Thu 1st, Quarters   Wed 31st, Round Two   Tue 30th, Round One    Mon 29th, Qualifying

Fri 2nd, Day Six, Semi-Finals:
 
[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt [3] Rachael Grinham (Aus)       9/7, 0/9, 2/9, 9/5, 9/1 (56m)
[5] Natalie Grainger (Usa) bt [4] Tania Bailey (Eng)      1/9, 0/9, 9/6, 9/4, 9/1 (60m)

[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [3] David Palmer (Aus)          11/6, 11/5, 11/6 (47m)
[4] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt [9] Karim Darwish (Egy)   7/11, 12/10, 11/8, 8/11, 11/5 (68m)

[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt [3] Rachael Grinham (Aus)
     9/7, 0/9, 2/9, 9/5, 9/1 (56m)

'Down-and-out' Nicol
gets her revenge ...
Laura Lengthorn-Massaro reports

An exciting first match to get the crowd started tonight. Rachael Grinham the newly crowned British and World Open champion playing the current world number one Nicol. What a semi final match on paper ...

Nicol, looking confident despite the recent loses, got off to a fast 4-0 start but the always calm and relaxed Rachael pulled that back to 4-3 almost immediately. A few quick rallies and Nicol was up. Then a change of tactic to lifting and holding seemed to tear Nicol apart at times, often appearing to have no idea where the ball was going. Nicol managed to get Rachael back into rallying towards the end of the game and at 8-7 a big rally eventually saw Rachael put another ball in the tin to give Nicol the first 9-7.

The second started with Rachael’s focus being on taking Nicol short or high. Rachel hit three rolling nicks to go 5-0 up and Nicol, looking frustrated, hit another tin to go 6-0 down. At 0-7 Nicol seemed disheartened and didn’t quite chase two balls down and it was 8-0 to Rachael. A great backhand drop that rolled again clinched the game 9-0.



The third started similarly to the second. Nicol’s length dropping short in the service box almost all the time and Rachael playing a handful of perfectly weighted drop shot winners. Nicol looked like she was running out of ideas and tried over hitting the length, which was met with good defensive lobs. At 0-8 Nicol played one rally at a high pace and dominated the middle and won it with a cry of ‘come on’. But another winner from Rachael and an error from Nicol took Rachael two games to one up.

It was looking like Rachael’s day. Another string of winners in the fourth by Rachel took her to 5-1 and she didn’t seem to be missing. She was reading Nicol so well and picking her off.

Then the tide seemed to turn, all of a sudden Rachel’s perfect shots started clipping the top of the tin and Nicol sniffed her way back from seemingly being down and out! More errors by Rachael and Nicol hitting a better length took Nicol to 9-5 and the match was levelled at 2-2.

Rachael’s precision seemed to be failing her. The shots weren’t going in and Nicol took the opportunity to pounce to a 6-1 lead. How things can change!!! I can’t believe the change around from 5-1 in the fourth. Rachel got only one more point and the match was Nicol’s, 9-1.

"At 5/1 in the fourth, I’m not sure what happened really, maybe I tried to finish it off too early. Natalie told me I was having it floating at the front instead of hitting it properly, and that gave her too much time at the front.

"I guess it’s a combination of factors, me rushing a bit, her getting her confidence back. Before, I had a bit of a run, and her confidence must have been down, maybe her width or length was not good enough, I don’t know…

"I guess that I just lost my head in the end. And I’m disappointed, of course, but I’m happy with the fact that I don’t feel she is too good for me anymore. I used to think that I wasn’t fit enough to beat her, and at the end of our matches, I just couldn’t move, whereas now, I feel I can match her game, and that I could have kept on playing another game or two…

"At the end there, I was just lost, it’s only at 8/1 match ball down that I decided to play at least one long rally. And we did have a very very long one. But it was too late by then.

"Still, I’m glad with my performance over these two weeks, I had a long succession of matches, I’m in good form, and today, I had my chances…

"Would be nice to have a few days off though…"
   

"When I was down 5/1, the only thing I could think of was to keep the ball going, to hit another shot, just play the next shot. Then, when we got to 5/5, I was on a momentum, she started to make more errors, and I knew I had to keep on pushing.

"For most of the match, she was taking it away from me, and I had to make sure that I was getting the control back. But when she is playing like that, you know that you’ve got to find something pretty special out of your pocket…

"These courts today were a bit colder than yesterday, and suited her better I think. She was the shot maker, and I was on the receiving end, and I needed to work through that ball instead of stepping back…

"I’m glad to be in the final, especially after beating Rachael. I’ll just see what happens from there. I’m just looking forward to giving it the last push in the final…"

NICOL’S BACK… Impressions, by Framboise From finding stunning shots that nobody else would dare playing from that far back, and damaging not only the scoreboard, but also Nicol’s confidence beyond belief, Rachael just lost her way. Her shots stopped going in, she forgot to slow down the pace and just found herself stuck at the back, and running from corner to corner of the court … Nicol will be not only happy, but proud she overcame the opponent she had problems beating a few weeks ago, and relieved that she is still the Queen of Comebacks…

[5] Natalie Grainger (Usa) bt [4] Tania Bailey (Eng)         1/9, 0/9, 9/6, 9/4, 9/1 (60m)

Grainger comeback as
Bailey falters
Laura Lengthorn-Massaro reports

The pace was noticeable quicker and faster from the off compared to the last match. Both players hitting with more power, Tania took to a quick 5-0 lead with errors from Natalie. Tania played very well, keeping the ball away from Natalie’s racket and made her moving into all corners of the court. Then put some very well weighted drop shots into the front court. She took the game 9-1.

At the beginning of the second Tania again raced to a 4-0 lead and was matching Natalie’s short game and then playing very well deep and wide. At 6-0 another drop shot off another early ball short from Natalie won the rally to take her to 7-0. Natalie’s confidence seemed to be fading fast. More errors took her to 8-0 and Tania was completely out playing the American.



