COLETS  OPEN: UPSETS IN THE QUARTERFINAL ROUND

Martin Bronstein reporting fromColets Health and Fitness Club, Thames Ditton, Surrey

Ben Ford  will remember today for a long time. He came in, ranked around 160 in the world, and defeated second seed  Peter Barker with a sparkling display of shots and volley winners that took the heart out of Barker, who has been picking up some excellent results lately.

Ford, now a ripe  32, has just rejoined the PSA, and is playing better than ever.  He had been a member for four years where he got into the top 100, but “ I never had any money,” he told me after his 3/1 upset victory. He is now coaching full time, which gives him the cash he never had before. Now married, he has a focus that he lacked before, although we all knew he was capable of some wonderful racket work.

Peter Barker got past Shahid Khan in the first round (Photo ©Martin Bronstein )

Today in his quarter-final against Barker he was unstoppable and probably caught Barker by surprise with the amount and type of winners that he can play almost with his eyes closed. In fact, he put me in mind of Ramy Ashour who seems to stick out his racket and the ball finds the nick. After winning the first game comfortably 11-7, Barker became less sure of himself as Ford found an answer to everything he did and was hitting winners  at unexpected times. Ford  looked confident in winning that second game 11-5 and continued into the third game. About halfway through Barker seemed to give up  allowing Ford to take the game 11-6 and virtually waltz through the fourth game 11-3 without any serious opposition from Barker.

He moved on to meet Joey Barrington in the semi finals –an  opponent who will be fairly fresh after his 26 minute victory over Stephen Meads who had not quite recovered from a five-game first round match (see semi final report below)

HANDLEY  ON A STREAK

Peter Barker doesn't look happy after being upset by Ben Ford (Photo ©Martin Bronstein )

Last week Scott Handley, a member of Colets’ first team for almost ten years, won the Brescia Open in Italy with comparative ease. He carried this winning streak with him  at Colets when he surprised  top twenty player Azlan Iskander of Malaysia with his all-round game to win their quarter-final 3/2 in 48 minutes.

Handley has everything: he moves well, hits the ball beautifully and hits all the right shots at the right time. Only his lack of confidence has stopped him getting into the world’s top twenty. Today he showed why he should be  up there with  Iskander. He matched the Malaysian champion all over the court  and by the time the fifth game had arrived  Iskander was demoralized, leaving Handley to take the game 11-0.

GRANT  SURVIVES  17 YEAR OLD CHALLENGE.

Top seed Adrian Grant made it through to the quarters but only after being tested by 17 year old Alex Ingham in the first round.  Ingham, who lives in Surrey, was winning national titles at squash and real tennis when he was 11 years old and at the ripe old age of 13 made a career decision to give up the old game of tennis and concentrate on squash.  He turned pro last year making him probably the youngest player on the PSA circuit and for the last year he has been traveling the world, going through the school of hard knocks in trying to qualify for smaller tournaments. While his talent has been admired by all, no one expected him to take a game from Adrian Grant, the world number 14. Grant has enormous amount of experience, first playing for England in the world junior championships in Cairo in 1996. So, ten years of solid experience and still only 25 years old. Some observers say he took young Ingham a little too lightly and soon found himself, embarrassingly, two games to one down. He pulled himself together as we knew he would: Grant has some faults, but giving up is not one of them and he is always quite happy to  hit the ball up and down the left wall  all day if that is what is required to win.

Jesse Engelbrecht (l) congratulates Ben Ford on his big win (Photo ©Martin Bronstein )

Simon Parke was waiting for him in the quarters. One of England Squash’s national treasures, Parke has now retired from the circuit but still plays leagues and BSPA tournaments. He knocked out  Danny Meddings in the  first round but found Grant too tough and too consistent. Grant  was well worn in for the match and was taking nothing for granted. Parke, the defending Colets Open champion, still manages to get back some incredible balls and I’m quite certain all his opponents, at one time or another have asked the question: “What do I have to do to win a point?”   But this is not the Parke that once beat Peter Nicol and Jonathon Power on consecutive days to win the US~ Open. He is still  a fine squash player, but that drive and determination have diminished – as it will in retirement. 

Parke had a chance at the second game with two game balls, but Grant caught up and forced overtime which he won 3-1 and then went on to win the third 11-7.

THE SEMI-FINALS

BARRINGTON IN OVERDRIVE

In the first semi-final Joey Barrington came out breathing fire, jumping on every ball and crashing it down the walls. Under this sort of barrage  Ben Ford  could not bring his shots into play and although he still managed the odd kill, he was forced to play length most of the time. Barrington was fast  and was determined not give up a ball regardless of where it was. It was a short sharp first game , 11-4 to Barrington but the second was even more comprehensive as Ford’s shots hit the tin  with increasing frequency. It was 11-2 for Barrington and there was very little hope that Ford could bring off another upset.  

