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2003 US Open
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A Collision and A Miraculous
Escape
By Ron Beck
©
2004 Squashtalk, all rights of reproduction reserved.
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CURRENT
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Peter
Nicol Dodges a Bullet; while Simon Parke Shows He's Back
Sept 18 2004, Symphony Hall, Boston
MA
The PSA tour is back at Symphony Hall in Boston. The venue is better than ever, the crowd was strong and enthusiastic, and that all provided a backdrop for some very unexpected and exciting drama.
NICOL
IN ANOTHER FIRST ROUND GREAT ESCAPE
We can excuse Anthony Ricketts for thinking he was going to win this one.
We all did, all six-hundred of us in the audience.
When Nicol played a (for him) routine backhand high volley drop into the tin in the fifth game to go down 8-6 to Ricketts, it seemed it was all over. But two points later Nicol was back dropping to the same spot, and this time it was over the tin. And suddenly Nicol pulled even at 8- all. Some breathtaking rallies later, Anthony Ricketts had just barely fallen short, 11-9 in the fifth, but he had played a very good match, on any other day good enough to win.
Throughout the match, Nicol had not really done anything wrong. It was just that Ricketts was doing a lot of things right - some excellent length, some fine attacking play, and some punishing drives.
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| Nicol had Ricketts on his tracks all day (photo © 2004 Stephen Line) courtesy squashmagazine.com |
The players say that this PSA McWil court (first used at the Bermuda Open - this is it's second appearance) plays about the same as the WISPA ASB court. But that's not true to my eye. This court rewards sharp attacking play more. The rear corners of this glass court can become a no-man's land in the hands of an Anthony Ricketts, and once the players begin to think about defending that back corner, the low hard drive in front can become a winner, and did throughout the evening.
And so Ricketts attacked early, and Nicol showed his characteristic first-round slow start, losing the first game. When he came back and took the second and third, Nicol seemed on his way to the quarters.
But Ricketts, who we missed during his months away from the tour for injury, had more attack in him. He parlayed daring pinpoint attacking shots with rocket drives to keep Nicol on the run in the fourth game. Ricketts pulled even at four games apiece.
In the fifth Ricketts was ahead 6-3 and 9-6, but his body language said he was still nervous about a Nicol comeback. Nicol did come back on some daring shots of his own. All the same it was 9-all in the fifth, and anybody's game. Ricketts had the misfortune to lose those two points. He had played well enough to win.
BARKER
IN THE BIG TIME
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| Beachill had too much game for Peter Barker (photo © 2004 Stephen Line) courtesty squashmagazine.com |
Peter Barker, who had been very impressive in the qualifier, is not quite ready to put it all together to challenge a player of Beachill's ilk in a big tournament with ranking points at stake. Barker put up some stiff resistance and made the contest interesting, but he was never really in a position to challenge to win, as Beachill looked fit, comfortable with the court, focused, and ready to win.
HAVE
SHOES WILL PLAY
Which brought David Palmer and James Willstrop on court, the match that
most in attendance were expecting to be the highlight of the day.
I had received an urgent call from Hi-Tec last Wednesday, asking that I bring some HiTec Elites to the qualifying sessions. David Palmer's luggage had been lost en-route from Antwerp, and noone could say when it might arrive. Everything was routine to replace except the shoes. I brought them along.
So sporting a brand new pair of Hi-Tec Elite 500s, which matched Jame's Willstrop's pair, Palmer was ready to play. And play he did.
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| David Palmer and James Willstrop stages a wonderful match (photo © 2004 Stephen Line) courtesty squashmagazine.com |
Palmer spent much of last year really completing his full recovery from a very dangerous bout with Appendicitis and wasn't quite at full strength. He appears to be fully back now. And Palmer was playing on a court he liked. This new McWil court, which is only making its second tour appearance, debuted last Spring at the Bermuda Open. David Palmer had a very strong performance there, on this same court.
Willstrop, who had annouced his arrival amidst the elite last Spring, with his scintillating performance in the Canary Wharf Classic, came to Boston with no seeding but high expectations.
The scoreline of this match doesn't do any justice to the squash being played. The squash was high level and exciting, with both players attacking with frequency. But what Palmer did, to neutralize Willstrop's offensive arsenal, was to take a half-step up in the court, which left him empty-handed on one or two occasions when Willstrop was able to blast it past him, but the rest of the time put him in a good counter-attacking position. This put extra pressure on Willstrop, who started trying to force the winners.
