[Men's Draw]     [Women's Draw]

EGYPT STAYS STRONG
 I arrived at the University  after the first two matches  and missed very little. The first person I bumped into  was  Natalie Grainger who told me that she had been chopped up by Rachael Grinham. 

“She was seeing the ball like a football and  I was seeing it like a piece of dust,” she said, adding that the move to the glass court had been disastrous for her.

"She was seeing the ball like a football, I was seeing it like a piece of dust... " , photo © 2006 Fritz Borchert

So Grainger was out, scoring just four points in 26 minutes. The first Men’s quarter was not much better with James Willstrop forced to retire after two games and 33 minutes of play giving fellow Yorkshireman  Nick Matthew an easy route to the semis. (Willsdtrop had suffered food poisoning in Egypt a couple of weeks back and was still feeling the consequences.)

But the spectators certainly got their money’ worth  in the next two matches, both going to five games, both featuring high class, dramatic squash and both ending in victories for Egyptian players.

Alison Waters has  been playing superbly and scoring some fine victories in the last six months indicating that she will be the England number one before very much longer.  She seemed to have the edge on Engy Kheirallah, another unseeded player. Both had played hard first round matches, Kheirallah beating Madeline Perry of Ireland  in 75 minutes and  Waters knocking out Vanessa Atkinson  in a 72 minute match.

A year ago WISPA matches were tending to end in under 40 minutes – some in under 30 minutes, which was a worrying fact for the women’s game. This year it has all turned round  and  in Nottingham this week, the women’s matches have been longer than the Men’s.

CONFIDENT AND MATURE

Kheirallah and Waters: Quality Squash, photo © 2006 Fritz Borchert

Waters has come on a mile in the last 12 months and started with bags of confidence and a mature approach to the game.  These two were well matched, with matching all-court games and the confidence (and the shots) to go for the winners when the time came.

Waters took a 4-1 lead from a slightly nervous Kheirallah, but the Egyptian calmed down and was soon  climbing back to level terms. This was quality squash  with neither player giving an  inch. Yes, there were errors but   mostly going for the kill rather than careless shots. 

Kheirallah  definitely had the edge now as she leveled  at 5-all and then went to game ball at 8-5: she had won seven points to Waters  one.  But Waters was not about to give up and  stuck to her game of moving the ball around and suddenly the balance of power shifted,  starting with Waters playing a brave long backhand drop to get the service and then  pushing hard to induce a couple of errors to move to 7-8.  A crucial error on a backhand drive from Kheirallah and  it was 8-8. Waters kept her composure to hit a winner with a forehand drop to get to game ball  and then Kheirallah went for a winner from the service and hit tin to give Waters the game 1-8 after 16 engrossing minutes. They had played 36 rallies to get to a result.

Engy Kheirallah (r) reaches a milestone as she advances to the British Open semis over Alison Waters in a well-fought contest, photo © 2006 Fritz Borchert

 

WATERS TURN TO COME BACK
The scenario reversed itself in the second with  Kheirallah leading 4-0 ( three errors from Waters helped)  and then a comeback from Waters  who ran to a 6-4 lead . The errors increased from the Egyptian’s racket as she unwisely went for winners at the wrong time. She stopped herself just in time to control the next five rallies to take the lead back  to get to game ball 8-6. Waters brought off a Jonathon Power type shot with a forehand flick that found the nick. Even she had to smile on the way back  to the service box. But it wasn’t enough magic to  stop Kheirallah who took the game  9-7 to tie the match.

In the third game Kheirallah  quickly got into her full-Egyptian shot- making mode  and Waters looked as though the efforts from yesterday were catching up with her.  She seemed slow to pick up the boasts and drops  and inside nine minutes Kheirallh had the game 9-2.

If we expected Kheirallah to come back for the fourth just to mop things up from a tired Waters, we were wrong.  The English girl – slim, unemotional, determined  - was using the backhand drop to good effect and seemed to have found a second wind. It was now Kheirallah making the errors  and  Waters stayed cool  to  push to a 9-3  victory in ten minutes to tie the game.  The fifth was  a worthy climax to this fine match, the sort of match that you feel that it is a pity  that one of the players has to walk off at the end as a loser.

It was tight from the beginning and although Waters led 4-2 it was not a significant lead. As an indication as to how close they were matched (and how determined they were to emerge the winner)  the serve changed hand  seven times at 4-2.  Water got one more point  to lead 5-2 and then Kheirallah started her comeback taking the next  five points to lead  7-5.  The serve changed hands  five times at 5-5 and  four times with Kheirallah leading 7-6. This, Ladies and Gentleman was a battle  and  it will be hard to think of a better battle during this tournament.

