MCWIL COURTWALL PLAYERS CUP FINALS.

QUARTER FINALS 
WEDNESDAY  MARCH 5  2008

Martin Bronstein reporting from Harvard University.

WILLSTROP WINS, GORDON TAKES THE GLORY

Let us be adult about this: there was no way that Chris Gordon, the US number two was ever going to beat James Willstrop, specially considering the streak of fine form that the Englishman has enjoyed over the last three months. But by golly! Didn’t Gordon give it a damn good try.

Before the match, squash’s newest roving ambassador, Peter Nicol, had said the only game plan that Gordon should have was to go for it, get physical. And that is exactly what Gordon did. Full of confidence and courage, knowing he had absolutely nothing to lose. Willstrop was hesitant – looked stone cold in fact – while  Gordon was shooting from the hip and ran to a 4-0 in less than two minutes.  It was a lead that he kept until 7-7   and then he had the temerity to get to game ball 10-8. He didn’t lay off and play safe – maybe he should have done – but in his eagerness to take a game off the world number four he hit two errors. This was good exciting squash and Gordon was matching Willstrop all over the court, whether it was shotmaking or tight length, Gordon was there and as for speed, well, at points he was astonishing. He got a penalty stroke to get to game ball again and by this time the 200 people crammed around the court were really  on the edges of their seat. The next rally ended with Willstrop performing his notorious double feint at the front of the court – it might be a treble feint, but his racket does a sort of pas de deux in the air before striking the ball to the back. Gordon, like many players before him, had no idea where or when the ball would finally be struck and sure enough Willstrop hit the winner to tie the game 11-all.

Willstrop remained calm  and won the next point with a perfectly weighted forehand length and then had to win the final point three times, due to Gordon’s amazing speed and superhuman retrievals, twice getting the ball back when we all thought the point was over. And when he finally forced a weak reply from Willstrop, he drove it into the tin. Aaaaaaagh! Ooooh! Applause, whoops and whistles as the two player left the court.

By the second game  Willstrop was nicely warmed up  and although Gordon again took the lead from the start – 4-1 -  Willstrop reeled him in to  win 11-7  hitting some beautiful winners on the way.  Gordon was by no means disgraced and refused to lie down, putting every effort into to getting every ball back.

The third game wa  not quite a formality, but Willstrop  took th elead from the start and then with the score at 6-4, came the rally of the night.  Once again it was  Willstrop hittings drop, drive, drop, lob, drive and Gordon performing some outrageous feats of speed and retrievals,  This exhibition, because it became just that with Willstrop smiling the whole time, was pure entertainment. As a man next to me said, “It’s the Harlem Globetrotters” It ended with Willstrop driving the winner down the court with Gordon on the floor after yet another spectacular dive. The applause and cheers  went on and on. This surely must have been music to Gordon’s ears, probably the best music he’s ever heard.  But there was still the game to finish: Willstrop reached match ball 10-5 and suddenly seemed to relax. Gordon took four points in a row  to reach 9-10. Was Willstrop trying to make the match go into a fourth game?  Not really, because he finished the game with a forehand cross court kill as if to say, ‘Don’t mess with me son.’  The match lasted 35 minutes and the spectators enjoyed every second. Gordon himself said he thought it was the best squash he’s ever played and he was right. I hope he takes this standard and confidence into his next match.

MORE GREAT EGYPTIAN SQUASH

The first semifinal of the evening pitted two Egyptians – Karim Darwish and Wael el Hindi – against each other. They played squash of the highest of order, two evenly matched opponents in a see-saw battle  over five games that lasted 82 minutes. But while it held the attention, the match never quite caught light, the earth never moved.

There were as many drop and boasts as there were length drives and  both players  loved swapping drop shots at the front of the court.  Darwish  won the first game  11-9 and ran to a 5-0 lead with the help of some lucky nicks and freak shots.  El Hindi stopped the run with a backhand drop and then got into a groove of his own, taking six point in a row to lead 6-5. Darwish  then regained the upper hand to reach game ball  10-9  on a penalty stroke -  a harsh decision – but the gods smiled on El Hindi when a cross court drive hit the nick in the service box to force a tie break.  Darwish hit a backhand drop into the tin  and El Hindi took the game with a marvellous flick drive to the back of the court. It was a 19 minute game and while it didn’t have people screaming with excitement, it certainly held the attention.

 And so it went on, Darwish took the third game  11-8 and El Hindi  won the fourth 11-5. The fifth game was more of the same, evenly matched with no indication of the eventual winner. They were level at 8-8 and this could easily have been a famous victory for the lower ranked El Hindi,  He attempted a long backhand drop and hit tin and then played a forehand boast – I have rarely seen this shot used so often and so effectively in a match - to tie the game at 9-9.  Darwish got a lucky nick  to reach match ball. The match ended with a No Let decision against El Hindi and  the players left the court to prolonged applause.  And I joined in.

Wael El Hindi has changed over the last few months and if he continues to harden up his approach, he could well  join the Egyptian Top Ten Club.

SEMI-FINALS:
Karim  Darwish (EGY) bt Wael El Hindi (EGY)11-9, 10-11(0-2), 11-8, 5-11, 11-9 (81mins)
James Willstrop (ENG) bt Chris Gordon (USA) 11-10(3-1), 11-7, 11-9, (35 mins) 

The Player's Cup is taking place at Harvard's McWil Tournament Court. (photo:©2008 Ron Beck)

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