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Last updated 01/07/2002
US Open First Round Afternoon
- by Martin Bronstein
Nicol Overpowers Razik;
Heath breaks past Beachill
[main draw] [final
qualifying draw]
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The
Memorial US Open - 1st Round, Afternoon Session
January 6, 2001 Back Bay, Boston, MA--
Martin Bronstein reporting from the Boston Sheraton
RAZIK FINDS REALITY IN THE FORM OF NICOL
In front almost a full house on a Sunday afternoon which had been declared Kids' Day, Peter Nicol brought Canadian Shahier Razik down to earth with some ferocious squash that started with the first ball and rarely let up until victory was firmly in the record books. Razik's victory over the much lower ranked Rodney Durbach in the qualifying was a mere memory as Nicol decided to make the back wall superfluous by volleying everything within several miles of his racket. It was nightmarish start for Razik who simply wasn't up to the task of countering Nicol's barrage with pinpoint width, length and accuracy. His looseness and bad length were punished immediately and he found himself losing 9-0 in short order. In fact his first point came from Nicol's first error, a backhand drop into the tin. Nicol did the same on the forehand in the next rally and Razik was given a stroke to give him a smidgen of respectability at 3-9.
DROP DROP DROP
Razik relaxed a little and started to go for drops, a very important part of his approach
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| Nicol kept Razik on the run (photo © 2002 D Tessier) |
and he gradually worked his way into the game, often stringing two or three drops in succession. He was still loose and Nicol was volleying to wonderful length and not surprisingly took the first game 15-6. The second game was better for Razik but he was still being caught flat-footed by the Nicol boasts which are gradually becoming a lethal part of his arsenal. Nicol took the second game 15-10 and just when it looked like a stroll-through, Razik relaxed completely and started using his drops -surely the softest in the business to lead 4-1. He continued to keep Nicol on the back foot to lead 9-7 but then the drops started hitting the tin and four errors soon put Nicol to match ball and he finished proceedings with his patented forehand cross court nick to win 15-9. It was obviously a learning experience for the Canadian and he said his slow start was due to 'heavy legs' from yesterday's match. On Nicol, Razik commentated: It's his pace, he never lets up and you always feel he's breathing down your neck. He forces you to hit the ball lower and lower until you hit the tine. I started dropping to stop him getting any rhythm." But Razik also had other things on his mind; he was due on a flight to Sweden later that day where he has to qualify for the Swedish Open.
BEACHILL FALLS OVER
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| Heath looked sharp and Beachill faded (photo © 2002 D Tessier) |
The Lee Beachill / Martin Heath was a strange affair with a good battle to 15-15 all in the first. Beachill tried a drop from the T when Heath failed to clear his own ballÂ…at least a certain let, but the shot hit the tin and Heath took the game with a huge overhead slam into the nick. In the second game Heath went absent without permission and gave the game away 15-5 in eight minutes. In the third game it went right the other way Beachill giving the game to heath 15-2 in the same time. Something was clearly wrong and Beachill's motor wound down until at 5-10 in the fourth he shook hands with Heath and left the court. He had been perfectly well at the beginning of the match but said he almost threw up in the second game. A doctor was on hand to supply a bucket but the cause of his illness is still unknown
.FIREWORKS AND CRACKERS
Simon Parke and John White more than made up for this let down with a wonderful exhibition of shots, lightning reflexes and dead kills that exploded in the nick rather than nestling there. On form White was favourite - he had just got to number three in the world and was in fine fettle while Parke was starting his comeback. There were some truly amazing rallies which pulled the audience out of their seats to hoop and holler their appreciation of these two extraordinary squash players. White was, as they say in these here parts, awesome in his ability to slam straight nicks from the back of the court on both forehand and backhand.
Parke was almost unreal in his court coverage and ability to get balls that had long seem dead. On two or three occasions they almost stood toe to toe at the front of the court exchanging winners. Parke saved three match balls to force extra points in the third before losing 17-15 -marvellous stuff. White won in three but it took nearly 50 minutes. Parke said afterwards that he was just lacking that little extra speed which would stop him always being on the defensive. But there aren't that many John White's around and he should be happy with his progress.
KNEIPP - E BEFORE I AND PRONOUNCE THE 'K'
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| Evans didn't do anything exciting against Kneipp (photo © 2002 D Tessier) |
Joe Kneipp beat David Evans in three. Not a lot more to say except I wish yet again that Evans found some passion somewhere and occasionally took to the court spitting nails. He has yet to repeat the form that won him the British Open two years ago while Joe Kneipp is on a roll and is happier with his form than ever before. The reason? "Training. I'm training harder than ever before and now at the end of the week I can say I have trained as hard as anybody on the circuit. My young brother Daniel is now travelling with me as my corner man, cut man, motivator and everything else. It's very good to have someone to talk to at the end of a match to let you know what you did right and wrong. After all I'm 28 now and it's time to get serious. I trained right through Christmas and I was quite sure that Evans celebrated too much, and would not want to stay on court too long," said the voluble Kneipp whose post game interviews are sometimes longer than his matches. Kneipp will now play John White and that promises to be a feast - on the last four occasions their matches have gone to five games.
