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2001 World Junior Women's Championships:
Fourth
day results: Quibell joins elite in quarterfinals
Martin Bronstein, Squashtalk reporter on the scene
in Penang's Squash Centre.
[also:
Press report]
All content © 2001 Squashtalk
by Martin Bronstein, Penang,
18 July 2001
All content
© 2001 Squashtalk. Photos
© 2001 : Ho Kah Yeow for SquashTalk
-- All day four results posted on draw pages --
I'M
IN LOVE, I'M IN LOVE ETC ETC
I have to admit that I am in love with Nicol David. A purely intellectual
amour, let me hasten to add. The same sort of love born of admiration, that
I have for great jazz musicians and comedians. I think David is probably the
best world junior champion I have ever seen, and that goes back to 1987 when
Sarah Fitz-Gerald won the title in Brighton in England. David has a greater
degree
of sophistication and maturity than any of the junior champions since then.
Certainly, Sarah, Cassie Campion, Tania Bailey et al had their strong points and their own style but they simply did not have that all round talent that Nicol displays.
We did not have a chance to see much of that talent today as she destroyed England's Tina Rix for the loss of three points. There was nothing, simply nothing that Rix could do that David could not demolish. It reminds of the true story of an English club champion who went to play Azam Khan, Hashim's younger brother. Azam won 27-0 inside six minutes, and that included the time between games. (In those days you were allowed 60 seconds rest between games).
David is so good she is frightening; her focus is absolute and she is always on her toes, pouncing on balls almost before they've reached the front wall. And she knows exactly what to do with the ball, where to put it, how hard she should hit it and where to go in anticipation of her opponent's reply. You have to pity poor Tricia Chuah, the Malaysian number two, who will forever live in David's shadow just as Graham Ryding has to live in fellow Canadian Jonathon Power's shadow.
THE GERMAN GIANT
In the quarter-finals David will face Germany's Kathryn Rohrmuller who won
a five -game thriller against England's Alison Walters. Compared to some of
the skinny kids on the courts here in Penang, Kathryn is very beefy. She uses
this strength to keep the ball high and long and she can seemingly do this
from any angle or position.
Walters almost won by using her effective fading boastsand drop volleys, constantly taking her opponent to the front of the court, sapping here strength until she stopped running in the third game, which she lost 9-0 in under three minutes. But on many short balls that looked like winners she still manage to send it high into the back. Rohrmuller won the first game and was 7-0 up in the second when Walters, who is about as fat as my thigh, put together the most exciting comeback of the tournament to win the game 10-9 and then charge through the third game 9-0 in three minutes.
Rohrmuller looked totally bushed but from somewhere she found a second win in the fourth game and fought back from 0-4, and 2-6 down to win 9-6 and then prevailed in the fifth 9-4. Walters will be downhearted at the loss but England's management will be heartened by her fighting performance in readiness for next week's team championships. Her team mates, Jenny Duncalf and Laura Lengthorn both won and play each other in the quarter-finals. (Cries of 'fix' in a Brit accent can be heard).
QUIBELL MAKES IT TOUGH ON QUIBELL.
The Atlanta peach Michelle Quibell is keeping the Stars aglitter and the Stripes
ashimmer as she makes her way into the quarters. What should have been a fairly
straightforward match got suddenly strung out at the end of the second when
she led 8-0 against the Egyptian number two Nadine Bahgat. Michelle had won
the first game 
comfortably
9-2 against an opponent who seemed to have no game plan. Michelle then rolled
to an 8-0 lead in the second when suddenly the wheels fell off.
She simply could not find that last point; the game was longer from 8-0 to winning point than it was from love-all to 8-0. If Baughat wasn't putting in winners, Quibell was hitting tin. Six times she served for the game and five times the wheels were still missing and her opponent was racking up points. It was one of those scenarios that we've all been through: 8-0 and lose it.
PLEASE MICHELLE, NOT IN FRONT OF THE
P-A-R-E-N-T-S
Her sister Debbie and Ma and Pa Quibell were sitting watching her and probably
suffering mightily. Finally on the sixth game ball, Quibell won the point
to win 9-3 and then went on to take the third 9-1 in a somewhat more straightforward
manner. When I asked her what happened, Quibell replied "I found myself in
a lull." That is the very first time any player has said that to me. When
I asked her how she liked her family watching her, she said "Awesome." I do
wish Americans would stop using that word.
The US manager, Aidan Harrison, was all smiles (he kindly told me how to spell 'lull') and said that Baughat did not have the maturity of his number one and that he was in no doubt about the outcome.
"Tomorrow it's the battle of the open champions," he said enigmatically, referring to the quarter-final between Quibell and Omneya Abdel Kawy who zonked Australian Georgina David for the loss of three points. (Awesome!). Both Quibell and Kawy have won British Open junior titles. One thing is for sure: there had better be no 'lulls' tomorrow.
SUCH SACRIFICES!
And speaking of tomorrow, I shall be spending my birthday reporting squash
to the world. Last year at this time I was doing the same thing from Milan
bringing the Men's junior championships to squash lovers everywhere. Did you
have any idea what sacrifices I make for you dear reader? Please no cards
or presents, it'll only bring on waves of self-pity.
AUSSIES IN A TURMOIL
Kasey Brown has caused a few headaches for the Aussie manager Dean Landy.
Brown, the Australian number three knocked out Lisa Camilleri, the number
one, in a five-game thriller and that puts Landy in a spot which he has about
12 hours to think about. He has to put in his team's running order tomorrow
for next week's team championship. Can he put Camilleri at number one now?
Or will that bring howls of protest from other managers at the thought of
Brown playing at three? Worse still, his number four Georgina Davis knocked
out the Aussie number two Amelia Pittock in round three. I will report on
his decisions.
HOW BRIGHT THE OLYMPIC TORCH DOTH GLOW.
NO?
All the bigwigs from the World Squash Federation will be in town by the time
you read this. I've heard that they've already been to Beijing to start buttering
up the Chinese to put squash into their Olympics in '08. But the people in
this part of the world think the best pressure will come from all the countries
in the Asian bloc and that the Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan and Hong Kong
Federations will mount a very strong persuasive force to the Chinese. I do
hope they can.
FOURTH ROUND, Penang
Nicol David (Mal) bt Tina Rix (Eng) 9-1, 9-1, 9-1. 15 mins
Kathrin Rohmuller (Ger) bt Alison Waters (Eng) 9-7,9-10, 0-9, 9-6, 9-4. 55
mins
Jenny Duncalf (Eng) Vaidehi Reddy (Ind) 9-4, 9-3, 9-3. 22 mins
Laura Lengthorn (Eng) bt Line Hansen (Den) 9-2, 9-7, 9-0
Kasey Brown (Aus) bt Lisa Camilleri (Aus) 7-9, 9-3, 3-9, 9-4, 9-6. 46 mins.
Tricia Chuah (Mal) bt Manuela Zehnder (Swi) 4-9, 9-1, 9-4, 9-6. 36 mins.
Michelle Quibell (US) bt Nadine Bahgate (Egy) 9-2, 9-3, 9-1. 23 mins
Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy) bt Georgina Davis (Aus) 9-0, 9-2, 9-1. 17 mins
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