56 mins)
Borja Golan (Spa) bt Hadrian Stiff (Eng) 10-15, 15-12, 8-15, 15-4, 15-10 (90mins)

WOMEN:
Madeleine Perry (Ire) bt Amelia Pittock (Aus) 9-2, 9-5, 9-1 (25 mins)
Isabelle Stoehr (Fra) bt Helen Easton (Eng) 9-3, 9-1, 9-2. (33 mins)

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