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Wed 24 Sep, Round One:                
  
[5] Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned) bt [Q] Tom Richards (Eng)        11/9, 8/11, 11/7, 11/6 (55m)
[4] Nick Matthew (Eng) bt Davide Bianchetti (Ita)                    10/12, 11/3, 11/9, 11/5 (67m)
[2] James Willstrop (Eng) bt [Q] Chris Ryder (Eng)        10/12, 11/9, 3/11, 11/5, 11/4 (48m)
Joey Barrington (Eng) bt [7] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Col)        11/9, 4/11, 11/9, 11/7 (68m)

[6] Borja Golan (Esp) bt Jonathan Kemp (Egy)               6/11, 11/6, 11/8, 8/11, 13/11 (68m)
[8] Renan Lavigne (Fra) bt Gregoire Marche (Fra)                           12/10, 11/9, 11/2 (35m)
[3] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt [Q] Saurav Ghosal (Ind)                          11/2, 11/5, 11/9 (35m)
[1] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt [Q] Aaron Frankcomb (Aus)                  11/4, 11/9, 11/7 (30m)

[5] Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned) bt [Q] Tom Richards (Eng)
        11/9, 8/11, 11/7, 11/6 (55m)

FEUX D’ARTIFICES…
Framboise reports

Blimey, that was a superb start, and honestly, could have been a final anywhere… Those two big boys love to take the ball very early, volley pretty much anything, hit the ball at a very fast pace, attack the ball from way back there, and retrieve shots that seem winners to us poor mortals... At some point, they were volleying so hard, so fast, only on reflexes, I felt like in Roland Garros... Like I said in my title, real fireworks....

It was the case of weathering the storm each their turn really, with Tom attacking from every angle, some lovely deceptive sliding shots from left to right in particular, then LJ hitting very close to the tin, and sending the Englishman for a visit of the four corners.

The French audience, already very full at 12.30 for the first round, was absolutely delighted, although they would have loved a fifth game I guess. But LJ just had a bit more experience I feel, and was able to pace his effort probably that much better, not to mention that Tom had two matches in the legs…

A few more stunning rallies, massive, fast and furious, but it was the Dutch that got the last word, and a cheering crowd rightly gave the two boys an ovation at the end of the match…

"I’m really happy with the way I played, I was not too nervous for this first round, I feel it’s one of the first times I’ve actually played well in a first round. I realise that I always say the same thing about my first rounds, “I was a bit nervous, it was a bit scrappy…”, but today, I really felt good…

"Tom is a tricky player at the front, he’s got a lot of deception, so when things were not going too well, I really tried to keep the ball away from the front. He is a dangerous up and coming player…..

"A first match in a tournament is always difficult, I arrived yesterday, playing today at 12.30, never easy…

"The court is really good but at the end of the day, I think whatever the state of the court, you’ve got to get on with it, and just play. Look at Shabana in Bermuda, he still became world champion on a court there were a lot of complaints about, because of the floor. But Shabana didn’t care, he just turned it to his advantage… "

"I didn’t feel that great this morning, so I decided to go on as intense as I could, and it sort of worked for me, it put me up to speed very quickly….

"I was not too bad physically, I’m not sure what happened in the 4th, I was trying to play the same game as I was in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd, but I don’t know, maybe he was reading my game a bit better.

"And at the end, we had two massive rallies that really took a lot out of me, especially as he counterattacked pretty well, hitting the ball hard and low, which is a great strength I think…"

"I started playing well, I was quite tight on the backhand side of the court, but the problem with Nick is that he is getting better during the match, and I am getting worse!!!! And that’s not good…

"In the second, we had a couple of hard rallies, and I got really tired, and it was downhill from that point on…

"What annoys me terribly with Nick, no matter how dominating you are in the rally, no matter how much you make him run, he ALWAYS gets the ball back.

"That’s VERY annoying…"

[4] Nick Matthew (Eng) bt Davide Bianchetti (Ita)   
                10/12, 11/3, 11/9, 11/5 (67m)

NICK GETS COMFORTABLE…
Framboise reports

If the first game was pretty much balanced, with Davide able to put the Englishman under rather a lot of pressure, taking him out of his comfort zone, from the second onwards Nick took the control of the front again, and by imposing some good lengths, was able to stand pretty close to the front wall, finding some exquisite forehand and backhand volley drop shots…



Davide had a bit of drop of energy in the second, and more or less gave the game up, but he came back rather strongly in the third, helped by a Nick finding the tin a few too many times. Nick will still take the game, but only just, 11/9.

