[ TODAY ] [ SEMIS ] [ QUARTERS ] [ Round TWO ] [ Round ONE ] [ Qualifying ]

First Round, Bottom Half:                                                                 Top Half

[12] Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt [Q] Jonathan Kemp (Eng)                         11/8, 11/4, 14/12 (37m)
[4] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt [Q] Daryl Selby (Eng)                          11/0, 11/3, 6/1 rtd (19m)
[6] David Palmer (Aus) bt  [Q] Tarek Momen (Egy)                             12/10, 11/8, 11/6 (43m)
Alister Walker (Eng) bt [14] Borja Golan (Esp)                           9/11, 14/12, 11/1, 11/3 (57m)

[2] Karim Darwish (Egy) bt Shahier Razik (Can)                                    11/3, 11/8, 11/2 (32m)
[8] Wael El Hindi (Egy) bt Hisham Ashour (Egy)                                     11/4, 11/8, 11/3 (26m)
[11] Adrian Grant (Eng) bt [Q] Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy)         10/12, 8/11, 11/9, 11/1, 11/9 (92m)
[13] Azlan Iskandar (Mas) bt [Q] Mark Krajcsak (Hun)      12/10, 1/11, 11/5, 10/12, 11/4 (69m)

"One word, Fram: “Merde!”

"In the first game I was struggling to see the ball, plus he was hitting some hard low balls that were skidding through.

"And in the third, I was just getting going, and I think I tensed up.

"10/3, you think, oh, I can go for a couple. Then, you get into rallies, and you find yourself at 10/10!

"There, I went for another couple, that would only come off one in a hundred…. Not clever…."

[12] Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt [Q] Jonathan Kemp (Eng)
                11/8, 11/4, 14/12 (37m)

WHAT A THIRD…

If the first two games were pretty onesided, Beng Hee in perfect control, heavy shots to the back, precise at the front, varying his game perfectly, the wind changed quite dramatically in the third.

A “Brain Disconnected” Beng Hee found himself 10/4 down in no time. Kempy looked good, he was moving well, hitting hard, and his accuracy was faultless. Oh well, you could hear BengHee say to himself, let’s just go for it. 6/10 with two short rallies. Ah ha, thought BH, might as well try it a bit lengthier then, and points started to string, and tins, and mishits…

And the crowd started to get into it, and saluted the Malaysian’s performance as he forced a tie-break, in which Joey saved a match ball, set up an eighth game ball, and finally lost the game and match on the second match ball…

Oups.

"I played well the first two, and then I went back to being my old self!

"I had a nice Christmas, I feel fresh, but like everybody I think, I’m excited to be here, but also a bit nervous.

"With Jonathan, it’s all about movement, more than squash really, and today, I didn’t think he was moving that well.

"In the third, I thought, well, I’m up 2/0, I’m not used to winning a first round 3/0 you know, so I guess I mentally switched off, and became mentally lazy. And he quite rightly punished me.

"And don’t ask me how I won that game, I really didn’t expect to win it! One thing is sure, but if David Palmer wins today, and that I have to play again him, and that I play like that, he is going to kick my butt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[4] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt [Q] Daryl Selby (Eng)
               11/0, 11/3, 6/1 rtd (19m)

FLAT AS AN AMERICAN PANCAKE

I was absolutely not surprised for a second when I saw Daryl completely emptied of any energy as he got on court. That boy has won a tournament, then two days later, gets a giant encounter against Scott, 81m, then another 5 setter, 70m.

And even with a day rest, “my” boys aren’t machines, people. They can’t just be at their top form every day. And today, was a day “off” for Daryl.

Greg did very well not to lose his concentration and focus, and I think the “Old” Greg would probably have. But now, the “Pro” Gaultier stays in the goal to be reached. The next round. Fast and painless.
 

"Tarek is very good. Today I was up for it, because I knew that out of all the qualifiers, he was probably the toughest draw! So I was cautious, I knew he was going to be fast on there, but I don’t remember the court being that bouncy!

