SquashTalk>Columns>Team Kneipp > The Logic Bermuda Open Report 1

SquashTalk Opinion

Global Gallery
The Spin (Beck)
Rob Dinerman
Team Kneipp
Walker's Notebook
Sarah Fitz-Gerald

Clios Corner (Zug)
Guest Columns
Letters to Editor

What's New
News Index
Features Index
Web Links
E-boast Newsletter
   (sign up now free)

SQUASHTALK TODAY
Windy City Open
TOC New York
Howe Cup
British Nationals
PSA Swedish Open

RECENT EVENTS
WISPA Vassar
NAO Doubles
WISPA Greenwich CT
Junior Mens Worlds

CURRENT CONTENT
Hall of Fame
News Index
Club Links
Gear Links
E-boast Newsletter
    (sign up now free)

The Logic Bermuda Open began in dramatic fashion tonight. Six of the world’s top 15 player have arrived on the tropical island to take part in an eight man invitational tournament. They are Joe Kneipp (#14), Mark Chaloner (#12), Ong Beng Hee (#9), Thierry Lincou (#6), John White (#5) and the main draw card – World Champion and #3 David Palmer.

Palmer has recently been granted citizenship in Bermuda so the locals were obviously keen to see their newly adopted son perform. The draw was:

David Palmer vs local qualifier
Ong Beng Hee vs Mark Chaloner
Joe Kneipp vs Thierry Lincou
John White vs local qualifier

But there was a hiccup in Palmer’s tournament. Yesterday after a round of golf he had stomach pains that got progressively worse. His travelling entourage which includes his coach and girlfriend whisked him off to hospital were all manner of tests were done including blood and urine tests. Food poisoning or a virus were the first suspicions. It wasn’t until the following day, only hours before the tournament was due to get underway that an appendix problem was diagnosed. Not a ruptured appendix thankfully, but far from a healthy one. So at the same time as the Logic Bermuda Open began the first round, Palmer was under the knife getting his appendix removed.

This major setback to Palmer’s tournament and the subsequent redraw had a mixed result on who it affected. One of the local players who just missed out on qualifying suddenly got a call up. Lincou and Beng Hee found that instead of having to play each other, they got to each play a local (much rejoicing!). John White went to the #1 seed, and Kneipp and Chaloner drew each other. Meaning not only were they the only ones not to benefit from the new draw, but whoever won their match would be playing a considerably fresher opponent. The new draw was:

John White vs Qualifier
Ong Beng Hee vs Qualifier
Joe Kneipp vs Mark Chaloner
Thierry Lincou vs Qualifier

John White versus Tommy Sherratt

White was on first taking on the third placed qualifier Tommy Sherratt. Sherratt obviously hadn’t been expecting to play, and in the previous day’s ProAm had pushed himself fairly hard in his match against Kneipp. Something he wouldn’t have done if he had known he was up against White the following day. The match had some entertaining rallies and shots but was more about the locals being able to see the standard difference between one of their club’s best players against one of the world’s best. 15-2, 15-5, 15-9 to White.

Ong Beng Hee versus Gary Plumstead

Next on court was Ong Beng Hee against the Club Professional Gary Plumstead, a South African who is now based in Bermuda. Plumstead is no beginner having previously been on the SA junior team and played Bundesliga in Germany. But his match fitness was going to be the biggest question.

Most players get a little overwhelmed when they get a chance to play one of the big guns of the world tour. Each player at the Logic Bermuda Open was given the chance to choose what music they wanted to have playing when they entered the court. Plumstead a short and unassuming character chose ‘Eye of the Tiger’ made famous from the Rocky movies and entered the court shadow boxing to it. Not the actions of a man overwhelmed by the occasion or his opponent. And the music was obviously motivating for the local hero as he managed to claw his way back from being down 4-8 in the first, to 8-10, then pulled away to win the first game 15-11. As expected the crowd was going wild and loving the prospect of an upset.