At the start of the third Natalie started taking the ball in short but was met with well weighted replies from Tania. Natalie getting more frustrated with frequent calls of “come on Grainger” to try and get her self going. Natalie tried to impose her hard hitting game followed by delicate drop shots. From 5-2 up a few more cross courts crept in from Tania and were picked off by Natalie and she went into a 6-5 lead. The battle of the backhand was won by Natalie towards the end of the game as she cut out the errors and took control of the middle to secure the game 9-6.

Both players came out to win the fourth game. It was even until Natalie got a lead to go 7-4 up after chasing down a few rallies. Tania had lost her length and was going short too soon. Natalie’s powerful game came into force and Tania couldn’t match her. Natalie took the game 9-4 and was back in it.

The fifth was tough. Tania seemed to be struggling with her breathing again and Natalie’s confidence was back and she rushed to a 3-0 lead. After a few longer rallies and hand ins and outs Tania seemed to struggle even more towards the end of the game. Natalie hit a run of winners and took the match 9-1 another turn around.

"I started how I wanted and thought I’d won it in the third. I sat back, lost my length a bit, got looser and she picked it off. It just got hard but I still thought I played well. I just couldn’t push through until the end. At the end of the 4th my breathing went and was I felt like I was battling that more than anything else.

"I get the sinus problem every few months and it’s just bad timing. It’s on its way out but when it gets hard during the match I struggle with my legs. Natalie was good and I got looser and she played well in the fifth.

"I can’t take anything away from her. I got excited thinking I could win and before I knew it I was losing."

"I proved tonight that I can win a match from the back of the court!!!

"Tania played so well, she was quick onto to the ball, good at the short stuff too, and my game fell apart completely. She hit me off the court, and there are not too many people that can do that. She basically took my short game away from me…

"So I decided to take pace off the ball, and to run like hell, retrieving everything I could and at 7/4 in the fourth, I felt her going breathing-wise, and I thought no way I’m going to play any short rally for the rest of the match. And I kept on battling, not giving her an inch…"

[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [3] David Palmer (Aus)
      11/6, 11/5, 11/6 (47m)

ONE MATCH TOO FAR…

I know, David had the professionalism to say he was fine tonight, but hey, he was so slow from the start.

The legs seemed very heavy to us, and to Shabana too, as the Prince of Egypt kept on wrong footing the Marine who had given too much in the past week and in the earlier rounds to have much left tonight.

Also, mentally, it must be to hard to replay a player that gave you a 3/0 a few days ago when you were fit as a fiddle.

“What am I going to do at 50%, you must be thinking…”

So, another superb despatch of Shabana’s magic tonight, who is keeping both his head well on his shoulders, and his sense of humour… May the Gods of Squash preserve him as he is today…

"He had a tough match yesterday, but that doesn’t mean anything if he takes a good shot and takes the first game…

"It’s so hard to play tournaments back to back, it dumpers your strength, and when you happen to have one or two heavy matches, they are more damaging than normal.

"It is a great feeling to have reached the final after 12 years of participation ..."

"I felt ok physically, but I was just lost on the court, I couldn’t find my rhythm at all, I was not moving that well, that’s true, but I never felt like I had any control tonight.

"The court was warmer tonight that it was yesterday, and I would preferred a deader court. But simply, it was not my day. Outplayed."

[4] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt
[9] Karim Darwish (Egy)      
7/11, 12/10, 11/8, 8/11, 11/5 (68m)

TOUGH ONE…

This match was very difficult for the two players. Both tired from long matches, they wanted desperately to win, and some direct confrontation took place at 7/7 in the second game.

Ref John M was able to re-establish order on court, and between games had a little word with both players. That seem to do the trick, and both Karim and Greg were perfect gentlemen after that.

It was another close encounter tonight yet again, but it seemed that Greg’s short game was more damaging than Karim’s.

But like yesterday’s match, there was not much between the players…
 

[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt [13] Alison Waters (Eng)                                  9/7, 9/1, 9/2 (36m)
[3] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt [6] Vicky Botwright (Eng)                 1/9, 9/5, 9/3, 9/5 (41m)
[4] Tania Bailey (Eng) bt [8] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned)                    7/9, 10/9, 9/3, 9/2 (52m)
[5] Natalie Grainger (Usa) bt [2] Natalie Grinham (Aus)                        9/7, 9/5, 9/4 (35m)

[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt Ong Beng Hee (Mas)                               11/8, 11/7, 11/7 (37m)
[3] David Palmer (Aus) bt [6] James Willstrop (Eng)        4/11, 11/7, 11/7, 3/11, 11/8 (74m)
[4] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt [7] Nick Matthew (Eng)   12/10, 9/11, 12/10, 6/11, 11/9 (83m)
[9] Karim Darwish (Egy) bt [5] Thierry Lincou (Fra)         11/5, 11/7, 8/11, 9/11, 11/9 (85m)

[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt
[13] Alison Waters (Eng)  9/7, 9/1, 9/2 (36m)

NICOL IN FORM…

It must be so frustrating to have to win that point over and over and over again, and then find yourself suddenly chasing the ball that a few seconds ago you were controlling…

And it forces you to go for higher and higher percentage shots… Not to mention burning your physical fuel to get to the red too quickly…

Alison played extremely well in the first game, but just to be able to stay in the game, she had to push very very hard. And she paid for it in the second and third…

"In the second and the third she was in front of me all the time, and when she gets on a roll like that, it’s hard to do anything.

"Anything that came anywhere the middle, she would destroy! I tried to avoid doing it in the second and third, but it’s not easy…

"Nicol just steps up in front of us, and just dominates from there. Still, I was happy with my first game ..."

   

"On that court, if you don’t hit through the ball, you’re not going anywhere. And in the first, I was not, well, just not hitting really, and that allowed her to do whatever she wanted at the front.

"So after that, I made sure that I was taking the T away from her to prevent her from volleying. And I kept on applying that pressure, when I saw she was starting to make errors, because with these girls, if you give them an inch…!