"Like all the Egyptians, Tarek is good at the front, he found some incredible drop shots, but I was not expecting him to be as steady as the back, he is quite happy to stay in the rallies. Obviously, if he keeps on playing like that, in the long term, in the coming years, he’ll do pretty well…

"I noticed that he stays rather quite far at the back, so I was trying to boast him a few times, but the ball is very bouncy, and I wasn’t getting anywhere with that. But he must be feeling pretty confident with his movement to stay that far back…

"I’m happy with a 3/0 win, maybe I wasn’t as sharp as I would have liked to be, but he was a tough opponent, looking forward to playing Beng Hee tomorrow.."

[6] David Palmer (Aus) bt  [Q] Tarek Momen (Egy)  
                  12/10, 11/8, 11/6 (43m)

That 20 year old boy, who studies engineering in Cairo has officially stopped being a junior. Yes, of course, I remember that he beat Greg, but that was in first round on a traditional court, and at home…

Today, Tarek was very impressive in his lucidity, calm and accuracy. From the first shot he was put putting weight on the ball, never looked for the cheap option, and pushed David to play at a level he probably wasn’t expecting.

You add to that a fair and honest attitude, always going round David if he could instead of asking for lets, calling his bad shots immediately, and you have a perfect gentleman. I would compare him to Abbas behaviour wise.

And that’s the biggest compliment I can make to him.

"I just wanted to play my game today, I didn’t have any pressure on, David had it!

"I thought that my short game was getting in quite well, and that helped me putting him under a lot of pressure to start with, but I just couldn’t get my length game right, so I had to do a lot of running. And you can’t play David Palmer without the whole package!

"At the end, like I told you the day before yesterday, I have some bad blisters, you should see my foot, it’s all wrapped up.

"And in the third, with the tiredness coming through I guess, I started feeling the blisters, and just gave up I’m ashamed to say…"

Alister Walker (Eng) bt [14] Borja Golan (Esp)
               9/11, 14/12, 11/1, 11/3 (57m)

ALI STRONG

If Borja seemed strongly in control in the first, gluing his shots to the side wall, preventing Ali from taking the middle of the court, slowing the game, as the game went on the Englishman started to take the initiative, varied his game more and more, putting the Spanish under more and more pressure.

To be fair, I’d heard that Borja is injured, and has some problems moving, all credit to him for not talking to me about it in his aftermatch interview. But that doesn’t take anything away from Ali, who is able to settle rather quickly now in a tournament, and who found some great attacking shots, while retrieving Borja’s as incisive-as-ever short shots.

They were a few lets, there are always a few when those two are on court, but nothing bad, just two players fighting for the middle spot who maybe do not move out as well as they move in…

Next round for Ali, Greg. The Englishman will have the knowledge that he has beaten his opponent, and Greg will have the will not to let that happen again, as he proved in Macao a few weeks back ...

"In the first game I was happy with my long game, but as the match progressed, Ali became stronger and stronger, and I just couldn’t attack as well as I would have liked. Today, he played better, but the season is long, and I’m hoping to do better in the next tournament…"

"I was very nervous, very tense to start with. I haven’t been on a glass court for a long time, and no matter how much you try to block it out, it still affects you. Especially as these days I expect results and good performances…

"I know what to expect when I play Borja, he is a very physical player, he is extremely fit.

"I never have any problems playing Borja, we’ve been friends since the juniors, he is a very fair player, we both are, I’ve got the greatest respect for him."

Ok Guys, it's 'Funny Face' time ... all together now ...

[2] Karim Darwish (Egy) bt Shahier Razik (Can) 
                   11/3, 11/8, 11/2 (32m)

"I do like that court actually, but not to take anything away from him, I’ve got some problems with my shins, and when you play Karim, you’ve got to be on your toes constantly, ready to push up, and I just couldn’t do that today.

