US Open 2002

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Last updated 09/16/2002

[Complete Results]

PALMER THE BRAVE - AND LUCKY

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Forget Ben Hur, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Las Vegas, this semi-final beat the lot for sheer entertainment, drama and excitement. What a match! I’m almost at a loss for words, but let me try:World Champion Peter Nicol and world number three David Palmer faced off in the magnificent setting of Boston Symphony Hall on the glistening WISPA glass court. Finally almost all the 1600 seats were full and if the audience started a little subdued, it didn’t take long for these two marvellous squash players to set their pulses racing. This was squash the way it should be played, all over the court, superb control in the most pressing situations and with very little reference to the referee. Indeed Barry Faguy, the French –Canadian, Harley-Davidson riding dentist from Montreal, could have stayed in the bar and nobody would have noticed.

TEMPER? WHAT TEMPER?

This is unusual for David Palmer who can get into some volcanic rages over quite mundane decisions. Today he could have been mistaken for a Somerset vicar, so moderate and well-behaved was he. As for Peter Nicol, he would not know to behave in any other way than gentlemanly. Both players called double hits or two bounces on themselves and knew when they had given away a stroke. And can they play squash!

The first game was more a testing time, all good length, terrific width and perfectly placed lobs. Although both players can volley with skill, neither wanted to take on the role of predator and the back wall saw a lot of action. It was the sort of scenario that creates tension without any discernible reason. Palmer was confident, the slightly more aggressive from the word go and built a 4-0 which he kept, reaching 11-7 with a perfect forehand drive to length. He was playing a lot to Nicol’s forehand corner in the back of the court and with length of such quality that many of his points started there when Nicol was force into a weak reply . Leading 12-9 Palmer seemed ready to pocket the first game, but Nicol is never out and a couple of Palmer errors started his comeback all the way to a 13-12 lead.

An unexpected forehand boast from Palmer and Nicol slipped as he tried to dart forward –this court needs a better floor – and it was 13-all. An error from Nicol put Palmer at game ball but Palmer then made a dreadful error as he slammed an easy shot at the front into the tin. Palmer chose no set, an indication of how confident he was and finished the next rally with a beautifully weight drive into the back left corner with Nicol half expecting a drop shot. First game to Palmer 15-14 after nearly 27 minutes.

NICOL NEARLY…BUT NOT QUITE

It was Nicol’s turn to take the lead in the second and he was now nicely settled in. He stepped up the court a little and gradually the volleys started to appear. Palmer contributed to Nicol’s lead with four errors from trying to go for winners at the wrong time and trailing 5-11, he seemed ready to concede. A Nicol error on a forehand drop started the most improbable of comebacks and Palmer was suddenly back in the zone he had shown earlier in the week against Parke. The shots started shooting off his racket like tracer bullets and then it was 14-13 in his favour. Nicol was not finished and a huge cross court slam left Palmer flat footed. Fourteen all again. Palmer took his time and held up one finger. No set again! This man has big ones. The final rally was probably the best for fireworks in the entire match with Nicol showing the entire world how fast he can cover the court and how accurate he can be at a zillion miles an hour, but the final delicate drop from Palmer was too good and now the Australian was two games up.

The third game was all Nicol as Palmer began to feel the strain and with Nicol leading 10-6 you could feel that Palmer was not trying quite as hard and it was all over 15-8 for Nicol in 13 minutes.

THE TWIST IN THE TAIL
The spectators were totally engrossed in every shot and when Nicol led 10-4 they sensed that this match would go into a fifth game. But suddenly Palmer’s fatigue seemed to go and he found a second wind that put the pace of the game up again and the temperature in the Hall up several degrees. From then on Palmer could do no wrong, pulling out sensation volley drops from the air and hitting winning cross court slams. It was 12-all and then 13-all and then 14-all….and Nicol called Set Three.

A cracking reverse angle gave Palmer his 15th point but a backhand drop into the tin gave Nicol equal footing. Palmer, despite the situation, where most players would err on the side of caution, hit a glorious slam into the nick – to the brave go the spoils – to get to match ball. The tension was thicker than ice cream. Palmer, in the left service box, threw the ball up and served down the centre, to Nicol’s forehand side. Nicol, caught off guard, had to let it go to the back wall. Where it nicked. The damn service dead nicked on match ball. Nicol could do nothing but shake his head, smile and offer his hand as Symphony Hall simply erupted into prolonged applause as the audience acknowledged that they had just seen one of the best matches of the year. (Nobody was taping it. Shame).

“Any time you beat Peter, you have to feel good,” said Palmer. “I was tired at the beginning of the third and fourth but then I started to feel better as the game wore on. I lost my length too and then in the fourth got the ball deep again. I was happy in my control….never got into any arguments with the ref. I called one point because I felt good and if you are playing well why call three? And I suppose I had Lady Luck on my side,” he said with a grin.

He was right about length. I will go as far as to say that all the good stuff, the great shots and the retrievals all started with super length from both players.

BOSWELL TAKES EASY RIDE INTO FINAL

The other semi-final was an anti-climax – it had to be. Stewart Boswell, ranked four, beat Thierry Lincou, ranked six. Boswell was below form and if Lincou had played as well as he can he would have been home in three. Instead he was out in three as the errors rolled off his racket without any pressure being brought on him. It was not good squash and after 55 minutes Boswell had won 3/0 to to create an all-Australian final. If he cannot upgrade his game against Palmer tomorrow, it will be a very short all-Australian final.

US OPEN SEMI-FINALS
David Palmer (Aus) bt Peter Nicol (Eng) 15-14, 15-14, 8-15, 17-15. (92 minutes)
Stewart Boswell (Aus) bt Thierry Lincou (Fra) 15-9, 15-13, 15-6 (55 minutes).


Thierry Lincou and Stewart Boswell couldn't keep the excitement going (photo © 2002 Debra Tessier)