"It was good for me to get used to the court, it’s so much warmer than the other years, it’s much better, you get much more feel to the ball, and the movement in the air is much more fluid, before it used to stop in the air, and the timing would be off…

"Well, so far so good, I’m looking forward to be in the semi final, and I’ll take each day as it comes…"

[3] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt
[6] Vicky Botwright (Eng)      1/9, 9/5, 9/3, 9/5 (41m)

VICKY BOASTED AWAY…

That Rachael is quite astonishing, you know. She adapts to all court conditions with an ease that is quite unusual I find. And today, she nearly didn’t lob, but drop shot and boasted at will, forcing Vicky to get so low on her legs at the front, and putting her under pressure movement wise again and again.



It was a pretty good match, helped by the slight elevation in temperature on the glass court, which, from a spectator point of view, is a great improvement, not only because we don’t have the impression of living in a fridge anymore, but also, because although the court is quite dead, the rallies are longer and therefore – sue me – more exciting to watch…

It was a delight to have so few decisions too, a bit like the previous game, Nicol against Alison. Fluid, respectful, still extremely disputed, what a nice start to the day…

"I didn’t do anything really different in the first and the second, it’s just her shots that weren’t coming off in the first started to go in after that.

"She started going for short in the second, she was delaying everything, I didn’t know where the ball was going to go! I was trying to drag her into rallying but she was going short all the time.

"She is so hard to play, she is in form at the moment, and she is moving so well.

"Normally I don’t enjoy a match at all after I lost it, but today, I really don’t mind, I really enjoyed it, because it was clean, there was no awkwardness or getting in each other’s way. I wanted to get back on again, not because I thought I could win, but because I wanted to enjoy it some more!"

"In the first game I was trying to play basic stuff, length, but she was just too precise, everything was sticking to the wall, and I couldn’t do anything.

"Vicky has had a few back problems and has some problems moving to the font, so I decided to go short and I guess she was not expecting that, it must have surprised her, it was such a drastic change of game, that’s why the second game went that fast… After that, we were both mixing a bit more.

"I always had a lot of struggles against Vicky, so I’m always wary, and even a bit nervous, which is not very good when you are trying to place the ball…

"I’m happy to win 3/1, especially after losing the first one so badly! It didn’t look good after the first one, that’s for sure…

"Nicol will be looking forward to playing here after her disappointment last week in the Worlds, and as I haven’t played her since the British, I’m sure she’ll be out to get me!!!"

[4] Tania Bailey (Eng) bt [8] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned)
                    7/9, 10/9, 9/3, 9/2 (52m)

Bailey breaks into the semis
Lauren Briggs reports

The first appearance on glass for both ladies in this event. Vanessa won the toss and the match begins. From the get go both players were going for their shots, trying to impose their game on one another. It looked like Tania and Vanessa both had game plans and were gunning to stick to them. Some fantastically measure drops from both players and an astounding backhand crosscourt nick from Tania off Vanessa's serve, ensured both players knew the others' intentions. However it was Tania who stepped forward first, dictating the pace of play, but Vanessa's relentless retrieving lobs and quick push drop shots saw her take a 4-2 lead.

A game of cat and mouse ensued, one player would get a slight lead only to be clawed back by the other. Tania's pace combated by Vanessa's consistent defensive play.
A crucial decision at 7-8 denied Tania the opportunity to play to a set. It was a 'Let' decision, which should possibly have been a stroke, then a decisive stroke call which favoured Vanessa handed her another game ball. In the following rally, Tania, in true spirit, claimed her ball was not up giving Vanessa the first game 9-7.

At the start of the second game both players appeared to straighten the ball a little more, whether it was the advice from the coaches in their corners or from their own doing, will remain unknown, but it was a tactic which served the ladies well.

The rallies increased in length and pace and at 2-1 to Tania it appeared that maybe a little of the sinus problem which affected her in Madrid, had reared it's ugly head again. Vanessa capitalized on what appeared was a out of it Tania and pulled a slight lead.

But despite Tania struggling to catch her breath she wasn't going to be beaten and she stepped up onto the 'T' and the pace upped again. With each early volley Tania pulled Vanessa out of her comfort zone, she then drew level at 4-4 with some spectacular short sharp drops. A few errors from Vanessa and Tania was in the lead, still the cat and mouse game being played out.

How Tania managed to push through what seemed incredible breathing discomfort is amazing. Yet she continued to battle and with an outstanding pick up on a forehand drop she took an 8-7 lead.

However, was it one pick up too far? As two untimely errors came from Tania's racket. The breathing really becoming a problem. 8-all, set two. Vanessa in the driving seat, or so it would seem.

However with a series of hand outs and some searching rallies, the players again levelled out at 9-9 after a tight, crisp forehand drop from Tania. Before you knew it, the game had ended Tania coming away with a game under her belt.

The third was in stark contrast to the previous two games, all credit to Tania she continued to try and step up onto the 'T' and force Vanessa into the corners. However it seemed Vanessa had lost a little something from the previous game and it was 9-1 to Tania.

With a 2-1 lead Tania now looked more settled and repeatedly put away any loose ball which was offered from Vanessa. But Vanessa is an intelligent player who never quits and with some well constructed rallies, using the full height and length of the court, she regained the serve and tried to close the 4-0 lead Tania had built.

Only able to gain a point before Tania one more forced the pressure. At 2-7, with Tania in the lead, a long and demanding rally commenced, both players pulling themselves around the court, the fatigue became ever more evident.

Back court to front court, side to side, lunging low then reaching high, their energy being drained. With an exchange of counter backhand drops, you could see their legs getting a little weary, one final drop from Vanessa and Tania lifted her racket asking for a let .... 'stroke' was given. Certainly to the despair of Vanessa who sat on the floor, legs out straight, discussing the dubious call with the ref.

At 7-2 it was a clear run through for Tania, a few let calls on match ball, but it was a final error from Vanessa that gave her a well deserved 3-1 victory.

"The first game was really tough, Vanessa played well and made it hard for me. The second was crucial and I just managed to win it, but it again was another tough game.

"I straightened up a bit in the third and fourth and controlled the ball better. My short shots were going in well and I felt like my length was good.

"I'm really pleased to be in the semis!!"

[5] Natalie Grainger (Usa) bt [2] Natalie Grinham (Aus)
                   9/7, 9/5, 9/4 (35m)

Grainger powers into semis
Lauren Briggs reports

The battle of the two Natalie G's commenced with a tough first game, both players hoping to secure their place in the semis.