Plumstead has some of the strangest and more memorable mannerisms I have seen on a squash court. Each time he is in the position to determine the outcome of the rally (hit or miss a winner) he quickly and dramatically raises his right hand (he’s a leftie). If the shot is a winner his hand quickly forms a fist, punching the air as he perform a little dance that I can only describe as a boxer trying to do an Irish jig. But if his shot misses his hand darts rapidly to the back of his closely cropped head and begins scratching furiously like a dog trying to remove a particularly annoying flea.

These idiosyncrasies can’t disguise his high level of squash, something many of the club members suspected and had confirmed by tonight’s match. Once Beng Hee had gotten over his first game scare and realised he had to play a higher level of squash, he was able to raise the bar and rely on fitness being the deciding factor. As expected Plumstead was unable to maintain that same intensity throughout the match as he showed in the first game, but put up a galant fight eventually losing 15-11, 6-15, 10-15, 8-15.

Joe Kneipp versus Mark Chaloner

With the new revised draw this became the only match where the outcome wasn’t obvious. In the new PSA rankings Chaloner is #12 and Kneipp is #14. So a close tough match could be expected. Kneipp won their last encounter in the quarter finals of last year’s Milo South African Challenge but both players have recently been dealing with injury problems. I don’t think I would be going out on a limb if I said that Kneipp has the better racquet skills of the two, and Chaloner has the better movement and fitness. Which was exactly how the match panned out.

Kneipp won the first game perhaps a little more comfortably than the 15-11 score line indicated. Both players put on a display of shots and court movement which the rowdy crowd clearly appreciated. Kneipp kept attacking in the second game dominating the rallies and hitting more winners, taking it 15-9. At one stage of the game after Kneipp had dished out a series of brutal attacking shots and ungettable winners, Chaloner told the crowd that his opponent’s play wasn’t typically this good. Kneipp didn’t seem to appreciate this light hearted insult and promptly put the next ball into the nick.

In the third game Kneipp took an early 8-2 lead and it looked like the match was going to be short. Even Chaloner later conceded that it looked like it was going to be quick. But a mixture of the Englishman’s tenacity and Kneipp fatigue that skyrocketed his error rate saw the score change to 10-12, then 11-13 in Chaloner’s favour. Kneipp got a stroke, Chaloner hit a forehand over head smash into the tin, then a forehand drop winner brought up match ball 14-13 for Kneipp. The same forehand drop that created two match balls for Kneipp also gave two away as the next two rallies finished in the ball clipping the tin off Kneipp’s racquet. Third game to Chaloner.

There is a fairly stark difference between the temperature of a court in Europe at the moment, and one in Bermuda that has already had two matches and is surrounded by about 150 people. Both Kneipp and Chaloner were drenched in sweat and changing shirts every game. Kneipp began to fatigue heavily and it showed in the fourth game, losing it 10-15. But he came out of the blocks fast in the fifth going to 8-1 then 13-3, eventually winning the game 15-6 an hour and a half after they stepped on court.

Thierry Lincou versus James Stout

The final match of the evening was the recent runner-up at the Tournament of Champions against one of the hot young stars of the Bermuda squash scene. Eighteen year old James Stout beat a couple of players he normally loses to in the qualifying tournament to show his eagerness to play against a top 20 player. Lincou currently ranked #6 in the world showed his class on court, but not without the local boy showing great movement and a cunning array of shots that occasionally had the Frenchman going the wrong way and lunging for back wall boasts. 15-12, 15-7, 15-7 to Lincou.

Tomorrow’s Semi Finals: White versus Beng Hee, Lincou versus Kneipp. Stay tuned for info on which pro almost wasn’t given a scooter license and promptly nearly got cleaned up by oncoming traffic.

Squashtalk.com All materials © 1999-2003. Communicate with us at info@squashtalk.com.
Published by Squashtalk LLC, 95 Martha's Point Rd. Concord MA 01742 USA, Editor and Publisher Ron Beck,
Graphics editor Debra Tessier Send comments, ideas, contributions and feedback to the webmaster.
Global Gallery Articles Copyright © 1999-2003 by Martin Bronstein and SquashTalk, all rights reserved, may not be reproduced in any form except for one-time personal use.