"But the main reason for his victory? He played too well, he was confident with his shots … Too good."

[8] Wael El Hindi (Egy) bt Hisham Ashour (Egy)
                  11/4, 11/8, 11/3 (26m)

WELL…

First game. Wael, 1 tin. Hisham, 5. 6 minutes.

Second game, 1 tin for Wael, 7 for Hisham.

Last game. Wael, 0 tins, Hisham, 6.

Simple….


Hisham has been injured since Qatar, and only started training 8 days ago. There are no miracles in squash…

"At the beginning, I was not playing too bad, I was happy with my game at the back of the gourt.

"But from the third, my head kept on telling my legs, don’t go, don’t go… And I just don’t know what happened. The next thing I know, I was 6/10 down in the third. And come on, he is world number 12, he’s got the experience with this kind of situation.

"At the end things didn’t go my way. I wish I could have won those two points, if only to make those people who came to support me. But thank God for the injury free body…

 

[11] Adrian Grant (Eng) bt [Q] Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy)
         10/12, 8/11, 11/9, 11/1, 11/9 (92m)

ADRIAN, ONLY JUST…

This won’t stay as the most brilliant and sharpest match the Englishman has ever played, but it will probably stay with him as one of his greatest victories.

We all know that Adrian is not the quickest of starters, and winning in five from 2/0 down is sort of a habit for him. But today, he really, really, really didn’t look good as he tinned, and tinned and tinned the ball (8 unforced errors in the first for example) and seemed like a rabbit trapped in some car's lights, unable to adjust his shots or mind.

Omar loved it and looked so great on there tonight. The Egyptian was playing well, and was so hungry for victory, you feel his passion, his determination, his desperation. It looked like his life and his whole family’s depended on each rally. And it was so great to see him build his shots, with his so unorthodox style.

But he got excited. He started rushing things when he thought he was on his way to the second round. And that’s what Adrian was waiting for, wasn’t he. Slowly, patiently, he clawed back, point by point, cutting down on the errors, well, sort of…

The fifth was a thriller, and honestly, it was anybody’s match. For a long while, Omar seemed he was going to be the winner, but Grant gave it a last push at 7/4 down to come back at 77, 8/8, 9/9. A superb low drive that Omar can’t reach, no let. And a shot that Adrian has tinned so many times tonight, a stunning backhand dropshot that find the perfect spot right in the corner.

Game and match Adrian. But he got close to the trap… Very very Very close. And as ever, if I was glad for the warrior who is Adrian, my heart couldn’t not bleed when I heard Omar’s voice crack as he was telling me afterwards how much he wished he could have got those last two points… It was just heartbreaking.

"I just couldn’t read the ball at all, the court has got such a funny bounce, it’s very hot as well, and I was trying to relax, and just play the ball. I was fine physically, it was not hard, it was more a question of focusing, it was like there was no thought processing in my hitting.

"When I was 2/0 down, I was still pretty confident I would still win.  Omar is a fantastic player, unorthodox, but I played him at the last Worlds, so I knew what to expect. He went for it, all credit to him, bang bang, bang, and that unsettled me a lot.

"In the last three, I concentrated on what I had to do, instead of focusing on what he was doing…

"I know there are some people who want to be on and off in the first round, but if you look at things positively, it gave me much more time on court, to get used to the bounce. And I feel confident physically for tomorrow, I can back it up, I’ve done it before, I can do it again…

"Karim is world number one, I’m so looking forward to playing him, and the pressure, unlike tonight, will be on him!"

[13] Azlan Iskandar (Mas) bt [Q] Mark Krajcsak (Hun)
         12/10, 1/11, 11/5, 10/12, 11/4 (69m)

MARK LOOKED BLEEPING GOOD TONIGHT

The Hungarian, who I do not see play enough really, seduced me tonight with his game, his well mannered squash, his accuracy, and his vivacity. Of course, Azlan was not at his top, just coming back from injury, he was bound to doubt, and Mark knew it.