It seemed they both initially struggled with the transition from the hard courts to glass court. The length was a little short at times and the width was within easy reach of both Natalies' rackets.

However as time developed so did the players' games. There were some tough rallies with both players demonstrating some top class retrieving. But it was Grainger's determination that saw her come out on top, taking her dominant 'T' position and setting herself in good stead for the following game.

Throughout the second game, Grinham battled hard to stay in the rallies, again displaying some outstanding retrieving, however she didn't look as sharp as she can. But it just appeared that Grainger was the one who had set up camp in the centre of the court and wasn't about to be moved easily. She constructed the rallies intelligently and precisely and with those killer finishing shots she took the second game and a commanding 2-0 lead.

The third, a shaky start by Grainger, losing a little length and width giving Grinham the chance to step forward and dictate the play. A few errors too from Grainger and she found herself 4-0 down.
 
A shot which sailed out of court from Grinham gave Grainger back the serve and the bit between her teeth. From this point on Grainger never looked back, taking full control of the 'T' upping the pace at every opportunity. She looked determined and focussed, anything not tight or wide was volleyed anything loose was in the nick, no questions asked. It seemed a little like target practice for Grainger.

It was great to see, even if Natalie Grinham was a little off pace. With a flurry of points Grainger took the third game 9-4 and booked her place in the semis.
 

"I felt the first game was a bit of a battle. Natalie seemed edgy and the game was a bit scrappy at times. But I just tried to put my head down and get to the finish line before she did.

"In the second I controlled the middle quite well, my width and length were better and my shot selection was good.

"I started badly in the third, she got up 4-0 quite quickly. I made a few silly errors, but I tried to get back my angles and depth to give me the chance to expose the front. It was good to do that because I had fun playing to the front today.

"I'm looking forward to tomorrow, got to take it one match at a time!"

"I felt that I wasn't hitting a great selection of shots today. She played well, it was her day not mine!

"I wasn't moving so well today, I felt it quite hard to adjust going from the bouncy hard courts to the dead glass court. But she didn't seem to!

"Hong Kong next! "

[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt Ong Beng Hee (Mas)
            11/8, 11/7, 11/7 (37m)

A PATIENT PRINCE

When Shabana is all there, his patience, his precision, his relentlessness make him unbeatable. He puts you to sleep way at the back, and executes you at the front. Bang. You are dead.



Beng Hee didn’t do anything wrong. He ran like a lunatic, placed a few of his famous flicks and lobs. Good match.

But believing he could actually win this match could have been a start…

"Too good.

"He played the right game, attacked at the right time. And when I was getting a bit ahead of him, he would catch up and finish it off. He is clever, well, of course he is, that’s why he is world number one …

"Maybe, maybe if I had had a better start in the games, I could have sneaked a game, maybe two, but too good. No excuses."

"I knew he had a tough match with Wael yesterday, and that he was bound to be stiff, and that if I got a good start, I would be quite comfortable.

"You have to play well every round nowadays, there are no easy first rounds anymore, and I think I played my first rounds well on this tournament.

"This is my first ever semi final in Doha, and I hope that after tomorrow, it will be my first ever final in Doha!

"Physically, I feel fine, I’m moving well, ankle is fine.

"I like the three refs system, it’s not perfect but it gives more accuracy to the decisions.

"I don’t mind playing either James or David. I’ve played them both many times, and I wish them a long and nice match…."

[3] David Palmer (Aus) bt [6] James Willstrop (Eng)
        4/11, 11/7, 11/7, 3/11, 11/8 (74m)

WHAT TO SAY…

Sorry, good people, but my vocabulary in English in not vast enough to describe the beauty of this match. Each rally could have been shown in squash academies all around the world. Not a bad word. Not a bad gesture. Fair. Square. All the balls were played. All the nicks were saved. All the kills were retrieved.

Running. Hitting. Short. At the back. At the front. Great width, perfect length.

And then two extraordinary rallies at the start of the fourth. One at 1/0, then at 2/1. “Epoustouflant” we say in my language, breathtaking you say I think. Literally. He is not going to save that one is he. And yes HE does. And then the OTHER one does too. And again, and again, and again.

David seems gone, dead and buried during the fourth game. Did James start to lose a bit of patience? Did he try a bit too much too early? Or did he start thinking? Result nonetheless is that he started making his clipping the tin errors. Which not only frustrated him, but gave points and confidence back to the Marine.

And that's exactly what the Australian doctor ordered.



Rejuvenated, David started volleying more and more, cutting off the ball beautifully, and James, this time, couldn’t stop him from finishing the match off.

But what a match. WHAT A MATCH. Thanks mates.
Thank you.

"I was so up for this match, I so wanted to win. I am really really REALLY ….unhappy.

"I’m very disappointed, but all credit to both of us, it was a fair game of squash, no messing about.

"In an hour or two, I’ll look at it in a positive vein, and take the positive out of it, I played well in patches. There is some good, I only lost 11/8 in the fifth.

"But it’s a quarter final. I don’t want to keep losing in quarter finals, I’ve got to learn, and learn, and learn how to win those matches.

"But it was good squash. It was a good game of squash."

"If I had just lost this match, I would have been pretty…. unhappy!!!

"I was ok until the fourth, but at the start of that game we had two massive rallies that I lost, and that blew my wind up. He worked very hard too, and was probably very tired, but he won them, for starters, and he was 2/1 down, so he was going to give everything to come back. I think that if I had won those rallies, I would have probably won in four… But thank God, I had a game to recover and I kept my composure at the end.

"The court is very dead, so it’s all about controlling the front of the court, and that’s why today, I kept on volleying high balls, sometimes, I was not particularly playing a drop shot behind, but just holding the T position.

"When you play James, you know you just have to play the ball and concentrate on your squash, and I think that for big fellows, and the way we move around the court, and the way we play, so early on the ball, we are moving around each other quite well!

"It’s for that kind of match that I keep on playing squash. There was no discussion, no blocking, no getting in the way of each other, no arguments with the referees, a good, fair and square match.

