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Friday 8th, Semi-Finals:
Framboise reports on the semis ...
[2] Lee Beachill (Eng) bt [3]
Peter Nicol (Eng)
11/9, 11/6, 11/8 (47m)
[6] Jonathon Power (Can) bt [12] John White (Sco)
11/4, 10/11(3-5), 11/8,
10/11(0-2), 11/4 (90m) |
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En
BREF Day FIVE
NINE new stories
from Bermuda ... |
 "It
was a great match, much more fluid than the other matches with
him, and I’m happy I have eventually beaten him.
"I prefer playing a match like that than the one I played
yesterday. I prefer a more fluid match, the less referee, the
better."
"I don’t mind playing either Lee or Peter, if I’m at the top of my
game, I think I can beat them, but if I’m slightly off my game,
they could beat me. On top of that, I stayed on court much more
than those guys, so I may be a bit more tired than they will be.
"I’m really glad to have Martin with me.
I have decided that I don’t want to finish a tournament injured
yet again, so he is helping me in every way that will keep me fit
and get ready for the next match: manipulation, massage,
nutrition, diet, you name it, anything that it takes to be in
shape for the next day. And so far so good, I was really
surprised, after two long five setters, my back didn’t play up at
all, and I feel tired, but good…"
Jonathon Power
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 "When
I was up 10/4 in the fourth, I tried pushing that little extra
to try and get the game finished as quickly as possible, and
that little extra cost me a lot, the match probably. As I wasn’t
able to finish it quickly, I had to play 8 extra points.
"When he saw me struggling with my fitness, he saw that I was
not moving that well, that my legs were very heavy, he very
cleverly started to play short, and I started giving him more
options…
"I guess the last three matches I’ve played have eventually
taken their toll… But he played very well all the way through,
it was a great match…"
John White |
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 POWER
AT HIS BEST…
A Classic.
Honestly, that’s the only word that comes to mind to describe the
encounter between Fireworks John White and Magician Jonathon
Power.
Both at their best.
Jonathon, using his rubber wrist to hit amazing deceptions, drop shots,
and to find perforating angles. Fit. Moving well. Asking for a few lets,
as usual (66 decisions were given during the match) challenging the ref,
but really, nothing, nothing compared to yesterday. A very well behaved
Canadian really…
John, patient, oscillating between perfect lengths and widths, low volley
drives, and exquisite drop shots. Just a bit short on the fitness side,
his three matches finally taking their toll on the Scot (Alex Gough, 88m,
David Palmer, 68m, Nick Matthew, 97m). But focused. And enjoying his
squash…
 You
put those two ingredients in the bowl, you give it a good stir, and “voilà”.
You’ve got an encounter that had the crowd roaring, whistling, clapping,
oohing and ahhhing throughout the match.
Just an example. After being behind
2/1 in games, White is about to take the fourth comfortably, as he is game
ball 10/4. “Come back, Jonathon”, we hear in the crowd. I laugh. Everybody
does. Power doesn’t. Because that’s what he firmly intends to do. And
succeeds to do.
By this time, John is digging deep. I know that, because when he is tired,
he moves “slow motion”. He is so tall, that he takes him a lot of energy
to move, so like the wave of a rapper, you see the movement spreading in
his body, and it gives you the impression of slow motion…
And Power feels it. He can smell
blood. And he goes for it. Attacking short. Attacking hard. And he claws
back, point after point, and the more points he gets, the more excited the
crowd becomes. And finally, he reaches 10/10. The crowd is clapping,
shouting.... Amazing. Breathing. Typically Power…
Is the Canadian about to do a “Peter Nicol” (The Boss came back to win
from 4/10 match ball against Ricketts in the quarters of Kuwait 2005) and
win the game and match?
Not if White has got anything to play about it!
The towel boys and girls will on and off court three rallies in a row, at
10/10, then 10/10 let, then 11/10 White serving, as both lunatics are
throwing themselves on the floor to get the ball, not once, but twice each
rally.
Beware! Great Champions performing.
 And
to prove that his brain and heart are back in the right place, the tall
Scot eventually eventually eventually equalises in 19 minutes with a
superb backhand volley drop shot.
But the effort, mental and physical, that he had to make to survive, is
just too much. Not much left in the tank but heart and will, no fuel… He
won’t be able to throw down the Power’s magic who is now at full blast,
and firing deceptions and exquisite drop shots all over the court…
Eleven minutes later, Mr Power reaches his 58th PSA final.
And quite rightly so. He played at his top, at his very best today, and
when I see him playing in that fashion, I realise why I was so unhappy
about his performance of yesterday. Because he is such an amazing player;
such a champion, such a legend, that he doesn’t need the “interferences”
around his talent…
[6]
Jonathon Power (Can) bt [12] John White (Sco)
11/4, 10/11(3-5), 11/8,
10/11(0-2), 11/4 (90m) |
LA FORCE TRANQUILLE…
Which I’m sure you would have read in your language as “the tranquil
force”.