The ball never marked the backwall, it has to be said, those two were firmly planted on the T, and were volleying at will, creating some fast paced rallies and hard hitting shots, mixed with delicate drop shots from all sorts of positions…

We had a few dramas, a injury break, after collision, and we thought we are good for another hour here (it was way past 10pm by then) and I must say quite relieved to see the two players coming back quickly on court…Then a burst ball right at the end of the fifth, of course… But overall, a good and intense match in patches that Azlan’s experience, and maybe a few more layers to his game than the Hungarian ended up winning rather comfortably in the end.

I just wish that Azlan will find and stick to his game, at the moment he seems to vary his style according to the opponent he is facing, and I also hope that Mark is going to get more experience. This young man is good, and deserves a break.

"I’m disappointed with the fifth. Also, with the end of the first one, I broke a string, had to change my racquet, and lost four five points in a row, and I couldn’t clinch my game ball…

"What is annoying is that each time I get close to beating a good player, I get tense, and make a lot of unforced errors. Whereas when I’m down, like 2/0 down, or 2/1 down, then I just play freely and find good shots… That’s something I’ll have to work on…

"Today my shots were ok, I wish my concentration was not as in and out... I guess that it was more a mental battle than a physical one. I really have to play more with these boys, that’s the only thing I miss in Hungary.

"But overall, I’m happy with my performance his week, and of that great time spent in NY."

"This is my first match injury free for what, five months, so I knew it was going to be mentally tough, because no matter how hard you work physically on and off court, nothing replaces a competitive match.

"I was tense, I was in and out concentration wise, but it was a good match to get through. I just hung in there, and kept the rallies going, on a very bouncy court, where I had hardly any feel of the ball. But I don’t think I will be physically affected, it was not too hard physically, I did a lot of work, so I was prepared…

"All credit to Mark, he went for it, had to go through the qualifiers, had nothing to lose, he played well, he played free… As for me, when you are not playing well, you must be ready to scrap it through and that’s what I was ready to do in the fifth.

[Q] Yasser El Halaby (Egy) bt [15] John White (Sco)             12/10, 4/11, 12/10, 11/7 (68m)
[10] Nick Matthew (Eng) v Stewart Boswell (Aus)                         Boswell withdrawn injured

[9] Peter Barker (Eng) bt Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Col)                    12/10, 11/4, 11/1 (40m)
[16] Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned) bt [Q] Amr Swelim (Egy)               14/12, 11/7, 11/5 (42m)

[7] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt Julian Illingworth (Usa)                             11/4, 11/6, 11/6 (41m)
[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [Q] Renan Lavigne (Fra)                            11/8, 11/7, 11/5 (30m)

[3] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt Cameron Pilley (Aus)                        9/11, 11/8, 11/7, 11/3 (52m)
[5] James Willstrop (Eng) bt Olli Tuominen (Fin)                       9/11, 11/7, 11/7, 11/8 (56m)
 

En Bref #3

ToC DAILY

Two Legends: Sharif and Hashim Khan are introduced to the crowd

[Q] Yasser El Halaby (Egy) bt
[15] John White (Sco)
       12/10, 4/11, 12/10, 11/7 (68m)

TYPICAL JOHN

I miss my John. I didn’t realise how much until I could see him on the court, firing his shots away… and of course, his tins… Nobody, sorry guys, nobody played/plays like him. And yes, fair enough, he loses today, but I remember when he used to win, I remember it well ….

Today was a typical John, up 9/3 in the first, he ends up losing 12/10, then wins the second in no time. Then the third is crucial, it’s very close all the way through, he gets game ball at 10/9, but can’t prevent a nice counterdrop, and will lose that game also 12/10.