"And if I was James right now, I would be very very unhappy."

[4] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt [7] Nick Matthew (Eng)
        12/10, 11/9, 12/10, 6/11, 11/9 (83m)

Greg squeezes home ...

"There was a decision at 9/9 in the fifth, I really thought that it was a sure stroke, so I got a bit frustrated. But I don’t like to dwell on those decisions, because there is always something squash-wise I could have done to prevent them…

"Greg won two games on the tie-break, and I had game balls in each of them, so of course, I’m disappointed to go out. I’m sure people could say it’s a 50/50, but from my point of view, it was more of a 51/49 for me, because I had more game balls, just some silly errors, and he played the important points better.

"But I hope he wins tomorrow, and all good luck to him really…"

"Another match in five. Last time at the Super Series Finals, I won 12/10 in the fifth, today it’s 11/9 in the fifth too. Every time, we have a “good war”, but it’s a fair battle every time too. I know he is there to play squash, and that I can trust his word. If I ask him if the ball is good, and he says yes, that’s it, I don’t question it.

"I think that despite the tiredness of the last tournament, I'm finding my marks from a physical point of view, and that I’m getting better match after match. I can tighten the game when I need to, take the initiative, and get my shots in as I like doing. And as long as I can do that, I can win my matches, even if tonight, it was really 50/50…."

[9] Karim Darwish (Egy) bt [5] Thierry Lincou (Fra)
           11/5, 11/7, 8/11, 9/11, 11/9 (85m)

NO MORE FRENCH BATTLE…

If Nick was kind enough to let his mate Greg win another epic battle, in a match that was even fairer than the encounter between James and David, if that’s possible – “I have to fight Greg during the rallies enough, I don’t want to have to fight with him between the rallies” – the night finished with yet again another marathon that ended 11/9 in the fifth.

Don’t they realise I have a life to live??????
Nope, don’t care…

Karim played the match of his life tonight. He wanted to win, very badly, and was ready to do anything it took to get there, killing himself on court if necessary. His shots went in at the right time, and with the total support of the Qatari crowd, and in front of fiancée Engy, he turned things round when down at 7/5 in the 5th. "Old" Karim would have let go. "New" one dug in, and found his best shots of the game.

Thierry's French corner must have believed he would pull that one up, as he so often did in the past. But maybe that's the trouble. Maybe the Frenchman has gone back from Hell so many times, he lets himself get in it...

One thing. Tomorrow, David will be exhausted. Greg will be exhausted. Karim will be exhausted. Shabana will be fresher, but still with one more match played in Saudi and no rest day between the two tournaments.

"I think it’s the first time I beat Thierry in a PSA event. It’s always hard to play against him, he is so strong mentally and physically.

"In the first two games I was confident, relaxed, and it was a bit comfortable. Then at 8/4 in the third, I starting thinking that I was winning, and that, I shouldn’t be against somebody like Thierry.

"But then, after losing the third and the fourth, I reminded myself of the match against Shabana in Saudi, where I was up 2/0 and I lost. And I knew that I couldn’t lose another match like that, it would have killed me.

"We both couldn’t move at the end. It could have gone either way, but I’m so glad to be in the semis…"

"I’m very disappointed. I really thought I had him in the fifth, I won so many matches like that.

" But I have no regrets, I gave it all, and pushed until the end. It just came down to a bit of luck, I guess, a couple of points in the end, like Greg against Nick, or David against James…

"It could have gone either way, it didn’t go mine tonight…

En bref Issue #2

THE LAST SIXTEEN...

Little letup in the action, with 'only' 32 matches played, to decide the quarter-finalists.

Ong Beng Hee continued to upset the seedings in the men's event, but the big story was Ramy Ashour's injury retirement against Karim Darwish.

The women's matches went to plan, with seven of the eight top seeds joined in the quarter-finals by Alison Waters who denied Jaclyn Hawkes a second surprise win ...

Second Round, Men:

[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [13] Mohammed Abbas (Egy)       7/11, 12/10, 11/5, 11/7 (38m)
Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt [8] Wael El Hindi (Egy)         11/8, 7/11, 12/10, 9/11, 14/12 (112m)
[3] David Palmer (Aus) bt [16] Adrian Grant (Eng)                 11/3, 11/8, 9/11, 11/8 (65m)
[6] James Willstrop (Eng) bt [12] Olli Tuominen (Fin)                     11/8, 11/8, 11/8 (37m)

[7] Nick Matthew (Eng) bt [14] Peter Barker (Eng)               12/14, 11/7, 11/6, 11/4 (77m) 
[4] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned)      10/12, 11/1, 11/6, 11/6 (53m)
[5] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt Joey Barrington (Eng)                           11/4, 11/5, 11/7 (31m)
[9] Karim Darwish (Egy) bt [2] Ramy Ashour (Egy)              14/12, 11/2, 4/5 rtd inj (41m)

Second Round, Women:

Aisling Blake reports from Court Three
[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt [16] Isabelle Stoehr (Fra)                                 9/0, 9/7, 9/4 (40m)
[13] Alison Waters (Eng) bt Jaclyn Hawkes (Nzl)                                   9/0, 9/5, 9/2 (25m)
[3] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt [11] Shelley Kitchen (Nzl)                        9/4, 9/6, 9/2 (37m)
[6] Vicky Botwright (Eng) bt [15] Kasey Brown (Aus)                    8/10, 9/3, 9/6, 9/6 (61m)

Lauren Briggs reports from Court Four
[8] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned) bt [Q] Tenille Swartz (Rsa)                         9/4, 9/3, 9/7 (24m)
[4] Tania Bailey (Eng) bt [14] Engy Kheirallah (Egy)                              9/5, 9/2, 9/2 (37m)
[5] Natalie Grainger (Usa) bt [12] Laura Lengthorn-Massaro (Eng) 9/5, 8/10, 9/4, 9/7 (61m)
[2] Natalie Grinham (Aus) bt [10] Jenny Duncalf (Eng)                          9/1, 9/1, 9/1 (30m)

[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [13] Mohammed Abbas (Egy)
       7/11, 12/10, 11/5, 11/7 (38m)

ABBAS THE RETRIEVER…

Shabana in front. Abbas in the back, saving incredible shots, and putting his training partner under a lot of pressure. That was the first game. And it went Abbas’ way.