And Palmer wasn't going to wait around for Willstrop to hit winners. Palmer came out-of-the gate attacking. David Palmer was on, his shots were on, and the net result was an impressive straight-game victory in 39 minutes.
Beaten, but having gained the respect of the crowd, Willstrop said later, "I wanted to play better...I know I can play better, but no worries, I¹ll be back next year."
A
DRUMROLL FOR PARKE
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| Thierry Lincou hit the floor after a collision with Parke's racquet (photo © 2004 Stephen Line) courtesty squashmagazine.com |
Which brings us to the last match of the evening. By now it was close to 11PM, at least an hour behind schedule, despite the new scoring system. And the crowd was beginning to thin. Which was a pity, because the most dramatic match of the evening was about to be played.
Simon Parke, who reached the English Open Finals a month ago, had not had to call on his reserves in the qualifying. Thierry Lincou, rested from the summer break, was in his first tournament appearance of the campaign.
From the start, this was a match to remember. Parke was all over the court, making fantastic retrievals, using positional play to gain the advantage, and punishing Lincou with drop shots whenever possible. Even with a different court (glass instead of plexiglass) and a different venue (Symphony Hall has supplanted the Harvard Club) it was hard not to think about Simon Parke's famous run to the US Open Trophy in 1999.
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| Simon Parke's form brought back memories of 1999 (photo © 2004 Stephen Line) courtesty squashmagazine.com |
But Lincou, with his stylish, consistent play, matched Parke rally for rally, attack for attack. A small lapse by Parke at 9-9 in the first gave Lincou the advance and the first game.
The second game continued in much the same vein, with Parke making sometime totally unbelieveable retrievals, both from the front corners of the court and the back corners.
At Nine-all in the second, in a totally unexpected, indavertant and freak collision, Parke's racquet poked Lincou in the abdomen near the liver, and he was unable to continue immediately. He was awarded an hour's rest by the referee, but after an examination by a doctor in attendance, decided to return to the court after about 10 minutes break.
Professionals that they are, the two protagonists picked up the match as if it had never stopped, and played for eight more points before Lincou prevailed in the second to go up 2-0.
In the third, it was again neck and neck at 3-3 when in the blink of an eye a combination of a few perfect misdirection shots by Parke and a slight lapse in concentration by Lincou gave Parke the game 11-3.
The fourth was again a battle. There were some terrific rallies with winning shots by Lincou, outstanding retrievals of those winners by Parke, and some winning drives by Parke, who was making excellent use of the drop-smash change of pace.
At this point Lincou seemed to lose his focus. Whether it was the blow to the abdomen in the second game, come back to haunt him, or a psychological breakdown from Parke's constant rescue of points seemingly won by Lincou, it's hard to say --- and Lincou wasn't saying afterwards.
The end of the fourth was hardly a battle at all and Lincou effectively threw in the towel after one or two points in the fifth. And whether Lincou was bothered by the second game collision or not, Parke provided some phenomenal play and fully deserved to win.
Joe Kneipp, who was practically flawless Friday, and Simon Parke, will be a great matchup at 4PM at Symphony Hall tomorrow.
US Open
Squash 2004
First Round,Second Half of Play Saturday at Symphony Hall: [complete
draw]
Peter Nicol
(ENG)(1) def Anthony Ricketts (AUS) 8-11; 11-7; 11-5; 9-11; 11-9 (55 mins.)
Lee Beachill (ENG, 2) def Peter Barker (ENG)(Q) 11-4; 11-6; 5-11; 11-4
(47 mins.)
David
Palmer (AUS)(4) def James Willstrop (ENG) 11-6; 11-9; 11-5 (39 mins.)
Simon
Parke (ENG)(Q) def Thierry Lincou (FRA)(3)9-11; 10-11 (2-4); 11-3; 11-7;
11-1
First Round,First
Half of Play Friday at Harvard:
Nick Matthew (ENG)(7) bt Renan Lavigne (FR)(Q) 11-3; 11-9; 11-8
Dan Jenson (AUS)(Q) bt John White (SCO)(6) 11-7; 11-9; 11-1
Joseph Kneipp (AUS)(8) bt Omar Elborolossy (EGY) 11-7; 11-4; 11-5
Graham Ryding (CAN) defeated Amr Shabana (EGY)(6) 6-11; 11-1; 11-8; 11-8
