Ramy Shows He's Here to Stay   [Also: Afternoon Session]

Tonight match was another demonstration of the rare, precocious talent of the 19 year old Ramy Ashour. (photo © Debra Tessier )

Anthony Ricketts and Ramy Ashour tonight made up for the disappointment of the afternoon matches with a 53- minute match which was a sheer delight to watch. It was also another demonstration of the rare, precocious talent of the 19 year old Ashour. To put this in the briefest of terms, Ramy Ashour, within the space of a couple of weeks, has beaten David Palmer, Thierry Lincou and Anthony Ricketts, three top ten players. Not bad for the world junior champion.

He has incredibly fast hands, seems to read his opponents’ minds and must have eyes in the back of his head because he always hits the ball away from his opponent  even though they are behind him and he can’t see them.  This is a very special talent but the most spectacular aspect of his style is his ability to hit soft volley drops regardless of the speed of his opponent’s shots. Yesterday I quoted a player saying that it is hard to play shots if your opponent does not open the court up. Well, let me report that observation is full of holes.  Ricketts can keep the ball as tight as paint but Ashour can volley the ball to a soft drop shot from the back of the court regardless how tight the ball is to the wall.  Suddenly his opponent is hurtling to the front to pick up a drop shot that he thought would not be possible. Ashour does all this with ease and with utmost confidence and finally the pressure builds to a point where his opponent just doesn’t feel safe, knowing that this kid can do outlandish things from impossible positions.

In the first game Ricketts was in control and although Ashour made some wonderful drops he was fairly conservative in his game. Ricketts  kept it tight, went for the drops at the right time  and  took the game with a final rally that was worth the price of admission. Both players showed skill, courage, determination and a delicate touch when needed. It was exhibition stuff that kept the rally going as the packed audience held its breath. It was the sort of rally that you could put on a DVD and say: “This is why squash is all about.”   It finished with an error from Ashour but after such a display you didn’t care.

Ashour makes a point to the referee (photo © Debra Tessier )

The second game found Ashour in a real hunting mood and  dropping to both sides of the court, increasing the pressure steadily until  Ricketts was forced into errors. Meanwhile  Ashour’s winners were mounting up and he took the second game 11-7 inside ten minutes. The third game was the battle and Ricketts went to a 5-3 lead by staying tight and on his toes ready for every drop shot that came off Ashour’s racket. But Ashour was by now in full flow and dominated the direction of the game. The points ended either on his errors or his winners.  When the 15 minute game was over  Ashour had notched up  seven outright winners and five errors. The pressure was getting to Ricketts and his usually safe forehand drop was hitting the tin and that was also putting pressure on him.

The fourth game was more of the same; by this time every spectator was agog at  this young player’s ability to caress the ball to a drop from anywhere. Ricketts seemed more unnerved than tired and six errors  didn’t help  his confidence. As for Ashour, he has no need for confidence; either that  or  every neutron in his body is pure confidence. He won the final game11-6 in eight minutes to prolonged applause and goes through to a quarter final meeting against Graham Ryding.   Should he beat the Canadian, then Amr Shabana awaits him in the semis and he, perhaps, is the only man that can stop Ashour now.

Ashour's skill and movement blunts Ricketts attack. (photo © Debra Tessier )

GRANT BOILS OVER AT REFEREE AND BEACHILL IS THROUGH
 

Lee Beachill went short at exactly the right moment against Adrian Grant (photo © Debra Tessier )

Praise the Lord! Adrian Grant has learned how to volley and how this has changed his game! He took on Lee Beachill, one of the most accomplished players on the circuit in terms of an all-round game of defence and attack, and simply whipped the first game away 11-6 in eleven minutes.  It was a smooth workmanlike performance, almost error free and devoid of any flashy stuff.  Beachill didn’t play badly, he simply didn’t play as well as Grant. For once Grant was not taking every ball off the back wall and by cutting the ball off kept a good solid pressure on Beachill.