In the fourth, we still had plenty of nice rallies, but mentally, you could see that the Italian had accepted defeat, and Nick will be happy with a first match that didn’t take too much energy out of him …

"Davide is a clever player, he varies well the pace, he mixes the shots, also the discussions with the referee allow him to take a bit of breathing time, and the ball gets cold, you lose your rhythm, he knows how to play on a mental level as well, he is very clever…

"Although I trained on a glass court during the summer, this is my first match on the glass court in 2008!!!

"I guess that in the first game, I underestimated the court a bit, you need to be much more accurate at the front when you play on there, you need to get the ball deep in the back to be effective, and to put more purpose in your shots. It took me a while to get used to the court, but I feel I got better as the match went on ..."

[2] James Willstrop (Eng) bt [Q] Chris Ryder (Eng)
          10/12, 11/9, 3/11, 11/5, 11/4 (48m)

Up & Down James
comes through
Steve Cubbins reports

We almost had a major shock in the third match of the day, as qualifier Chris Ryder came very close to taking three games off second seed James Willstrop.

James, playing his first tournament for a while has had an ankle injury, and having lost his luggage with all his kit on the way to Paris, he wasn't coming into the match on the back of the best preparation.

He should still have taken the first though, but squandered a couple of game balls as Chris took the game on extra points. James looked back in control in the second, but from 7/2 up found himself at 9-all, and you could see Chris's annoyance at not taking the chance to go two games up.

James went awol after going a few points down in the third, but was back to hitting purposeful shots from the start of the fourth, and looked impressive from there on in, dominating the 'T' and sending his opponent the wrong way time and again.

"Chris played very well, it was always going to be a fair game… He is a very decent player…

"It’s difficult to play a qualifier, who has already two matches, whereas for me this was the first match of the season, but I guess my experience won through in the end.

"I played two good games in the end which I controlled well. And I’m happy, I’m really very happy to be on there playing again, it’s such a treat to play at last, hopefully the body will hold together…"

"I know he's had an ankle injury, but you've got to try and win those matches, haven't you, I went on telling myself to be true and to play my game to the best of my ability.

"He shouldn't have let the first slip, then I got a bit of momentum in the second and was disappointed to lose, I could have won that one. I was annoyed at how I played in the fourth, but we both played well in the fifth, he just played better!

"But what a great tournament to play in, everyone loves to play the big ones, even if you're in the qualifiers. You have to back yourself to qualify, it would be nice to get a good draw once in a while though …"

Joey Barrington (Eng) bt [7] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Col)
       11/9, 4/11, 11/9, 11/7 (68m)

UNORTHODOX MIGUEL…
Framboise reports

Imagine a mixture between Speedy Gonzales, as Miguel runs like a lunatic endlessly, Jonah Lomu, although he is small he looks a bit like a rugby player, very strong indeed, Stephan Edberg for his acrobatic volleying, and to finish, a bit of Simon Parke as he gets out of balance to reach some unreachable shots…

You think I’m joking??? Wait until you see the boy, people. He gave Joey a good, a very good run for his money, and at times, it felt that the Englishman was running out of options, as the ball kept coming back, and back…

But at that “guessing and running” game, Miguel lost a bit of energy on the way, to say the least, and it was obvious at the end of the crucial third game, at 9/9, that the battery was just a bit low…

Honestly, this was one of those matches where you are delighted to meet, discover and enjoy a player that we normally do not see too much on the circuit, as he usually plays on the American circuit. He will be trying for the Worlds in Manchester, then in Qatar. And I’ll be thrilled to see him perform again.

"I’m happy to get back from summer training, I’m starting to freshen up and getting the rewards from the hard work that’s been done… Physically, I feel very strong and I’m so happy to be playing in this event, the first big tournament in Paris for a long time…

"Miguel is hard to play, he is guessing a lot, whizzing around, pirouetting, a very unorthodox player indeed…. He is the best player ever to come out of Columbia by far, he is now playing the European and the World circuit, he is doing exceedingly well, and he is a credit to his country.

"We had a few battles in the past, him and me, and I’m happy to beat him today…"

"I’m disappointed in the result, I think I can play better than this, but I tried my best to enjoy the game…

"It’s very exciting for me to be in Paris, I hope that I’ll play a bit better in the  Worlds in Manchester."

"It was up and down as ever…

"The first game was probably my best, the second one was terrible.