The second was point for point the whole way, 2/2, 3/3, 4/4, 5/5, 6/6, 7/7, 8/8, 9/9, 10/10. Abbas was taking the ball early, so early. Too early, as he started to mis-hit the ball too many times…

Shabana was getting nervous, talking to himself. He certainly didn’t want another five setter like he had against compatriot Karim last week… So at 10/10, he found a superb nick, and thanks to a complete brain-dead shot from his opponent – what the heck was that silly supposed to be crosscourt flick/drop shot that end flatly in the tin – Shabana had put the clock back on time 1/1.

It took the whole of the third for Abbas to admit he was so close to leading 2/0, and he started fighting again in the fourth, at 6/1 down. Came close too, 5/6, but Shabana was never going to lose that game. And despite a few unforced errors, the Prince of Egypt is fit and well in the quarters.

"He was a bit slow today, I think I’ve got the advantage to have played one more match on that court… I could see he was struggling a bit on the court which is very fast and very dead.

"In the first, still, he played well, and I showed him the ball too much I think, and he can so easily put the ball away…

"I had to keep him behind me, because when he is in the front, he can do what he wants. So I played tighter than he did, and if he knows my game, I know his, and I know what his strength are, and to stay away from them…"

"I’m always afraid to slip on this court, so I’m very aware of my movement. I was struggling on the court, and at the end there, I just couldn’t move at all.

"Because of my restriction in my movement, I was trying to take the ball as early as possible, and I thought that if I was volleying everything, and sending him deep to the back, he would have to go for his shots, and make a few errors, but he could see I was struggling…"

Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt [8] Wael El Hindi (Egy) 
     11/8, 7/11, 12/10, 9/11, 14/12 (112m)

STOP AND START…

But still an excellent match. Yes, you heard me. Of course, we had a “few” discussions from Wael to referee John Massarella. But there was nothing bad. Nothing aggressive. And if there was a few “my butt happens to be slightly in the way” from the Egyptian, the ref saw and recognised it straight away. And those happened at the end of the match it seemed, when Wael was starting to get very tired and was having trouble moving out of the way…

A long match. Two unorthodox players who like to slow the pace, straight drives for Wael, cross court lobs for Beng Hee, both excellent counter-attackers, and both who like to surprise the “enemy”… Just as a matter of reference, the last game was 38m… That was the length of the first match between Shabana and Abbas…



It came down to nothing. One more little drop shot here. One wrong footing there. A few decisions that seemed to go against the Egyptian’s will, “don’t do that to me, John, not at a time like this, it’s 11/11”, and which, added to his physical tiredness, must have been an explosive cocktail that pushed him to throw a stupid casual drop shot in the tin in the last rally….

So much work done, for such a silly shot.

Those two played superb quash … between the interruptions that is. Wael has got to be disappointed, he had two match balls he couldn’t concretise. Bengy had two also, but made it on the second to reach his “first platinum event quarter-final since.......1975!!!!!!!”
 

"It was ugly. I’m not sure if it was my movement, or his movement, we seemed to be in each other’s way and bumping in each other quite a lot.

"This was my lucky day today, I was match ball down, and I win. A bit stop and start all the way, but I’m happy with my win, very happy!

"Do I think about my match with Shabana tomorrow? NO! Maybe when I have some food, some drink, and some rest, but at the moment, really NO. I’ve never ever beaten Shabana since the juniors, he was always better, since then he’s got even better, but I have improved as well, so, it will be interesting to see where I can go in this tournament… And yes, so many Egyptians nowadays on the tour, it’s a bit, buy one, get six free, and they're all playing great squash!

"I think that Wael got frustrated with the referee at the end, and believed that he was against him. But I think the ref did a good job, we both got sanctioned, I got punished a few times too. I think he did a good match.

"Also, he got maybe mentally frustrated because I prevented him from dominating the middle of the court as he likes doing. And the lob is going to become my favourite shot I think!

"It was nice to have all my English supporters, my new training partners, Nick Matthew, Peter Barker and Chris Simpson, my house mate! We all train in Harrogate together, and it was nice to have their support…

"At the end, I told myself, I’ve gone that far, 10/10, if I lose, it won’t be by much, if I win, it won’t be by far. So I just can relax, play as safe as I can, and play my game…"

[3] David Palmer (Aus) bt [16] Adrian Grant (Eng)
             11/3, 11/8, 9/11, 11/8 (65m)

GRANTY WOULDN’T SAY DIE…

If you hadn’t know that Adrian had a tough 111 minute match yesterday, the thought “oh, he is tired, poor thing”, would have never crossed your mind.

Maybe in the first, yes. But after that, he relied so much on his running to put the Marine under pressure, and it worked fine. Yes, David won 3/1, but it could have gone either way in the second and in the fourth…

A very close and disputed match despite very slippery conditions, and seemed like some strange decisions, and two players respecting each other however tight and tense the rallies were…

"Those conditions were very frustrating really. It’s funny because the first two games were alright, and then it all started at the start of the third. It’s nowhere near as cold as it normally is on that court, and I’m quite worried for the rest of the guys, because this is only the start of the day, it’s going to get much worse…

"Adrian is a tough player, it was the same last week in Saudi, he takes his time serving, he likes slowing down the pace, which doesn’t agree my game at all, I’m more of a “fluid squash” type of person.

"I had a perfect start, whereas he was a bit slow, but he was still up for it…

"I had a chance to close it out in the third but I seemed to have had a drop in my concentration there… But I’m very happy with my performance even if I lost the third, physically I’m fine, so…"

  

"The first game, he came out firing whereas the game plan was to use that game to run out the cobwebs from yesterday’s marathon. But in fact, it backfired on me, because that was the only game I didn’t play fast, and I was constantly on the back foot.

"Because of the conditions, the floor was horrific, we were both a bit edgy, but I’m happy with the way I played, and that feeling I got from the third, I want to have it with all my matches from now on. That’s the only I have to get up in the top 16.

