Davide Bianchetti / Stewart Boswell:
I discovered both of them on this tournament. Davide, I saw him play previously but didn’t enjoy his court manners, and Stewart had injured himself when I arrived on the squash scene… Well, their match in the final of the qualifiers was a classic, and I’m a better person to have witnessed such a level of performance between two mates who were never complaisant and fought until the end…

And although Stewart was disappointed after his match against Nick, looking back on his performance, and realising that Nick played the tournament of his life, he will probably realise that he was playing against a man possessed and that he probably would have won against any other player… Welcome home Bozza…

Peter Barker: a bad attack of flu, a difficult match to get in the main draw against Redoubtable Rodney Durbach, a huge step when he defeated Shahid in the first round, and still a bit of inexperience against James in the quarters. But watch out, that boy is not cooked yet, but not long to wait now…

John White has maybe changed country yet again, but he is still the same gutsy performer he ever was. He fights, makes us laugh, and cry, throws himself all over the floor, covers himself with bruises to please crowds, and it works… They love him, they standing ovation him at will…

I want to apologize for not having been able to follow the ladies quarters, as I was working on John White’s interview, sorry… Talking about the ladies, they gave us some pretty good semis and finals. I also think that the lower tin had something to do with the great show they gave us, maybe something to keep in mind for the future. And I was impressed by Jenny Duncalf’s new fitness, keep it up, girl, that’s the way to go…



The referees (John Massarella, Wendy Danzey, Tony Parker and Peter Kramer mainly) had overall a good week, maybe a few hard matches, what seemed to be a few surprising decisions… But then again, I was personally just behind the glass (my favourite position), the worst place as far as refereeing is concerned…

Mr Willstrop senior, a perfect compere, oscillating between coach to James and Lee and presenting the event, doing a great job of it all, and made everybody laugh when he announced that Nick was now banned for life from Pontefract… Not to mention that “his musicians” as he calls them (I adored the voices of the singers, great stuff) made a huge difference to the atmosphere of the Party. Well done Malcolm…

Just a little “hat to you” note. If you’ve ever seen Vicky Botwright play, you may have noticed that she is always saluting a great shot from her opponent. Well, now I know why… When watching his daughter’s matches, Mr Dave Botwright was clapping and acknowledging the opponent’s great shots all the same. Fair to the point where at one moment Madeline was awarded a let, and Dave said “well, I thought that one was a stroke.” How fairer can you get? As father, as daughter …

You can’t talk about the English Open without mentioning Tim Garner, whose organisational skills, kindness and smile have been irradiating the whole event, supported by a great team (Jeremy, Andrea, Ben Garner and Andy Bunting in the tournament office, Angus Kirkland, John Whitfield, the volunteers from Hallamshire, Terry Dudley for the Junior Open, etc…)

Alan Moody, from Mamut, title sponsor, who has been supporting the event from start to finish, who enjoys the show, the atmosphere, whose charisma and Scottish humour bless him have made this event a pleasure for us all…

But we will remember this event mostly for two reasons. One, the coming of age of Nick Matthew, who although he didn’t win the tournament, has achieved the performances of a lifetime in three days. This was a turning point for the boy, he will never be the same…. And he will be known as “the Man who came back from 2/0 down against Lee”…

And of course, of course, for the Return of the King, as the All Mighty Peter Nicol is back to his best. And what that man has achieved in ten weeks is absolutely phenomenal. He is as fit as he ever was, ruthless, he is hungry, he is mentally incisive and he wants the World again.

And to tell you the truth, I’m not sure who could stop him…

See you next year.

Framboise