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Saturday: The Finals
Framboise
reports
Men's Final:
[1] ENGLAND bt [2] FRANCE 4-0
Lee Beachill bt Thierry Lincou
9/4, 7/9, 9/4 (56m)
Peter Nicol bt Gregory Gaultier
9/4, 4/9, 10/8 (37m)
Nick Matthew bt Renan Lavigne
9/4, 9/3, 9/0 (48m)
James Willstrop bt Laurent Elriani 9/3, 9/2, 9/5
(51m)
Women's Final:
[1] ENGLAND bt [2] NETHERLANDS 2-1
Linda Elriani lost to Vanessa Atkinson 2/9, 8/10, 6/9
(40m)
Vicky Botwright bt Annelize Naude 10/8,9/0, 9/10, 9/5 (77m)
Jenny Duncalf bt Margriet Huisman 9/0, 9/2, 9/2 (28m) |
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HEART BREAKING DAY…
 Hard
day for my little heart today, you know…
First, while my French women were battling hard against Germany for fifth
place, I was watching the final between England and Netherlands… Well,
you’ve got to have your priorities right… And I couldn’t justify dropping
the top two teams, just because my home country was playing…
Then, I had to skip the match between James and Laurent, as I had to send
the quotes to Steve of the six ladies…
 And
then, I saw Nick Matthew playing a superb and analytic destruction of
Renan’s spirit, that gave England a 99% chance to win, yet again…
And then I saw Lee playing once again so superbly against French Number
One Thierry Lincou, and signing at the bottom of the Score Sheet the
definitive defeat of my country men…
I’m not even sad… Why? Well first, England was just far too good, far too
strong, far too much in control. Two, the French gave everything they had,
and beyond. Three, I have not only a great admiration of each and every
one of the England Team, but also… I just love them.
I do.
And I’m not going to apologise for it.
Framboise |
Amsterdam LIVE
En Bref
and much more ...
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28 in a
row for England
  "It’s
a great feeling to win again, Vicky played very well, there was a
lot of pressure on England to win again, and a lot of pressure on
Vicky. And she handled it very well.
"After losing the third, she didn’t get nervous, she didn’t lose her
head, she kept concentrated, and came back to win it.
"Of course, I’m a bit disappointed that I didn’t do my bit today,
but I did my best…"
Linda Elriani, England Captain |
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Jenny Duncalf bt Margriet Huisman
9/0, 9/2, 9/2 (28m) |
GOOD SPIRIT FOR MARGRIET…
You couldn’t help feeling tense for that young lady, playing in her first
big final, in front of her home crowd. Margriet Huisman started her
match against Jenny Duncalf very very nervous indeed…
Jenny on the contrary shot out of the starting blocks, played her game of
hard hitting crosscourts and sharp backhand boasts to perfection… The
Dutch had a good start to the second game, and got in front of the English
a few times, placing some nice kills.
But her luck was short lived, and although she fought to the end, running
like a lunatic, picking up lost causes, she couldn’t prevent her opponent
from finishing it off…
But I know she had a great time, and she showed some excellent attitude on
court, and great disposition… I’m sure we’ll hear from her again soon…
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 "I
felt quite confident. It’s so different from playing a WISPA event
though, there’s so much pressure…
"But I was OK really, this morning, I didn’t feel too much pressure,
and I got a good start, 9/0. After that, I was able to play my game
and just enjoyed it…"
Jenny Duncalf |
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 "Jenny
plays at such a pace! And she volleys so much, I was under pressure
the whole time… She plays great boasts as well, she holds her shots
so well, you think she’s going to play length, and suddenly, you
find yourself running after a short ball… You never know where to
stand, and what’s she is going to do…
"It’s my first European final, I’m so happy to play against a top 10
player, I really enjoyed it. It’s a fantastic feeling to play for
your country. I was in the National Team for a few years, but I was
playing fourth, so I was only playing a few matches, but now, at
three, I’m playing much more.
