Tournament of Champions Squash at Grand Central in NYC

PALMER SHOWS THE YOUNGER GENERATION THE WAY [TOC DRAW]

There was a ten year difference between David Palmer and Ryan Cuskelly and despite the score which flattered the 20 year old Cuskelly, Palmer was always in charge. This lanky Australia has been in the top ten for 85 months, has been world champion and British Open champion and won almost every title going. All this experience now shows in the absolute precision of his play, his shotmaking and ball placement. For the first two games I swear he didn't run, just stood on the T and with almost no effort placed the ball where it would cause Cuskelly maxium discomfort.

Palmer cracked the ball down the right wall, making Cuskelly -- a left hander -- play it off his backhand. Conversely Cuskelly could only keep the ball on the left wall for a couple of shots before it was back on the other wall. Palmer was hitting the ball lower on the front wall in an attempt to get perfect length and this too added a little more pressure on Cuskelly. Palmer is also using the boast more, holding his shot at the back of the court before the head of his racket swishes through for a the perfect -- unexpected -- boast. He was using the boast at the front of the court too, quite confident that he could handle whatever Cuskelly threw up at him, if he got to the ball in time.

Palmer almost seemed to be having a training session, while Cuskelly was running his legs off. He earned those nine points in the first game and he continued to fight like a terrier in the second - this Cuskelly gives nothing away -- again getting nine in the second game. By the third game, his efforts were beginning to slow him down and Palmer decided to take the pace up a little -- a couple of times he even ran. The result was then put firmly beyond doubt as Palmer showed just how good he could be in third gear. Overdrive would be awesome and I am sure that is yet to come.

[I have to be careful: the last time I raved about Palmer was in Bermuda in December at the World Open. I predicted he would win...he got knocked out in the semis].

RAMY ASHOUR SHOWS NO RESPECT FOR HIS ELDERS

Omar el Borolossy is one of the elder statesmen of Egyptian squash, but young Ramy Ashour showed no respect --in the nicest possible way -- in beating his elder in straight games. The first game was a slaughter as the winners rolled effortlessly of Ashour's racket--even the experienced Elborolossy could neither read the shots or get to them. It was all over in eight minutes and all we could do is sit back, slack-jawed at the incredible speed of racket and brain of this young genius.

Ashour lost his way in the second, got sloppy, commited five errors and found himself 2-6 down. Two forehand drops, one backhand drop and a wonderful backhand cross court volley into the nick, and the score was 7-7. Elborolossy kept the pressure up to win the next two points, got in a muddle to get penalised a stroke to lead 9-8 and then Ashour showed his talent--three perfect drop shots from three parts of the court. His opponent managed to pick up two but the third simply disappeared down the nick.

Ashour won the game 11-7 and then ran away with the third game 11-2 in four minutes. When I asked him how you learn to hit winners like him, he replied that he never learned - "...it just came naturally." We should be that lucky.

EL HINDI KEEPS THE EGYPTIAN BALL ROLLING

This was Julian Illingworth's second year in the second round of the Tournament of Champions but despite a full house of hometown supporters, he could not improve on last year's progress. It was a strangely subdued match with both players content to play left-wall patience, rather than go on the attack. I was surprised that El Hindi got involved in that sort of squash, but there were long patches of metronomic squash that seemed to lead nowhere. Illingworth is capable of attacking squash and can hit winning drops with the best of them so why was he doing this?

After watching Palmer hit the ball a couple of feet above the tin looking for perfect length, it was strange to see both these players hitting above the cut line with the result that the ball came off the back wall three feet high. Was this a training session? Practising their swings? Breaking the Guinness Book of World records for repetitive shots? Sometimes I don't quite understand....

In such a situation the player who has been around longest is going to win and Illingworth could not match el Hindi for hours on court. The match lasted for 42 minutes (but felt much longer) and Illingworth rarely held the upper hand. I don't know if anyone was counselling him between games, but I would have encouraged him to have mixed up the game and altered the pace more. El Hindi now moves through to a quarter final meeting with Ramy Ashour and this match was not the ideal preparation for that.

SECOND ROUND PARTIAL RESULTS:

Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt Omar Elborolossy (EGY) 11-2, 11-9, 11-2 (36mins)
David Palmer (AUS) bt Ryan Cuskelly(AUS) 11-9, 11-9, 11-9 (34mins)
Mohammed Abbas (EGY) bt Miguel Rodriguez (COL) 11-6, 11-5, 11-2 (35mins)
Wael El Hindi (EGY) bt Julian Illingworth (USA) 11-6, 11-5, 11-5 (42mins)

Web	www.squashtalk.com

NEW ... Get the New Jonathon Power Instruction Video at the SquashTalk eStore!