Kheirallah used one of her glorious backhand volley crosscourts to send her opponent the wrong way  to get to match ball  and then  a crucial  mishit put Waters in the way of her own shot  and a penalty stroke gave  Kheirallah the point and the match after 75 wonderful minutes.

She will face Rachael Grinham in the semis and you have to wonder  what two 75 minutes matches in two days will do to her fitness.

WHITE IN CRACKING FORM

White: Scintillating in spurts\, photo © 2006 Fritz Borchert

John White started his match against Karim Darwish by reminding us all  just how scintillating he  can make the game of squash. He was cracking the ball with ease and his accuracy with the drops and boasts left Darwish no hiding place.   Bang, Wallop , Smack  and it was all over in nine minutes, 11-6 in White’s favour. In the second game those winners turned sour for a stretch  allowing a 4-2 lead to become a  6-5 deficit. White won the next point after a huge rally  with both players exploring every inch of the court. White won it with a long forhand drop to even the score at 6-all.  Darwish  was then awarded a stroke, White  smashed a forehand drive into the tin and then Darwish hit a long drop  to lead 9-6.  But the amazing John White shrugged this off , continued to use more shots in a rally than many players can muster in an entire match and with sheer artistry   he raced to the line winning 11-9 to lead 2/0.

At  this point Darwish should have gone for the long game and hope this his younger legs would outlast White’s aging spindly pegs,  but Darwish is Egyptian and the long game doesn’t sit well in those genes.  At 8-8 White was just three points from victory but  Darwish played  those three points with brains and determination to win it 11-8.

A REST, A COMEBACK, A LOSS
When  White made five errors in the first seven rallies and  Darwish sat on a 7-0 lead it was obvious that White would let tr fourt game go and save himself for the fifth.  But suddenly at 2-10 White hit a streak that brought him right back into the game, hitting winners to get to 8-10. Obviously Darwish had relaxed too much; White could not keep the streak going   and the  game ended with a Darwish drive that came back at a strange angle  leaving White stranded. It was all over in 8 minutes, 11-8 to Darwish and so we awaited another fifth game.

Sadly the big fight to the bitter end did not emerge: once Darwish had taken a 4-0  White had to play catch up. His accuracy was wanting and  badly hit drives that came off the sdiewalls resulted in  five penalty strokes helping Darwish to an 11-4 win  in a game that took just seven minutes, a figure that tells it s own story.  

Two fine matches, back to back. I’m glad I took the late train.

PALMER – TOWER OF STRENGTH
David Palmer’s match against Ong Beng Hee was   a bit of badly balanced affair: Beng Hee had to fight his way through three rounds of qualifying before facing – and beating Anthony Ricketts in the first round.  He’d spent a lot of time on court over the last three days whereas Palmer had one first round match against an inexplicable choice of wild card in Chris Simpson, which was all over in around 30 minutes.

David Palmer had too much in reserve for Ong's fourth match in four days , photo © 2006 Fritz Borchert

Nevertheless Beng Hee put up a truly creditable performance against  one of the strongest men in the game. Palmer   started by putting pressure on his opponent and never let up. He volleyed everything he could and would not be lulled into left wall duels. His accuracy on the backhand, regardless of how tight the ball was on the wall was  almost magical. On one shot he took a ball that was within an inch of the left wall, above head height and cut it to the middle of the front wall, a few inches above tin  and by the time it reached the right wall  it had died. 

Beng Hee put up a strong battle against tough-as-nails Palmer , photo © 2006 Fritz Borchert

Palmer is probably the strongest player in the air of all the players and he uses his skill to drop the ball down for winners or at least so softly that his opponents have to move to the front wall to pick it up only to find it on the way to the back again.

Yes Palmer would hit the tin occasionally, would give a wry smile and then continue turning the screw ever tighter making life very difficult indeed for  Beng Hee. 

Palmer is mentally strong; In  Chicago he was 6-10 down in the fifth against Power and hung on to win. In the world open he was two games down to  Lincou and came back to win.  He performed this Houdini today  act in the second game. Beng Hee had played superbly and courageously to  lead  7-1, the sort of lead that gave the impression you had the game in the bank. Not against Palmer you don’t. Palmer  pulled all the way back , saved three game balls to level at 10-all and then  took the next two points to steal the game from Beng Hee.