"Each match I can feel I’m getting better, I played well against David in Saudi too, in totally different conditions. And I’m taking the positive from those matches, for my futures matches and in Hong Kong too…"

[6] James Willstrop (Eng) bt
[12] Olli Tuominen (Fin)   11/8, 11/8, 11/8 (37m)

"You feel that it’s a real onslaught that’s you’ve got to get through to win. It was exactly the same yesterday against Jonathan Kemp, they get everything back, and try to hit the ball as hard as they can, constantly, constantly pushing the pace up. It’s exhausting, and it must be very tiring for them too…

"It’s much warmer than it normally is, and because, like David’s match, we hit the ball very hard, it stays hot, and it’s very difficult to put it away…

"Today, I would be lying if I said that I was fluent, my attacking shots, my length. But you’ve got days like that, you can’t be at your best every match, and you still got to win. And that’s why I’m so happy to win today like I did yesterday. "But I’ve got a lot of work to do, to improve…"

James Willstrop

[7] Nick Matthew (Eng) bt [14] Peter Barker (Eng)
        12/14, 11/7, 11/6, 11/4 (77m) 

FRIENDSHIP ON COURT…

Those two are close. Very close. And it’s never easy. Peter is a boiling hot young man, whose passion and energy is always right at the surface of everything he touches. And Nick is not your flat boring character either. So, a bit of a slippery court, two very determined young men, and only one seat in the quarters…

A very intense match, a few discussions, in particular in the second, at 4/6 for Nick, when a frustrated Peter hit the ball at the end of the rally, that touched his mate in the leg and thank god in the racquet too. That seemed to affect Peter more than it should have it seemed to me…

But Nick had started pressing on the accelerator by that point, coming back from 4/1, pushing Peter more and more to go for high percentage shots, or volley in not the best of conditions.

Still, Nick didn’t have an easy ride whatsoever. And the frustration that Peter displayed proved that he knew he had a chance, and failed to grab it when he let the second pass him way under his nose.

If Peter has improved tremendously over the past year, so has Nick…

"I felt good, I started OK, and then we had a few discussions, and like last year, he got into my head. Again. I love him to bits, but he knows me too well…

"Still, he had good length, good width, and he didn’t give me anything…"

"We played last year on that same court, and that was in the back of both our mind. And in that match, he played very well, he surprised me, he should have won the match probably.

"Peter is probably my best friend on the tour, and even our girlfriends are friends, and we have massive respect for each other. And when you are on court against such a friend, you go maybe every that little extra just in case you would show too much respect. And that’s why we had so many lets, because we wanted to show to the other we were not to give an inch away.

"I’m glad today because I played better this year, and when I put the pressure on, I never let go, I didn’t give him any points. But I had to play well, Peter has improved his game enormously.

"We had to work very hard to keep balance and composure, the court was so slippery…

"I still have to improve my attacks by another 5% to be able to challenge the top 4 on a regular basis, and go for the title of more major events, instead of going for 1 or 2 a year…"

[4] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned)
          10/12, 11/1, 11/6, 11/6 (53m)

GREG NEARLY THERE

Up 10/7 in the first, the Frenchman manages to lose the next four points, finding the tin a bit too attractive. Then the second, not much contest. Then again the third, Greg is up 8/1, but lets determined and strong LJ come back into the game. Still the Frenchman finds some great nicks and takes the third 11/6.

In the fourth, you won’t be surprised to hear that LJ never gave up, still fought, still ran, still hit. But he was not as explosive as he was yesterday, both mentally and physically. The Saudi/Qatar exploits were maybe starting to take their toll …

"It’s so hard to get back mentally into a new tournament after just finishing one.

"Yesterday I was flat, today I was getting there, and tomorrow I’ll be hunky dory!

"LJ just did two great tournaments back to back, he deserves to be in the top 20.

"And I guess he was tired from his match yesterday, but then again, I had a few matches in the legs from Saudi …"

"I reacted well to yesterday’s scare, I put him under pressure from the start, and I was more positive, attacking, also mixing the shots much more.

"Yesterday the only thing I did was suffer Bradley’s pace the whole match. But today, I wanted to decide…"

[5] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt Joey Barrington (Eng)
          11/4, 11/5, 11/7 (31m)

BAD DAY FOR JOEY…

If that tells you anything, I just lost five quid to James, as I had Joey as the winner on this one, after Thierry’s poor performance yesterday against the 'Brad Attack'.

A bit like the reverse of the French rugby team that beat New Zealand, and was nowhere to be found after that (comment from my mum, 80, “it wasn’t the same team, was it?”), Thierry was not the same player between yesterday and today. He was strong physically, present at the back, and incisive at the front whereas I know for a fact he thought at some point he would be taking a plane for Hong Kong today…

Joey? Bad day. Nothing came off. Mis-hits all over the place, a nightmare match really. Couldn’t find a length, couldn’t find a drop shot… First game, 6 minutes. Second game 9.

Still, pride and talent pushed him to react in the third, 7/2 he went, putting the Frenchman under much more pressure. But Thierry was way to confident, had far too much time to settle into his natural game by that time, and Joey never scored another point.

A match to forget for the Englishman…
  

[9] Karim Darwish (Egy) bt [2] Ramy Ashour (Egy)              14/12, 11/2, 4/5 rtd inj (41m)

KARIM ON FIRE, RAMY DROWNING…

Let’s not take anything away from Karim, who played a superb match, and never relaxed, believed in his chances, and never let go of that bone that is a place in the quarters of a major.

But Ramy was not right. It was obvious. After the second game, I went to see Hisham who confirmed that, not only he had the left wrist injured, bad for balance at the front and in the back corners, but also his left heel was hurting.

And it had to happen. In the middle of the third, as Ramy was trying desperately to stick to the score, he went for the ball, collided with Karim. He took his shoe off, in excruciating pain.

”The match is over”, he said.

Last news, he is on his way to hospital to have an X-ray, as the doctor here feared there could be a mini-fracture. I’ll keep you informed, of course…
 

Aisling Blake reports
from Court Three ...

