Superseries Squash Rackets Finals Marcy 2009 from Queens Club London

(updated 15-mar-09 11:29 )

Referee plays a role ... again [DRAW/RESULTS]

In this high-stakes format for the Super Series finals, a fast start is critical. All of the players know that. In front of an audience of some 350, indoors at the Queens Club in London, it was Gregory Gaultier and Thierry Lincou, two Frenchmen, who got out of the gates the fastest.

Palmer and Gaultier battle over the front court.

With these two players, David Palmer and Gregory Gaultier, a contentious match was almost a certainty. The referee would certainly be congizant of that. Sadly, said referee played a crucial role in this contest, when a strange decision took center-court at an absolutely crucial juncture of this match, at 5-5 with the game score 1-1 and the momentum trending in David Palmer's favor. Following a long argument, both the referee and David Palmer lost their composures - with the referee signalling her stress for all to see when she decisively announced the wrong score (7-7 instead of 8-6) as the momentum shifted, and held to her wrong score for almost a minute before things calmed down.

Gaultier had gotten out of the gate very quickly, playing flawless, conservative squash at first, and letting Palmer's early errors punctuate game one, with Gaultier getting to 10-4 in about five minutes. But, as he often does, David Palmer seriously settled down and pressed and pressed using crisp play and deception to claw his way back to 7-10. Gautlier had started faster and earned game one, but Palmer had regained focus and some momentum.

Palmer dominated the middle and the front in game two, an entirely different game, winning that one quickly 11-3 and evening things at 1-1 after thirty minutes.

Then in game three the battle really began, with both players going to their strength, and especially battling it out offensively in the front court, with the left front corner the attack point of choice for both players. Which inenvitably led to interferences, lets and discussions.

Palmer took a 5-3 lead into the third. After Gaultier had equalled things at 5-5, a long rally ended with a Gaultier short shot to the front left, which the referee called down. When the two appeals judges overturned the decision, the referee awarded the point to Gaultier instead of replaying the point at let - a wrong decision which led to extensive discussion by both players. The referee's next mistake was to ask Gaultier if he wanted to play a let, which led to more discussion and some confusion.

Gaultier won the next point quickly, on a stroke, showing Palmer's loss of focus. Palmer also blamed his physical condition.

"I'm not 100 per cent there physically because I've just recovered from bronchitis,'' he said.

"I'm frustrated though. I needed the third - if I get that game, the pressure is on him and who knows? But when the stop-start game started in the middle of the third, all those discussions, changes of mind from the ref, the ball went dead.

"He went for a few shots with the dead ball and I couldn't do much.''

And from then on it was downhill from there. Gregory Gaultier took advantage of the gap in his opponent's concentration to run out the match in about seventy minutes.

Gregory Gaultier (FRA) def David Palmer (AUS) 11-7 3-11 11-6 11-2 (70 min)

Shabana in Neutral.

On paper, Amr Shabana shouldn't have had a problem beating Thierry Lincou. But Lincou built an immediate lead, built more on errors from Shabana as well as Shabana's unfree movement, than any other reason. Certainly Thierry Lincou was playing conservative and very solid squash, but Shabana only showed flashes of his normal form. He essentially gave in partially through game two and played out the match in lackluster form.

This match showed possibly lingering signs of Shabana's knee injury, but most importantly the consequence of a non-ranking format.

Thierry Lincou (FRA) def Amr Shabana (EGY) 11-3 11-9 11-5 (40m)

Karim Darwish in five over El Hindi

Karim Darwish (EGY) def Wael el Hindi (EGY) 11-6 11-7 5-11 8-11 11-5 (77min)

El Hindi said, " It's frustrating to come all the way back from 2-0 down and lose, but although I played very well, he played really well at the end."

This match, in a way, all came down to one momumental rally at 2-1 in Darwish's favor a long, long all court rally featuring terrific shotmaking and retrieving by both.

[more later]

Willstrop upsets Ramy Ashour

The first two games went by like lightning. In the first, Ramy took the game fast, furious and attacking, to Willstrop. In the same, Willstrop adjusted his movement and tactics, and suddenly it was Ramy making the errors.

England's number one squash player James Willstrop rode a massive wave of support from the capacity crowd (of about 300) at Queen’s Club in London in the final match of the opening day of the ATCO Super Series Finals by defeating his Egyptian nemesis Ramy Ashour, the reigning world champion, for the first time. The crowd had been warmed up by the match of the day, the see saw battle between El Hindi and Darwish that had for the first time all afternoon gotten the crowd awake.

At times, 25-year-old Yorkshireman Willstrop and Ashour, 21, played at a near suicidal pace as two of the sport’s most interesting players battled for glory in the flagship $110,000 PSA Tour event. With the earlier loss by Shabana, this match became more crucial.

Willstrop dug deep after losing the first game to claim victory 7-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-8 in a duel lasting 53 minutes. The sole Briton competing in the event clinched victory with a series of pulsating winners in the fourth game to which Ashour had no answer.

Afterwards, Willstrop, who has struggled for form recently, paid tribute to fellow English and world top 10 player Nick Matthew (who sat in the internet streaming commentators booth for this event) for providing the inspiration to get back to winning ways: "Tonight’s win is down to the many hours and days working with those closest to me. I’ve learnt so much from Nick Matthew who kept the faith coming back from injury."

Ashour, who hails from Cairo, had won all of the pair’s previous three encounters on the Professional Squash Association Tour.

James Willstrop (ENG) def Ramy Ashour (EGY) 7-11 11-6 11-8 11-8

Web	www.squashtalk.com

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