In the fourth, he was not helped by a few surprising decisions that made him and I raise our arms in the air at the same split second, but hey, when you are 7/3 up, you shouldn’t make the refs decide your fate, now, should you…

Yasser, who I only saw play once, in the first round of the qualifiers, on a warm and bouncy court where he couldn’t really express his shot making talent, impressed me today. He put John  under a lot of pressure several times with some backhand straight drop shots that seemed to glue to the wall, counterattacked beautifully, and retrieved, retrieved, retrieved, forcing John to get closer and closer and closer to the tin…

At the end of the day, it was also maybe a question of hunger? For Yasser, it was like his life depended on the result. For John, maybe it was not that crucial…
 

"I was nervous from the first ball to the last ball ... actually, no, I wasn't nervous for the first rally of the first game, which I won!

"Well, I hadn’t played on a glass court in a year and a half, and playing here, in front of all those people, on the glass court, and John White!!!!

"There were some great rallies, and some awful and terrible ones, and that’s something I’m inclined to do, and trying very much to correct…

"My normal game is attacking, but against John, you can’t really do that, because he feeds himself from the loose shots. So my plan was to try and contain him as much as I could, and to stay calm, not to think about the outcome of the match. What was the hardest, was the mental aspect of the match.

"Just in passing, I need to thank Eric Christianson, and also the ‘Don of Squash” in NY, Richard Chin, my coach…"

"The first game, I was not too happy with, it seemed that I was playing like I used to play a year ago, too soft, no, not too soft, but too attentive.

"In the second and third, I started to relax, let the racquet go, and started to play much better, without taking anything away from Miguel, I think I played twice, three times better…

"Happy to get through 3/0, the first game of the first round, you are often nervous, it’s always tricky…."

[9] Peter Barker (Eng) bt Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Col) 
        12/10, 11/4, 11/1 (40m)

PETER, STEADY and GRINDING….

I was looking forward to that match, although I didn’t think that Peter was too much in danger but Miguel is a great player, so fast, so determined, so fit, and an adorable human being.

Today alas, he never found his balance, his length hardly past the service line, putting him under constant pressure from a Peter that found his game after wining the first one, and some advice from DP [David Pearson, his coach, not to mention England National coach].

Still, he got the crowd behind him as his style is so flamboyant, he retrieved so many good shots from Peter, slipped and still kept on in the rallies…. The New York crowd just loved it!!

But without a length, Miguel couldn’t do much damage to a Peter Barker at the top of his game. Especially as the Colombian is able to create opportunities, but doesn’t seem to be able to use them to finish the point. That’s something he’ll probably have to work on...

The Englishman will be very happy with the scoreline against a player who is famous for his speed and determination on court…

"I practiced on that glass court a bit, twice 20mn, but I just couldn’t get used to it, it has like a strange bounce, and I never felt comfortable today.

"I just couldn’t find any length, and as Peter started to attack very well, I couldn’t pass him at all. Then I lost all confidence on there…

"I should have kept on being patient, and lengthening the rallies, and not try and speed the issue and find winners…. Still, I was really happy to be back here in NY…"

[16] Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned) bt
[Q] Amr Swelim (Egy)      14/12, 11/7, 11/5 (42m)

LJ STUNNING

I don’t know what the Dutch has been eating recently, but I want some!!! Oh boy, did LJ find the way to the short wall today! I have seen that boy play for a few years now, but I always picture him steady, volleying a lot, yes, but looking for nicks, and attacking at will, no.

He was impressive today, in all departments. Amr was finding some pretty good nicks himself, and LJ just picked them up, getting into a good position to put the pressure back onto the Egyptian.

And if the first game was a pure gem, with great rallies, fast pace, lots of hooooo, and haaaaas from the crowd, the next two games were more and more onesided, no offense to Amr… A clean, clinical and quick performance from LJ really…
 

"The ball seemed very fast at the start of the match, he was playing a lot in the back, like I expected him to do. I haven’t seen him play that much, and I was expecting him to play a lot of length and far in the back.