!It’s not like I’m playing 40 minutes of good squash, and then, no, I play 5 minutes of excellent squash, then 5 minutes of terrible squash…

"And it’s mental, because all the rest, physically, I’m hitting well, I’m moving well, everything else is in place…

"Maybe a bit a lack of matches, I didn’t play any matches since Cairo… I think it’s just in the head…"

[6] Borja Golan (Esp) bt Jonathan Kemp (Egy) 
             6/11, 11/6, 11/8, 8/11, 13/11 (68m)

It's Borja's in the end
Steve Cubbins reports

A see-saw match with neither player able to sustain the periods of dominance they both had. The first four games were shared, and the fifth was tense all the way up to 8-all.

The Spaniard earned himself two match balls at 10/8, the Englishman got one at 11/10, but it the end it was decided by a stroke to Borja and an embrace from the players ...

"It’s so difficult to play Kemp… Difficult to get into any rhythm …

"I’ve lost so many tie-breaks, lost so many five-setters, that’s makes the difference between the top 15, and the 23, me! You’ve got to win some of those…

"That court is so true, you’ve got to be so sharp on there, it’s the same for everybody … I wasn’t sharp enough in the first game, far from it…

"During the match, I made a lot of unforced errors, but he made even more…. And that made the difference…"

[8] Renan Lavigne (Fra) bt Gregoire Marche (Fra)   
                       12/10, 11/9, 11/2 (35m)

L’EXPÉRIENCE PAYE…

Il avait faim, le ‘Tit Greg, quand il est rentré sur le court. Il était prêt à courir jusqu’à demain s’il le fallait. Mais le Renan, il en a vu d’autres, des petits jeunes aux dents longues. Et il a serré le jeu. Dès la première balle, il l’a joué à la technique, cliniquement pratiquement. Et je te colle la balle en parallèle, empêchant Greg toute opportunité d’attaquer et donc de passer devant. Et que quand tu es bien scotché au mur, que je te la mets devant… Et que si tu me la ramènes, hop, je te la mets au fond…

Greg n’a pas mal joué du tout. Il a bien lobé pour se sortir d’embarras quand Renan trouvait de bonnes attaques. Et il a couru, et il s’est accroché, et il a même mis notre Capitaine de l’équipe de France sous pression au 2ème, en menant 7/4. Et il y a cru….

Mais le Marseillais a tout simplement vissé le boulon un peu plus, a remis la balle collée au mur latéral, a bien varié le jeu, a frustré le petit… Une fois deux jeux dans son escarcelle, Renan n’avait plus qu’à planter le couteau entre les omoplates… Et il ne s’est pas gêné… 11/2 au 3ème….

Soulagé d’être passé… non, je n’ai pas peur de lui, j’ai peur de degun, comme on dit à Marseille, mais je me méfie, parce qu’il a un super tempérament de gagneur.

Alors, dès le début, il fallait montrer que j’étais lucide et pas stressé, et je suis bien rentré dans le match, et je savais qu’à 2/0, la vie serait difficile pour lui, mais comme il est dangereux, je suis resté vigilant jusqu’au bout…

J'ai pratiquement le double de l'âge de Greg, mais le squash est un sport où l’expérience compte beaucoup, car tu joues pour délimiter ton territoire. Il est donc primordial de prendre ton espace, ta place…

Difficile de comparer les « deux Greg « , s’ils ont le même tempérament de gagneur, Greg G était déjà en équipe de France remplaçant à 17 ans en Égypte en 99. D’ailleurs, une petite anecdote, comme il n’a pas été titulaire cette année là, il a refusé de s’asseoir avec l’équipe, il considérait qu’il ne le méritait pas, et s’asseyait tout en haut avec le public. L’année d’après, il était titulaire de chaque match…

Maintenant, Greg M est champion d’Europe, il appartient au top 8 des juniors mondiaux, ça veut dire qu’il a du talent, et même si la route est longue, jonchée de déception, même s’il a du boulot à faire, c’est un bosseur…

C’est très agréable de jouer ici en France, devant les amis de Marseille, de Lyon, de la Seine et Marne, la famille, les sponsors. Il faut que cela se pérennise…

Si je dois rencontrer Greg demain, je pense que la pression sera sur lui, moi, je suis là pour prendre le plus de plaisir possible…

 
EXPERIENCE PAYS OFF

He was hungry, our Greg Jr, when he came on court. He was ready to run until tomorrow if need be. But it was not the first time that Renan was playing such a hungry kid. And he just played tight. And technical.