[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt
[16] Isabelle Stoehr (Fra)     9/0, 9/7, 9/4 (40m)

Nicol in the mood ...

Nicol sometimes has a tendency to start slow, giving her opponents a lead before regrouping and claiming the game out of their tenuous grasp. Today however she started strong and raced to 9-0 lead by moving the ball around the court well, corner to corner, her first error coming only in the second game.

This was due to Isabelle changing her game plan - gone was the French girl's attempt to try to match Nicol's pace and in its place, lofty balls with enough height on them to slow the game down completely.

Despite this, Nicol's relentless pressure gave her a 7-2 lead but errors started to creep into her game as Isabelle grew in confidence with her use of the height on the front wall. Isabelle maintained her form by combining her graceful lobs with clean volley back-hand drops helping her come back from 4-8 to 7-8.

However, Nicol snapped into action and with a renewed focus moving across the T she took the game 9-7.

The third game started in similar fashion, Isabelle sticking to the slow pace - lob and dropping with Nicol doing a lot of work in the air. After a close series of rallies in the middle of the game, Nicol took the pace up once more and ran a string of points together from 4-4 to 8-4 to give her match ball.

"I started well, I found it good watching Beng Hee playing before as when I found out he won I had an extra bit of motivation from the start.

"My aim was not to let Isabelle in front but in the second she did that and I had to keep the pressure on. In the end though, I kept my focus to make her work hard so she wasn't in control in the middle where she's at her most dangerous.

"I'm pleased with my match today."

"In the first game I was trying to take it early but Nicol is better at that and I realised it wasn't the right game to play against her. So I changed it by lobbing, making the rallies long, breaking up the rhythm in the second.

"This worked well but it's not my game so I think what I should have done was to focus on a mix of the slow pace and then attacking more when the opportunities were there.

"Nicol played well though ..."

"I kept the same gameplan throughout although Jaclyn seemed to get into the game a lot more in the second and I stepped off the pace.

"I thought I was volleying a lot more in the first and the third game, a more attacking style. I felt confident after winning a few points off the low cross courts which led me to hit more of them as I felt they were working for me today.

"I'm playing Nicol next, can't remember the last time we played, it could be as long ago as July 2006 in India".

Alison Waters

"The first game was over quickly, it happened yesterday too, maybe it's to do with my warm-up?

The intensity of today's match compared to yesterdays totally different - I had more time on the ball yesterday.

But I'm happy to get to the last 16, I was very pleased with my victory yesterday, maybe that's part of the problem!"

Jaclyn Hawkes

[13] Alison Waters (Eng) bt Jaclyn Hawkes (Nzl)
             9/0, 9/5, 9/2 (25m)

Waters ends Hawkes' charge

Two hard-hitters took to the court next with Jaclyn pumped up and fresh from one of the first round's few upsets yesterday against seventh seed seed Omneya Abel Kawy.

Alison started well and benefited from a slow start from Jaclyn to take the first game 9-0. The second game brought a different Jaclyn to court no. 3 however. More relaxed, creating more opportunities from her deep drives led to a good display of solid squash in the early part of this game.

After holding her opponent at 5-5 for several hand-outs, Alison reaped the rewards of her straight, tight drives and stepped up to whip a quick low cross court just out of reach which led her to game ball which she took in one hand. Rallies consisting of wallpaper-tight drives from both players helped get the third game off to a good start with Alison coming out the victor in these close exchanges.

One loose ball and she was on it (note to self - don't give her anything across that red line, she'll crucify it....). Time and again that cross court kill put the pressure on the New Zealander whose long reach got her out of a tricky situation on more than one occasion with a good lob to ensure she returned to the "T" for some quality time before the next onslaught from Alison!

However as the game went on, Jaclyn started to tire a little, perhaps the effects of yesterday's match were catching up with her while Alison was intent on taking the ball as early as possible - Alison took that game and the match to ensure her a place in the quarter finals.
  

[3] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt
[11] Shelley Kitchen (Nzl)          9/4, 9/6, 9/2 (37m)

Shelley plays 'fetch'

As an audience member watching this match I had to wonder how frustrated Shelley must have been at being dragged up to retrieve that slow boast - that was almost inch perfect today - again and again. It almost seemed like a cruel form of water torture.

However Shelley didn't seem fazed and returned shots with interest before bouncing back to the "T".

If chess were a game that involved humans moving around each other, Rachael would be its spokesperson I'm sure.

The match started at a blistering pace with Shelley creating the power if she was given any time on the ball at all. Holding, flicking, boasting, lobbing, dropping were Rachael's arsenal of shots while Shelley stuck to a patient straight game which worked well for the first part of the game. A few unfortunate errors from Shelley at the end of some long rallies let Rachael take a string of points from a close 4-3 to take the first game 9-4. In the second Shelley came out firing, as she seemed to get used to being taken to the front with that deceptive boast.

The rallies were punishing yet neither girl displayed any outward signs of slowing down or feeling the slightest bit tired. At 3-5 down, Shelley's continuous retrieving got the better of Rachael with three errors from her to allow Shelley the lead for the first time in the match. A few more exchanges of this nature with Shelley pouncing on anything loose, Rachael moving the ball from corner to corner and back again made for some amazing rallies. Finally, Rachael took the last three points in succession to edge out the second game.

Again, a blistering pace started what was to be the the final game, and Shelley was stepping up and volleying both deep and short with confidence. However, Rachael had other plans in store and with some more killer boasts that gave her good opportunities she took the game 9-2.
   

"I lost to Shelley the last two times we've played so I was pumped up for this match , maybe even more than a normal semi or final.

"I was really prepared and looking forward to it as I knew I would have to play well to beat her. She can be dangerous, especially on bouncy courts where the one place she was slightly vulnerable I couldn't take her there as you can't go short so much on these courts.

"It's so hard to get it past her as well and she cracks the ball if you give her any time.

"My boasts were all coming good today, I'm not sure what I would've done if this hadn't been the case!"

"Yes, I've beaten her before but I knew it was going to be tough.

"I started off going straight from the front but with Rachael you have to win the rally about five times before you actually get the point until finally you run out of ideas.

"You always have to be