He tried a change tactic at the start of the third with two lovely deceptions sending Barrington the wrong  to lead 2-0 but this was followed by two errors to tie the game. With more confidence  Ford was now distributing the ball  well and using the width of the court to make Barrington work hard and keep level pegging. At 8-8 there was still a glimmer of hope that Ford could push the match to the limit but Barrington was simply too good and with the help of a couple of Ford errors he won the game 11-8 to end the 30 minute match.

HANDLEY PLAYS WELL BUT GRANT TOO GOOD

The spectators were rooting for Scott Handley, being Colets’ favourite son, and when he took the first game with ease off top seed Adrian Grant, there was delight in the air.

Grant seemed well below par and this was a very slow start for him. But he settled down to contest some very fine rallies with Handley. It was hard to believe that there were 40 ranking places between the two  the way Handley  equaled Grant all over the court.  But in cases like this, the chances are always with the higher ranked player who has played at a constantly higher level over the season, most meeting top 20 players on a regular basis, while Handley still has to qualify to get into even minor tournaments.

Nevertheless this was entertaining squash  with few errors, lots of tight pacey length and great court coverage. From 1-5 down Handley  came back to 6-8 but was unable to close the gap before Grant, full of concentration, took the 14 minute game 11-7.

From the beginning of the third game Grant appeared to think Handley was finished and started to play the ball short from high, low far and near. He was obviously testing Handley’s legs; the strategy worked and now Grant was in control  to win the game 11-4 in eight minutes. The fourth game wasn’t quite the drop fest that the third game was  and Handley’s error count increased as fatigue took hold. After all, they had played four  matches in two days, which at this level is no picnic.  Grant showed his experience and professionalism by keeping the pace and accuracy up and the inevitable happened as he won the game 11-4, to earn his place in the final against Joey Barrington.

THE WOMEN

KASEY BROWN UPSETS LENGTHORN

There was a much smaller field for the Women’s tournament  (Still quaintly called the ‘Ladies Draw’. (How do you tell the difference  between a Lady and a woman? Answers in words not using four-letter words please).

World number eight Medline Perry from Ireland headed the list and that surely put paid to  any possible drama about the possible winner. Second seed was Laura Lengthorn  and Australian Kasey Brown was third seed.\

Perry is now over the injuries that  affected the last part of  2006 and is once more playing her golden percentage game; her consistency and pace was easily good enough to dispense with Katherine Quartermain in the first round and Scot Frania Gillen-Buchert in the quarters. Her semi-final opponent was countrywoman Aisling Blake and, while they were team-mates last week in Italy helping Ireland to claim fourth place – their highest ever placing – today the gloves were off.  Blake gave a very good account of herself, and the pace was frenetic and the accuracy very good. But we have another  Power/Ryding or  Lincou/Gaultier situation where the number two always seems to be psyched out by the top dog. Gaultier showed that you can overcome the pecking order and  it may not be too long before Blake will overtake  Perry. But for the moment she will have to play second fiddle and learn from her losses.

BROWN COMES GOOD AT THE END OF THE SEASON

Strange time to play well,” Kasey Brown said ruefully after  giving a first class performance of consistency to beat second see Laura Lengthorn who is ranked 12, four places above Brown. The first game was touch and go  for 18 hard minutes and there was simply nothing in it between the two players. Significantly it was Brown who came out the victor after the tie break, 14-12, and that may have tipped the balance for the rest of the match. Brown is not a flashy player and not the smoothest of movers but as a graduate of the Australian Institute (who still gets input from Rodney Martin when she is playing tournaments in the US) she knows what shot to play and reads the game pretty well. Lengthorn seemed to have no game plan and seemed to play the reactive role for much of the match, while Brown was full of gusto and  refused to give up on any ball. 

Brown took the iniative from the beginning  of the second game and held on to it  using a good mixture of length and surprising short shot. She got to game ball 10-7. wobbled a bit to lose the next two points and then  fired home the winner to go two games up.Lengthorn’s body language showed that she was far from confident and there were increasing discussions with the ref, another sign of a less-than-confident player. Again Brown took the initiative and held on to it  to win 11-7 for a deserved upset.

She told me that she was happy with her game and made the remark about being a strange time to come good, it being the end of the season. Next weeks she heads back to Australia for training and the  squash season in OZ and New Zealand.

“I found the scoring system strange.  It’s actually tougher mentally, you have to concentrate on each point,” she said of the p-a-r system which women play in BSPA events only.

