EventEngine Pro Squash 2002


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Last updated 09/21/2002

Who Benefited the Most from the US Open 2002 ?

by Joe and Dan Kneipp Sept 11, 2002 ©2002 SquashTalk.com

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An Attention-Grabbing Venue in Boston (photo © 2002 Debra Tessier)

It sounds corny and cheesy but squash was one of the biggest winners here. It's no real secret that squash has a problem with marketing itself. We don't have the media or television coverage that the sport deserves. The most obvious reason for this is the inability to be able to see the ball on television.

But squash also has a draw card that many sports don't. If the crowd doesn't come to the game, the game can be taken to the crowd. The ability to be able to put a glass box at some very unique and obscure positions is a very attractive element of our game.

The four main tournaments that take advantage of this are Al Ahram (at the base of the pyramids), Tournament of Champions (Grand Central Station New York), Flanders Open / World Open (cathedral building in Antwerp) and now the US Open. Staging the event in the Boston Symphony Hall seems to have created the atmosphere and interest that the tournament deserves.

Another benefit that squash has gained from this tournament is the fact that neither Nicol or Power made the final of this tournament. This is not a personal attack on the two current champions of the game. Not having Power versus Nicol in every final can only be good for the game. The more players that are vying for the top spot in world squash the more interest will be generated in the game.

The last major tournament on the PSA calendar that didn't have either Power or Nicol in it was the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open in 2001. Although Nicol was outplayed in that tournament, Power had to withdraw from the tournament with food poisoning. Regular, monotonous and predictable results between matches doesn't make for exciting squash.

It has been argued that Jansher Khan's complete domination of the game was actually detrimental because you always knew who was going to win. It's also the reason that we believe the first and second round of a tournament can be the most interesting. It's the stage of the tournament that upsets are most likely and that makes a tournament exciting. Individual players that had success or failure at Boston (in our opinion) are:

Champagne and Strawberries

Stewart Boswell reached the finals in which he was pulverized by Palmer (photo © 2002 Debra Tessier)

David Palmer of course. He hasn't won a PSA tournament since his victory in Hong Kong last year and hasn't been in a final since the Qatar Classic of October last year. He did win the Super Series Final earlier this year, but that wasn't a ranking tournament.

Just prior to this year's Hong Kong tournament we had a training match in Holland. He lives in Antwerp and I live in Amsterdam so we try to meet up as often as possible for training matches. After nearly an hour and a half we still hadn't finished the match and were still on two games all. Daniel made me stop without finishing the deciding game because we were only a few days away from the first round of Hong Kong, and a match of that intensity can be detrimental too close to a tournament.

This match gave me a very good idea of how well Dave is playing. I watched Dave play against Power in the semis of Hong Kong. Although he lost, the difference between winning and losing the match was very minor. I said to Dave afterwards that he's playing the sort of game that will get him back to the number one position.

PALMER'S SERVE DISSECTED
One thing we wanted to write about was the manner in which Palmer won his crucial semi final match against Nicol. Palmer was serving for the match at 16-15 in the fourth game. His serve hit the nick on the back wall and won him the match without Nicol hitting the ball in the final rally. This has been described as 'flukey' and 'lucky'. It was neither of them.

There are two main serves that are used at the pro level. The most solid and regular serve is the one that hits the side wall nice and high just in front of the receiver. If the serve is done properly with the right weight it can't be left to hit the back wall because the receiver will be forced to boast, putting them in a defensive position from the first rally. So they are forced to choose to move forward and volley the ball up high before it hits the wall, or wait and take it as it comes off the side wall which isn't the easier shot.

The problem with this serve is if you're a little off target and the serve doesn't hit the side wall you can give your opponent an easy volley to attack on. Plenty of players can hit a nick from this shot six out of ten times.

So the other main serve and the best way to combat a player going for nicks is the body serve. Hard and fast at their body so they have to scramble to get out of the way and aren't in a good position for their next shot. But the objective of this serve isn't just to catch your opponent off guard and out of position. Occasionally you'll hit the player, especially at the end of a match when they're getting tired and moving slowly.

PALMERS BREAD AND BUTTER
Earlier in the year against Thierry Lincou in a Dutch League match I threw in a body serve. He was getting tired and was slow to move out of position. I didn't hit his body, but caught his sweaty shirt as it trailed behind him. A nice easy point for me. But the main target isn't his body. The highest percentage of success for this serve is to serve at his body to get him out of position and hope to hit the back wall nick. I do my body serves slower than many of the pros because if I do it slower it increases my accuracy level giving me a greater chance of hitting the nick.

