[MAIN DRAW/RESULTS]  

FINALS FRIDAY MARCH 14 2008

Martin Bronstein reporting from Canary Wharf,London

WILLSTROP MAKES IT FIVE

Willstrop wins a five game battle. (photo:©2008 Fritz Borchert)

What an incredible run of wins  James Willstrop has strung together! The Swedish Open, the British championship, the Davenport Pro in Virginia, the Players Cup championship and now the Canary Wharf Classic.  If he looked tired towards the end of  his  78 –minute  gripping battle with  Cameron Pilley, it was understandable. Even though the 24 year old Yorkshireman looked more tired than Pilley in the fourth game of this five game cliffhanger, it was  Cameron who gradually folded in the fifth game to lose 11-3.

Up until that fifth game it was not a game between the world number four and the world number 20 but a matchup of two very equal players and there was good reason at the end of the  third game, which finished with two very tired errors from Willstrop, when it appeared that the young  Australian, who has made such strides in the last year, would come out on top.

He was fast, he read Willstrop well and he was unafraid to go for winners. His forehand straight nick is straight out of the Rodney Martin  text book and will save him a lot of running around in the next few years. Willstrop was up to his usual standard and  try as he might he could not fool Pilley despite using his deception and double head feints.

Yes, it was a damn good match, the sort of final that  you so often hope for but are so often disappointed, usually due to nerves, fatigue or injury. Willstrop and Pilley would have none of that and they battled all over the court  -including 13ft high (Willstrop is 6ft 5” and Cameron 6ft 2”) with minimum of fuss, and just the odd discussion with the referees, who made two very bad decisions, but considering the length of the match, that is totally forgiveable.

Pilley was rewarded for positive, aggressive play. (photo:©2008 Fritz Borchert)

Willstrop started well – perhaps the less experienced Pilley  was  a little nervous to start with, but he soon got over that –  and at 7-4 looked comfortably in control but a broken string put a ball into the tin and Pilley hit two beautiful backhand drops to get the next point. A mishit from Willstrop and the score was 7-all.

Willstrop  led 9-8 and hit a forehand drop into the tin to make it 9-9 and then gave up a Stroke to put Pilley at game ball.  The next rally should have been Pilley’s on a Stroke, he was clearly hindered in the centre of the court by Willstrop failing to clear, but  inexplicably the refs gave a Let, the decision bringing jeers of derision.  But Pilley was rewarded  in the next rally as he played Willstrop out of position and  then hit a backhand drive as Willstrop waited for a cross court.   11-9 to Pilley after 16 minutes of quality squash.

The second game  belonged to Willstrop because he made the pace with his winners and losers -  6 winners and four errors, which meant that Pilley  was never out of the reckoning and saved two game balls to get to 9-10. He got his ninth point when Willstrop tried a long backhand drop shot which failed. But Willstrop is not affected by failure and he took the game point with a long – unexpected – forehand drop to leave Pilley stranded on the T. 11-9 for Willstrop  after 13 minutes.

Pilley took control of the third game from the very start and led 9-6. Willstrop, audacious as ever, hit two stone dead winners – both drops from the back of the court to  challenge at 8-9. Which is when he hit two errors, to lose the game 11-8. Four drops in a row….was he tired and trying to get to the end quickly?

The fourth game showed that he was just looking tired, not actually fatigued and so they fought on, neither fearing to attack at the right time, both bringing off some marvellous retrievals and keeping the packed East Winter Garden gripped in the drama of the fight for supremacy.

Willstrop's experience kept him going. (photo:©2008 Fritz Borchert)

They were level at 6-6  but Willstrop’s experience kept him going. He has been in so many finals and so many five game battles, that he knows exactly how to think – and more importantly, not what to do.

Two errors  from Pilley  finally gave some indication of fatigue and  Willstrop tied the match  winning the fourth game 11-6 in 12 minutes.

Experienced observers will know what happened next: the higher ranked player just keeps on going as the lower ranked player starts to crumble.  The errors started to flow from Pilley’s racket, three in a row to give Willstrop  a 5-1 lead  and from that sort of  position, you can be sure that Willstrop will never lose his grip. He was more circumspect in his attempt at winners and gradually  pulled away, with the help of two flukey backwall nicks, the sort of thing that takes the heart out of one’s opponent at that stage of the match. The second bit of luck put Willstrop  at match ball 10-3 and a tired Pilley hit the ball at himself to give up the final point of the match.

This was Willstrop’s third Canary Wharf and it won’t be his last. He should take a bit of a holiday now to recover after such a long haul.

Final results:
James Willstrop (ENG) bt Cameron Pilley (AUS) 9-11 11-9 8-11 11-6 11-3

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