FIRST ROUND
Adrian Grant(ENG) bt Alex Ingham (ENG) 9-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-5, 11-4.
Adam Fuller (ENG) bt Mark Fuller (ENG) 11-7, 11-7, 11-7.
Danny Meddings(ENG) bt Eddie Charlton (ZIM) 11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8.
Simon Parke (ENG) bt Jamie Haycocks (ENG) 7-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-6.
Scott Handley (ENG) bt  Jamie Matthews (ENG)  11-3, 11-2, 11-5.
Rory Pennell (ENG) bt Andrew Birks (ENG)  11-5, 11-10(2-0(,  7-11, 11-5.
Alan Clyne  (ENG) bt  Nick Douglas (ENG) w/0
Azlan Iskander (MAS) bt Lewis Walters (ENG)11-3, 11-4, 11-2.
Joey Barrington (ENG) bt  Ben Coleman (ENG) w/o
Joel Hinds (ENG) bt  Tom Phipps (ENG) 11-3, 11-6, 11-5.
Andrew Whipp (ENG) bt Jamie Goodrich (ENG)11-10(3-1), 11-7, 11-6
Steve Meads (ENG) bt  Oli Pett (ENG)  11-6, 11-6, 11-10(2-0).
Tim Vail (ENG)  bt Phil Nightingale (ENG) 11-6, 11-8, 8-11, 11-5.
Ben Ford (ENG) bt  Adrian Waller )ENG) 11-9, 8-11,  11-7, 9-11, 11-4.
Jesse Englebrecht (ZIM) bt Ozzie Mustafa 11-3, 11-3, 11-4.
Peter Barker  (ENG) bt Shahid Khan (ENG)  11-3, 11-6, 8-11, 11-10 (5-3)

SECOND ROUND
Adrian Grant(ENG) bt Adam Fuller (ENG) 11-9, 11-6, 11-7
Simon Parke (ENG) bt Danny Meddings-2, 11-5 (ENG) 11-1, 11-3, 8-11, 11-2
Scott Handley (ENG) bt  Rory Pennell (ENG) 11-1, 11-7, 11-8
Azlan Iskander (MAS) bt Alan Clyne  (ENG) 10-11(2-4), 11-5, 11-3, 11-3.
Joey Barrington (ENG) bt Joel Hinds (ENG) 11-4, 11-7, 7-11, 11-5
Steve Meads (ENG) bt Andrew Whipp (ENG) 11-10(4-2) 7-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8.
Ben Ford (ENG) bt  11-7, 4-11, 11-9, 11-5.Tim Vail (ENG) 
Peter Barker  (ENG) bt  Jesse Englebrecht (ZIM) 9-11, 11-7, 11-10(4-2), 11-9

QUARTER-FINALS
Adrian Grant(ENG) bt Simon Parke (ENG) 11-6, 11-10(3-1), 11-7 (45mins)
Scott Handley (ENG) bt Azlan Iskander (MAS) 11-8, 9-11, 3-11, 11-4 11-0. (48mins)
Joey Barrington (ENG) bt Steve Meads (ENG) 11-3, 11-5, 11-4 (26mins)
Ben Ford (ENG) bt Peter Barker  (ENG) 7-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-3 (40mins)

SEMI-FINALS
Adrian Grant(ENG) bt Scott Handley (ENG) 4-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-4. (44mins)
Joey Barrington (ENG) bt  Ben  Ford (ENG) 11-4, 11-2, 11-8 (30 mins

WOMEN
FIRST ROUND
Madeline Perry (IRE) bt Katherine Quarterman 11-4, 11-2, 11-5
Franie Gillen-Buchert (SCO)  bt Leonie Holt 11-9, 11-7, 11-10(3-1).
Aisling Blake (IRE) bt Adel Weir (RSA)   11-4, 11-3, 11-4.
Jeannine Cowie bt Vicky Hynds  11-10(3-1),  11-9, 6-11, 5-11, 11-10(3-1).
Kasey Brown (AUS)  bt Lauren Selby (ENG) 11-6, 11-4, 11-0.
Jenny Wright (ENG) bt  Harriot Ingham (ENG)  11-7, 11-3, 11-9.
Isabelle Tweedy (ENG)  Fiona Moverly (ENG) w/o
Laura Lengthorn (ENG)  bt Victoria Lust (ENG)  11-2, 11-6, 11-4

QUARTER-FINALS
Madeline Perry (IRL) bt  Frania Gillen-Buchert (SCO) 11-2, 11-3, 11-5. (18mins)
Aisling Blake (IRL) bt Jeanine  Cowie (ENG) 11-5, 11-2, 11-6  (33mins).
Kasie Brown (AUS) bt Jenny Wright (ENG) 11-2, 11-2, 11-5 (19mins).
Laura Lengthorne (ENG) bt Isabelle Tweedle (ENG) 11-4, 11-4, 11-10 (3-1) (16mins)

SEMI-FINALS
Madeline Perry (IRL) bt Aisling Blake (IRL) 11-6 11-5, 11-6 (29mins)
Kasie Brown (AUS) bt Laura Lengthorne (ENG) 11-10(4-2), 11-9, 121-7  (46mins)