Palmer has practiced and executed this so many times that if he does it on match ball it's no fluke. A fluke serve indicates a low percentage and no likelihood of replicating the serve.

I played Palmer in the semi finals of the Bundesliga in Germany. We had a brilliant match with me leading in the fifth set 14-11. Dave clawed his way back to 14 - 14 and I called set one. He was serving from the backhand, as he was to Nicol in Boston. I expected a body serve, but it was beautifully placed at my body and I was forced to leave it go, even though I knew it was going straight for the nick. It did hit the nick, but didn't roll, instead taking most of the pace off the ball and making it pop straight up close to the back wall. I had to virtually fall over diving to dig the ball out. It's not a fluke it's a great serve. (I won the rally!)

Stewart Boswell. He has played Power three times recently. In Qatar at the PSA Masters in April he made the final and lost a hard fought match in four. The game was being televised so Daniel and I watched it on tele at the hotel. We both thought that it was Power's experience that won him the match as Boswell was playing better. They played again in the semi finals of the Commonwealth Games with Power again winning but this time in five. Obviously Boswell was getting closer and closer to a victory and finally came through in Boston.

Anthony Ricketts. He had a good win over Whitey in the first round and as usual had a tough match against Nicol. It shouldn't be too long before we see an upset in an upcoming match of theirs.

Olli Touminen. The only player to make it through qualifying and win a main draw match. He had a good victory over Heath which will help cement his spot in the top 20 for next month's rankings.

Vinegar and Rotten Tomatoes
Team Kneipp. Thank you to everyone who email us wondering why we weren't in Boston. We wanted to be there and it was painful watching the event unfold via the internet. I had some personal and family commitments that forced me to return to Australia after Hong Kong and I couldn't be sure that I was going to be available for the US Open. The way tournament entries work is that you have to enter the tournament usually at least a month before the event starts. If you enter and then don't turn up or have to withdraw because of an injury you get a big fat zero on your ranking average. That means for twelve months you have a handicap which limits your ranking potential. We weren't sure if we could go and had to err on the side of caution. The memorial US Open was the first tournament that I had Danny working with me and was a wonderful success for us in many ways, and it was a real shame to not return.

Jonathon Power and Peter Nicol. As I've already said it's wonderful that the competition at the top of the game is getting so close that for the first time in a year one of these two didn't make the final. This obviously isn't the changing of the guard yet, but a significant development leading up to it.

Lee Beachill. Losing a match against Nicol isn't anything to be too disappointed about, but he would have expected himself to win. Beachill has proven over the last couple of years that he can and does beat Nicol.

Martin Heath and John White. The only seeds to fall in the first round. Heath had the advantage of facing Olli Touminen who had to go through qualifying. In theory this means Heath is as fresh as a daisy and Olli has had two hard matches (first round against Jenson, second round against Ryding). It sounds illogical but it doesn't always work like this. The person going through qualifying has already had a chance to get some bugs out of their system, play some squash and they are the underdog in the main draw with nothing to lose. Whereas the main draw player has just arrived and can be unsure how they are playing, and won't know until the match starts. But the physical advantage of not playing for two days is still substantial and Heath wouldn't be overjoyed with this tournament.

Ricketts (l) gets the better of White in the first round in Boston. (photo © 2002 Debra Tessier)

Whitey had to play Ricketts in the first round and knew he had his work cut out for him. We said it was going to be a hum dinger of a match and all reports verify that. I don't know if Whitey has done any work with a sports psychologist (a whole team of shrinks could help him with his personality disorder) but I think he is one of the pros that really has his head adjusted beautifully to fit his game. His tactics usually include going for shots that will either win or lose him the point. This played over a match means that he can either have incredible matches where he will beat anyone, or lose badly playing C grade squash. He has acknowledged that this is the best squash for him to play and he works with it.

One of the consequences of choosing to play this type of squash is being aware that when you have a bad day there'll be loses that shouldn't happen (although Ricketts isn't in that category). Part of being a squash pro is learning to deal with loss as part of your job and sport and ensuring it isn't detrimental to your future play. Whitey does this very well, but he still would have been disappointed with a first round loss.

EURO CLUBS
Team Kneipp is travelling to Aix en Provence this week to compete for Holland in the European Club Championships (both Kneipps in a playing capacity which should be hilarious). Stay tuned for reports and photos.

(We haven't forgotten the story that has everyone's feedback from our Squash Versus Tennis article, it's coming soon we promise)