"It’s a special feeling to play in the semis and the final for your
country in your country…"
Margriet Huisman |
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Linda Elriani lost to Vanessa Atkinson
2/9, 8/10, 6/9 (40m) |
VANESSA : GOOD PERFORMANCE…
 Vanessa
Atkinson was expected to win today… The same way she was expected to
win last week in Qatar…
Never easy to be the favourite, you know… All the weight on your shoulder…
The fear of winning is so much greater than the fear of losing…
But no, today, Vanessa didn’t choke… She was in control most of the match,
apart from a little “switching off” at the start of the second that
allowed Linda Elriani to take a “comfortable” lead 5/0, then 6/1, a
lead that the English couldn’t unfortunately hold on to, allowing the
Dutch to stick back at 7/7, then 8/8. A drop shot and an out of court
later, Vanessa was 2/0 up …
Again in the third, Vanessa seemed to drift away once in a while, and the
game was very close score wise, 4/4, 6/6…. But the rallies became shorter
and shorter, and Vanessa imposed her pace and shots to a still fighting
Linda, who could only accept defeat in three, 9/6 in the third…
 "I
was really nervous to start with, I knew there were a lot of people
counting on me…
"Linda puts the ball up so well, so I
had to make sure I was taking the ball early, and volleying as much
as I could. In the second game, I went too short, and got a bit
tired, it’s hard to volley constantly…
"When I was down, I kept on saying to myself “be patient, and keep
volleying”. I was hoping that, the more I would keep the rallies
going, the more she would eventually make errors. And it worked…"
Vanessa
Atkinson |
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"I didn’t
feel, like, superfresh after yesterday’s match, but I was all right.
I find it much harder to play number one, as you get to play all the
other numbers ones who are usually top players, even if the rest of
the team isn’t that strong…
"Vanessa played very well, even if there were moments where we were
both up and down. She was more consistent than I was, her length was
better as well.
"She is so nice to play, it’s clean squash, and a fair play… Always
a pleasure…"
Linda Elriani |
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Vicky Botwright bt Annelize Naude
10/8, 9/0, 9/10, 9/5 (77m) |
BOTWRIGHT O SO STRONG…
 This
time, the pressure was on string number two Vicky Botwright, who
was playing ex South African Funny Hair Colour Lovely Lady Annelize
Naude…
During the whole match, the pace was extremely high, and I don’t think I
ever saw Annelize playing so fast for so long. She played extremely well,
and although the two girls seemed to get in each other’s way more than
once, their game was quite complementary, and it was a very good match
indeed…
First game, very close indeed, 2/2, 3/3, 4/4, 5/5, 6/6, 8/8, and Vicky
needed three game balls to finally seize the game in 25 minutes. The
second, Annelize just didn’t exist, allowing a cruel score, 9/0.
 The
third was magnificent! Suspense, drama, four match balls… and none
transformed! Against all odds, the Netherlands girl came back from 4/8,
and battled and battled again, finding her width at last, cutting off
Vicky’s shots beautifully, in particular on the forehand…
And the Netherlands crowd, up to that moment, rather quiet, started to
believe that maybe, today was the day… Could she..? And their support
raised even more when their girl was up 5/1 in the fourth. Was she going
to be able to impose a fifth?
But it was not knowing the Lancashire Botwright… She just dug in there,
didn’t lose her head, didn’t lose her focus, got back in front, put more
weight on her shots… and just clawed back, breaking Annelize's spirit, who
strung error after error... And this time, Vicky only needed one match
ball…
England was a very deserving champion, once again…
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 "It
was such a release to win, I thought I was about to cry!
