SquashTalk >News > Italian Mega Open Finals

Golan Completes Superlative Run
by Martin Bronstein © 2002 SquashTalk

May 11, 2002 © 2002      

Golan, Perry Fly High

GOLAN GOES ALL THE WAY
In an astonishing display of discipline, Borja Golan, a qualifier, knocked out number one seed Davide Bianchetti in the final of a tournament organised by Bianchetti's father and watched by about 500 partisan Italians crowded on the three floors of this shopping mall surrounding the court. Bianchetti's many admirers and supporters used some choice expletives in describing his performance against a player just out of the junior ranks and one he was expected to handle with ease.

But the calm, single minded 19 year old from Santiago in Spain, went about his business with such thoroughness that Bianchetti seemed mesmerised and was, sadly, sucked into Golan's medium pace game, rather than using his pace and shots to keep Golan off balance.

SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE
Golan says he volleys more now since being coached by John Milton in England. And that is an understatement; there were great stretches of the 46 minute match where he was in complete control, volleying mostly down the left wall, putting in deft drops to vary the rhythm and forcing Bianchetti to run in two directions on each shot - one to cover the drop and then back to get to the drive. It was a simply and totally predictive strategy and today of all days, Bianchetti failed to impose his game on Golan.

Madeleine Perry Collects her second ever WISPA title.

The first game seemed to be going according to predictions and with Bianchetti leading 12-8, it seemed just a matter of time. But Golan pulled up to 12-12 and Bianchetti got a little anxious; when he lost the next long rally, he seemed rattled and when he lost the game point on a stroke, it probably did more damage than the mere loss of the 19 minute game. After leading the second 2-1, Bianchetti was definitely in self destruct mode and suddenly he was trailing 3-10. He started dropping more but Golan was on to everything, full of confidence and realising he could take home the silverware. He won the game 15-4 - which was staggering and the crowd was very subdued. Bianchetti smashed two rackets off-court in sheer fury, but that didn't help.

TOO LITTLE AND TOO LATE
In the third game Bianchetti was hitting the ball high down the wall to prevent the volley and going short whenever possible. This forced some errors from Golan and at 7-7 Italian hopes were raised that Bianchetti could pull this match out of the fire. But Golan fanned the flames pushed to 12-9 lead, still calm, still volleying and showing his short game was every bit as good as Bianchetti's. There was another faint hope when two errors from Golan brought the score to 13-11 but a stoke put Golan at match ball and Bianchetti ended the match with a symbolic backhand drop into the tin.

MENS FINAL
Borja Goland (Q) (Spa) bt Davide Bianchetti (1)(Ita) 15-12, 15-14, 15-11 (46 mins)

PERRY BENEFITS FROM STOEHR'S NERVES.
Madeleine Perry was the number one seed and proved the seedings right when her unruffled temperament and intelligent squash gave her a 3/1 victory over the nerves and flair of France's Isabelle Stoehr. Watching the stocky Stoehr crack forehand drives into the tin gave me a sense of deja vue - it was almost like watching Cassie Jackman/Campion. From the start Stoehr looked nervous and rather than play herself in with some long length rallies, she was shooting from the beginning with the usual results. Perry was pushing to improve her length and trying nothing fancy. It soon became obvious that if she kept the rally going long enough, Stoehr would eventually come up with an error and that is exactly what happened as she took the game 9-6 in just nine minutes.

COMEBACK NUMBER ONE
Perry was picking up difficult balls, sending them to the back, and when the moment was totally right she would step in and volley the ball for a winner. She steadily pulled away to stand on the brink of a two game lead at 8-4, when Stoehr's shots suddenly started to work: a cracking crosscourt rally, a backhand drop, a forehand drop and another forehand drop and it was all level at 8-8. A forehand trickle boast left Perry standing and it was now game point to Stoehr. An error from both of them and then Stoehr finished the 19 minute game with another forehand drop. We had a match!

COMEBACK NUMBER TWO

Isabelle Stoehr — a case of nerves.

The success of that comeback gave Stoehr an enormous lift and she set off in the third game totally in control and it was Perry's turn to look nervous and she was making the sort of rash shots that had not been part of her game for the entire tournament. A backhand into the tin put the French woman at game ball 8-4 at which point Perry did to Stoehr what Stoehr had done to her in the previous game. She climbed all the way back and went on to win the game 10-8 in one hand.

The win either had enormous psychological effect on her opponent or Stoehr had used all her energy. Nobody was prepared for what happened next: Stoehr simply fell apart and Perry won the fourth game 9-0 in under three minutes. The 53 minute victory was another testament to the value of an unflustered temperament and good length.

"I wasn't nervous to start with but at 8-4 in the second, when I was waiting for her to make more errors she started hitting winners and I got the shakes," Perry said. "In the third game I though that if she could come back from 8-4 so can I." This was the her second tournament win this year, (the Proctor Memorial in Newcastle was the first) but in between "I have been playing crap squash."

WOMEN'S FINAL
Madeleine Perry (Ire) bt Isabelle Stoehr (Fra) 9-4, 8-10, 10-8, 9-0 (53 mins)

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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