"In the second, I guess I was starting to get tired, and he started to change his game, playing some great shots. And maybe it was because I was more tired than I realise, or because I just didn’t expect that kind of game from him, I just couldn’t react fast enough…

"And in the third, my concentration was gone, and he found some really good shots again…"

[7] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt Julian Illingworth (Usa)
                         11/4, 11/6, 11/6 (41m)

THE FROG IN SHAPE

Like a few people around me, I was expecting fireworks from that match. I always admired Julian's attacking spirit, fitness and determination. And I thought he had the perfect game especially here in New York, in front of a packed supporters audience.

But was it too much expectation on his part, was he trying too hard to play at his best? Was it a bit of injury here and there which, even if it didn’t prevent him from moving, maybe prevented him from training enough before such an event? Was it the court, like he said, that surprised him? Or is it that Thierry's closed game prevented him from finding openings and playing his natural game?

Don’t know guys, who am I, a clairvoyant? What I know, is that the Frog looked good today, in control, calm and patient, fit and willing. He’ll be delighted with such a scoreline, although, as he said himself afterwards, “It ain’t getting easier after that…”

"I tried to play straight as much as I could, to try and not give him too many attacking balls. I was able to control the rallies thanks to a good accuracy at the back, which allowed me to move him and make him run. And I was able to keep that pressure throughout the match, forcing him to make a few errors…"

"The court is so fast, I never saw a court as fast as that! I don’t know, maybe it was warmer this year, but normally, I can see the ball fine, this time, I was never comfortable. Usually, you have to hit very hard to get the ball to the back, but Thierry didn’t hit hard at all, and his shots were going straight to the back…

"Yes, I had a few niggles, here and there, ankle, hamstring, but nothing more than the others, and I can’t blame that performance on injury…

"It’s the third time I played Thierry, I had a 3/1 once, he seems to get the control of the rallies pretty well. Only in the third, I tried to stepp up, I had noticed that his crosscourts were ending in the middle, so I tried to cut a bit the angles, but it wasn’t enough…"

"To play somebody like Shabana, you must be 120% on court, and after a match like the one I played yesterday, and especially at my age, you don’t recuperate that easily, even if you do everything to try and maximise your resting time.

"Today, I wanted to give the best of myself, first of all, as a mark of respect for Julien, but also, I really wanted to push Shabana a bit.

"In the first, I could see he was not moving that well, and I played too short too soon, and if you take him to the front without applying any pressure on him, giving time and space, he is the master there.

"You have to be in explosive mode every second of the match… Oh well, I did the best I could…"

[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [Q] Renan Lavigne (Fra)
                            11/8, 11/7, 11/5 (30m)

RENAN STILL STANDING

The Frenchman did well today against the Prince of Egypt, as the crowd saluted his determination and stamina by applauding the two players for a long time…

After a two hours match, Renan couldn’t expect miracles, but he did well, and Shabana was rather glad to get a shorter match that he normally gets against the Frenchman…

"I’m happy to get a 3/0 win, as we always have tough matches with Renan, and it’s only when I saw Renan putting some deep heat cream on before the match that I remembered that he had a two hour match against Julien the day before, and that he had to be stiff! And I think that that match has helped me a lot today.

"In the first game, he played well, but I could see that he was getting tired, and moving less and less well, and on that glass court, if you don’t move well, you get punished…"

[3] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt Cameron Pilley (Aus)  
                     9/11, 11/8, 11/7, 11/3 (52m

KICKING HIMSELF
FROM HERE TO THE HOTEL...

Bless the Australian, he was doing fine, really great actually during the first game, and up to 3/1 in the second, but when Ramy hit those usual three tins in a row, Cameron started to, I don’t know, think? Or maybe tell himself that he was about to win the match?