"It’s the most pressure I’ve ever been under, playing the decider
for the Europeans…
"All week, I felt quite nervous, but today, I woke up, and I felt
ok, I felt calmer…
"At the end of the third, beginning of
the fourth, I suddenly shortened my game, and played her game, in
particular, I was playing too many cross courts, and she was
volleying extremely well, playing winners so many times…. So I just
decided to hit through the ball a bit more…. And it worked…
"And I have to admit, when I didn’t get a good start in the fourth,
I started to be really worried…"
Vicky
Botwright |
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 "I
was under pressure all week, but today, I knew that I just had to
relax, and enjoy the fact that I was playing in Amsterdam…
"Vicky is pretty consistent, and mentally very strong. She had more
pressure than me, and I think she handled it very well…
"I’m extremely disappointed…"
Annelize Naude |
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MEN'S FINAL:
England 4-0 France
Lee Beachill bt Thierry Lincou
9/4, 7/9, 9/4 (56m)
Peter Nicol bt Gregory Gaultier
9/4, 4/9, 10/8 (37m)
Nick Matthew bt Renan Lavigne
9/4, 9/3, 9/0 (48m)
James Willstrop bt Laurent Elriani 9/3, 9/2,
9/5 (51m)
This was the sixth succesive final between England and France, and with
the order of play of
4-3-1-2 England knew they had a chance to take an early lead, just as
they did in the 2004 final in Rennes. James Willstrop duly obliged ...
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James Willstrop bt Laurent Elriani
9/3, 9/2, 9/5 (51m) |
 "Laurent
had a good lead in the third, and in the back of my mind, I couldn’t help
thinking that it would be better for the team if I was to win in three, so
I really didn’t want to lose that game, strangely enough…
"It was a good game out there… Laurent battled hard, and I had to work
very hard to win the match…"
James Willstrop
 "During
the two first games, I wasn’t tight enough, I wasn’t precise enough, and
as the court was very warm and very bouncy, I couldn’t find my length
either… And in the third, I started to find my game at last. But at the
end, I wasn’t patient enough, and I couldn’t finish it off…
"He played so well. He’s got an amazing reach, and to score points against
him, you’ve got to be so precise. And as he is also so precise….
"I did my best, in view of the circumstances…"
Laurent Elriani |
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Nick Matthew bt Renan Lavigne
9/4, 9/3, 9/0 (48m) |
MATTHEW IMPERIAL…
So, it was not an easy three setter for Nick Matthew today against
Renan Lavigne… 48 minutes with a game of 9/0, you see immediately
that the battle was rude, and the rallies long…
 Nick
was just in constant control of the T. He never left the front of the
court, imposed his pace, his game, his shots. Yes, he ran a lot of course,
but his variation of shots, from backhand boast flirting superbly with the
tin to hard and low hitting, not to mention his remarkable volleying,
forced the Frenchman to cover tremendous ground…
Renan retrieved beautifully well, and his patience started to pay off in
the middle of the second, as Nick made a few errors, and found himself in
the back of the court for a while… the roles were reversed… After 8
minutes, we were still at 1/1.
Then those two offered us the rally of the tournament, about two minutes
of perfect squash, won by Renan, followed quite quickly by another rally
about the same length, this time won by the Yorkshireman…
What happened in Renan’s brain at 3/1, not sure, but that was basically
the end of it all. He never score another point in the match…The last game
was simple and short: 7 minutes. Hard…
And those two perfect victories of James and Nick set up the perfect game
for Lee…
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 "I’ve
got the feeling that I missed the last part of the match. In the
beginning, I played well, but then I lost my rhythm…
"I wasn’t able to keep the same strategy for long enough. I was
attempting something, it wasn’t working quick enough, so I tried
something else… And I could see the points running away from me…
"I wasn’t strong enough mentally to force him into my game. Well, I
was sometimes, I pushed him to play some errors, but not often
enough…
"The beginning of the second game was crucial, we had a very long
rally, that I won, then another one, nearly as long, that I lost.