In my view, that describes perfectly Lee Beachill's game. He very
rarely plays flamboyant shots like White or Shabana, he doesn’t play that
many deceptions, he takes the ball later rather than earlier, but
tranquilly, quietly, he grinds your game, imposes his rhythm on you, his
length, his precision, makes you look out of synch, pushes you out of your
comfort zone…
 In
other words, Peter Nicol made the show, and Lee scored the points…
Nicol played superbly tonight. In the first game in particular, where he
battled with his friend in seesaw rallies. He used the simple forehand
boast as a lethal weapon, as always his lob to get out of trouble,
retrieved everything from here to New-York…
No he really did…
He seemed 23 again, fresh and willing and smiling at Lee often. It was a
great feeling to see those two battling hard, but also having the good
humour and spirit to “play tricks” on each other…. a deep cross court for
Lee, Peter saves it off the backwall, the same shot again for Lee, the
same defence for Peter, and three or four times… And at the end of the
rallies, a little smile, a little tap with the racquet…
Hatred and aggression were not on the menu tonight…
But Lee was controlling the rallies too well. Always standing in front of
his opponent, he moved so quickly on Peter's although superb attacks that
he was able to pick the short attacks “easily”, and sent his friend on a
little walk all around the island… Again and again…
Clever…
At 10/9 game ball for Lee, I remember thinking “this is match ball, if
Peter doesn’t get a first game this long, he won’t be able to come back…”
Unfortunately I was right. Twenty-two minutes is a long time for a first
game, and just took most of Peter’s reserves.
 The
second was Lee’s. But in the third, Peter came back with a vengeance. “I
said to David [Pearson], I’m going to go for it,” he told me. Lee was
always slightly in front score wise, but not too far, just enough to put
the pressure on, but not enough for Peter to mentally give up.
2/4. 3/5. 3/6. Ah! Is that the end? 4/6. 5/7. 6/7. Is Peter going to get
this game, and then, who knows, everything could be possible… 6/8. 6/9.
It’s all over… 7/9. Maybe not. 8/9. …
Peter is giving it all, literally throwing himself on the floor, flying
more than walking, retrieving, attacking… But an amazing winner, a
backhand volley kill nick from Lee. Match ball. And a little tin for
Peter.
It’s over. A last smile between the two friends. And Peter who accepts to
come back and talk with Robert and Lee. What a champion. What an
ambassador for the game.
Lee is in the final for the second year in a row. And you know what. He
looks pretty fresh too…
[2] Lee
Beachill (Eng) bt [3] Peter Nicol (Eng)
11/9, 11/6, 11/8 (47m)
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Peter Nicol:
Lee is not a friend anymore ...
Lee, you’re moving out of the room tonight…
Lee Beachill:
Peter, my role model? No way!
He is actually a real pain in the butt for all the players
in the world, and I can’t wait for him to retire.
And he is getting old as well… |
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 "He
made me work too hard in the first game, and after that, I was not
mentally or physically fit enough to win the match… He controlled it,
and he deserves it…
"When I was 0/2 down, I knew I had to go for it, he was too good. I
had to step forward, because I played nearly all match from a position
slightly behind him, so when I was attacking, he was getting through
me quite easily, he didn’t have much ground to cover. Which explains
why he has been moving so well during the whole match.
"One, because he was actually moving very well. Two, because he was
moving from a position of strength, so I was attacking from not the
best of position, and never from a dominating position. It’s always
easier to move well and quickly in that case.
"In the first game, I had to work hard, especially because my
crosscourts were not good enough, mostly due to the perfection of his
lengths. And we were so close, and he comes out with three amazing
winners out of nowhere. Losing the first game 11/9 in in 22
minutes is not good for the game you know…
"One thing I’m really sure about, it’s that my fitness is not good
enough…"
Peter Nicol |
 "I
played well I think, and I didn’t give him many openings.
"I think that the day you feel you can’t improve anymore, that’s the
time to pack up. I hope I can still improve my game, I always work
hard to try and improve it, there are things I’m still not happy with,
and on which I’m working. Like Peter actually, he is still working to
try and be a better player.
"It’s never easy to play a close friend, but that’s something that you
just learn to do, you’ve got to get used to it, because you can’t take
your friendship on court with you. But it’s only a game of squash. At
the end of the day, in 5 or 6 years, you’ll look back, and you will
still be friends. You can’t let a game of squash get in the way of
your friendship…
"Last year, JP took some time out for injury, but he proved this week
that he is back to his best standard. If he is in one piece and moving
well, he will be difficult to beat. And no, I’m not expecting him to
be weak tomorrow. He had a very hard match against Thierry, and yet he
was very strong tonight. So I will expect to see him at his best
tomorrow…
"I like being here, I feel pretty relaxed, the hotel is great, the
venue is great, the crowd is great. We players just love being here."
Lee Beachill |
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