From the first ball, he glued his straight drives to the side wall, prevented his opponent any opportunity to attack, and then, when the boy was going side to side in the back, Renan was placing a lovely shot in the front corners, and then at the back again if the youngster had the legs to pick it up. And again…

Greg didn’t play badly at all. He lobbed very well to get himself out of trouble, he was even leading in the second, 7/4. And he believed he could win it…

But the French Captain tightened it a bit more, glued the ball a bit more, varied his game, and frustrated Greg… Once he had two games in his bag, deliver the finishing touch … And he didn’t hesitate for a second, 11/2 in the third…

Relieved to go through, not that I was afraid of him as such, but more wary, he’s got such a winner temperament…

So, from the word go, I had to show that I was lucid, and not stressed. And I knew that at 2/0 down, life would be tough for him. But he is dangerous, so I stayed on my guard until the last shot.

Greg is much younger, I’m practically double his age, but squash is a sport where experience counts a lot.

Hard to compare the two Gregs, they’ve got the same winner’s temperament, but at 17, Greg G was already playing in the French team, in 99, in Cairo. He didn’t play, and a funny story, he didn’t think he was worthy of sitting with the team, because he didn’t get a cap. So he was sitting up there in the seats with the audience. The following year, he got a cap at every match…

Now Greg M is European Champion, top 8 juniors, and although the road is long, deceptive sometimes, although he’s got a lot of work to do, he’s a hard worker, so…

It’s so nice to play here, in Paris, in front of my friends, family, sponsors… This event has got to go on and on…

If I play Greg G tomorrow, I think pressure will be on his shoulders; I’ll do my best to take as much pleasure as possible.

Je suis déçu et frustré. Je joue très mal les points importants. Dans le premier, je suis mené, je reviens bien, mais je suis incapable de rentrer la balle de jeu, et le deuxième, je n’apprends pas de l’expérience, je fais la même chose… Au troisième, je sors du match, c’est dommage…

C’est tellement différent de jouer sur le vitré, c’est très rare pour moi de jouer dessus, en tant que junior, on n’a que très rarement l’occasion, et le tournoi PSA que je joue ne se joue pas sur ce genre de court. Il va falloir que je m’y habitue. La visibilité est différente, et puis à l’avant, il faut être beaucoup plus précis, sinon tu te fais planter derrière…

Si j’avais pu prendre au moins un des deux premiers jeux, peut-être que j’aurais pu le faire douter un peu, mais là… Très frustré, parce que même pas fatigué…

"I’m frustrated and disappointed. I played the important points so badly. In the first game, I come back from behind to get game ball, and I just can’t put it away. And I don’t learn from my mistakes, and do it again in the second! And in the third, my mind just stops working…

"It’s so different to play on the glass court, it’s unusual for me. As a junior, we very rarely played on one, and the PSA events I’m playing at the moment are not played on there, so, I’ll just have to get used to it. The vision is different, and your accuracy needs to be perfect at the front, otherwise, you just get killed at the back…

"If I could have taken one of the first , maybe things could have been different, I could have made him doubt a bit, but I just couldn’t… Frustrated, because not even tired…"

[3] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt [Q] Saurav Ghosal (Ind)                11/2, 11/5, 11/9 (35m)

Thierry in control
Steve Cubbins reports

For two games it looked like man against boy out there - however hard Saurav Ghosal ran - and he can run - he would just have to run some more. Wherever he put the ball - and he put in some tight shots - Thierry Lincou was there, to either put it away or make the young Indian do some more work.

Whether it was the change of court, tiredness from the qualifiers, or, more likely, the step up in class of his opponent, Saurav was getting nowhere fast for two games.

But, from a few points down in the third, he seemed to find his game, found a better length, and started running with purpose. And he got Thierry worried towards the end. At 10/9 came the best rally of the match, a match of equals now, but Saurav hit one more tin - Thierry had hardly hit any all night - and his chance of extending the Frenchman to at least one more game had gone.

"As long as the match unfolded, he was playing more and more accurate shots, that prevented me from attacking as I would have wished. It probably coincided with a little drop in energy in the third, but overall I’m happy, I think I played a good first two games, I played modern and offensive squash…

"It’s hard to get in the tournament mentally, I was a bit all over the place before it started, and I really need to get away from everything and everybody. It so unusual for us to play here, in France, we are not used to so much solicitation, and our routine is not in place. But that’s part of the job, and we just need to be prepared….
I was a bit stressed at the start, but once on court, it soon passed.

