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21-Jan: ROUND TWO
Round two at the University Club in Chicago (which is
apparently in the middle of heavy snowfalls), and the
top eight seeds are all through to the quarter-finals
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[1] Thierry Lincou
(Fra) bt [14] Azlan Iskandar (Mas)
10/11(3-5), 11/7, 11/6, 11/9 (59m)
[6] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt
Adrian Grant (Eng)
11/6, 11/4, 11/6 (39m)
[3] Anthony Ricketts (Aus) bt [12] Graham Ryding
(Can)
8/11, 11/6, 11/1, 11/7 (45m)
[5] Jonathon Power (Can) bt [10] Gregory Gaultier
(Fra)
11/9, 11/5, 11/7 (44m)
[7] John White (Sco) bt Mohammed Abbas (Egy)
11/6, 9/11, 11/10(6-4), 7/11, 11/3 (64m)
[4] David Palmer (Aus) bt [15] Alex Gough (Wal)
11/4, 11/10(2-0), 11/5 (37m)
[8] Nick Matthew
(Eng) bt [13] Olli Tuominen (Fin)
11/5, 11/8, 11/7 (41m)
[2] James Willstrop (Eng) bt [11] Karim Darwish (Egy)
11/7, 11/5, 11/7 (44m)
Kim Tunney
reports
from Chicago
Photos by David Barry ...
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DRAW &
RESULTS
EN FRANÇAIS
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Another slow
start for Thierry
Winning the first game in a tie-breaker 15-13, Malaysian
rising star Mohd Azlan Iskandar looked like he
might stage the first upset of the day. He played error
free squash at a quick pace against top seed
Thierry Lincou. Iskandar kept the ball deep and lets
were minimal.
The question was could he keep it up? In the second game
Lincou, renowned for his slow starts, found his legs,
taking control of the pace and middle. Iskandar changed
strategy from the first and slowed his pace, to no avail.
In the third, Iskandar found himself in the back of every
rally with Lincou in control. Down 1-5, Iskandar looked
like he was starting to cave in. Lincou, famed for his
marvellous movement, was back taking it 11-6.
Lincou continued his surge in the fourth but Iskandar kept
with the pace and levelled at 9-9. At this point Azlan
served out on a lob serve from the forehand side (take
heart club players!) and the top seed went on to complete
the win.
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 "Now,
who serves out at 9 all in the fourth?
"That did my head in."
Azlan Iskandar |
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"It was a tough second
round match. He is a dangerous player. My legs are much
better now that I’ve played a couple of matches."
Thierry Lincou |
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Matthew shuts out Olli
Finland’s Olli Tuominen stayed in contention
against Nick Matthew in today’s first match but was
never able to put enough together to come out ahead,
losing in three.
Olli didn’t appear to be completely into game one, making
mistakes while Mathew showed good length, more fluid
movement and controlled the tempo. Matthew forced Tuominen
to do most of the retrieving in game two, only giving up 8
points.
In game three with Matthew ahead 6-4, Olli hit a ball
squarely into the middle two feet behind the “T”.
Ollie questioned the stroke awarded to Matthew stating his
back was up against the court door so. Mathew opened the
court door and said, “You could have gone out there to hit
it,” bringing laughter to the crowd who had braved the
snow to attend.
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 "Nick
was better today. I’ve only played him twice on the PSA
and I have beaten him only when I was a junior player.
"We had a few really long rallies so I was pleased with
that."
Olli Tuominen |
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"I couldn’t really relax on court against him. And I was
never more than two or three points ahead throughout.
"Olli’s got a great all around game ..."
Nick Matthew |
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[6]
Amr Shabana (Egy) bt
Adrian Grant (Eng)
11/6, 11/4, 11/6 (39m)
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Shabana in
Control
 England’s
Adrian Grant put in a solid show against Amr
Shabana who played an unusually conservative,
disciplined match.
Shabana kept his game plan simple, straight and deep down
the sidewalls forcing Grant to play retriever.
Shabana now faces Lincou in a much anticipated
quarterfinal match tomorrow.