And that was the turning point. I wasn’t mentally strong enough to
step another gear…
"But at the end of the day, they’ve got four players in the top ten,
they got a very strong structure, a lot of money, and we don’t…
Renan Lavigne |
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 "I know
Renan’s game quite well, because he came and trained with me last
summer, and I know that you always have to make a great start
against him, be patient, and delay the shots. If you are not focused
in the beginning, he can get very confident and become very
dangerous indeed.
"Peter had a 'go' at us, James and myself, saying 'you lost 16
points between you two, it’s unacceptable!'. No, I really don’t
think that both of us could have done any better.
"My back is really holding very well now, I’m teaching my body to
hold differently, it’s a whole new process, a new way of life… After
the ToC, I was really lost, I didn’t know what I was going to do,
and if I was going to be able to go on playing."
Nick Matthew |
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Lee Beachill bt Thierry Lincou
9/4, 7/9, 9/4 (56m) |
LINCOU: MISSION IMPOSSIBLE…
Or “Déjà vu”…
Like I said to Andy Bunting sitting next to me, I had the impression of
being 12 months back, in Rennes, for the last final of the European Tams …
And although today, Thierry Lincou was not playing Peter Nicol but
Lee Beachill, the feeling of “mission impossible” was as tangible as
it was last year..
 The
Frenchman never had a chance really… Well, I'll let you in on a little
secret… that everybody on the circuit knows anyway… Thierry is a slow
starter, he is… It’s quite usual for him to lose the first game, and he
probably won more five setters that he wishes to remember…
So, imagine the scene. He knows he’s got to win. No, worse than that. He
knows he cannot lose. Anything. A bit like if I say to you, “don’t look”…
No, Thierry made as usual a wobbly start, worsened by a perfect Lee
Beachill, on a court that suited him to perfection. He never gave Thierry
a chance, his length as perfect as usual, pushing his opponent way to the
back, and even having the audacity and the confidence to go for nick
kills…
The game lasted 27 minutes, but the Englishman was able to impose his game
nearly from start to finish…
Another “humiliating” final for the French. Just 21 points in two matches
and one game until it was all over.
Oups… Like Thierry said afterwards, David against Goliath...
Oh well, maybe next year... |
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"I wanted to play at 120% and give it all. But getting on court
knowing that you can’t lose a single game puts such pressure on you
it’s unreal… So, I tried to attack, took risks, whereas Lee was
patient, and knew that he could give it all in one single game…
"Apart from that, we are delighted with our week, we arrived in the
final in a beautiful fashion, fit physically, and without losing a
match…
"Now, we can’t compete with England, nobody in Europe can really! We
don’t have the money, our federation is not only young but very
small, it’s a bit David against Goliath really!
"So, I’m happy that I can compete and make a difference at an
individual level, it’s a great personal satisfaction… And I’ve got
the motivation that will allow me to improve further I hope…
Thierry Lincou
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"I like the court very
much. It’s a court on which it pays if you’re accurate. James and
Nick proved earlier that, if you play with accuracy, you really
impose a great result.
"On that court it’s very difficult to try and attack and move your
opponent around. So I was very patient, and Thierry made a few
errors…
 "I’m
not going to apologise because we’ve got four players in the top
ten. It’s been a great year for all of us, we’ve got a great system,
a system that works, and the way we do things is obviously the right
way.
"But the flipside of it is that we’ve got to perform, and that we
all have a lot of pressure every time we arrive at a tournament,
because if France were to beat us for example, it would be a
fantastic result.
"Take Renan. He is a great player, and Nick had to come and beat him
3/0. The pressure was on Nick, not on Renan you know… And the same
for me. I had a fantastic season, I saw the back end of the
tournament nearly all the time, I worked very hard, it’s the end of
the season, and I still had to play at my best today, we all had to…
"I think our strength comes from the fact we have a great team
spirit. We are all there for each other; we don’t want to let each
other down… We don’t play just for ourselves… We play for each
other…"
Lee Beachill |
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Peter Nicol bt
Gregory Gaultier
9/4, 4/9, 10/8 (37m) |
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