Geaves Overcomes Nerves
Nov 5 2005, by Martin Bronstein   
Squashtalk Independent News; © 2005 SquashTalk LLC

[Men's Draw]      [Women's Draw]

Rebecca Botwright made a good start. Photo ©2005 Debra Tessier

GEAVES OVERCOMES NERVES AND FATIGUE

Rebecca Botwright made a good start in an attempt to join her sister in the second round by winning the first game against veteran Fiona Geaves but that was as far as she got in a match that had far too many unforced errors for a tournament of this standard. Geaves made a promising start to lead 3-0 and then went into an appalling tail spin as errors flowed from her racket to virtually gift the first game to Botwright 9-5.

This was not the sort of squash you expected from a player with Geaves huge international background and true enough, the second game was a complete reversal of fortunes as Geaves found her length and touch while Botwright lost her head and hit five errors. The second game was even shorter than the first – seven minutes – and Geaves won it without any serious dent to her lungs.

The third game was an embarrassment; seven errors in seven rallies. For a moment I thought about donning a skirt and entering – I could have done no worse than these two players. The errors stopped and from 3-1 up Geaves had a seven minute cruise to a 9-2 victory.

Fiona Geaves' international experience won the day Photo ©2005 Debra Tessier

Sadly, not a lot to write about. It was the wise old hand against the eager up-and-comer and Botwright simply didn’t have the game to offer any real resistance to a player who has been a professional for 20 years.

Botwright did better in the fourth - even leading at 4-3 – but the important point was that the quality of rally went up and she was making a fight of it, forcing Geaves to reach deeper than she had for the previous three games. At 6-7 there was a chance that she could even the match, but Geaves pulled three rabbits out of her hat: a backhand volley drop, then a forehand drop and then the coupe de grace, a long backhand drop shot from the back of the court to finish the match.

I asked Geaves what had happened in the first game and she was more than happy to fill me in.

“I was a bit flat because this is the third tournament on the trot and I am not used to doing that anymore,” said Geaves who officially retired from the tour some months ago.
“I am now based in New York and I can only play the US tournaments. So I played Jamaica, then Weymuller and now this. I basically had to kick myself up the arse to get myself going and I found it very hard to stay focused because I’m tired.”

Shelley Kitchen knew exactly what to do. Photo ©2005 Debra Tessier

KITCHEN SMOOTHLY IN THREE

Shelley Kitchen, the New Zealand number one had no problem in starting fast and keeping focused. She played high percentage squash and used her experience to outplay Manuella Manetta of Italy. She didn’t totally roll over Manetta, but the outcome of most rallies was never in doubt. Manetta moves well and is a natural hitter of the ball (she is being coached by Fiona Geaves) but she simply hasn’t the arsenal to kill the ball when she has worked hard to get her opponent out of position. Whereas Shelley knew exactly what to do and where to put the ball. WISPA is not awash with Italian players so this one is a player to look out for. Six months down the road she will be a much improved player if she continues to work with Geaves. Anybody who hits the ball so well and with such grace deserves to get to the upper echelons. Kitchen won in three and will now meet Geaves in the quarters.

PIERREPONT ALMOST GETS LUCKY

Engy Kheirallah played a tough match against lucky loser, Suzie Pierrepont. Photo ©2005 Debra Tessier

Although she played dreadfully to lose her two qualifying matches, England’s Suzie Pierrepont got lucky when Carla Khan pulled out of the main draw. The losing qualifiers’ names were put in a hat – and out came Suzie’s name. She started wonderfully against the diminutive Egyptian Engy Kheirallah, ranked above her, cut out all those unforgivable errors that destroyed her qualifying matches, and showed why she was able to win her last tournament. Pierrepont is a big girl, with a big reach and a hard shot and I imagine when she is on form, she a tough opponent. Well, in the first game she was on form and pushed Kheirallah to 9-all before losing 10-9.

She was not put out by the loss and came back for the second full of confidence, hitting her long drop shots with confidence and overpowering Kheirallah with her punch and reach. Kheirallah was playing the length game and was thus playing right into the big English girl’s hands. Pierrepont won the game 9-2 and there was a chance that she would exploit her lucky loser chance to the full.

But these Egyptian players know a thing or two about strategy and Kheirallah started to hit the ball lower and also go for her shots – mainly low tight kill shots. She won the third game 9-5 and continued into the fourth, pulling away to a 7-1 lead. Pierrepont was now snatching at balls again and the errors were creeping back. The fourth game ended symbolically with a stroke against Pierrepont and Kheirallah was through to the quarters.

Pierrepont was disappointed with the results. “It’s even worse when you know the difference was so small and I could have won that first game,” she told me.

Kheirallah had trouble sighting the ball on the left, where the spectators were passing and moving.
“I was nervous because I am supposed to be playing well. And I always get nervous like that. I was missing the ball because the people were moving and they were wearing black. After the second game I hit the ball low to make her bend and it worked,” she said, seeming slightly embarrassed at her performance.

NATALIE GRINHAM RUINS RUNA

Runa Reta fought hard against Natalie Grinham. Photo ©2005 Debra Tessier

Runa Reta runs well, hits the ball well and plays some wonderful tight shots under pressure. What she doesn’t have yet is the ability to select the right shot at critical junctures. Time without number she matched Natalie Grinham in so many areas but when she did have the wonderfully mobile Australian out of position, she would invariably play the wrong shot, allowing Grinham back into the rally – and usually to win it.

Grinham put Reta under pressure for much of the match, but the Canadian showed she could run and played some fine high, tight shots even under intense pressure. This is a valuable talent. But not being able to hit the right shot with her opponent out of position cancels all this out.

Grinham won the first game in five minutes 9-0, and then went to a 4-0 lead in the second. Finally Reta got her first point and started to fight harder. She lost the game 9-5 and then trailed 1-7 in the third. She fought harder than ever and the serve changed hands eight times at that score before Grinham could get her eighth point. The ninth came quickly and Grinham had the victory – the inevitable victory of the number one seed over a qualifier.

FIRST ROUND (DAY 2):
Fiona Geaves (ENG) def Rebecca Botwright (ENG) 5-9 9-2 9-2 9-6
Shelley Kitchen (NZ) def Manuela Manetta (ITA) 9-3 9-1 9-7
Engy Kheirallah (EGY) def Suzie Pierrepont (ENG) 10-9 2-9 9-5 9-4
Natalie Grinham (AUS) def Runa Reta (CAN) 9-0 9-5 9-1

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