"I love the court, it’s a great venue too, and for a first try, it’s a stunning one! It’s a great pleasure to play here, and I hope to feel the same pleasure every day…"

Au fur et à mesure du match, il jouait de plus en plus de balles précises, qui m’ont gêné pour attaquer. En plus, cela a dû coïncider avec une petite baisse de régime dans le troisième, parce que dans les deux premiers, je suis content, je pense que j’ai joué un match moderne et offensif..

C’est difficile d’entrer dans le tournoi comme ça, j’étais très excité avant que ça commence, et il a fallu vraiment que je m’isole et que je me mette mentalement dans le tournoi, ce n’est jamais facile. C’est tellement rare qu’on joue en France, on n’a pas notre routine, on n’est pas habitué à être aussi sollicité. Mais ça fait partie du job, et il faut simplement s’y préparer.

J’étais un peu stressé au début, mais le stress est vite parti.

Le court est super, c’est un super endroit, et pour un premier jet, c’est vraiment un coup de maître. C’est un grand plaisir que de jouer ici, et j’espère que je vais ressentir ce même plaisir chaque jour qui vient…

"He played really well in the first two games, cutting everything off and his volley drops were so good, and he made so few errors.

"It's not an excuse, but coming from the side courts to here, it's very different.

"He played very well and I wasn't brilliant, I was far too loose, it was like feeding practice and you can't beat a top ten player playing like that.

"I just started feeling the ball and the court more in the third, getting the ball to the back, and he dropped a little. I can't believe I tinned that one at the end, after playing such a good rally …"

[1] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt [Q] Aaron Frankcomb (Aus)                  11/4, 11/9, 11/7 (30m)

GOOD START FOR GREG
Framboise reports

Aaron was never going to be at his best after playing more than two hours yesterday on a traditional court, a match that finished at 10pm, only to be thrown out in front of a French crowd playing their top man the next day at 20.30…

But all credit to the Australian, he never said die, and gave a good show to an appreciative crowd. He used his “special weapon”, a stylish return of serve that gave him so many points yesterday, and still today put Greg under pressure.

Greg was solid, both mentally and physically. And yes, a few tins here and there, but the boy was seriously planted on the T, and very rarely had to budge from there.

A pleasant match to close the evening, and I’m sure that Aaron will realise how good he played this week, and savour the feel…

Depuis mes deux défaites au premier tour, une à Canary Wharf, et la dernière au Caire en juillet, j’ai radicalement changé mon attitude par rapport à mes matches. Maintenant, je me prépare pour chaque match comme si c’était pour une finale. Qui que je joue, je me prépare très sérieusement, quel que soit l’adversaire.

Je n’ai pas joué depuis l’Égypte, sinon une exhibition, mais vraiment aucun match de compétition, alors il était important pour moi de trouver mes marques sur le court vitré aujourd’hui, et comme ce n’était que la deuxième fois que j’y mettais les pieds, ce n’était pas facile, mais bon, c’était pareil pour lui.

Aaron était fatigué, je voyais bien qu’il avait du mal, et ça m’a aidé, bien sûr. Mais je pense que nous avons quand même réussi à faire de beaux échanges, lui, même fatigué, il a tout donné, et nous avons fait je crois un beau match.

Le court est très agréable, j’ai été surpris par quelques rebonds au niveau visibilité, mais bon, c’était pareil pour lui, on était à la même enseigne. Et puis, c’est vraiment un super site, cet endroit, la fédération a vraiment fait un super boulot. Bravo.

"Since my two first round defeats, one in Canary Wharf, and one in Cairo last July, I’ve radically changed my way of conceiving my matches. Now, I prepare for each round as if it was a final, no matter who I’m playing, I’m now considering the match as the most important of the tournament.

"I haven’t played since Egypt, only an exhibition, and it was really important for me to find my marks on the glass court, as it was only the second time I was hitting the ball on it. But then again, it was the same for him.

"Aaron was tired after his match yesterday, I could see that he was struggling, and it was a great help for me, of course. Still, although tired, he played a good game and gave it all, we played a good match I think.

"I like the court, I was surprised by a few bounces, but there again, it was the same for him. And the venue is really good, the federation did a excellent job there…"

"It was a good experience but, how can I say it… I WAS KNACKERED!!!!!!

"When you play a top two in the world, you need to be 100%, and tonight, I wasn’t, and he was far too good.

"Still, I’ve enjoyed it a lot, and I’m looking forward to play him again, but a bit more fresh…"

Aaron Frankcomb

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