Beachill took the initiative in the second game by concentrating on  Grant’s backhand  with a very good length. He built up a  6-2 lead and never let go, caressing the ball to length, hitting good weight and going short at exactly the right moment.   Grant could not get the initiative back and  Beachill won the game 11-6 to tie the match. The third game started evenly  and Grant held on to 5-5 but then three crucial errors helped  Beachill to take the game 11-6 . Discussions had started with the referee with both players questioning decisions and pleading for some sort of consistency in the decision making process.

In the fourth game  Grant became truly agitated after an accidental elbow in his mouth stopped him in his tracks. He wanted a let for interference but the referee said the contact occurred while Beachill was going for his shot and that Grant had got in the way. The discussion went on for some time before an aggrieved Grant went back on court to continue the game. Both players  got some strange decisions and were awarded strokes when the other man really only wanted a let. It was an acrimonious game and although Grant got to 10 first  Beachill pulled level  to force a tie break. When he was awarded a stroke to lead 11-10, Grant said something like “You’re killing me” to the ref and the final point was decided before it was played. A sad end to what could have been a very fine match.

SHABANA NEVER REALLY WORRIED

Ong Beng Hee is playing better than ever and has recaptured the magic he had as a junior.(photo © Debra Tessier )

Ong Beng Hee is playing better and the magic he had as a junior, which I feel got coached out of him, is coming back.  He   lost the first game against Amr Shabana but won the second game 11-7 hitting some fine winners and giving Shabana a taste of his own medicine. Although he dropped off the pace in the third to lose 3-11, he was pushing all the way in the fourth before losing 11-9. You can almost see Beng Hee’s confidence building over the last 12 months and this performance should continue to shore up that confidence.

PALMER AND WHITE SLUG IT OUT

David Palmer and John White played some dazzling squash. (photo © Debra Tessier )

After the final match of the evening, I was surprised that the glass court was still standing.  David Palmer and John White  played at a furious pace, both hitting the ball with bazooka-like force. White doesn’t know how to play any other way (and let us all be thankful for that) making him one of the most entertaining players on the circuit.  It was dazzling squash and sometimes  I wondered if this was real life or a speeded up film.  Palmer enjoyed it as much as the audience and rattled off the first game 11-3 in short order, White took the second  11-9 as his shots started to hit home  and he look comfortably ahead  at 6-5 in the third before a couple of decisions put him off his stride and Palmer jumped in to win it  with a run of six unanswered points.

Never mind,  White came out for the fourth in overdrive and ran to a 6-2 lead hitting the ball as only he can and for which nobody has an answer.  But once again two successive strokes were called against him and took his edge away, allowing Palmer to win nine points  to  White’ s only other point that game as the game closed 11-7 to Palmer.  Did I care who won? No. In matches like these the enjoyment is just watching, the result being of no consequence. Thank you John, thank you David. Please do it again soon.

U S Open 2006, Second Round RESULTS:
First round played at Harvard University:    [Complete draw]
[[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) def [14] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 11-6 7-11 11-3 11-9
[[7] Nick Matthew (ENG) def [15] Olli Tuominen (FIN) 11-2 11-4 11-5
[[11] Ramy Ashour (EGY) [4] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) 7-11 11-7 11-9 11-5
[[16] Graham Ryding (CAN) def [5] James Willstrop (ENG) 11-10(2-0) 11-3 3-0 retired.
[6] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) def [12] Wael El Hindi (EGY) 11-5 11-5 11-4
[3] Thierry Lincou (FRA) def [10] Stewart Boswell (AUS) 5-11 11-2 11-6 11-6
[ [8] Lee Beachill (ENG) def 13] Adrian Grant (ENG) 6-11 11-6 11-6 11-10
[2] David Palmer (AUS) def [9] John White (SCO) 11-3 9-11 11-6 11-7

The stage of John Hancock Hall was exploding with great squash. (photo © Debra Tessier )