By the third game Beng Hee was showing signs of fatigue; he had been traversing the court with the monotony of a pendulum on a grandfather clock and  towards the end of the game  clung on Palmer’s shoulder at the end of a rally.   Palmer took that third game  and seemed so completely in command,  it is hard to see him being beaten  here and could walk away with his third British Open title.

LONG DAY’S JOUNEY INTO OBVLIVION

Gaultier and Lincou struggled through five games, photo © 2006 Fritz Borchert

The two top Frenchman, Thierry Lincou and Gregory Gaultier, closed out the day’s play with a turgid, slow moving match, played without excitement – I don’t remember any applause until the end. The play never erupted into  a flurry of fireworks, but stayed on a sort of metronomic rhythm that Lincou likes.

There was much wailing and complaining from Gaultier, much  hand wiping and  breath catching between rallies  and  much wishing it would end quickly from  various members of the audience.

Don’t get me wrong, this was not bad squash and both players can produce  error free and imaginative  squash, it just never caught light. Maybe these two have played each other so often there are no surprise left, like an old married couple. It ground on through 80 minutes  with Lincou once more  getting the better of his compatriot in five games.

He will have to up his game tomorrow if he is to get the better of Palmer in the semis.

ENGLAND WOMEN BOW OUT

With the sad and brave exit of Alison Waters  this afternoon, England’s hopes rested on  Tania Bailey and  Vicki Botwright to salvage something for the England women (or lady players, as they used to be known) [And still are in some quarters]

The Grinham sisters both advanced - Rachael (left) who will now play Engy Kheirallah and Natalie who is set to play Nicol David , photo © 2006 Fritz Borchert

Tania Bailey, once England’s great hope until felled by  a mystery virus that put her out for almost three years, has made a good comeback but when faced with the uninterrupted experience of Natalie Grinham, she came up short.  I am quite sure that Bailey would have been world number one but for that virus. She is strong, hits the ball well and moves well. She would have probably inherited the crown when Sarah Fitz-Gerald  retired. But at that moment Bailey was still trying  to find out what was wrong and attempting premature come-backs.

Meanwhile Grinham was traveling the world logging up invaluable experience. This is plainly evident not only in her game but in her on-court demeanour: she feels at home and knows exactly what to do whether the court is plaster, plastic or glass. She bristles with confident

The result was predictable, but Bailey was far from outplayed.  In all four games she started slowly giving Grinham a four point lead.  She lost the first 9-4  and in the second fought back from  0-4 down to lead  7-6 before losing 9-7. The third game was a real battle for her as showed showed her mental toughness by fighting from 0-6 down to win the game 9-7. This gave hope to the Brits in the packed hall  but Grinham, somewhat disgruntled by giving a penalty stroke awarded against her on the final point of that game,  came back for the fourth and ran away with it 9-1 to win the hour long match. 

I am sure Bailey will take some comfort in her performance, but it may be another year  before she can  go the distance with Grinham who will now face world champion Nicol David in the semis.

DAVID STARTS SLOWLY BUT REVS UP FAST

Nicol David revs up , photo © 2006 Fritz Borchert

The final women’s quarter final was an anticlimax  as  Nicol David  cruised to a less than exciting 3/0 victory over England’s top player  Vicki Botwright. This match was simply not in the same class as the Kheirallah/ Waters match earlier in the day, in neither speed or quality. The ever-slow starting David gave up four easy points in the first game, settled down and then proceeded to  totally outplay  Botwright  who never got another point, getting bagled in both the second and third games. As the match wore on Botwright seemed unable to read  David’s game and was slow to the front. David will not lose sleep over future matches against Botwright.

BRITISH OPEN QUARTER FINALS   EVENING SESSION
MEN
[2] David Palmer (AUS) bt [Q] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 11-9, 11-10(2-0), 11-6 (51mins)
[3] Thierry Lincou(FRA) bt [7] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 11-1, 5-11, 9-11,  11-7, 11-6  (80 mins)
[8] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt John White (SCO) 6-11 9-11 11-8 11-8 11-4 (57m)
[6] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [4] James Willstrop (ENG) 11-7 11-5 ret. (53m)

WOMEN
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [5] Vicki Botwright (ENG)   9-4, 9-0, 9-0   (34mins)
[4] Natalie Grinham (AUS) bt [7] Tania Bailey (ENG) 9-4, 9-7, 7-9, 9-1 (60mins)
[3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [Q] Natalie Grainger (USA) 9-2 9-1 9-1 (26m)
Engy Kheirallah (EGY) bt Alison Waters (ENG) 8-10 9-7 9-2 3-9 9-6 (74m)