Whatever he told himself, result was he completely lost his focus, got over excited, forgot about the word “game plan”, and tin, and short, and all over the place really…

Ramy didn’t play his greatest match ever, but then again, he didn’t have to force his talent, as Cameron was kindly putting shots in the tin, or next to his racquet…

And once Ramy took again confidence in his shots, in his game, the match was over really, although those two offered us some great rallies, flashstyle…

"Physically, I didn’t feel too bad, anyway much better than the way I did in the Worlds. I’ve been working on a few things in Australia, on short speed off court, and I guess that helped today. I wasn’t sure how it would transfer on the court, as I didn’t play many matches for a while…

"But at 3/1 in the second, I became contented with the way I was playing, and that’s a cardinal sin… Because when you do, that’s what happens, the guy just runs away with it…"

"At the moment, I’m trying to calm myself down as much as I can, I’m doing my best to stay relaxed to get the best out of me.

"I realized that I was constantly asking myself too many questions, I was thinking too much.. Now, as much as that’s possible, I’m trying to live a normal life, although I’m aware it will never be a 100% normal life…

"For the past two months, I seem to have periods where I just don’t know what to do with my racquet, as if I was losing my technique, as if I didn’t know how to play squash. I go on court, and I just can’t play. So I come back the next day, and it’s the same thing again. It’s like I’m getting on court for the first time in my life…

"Physically, I’m feeling fine now, nothing is hurting, all is healed. But mentally…

"For this tournament, I made sure that I really wanted to be here, and I’m taking one match at a time, I don’t mind if I get to the second round, or the quarters, or the semis, I just want to play my squash…"

"I was very surprised by Olli’s quality of game today. Not surprised as such, as I saw him play great squash, in Qatar a few years back for example, but this match, this was like a return for him, I rarely saw him playing that quality of squash, his game had a kind of zest to it…

"I didn’t feel comfortable today, a bit like a fish out of water really, I guess it’s the first round syndrome! And I was getting edgy on there, I even had a go at the referee [euh, for the record, James having a go at the ref is him asking “sorry, there are a lot of lets, would you mind telling me if it’s me blocking or Olli not going round please?”… FG] and I shouldn’t have, it was just the way we were moving.

"But in fact, I was getting edgy because I couldn’t get my drop shots right, they were awful, and then, that would create a let situation…

"I’m so happy to get back in New York, the way I played the last two times I was here shows how much I enjoy being here. This event, the crowd from the first round, is an absolute example of what every PSA tournament should be…"

[5] James Willstrop (Eng) bt Olli Tuominen (Fin)  
                     9/11, 11/7, 11/7, 11/8 (56m)

GREAT OLLI

It was such a treat to see Olli back at his best. When I first met the Finn, he was the first round opponent everybody dreaded, the one that was like a dog with a bone, so fast, controlling a very upbeat pace and forcing the best of the boys to stay on their toes.

But recently, Olli seemed less keen, I saw him not throw away matches really, but refusing to fight until the last rally as he normally did. That’s why tonight, like James, I was surprised to see such passion, such fire and energy in the Finn’s game.

James is never at his best on a warm court, and this one was not hot, it was BOILING! And the Englishman had a lot of adjusting to do, getting frustrated at himself for not finding the nick every time…

Yes, there were a few lets, but come on! Olli was hitting as hard as he could, James was not exactly playing soft, the ball was flying all around… What did you expect, rolling nicks?

James will be happy to get out of that one in four, as if Olli had taken the fourth, James' frustration would have grown, and he could have been in real danger there. I know it’s poor consolation for Olli, but he has to be proud of his performance tonight.

"I was feeling good today, and I was up for it, that’s for sure!

"It’s just a pity I just couldn’t push him all the way, I just made a couple of tins at the end, and also in the second, at 8/6 for him, well, that could have made a difference maybe, I guess I got a bit careless, or I lost a bit of concentration.

"No, I haven’t changed anything recently, I’m just training well, that’s maybe why. And also, he is such a great guy to play… I’m just sad I didn’t do well enough to get past him ..."