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 "Adrian
wasn’t easy to play. He’s a left-hander so you can’t see
the ball coming off his strings.
"He’s a talented player so I tried to go through him by
keeping the ball deep."
Amr Shabana |
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[4]
David Palmer
(Aus) bt
[15] Alex Gough (Wal)
11/4, 11/10(2-0), 11/5 (37m)
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Palmer Cleans Up
Welshman Alex Gough started slowly in the first,
allowing David Palmer to run the score to 7-1
before realizing he was here in Chicago to play squash.
 “Yesterday’s
match against Parke took it out of me mentally,” he
confessed.
He took the second to a tiebreaker with four dead-nicks
but lost 10-12 saying later that, “I felt like I was
playing and not competing.”
Meanwhile Palmer, with at least five outright winners in
the match, moved smoothly throughout and never was twisted
or halted at the “T” by Gough.
Gough now heads back to London for a PSA board meeting
while the Aussie advances to the quarter-finals.
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 "I
didn’t feel like my head was in the game. I was there
physically. But mentally, yesterday’s match took it out
of me.
"David’s got such great shot selection that if you give
him 5%, he crunches the ball on you. He’s a great
clinical player."
Alex Gough |
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 "It
may have looked easy, but Alex is full of speed and hits
it hard.
"My fitness feels good now."
David Palmer |
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What's in an
Inch ...
The height difference between Palmer and Gough may be 8
inches, but Gough, who up until three months ago thought
he was 5’8”, somehow lost an inch and now stands 5’ 7” (1
metre 70) to Palmer’s 6’ 3”.
“Not sure how that happened, but I’m definitely 1 metre 70 now,”
said Gough, who is one of the few over 35 pros to be in
the top 20.
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[3]
Anthony Ricketts (Aus) bt
[12] Graham Ryding
(Can)
8/11, 11/6, 11/1, 11/7 (45m) |
Ricketts Races past Ryding
A very focused Graham Ryding quickly ran the score up
to 6-1 in the first game before a lethargic Anthony
Ricketts seemed to take note. Surprisingly, Ryding took
it all the way.
Ricketts came on court in the second with a new game plan.
He heated the ball up by picking up the pace and started
playing angles. The third seed moved the tempo from half
notes to eighth notes to win the second. Initially Ryding
matched him note for note but found no counter measure
against Ric.
Between games two and three Ricketts took only half of his
interval time and jumped back on court to do figure eights.
Geoff Hunt would have been proud. He was stoked, not wanting
to lose the adrenaline built up from game two.
Ricketts' dared Ryding to keep up and, although the Canadian
tried, he was deflated and lost the third 11-1.
In the final game Ricketts, now fully focused and firing on
all cylinders, ended Ryding’s run.
The favoured players are starting to raise the performance
level leaving those who can’t keep up behind.
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 "I
tried to slow play down in the third and fourth by
hitting the ball up high on the front wall and varying
my shot selection, but I never got him."
Graham Ryding |
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 "I
felt pretty much on the money, though I really fought
for the second game.
"The ball comes straight out off the front wall flat
here, which suits my game."
Anthony Ricketts |
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[7]
John White (Sco)
bt Mohammed Abbas (Egy)
11/6, 9/11, 11/10(6-4), 7/11, 11/3 (64m)
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White shoots down Abbas
Since around 2003 the Egyptians have branded a version of
squash 180 degrees opposed to attritional squash. The
object of the game is to dead nick everything, every time,
all the time. Shoot to kill squash.
That suited John White, the Australian playing for
Scotland living in the states, just fine. He likes to
shoot too.
 In
the first five game match of the evening, White and
Egyptian Mohammed Abbas see-sawed back and forth
testing each other point to point and game to game, with
White logging wins in the first, third and fifth games.
The downside to a shooting strategy is that it takes a lot
out of you. “We used up our energy in the third really,”
explained White. And flaming-out and tins are commonplace.
The match was filled with angles and crosscourt volley
drops. And occasionally, like in the fourth game, both
players remembered there was a shot called the straight
drive rummaging around in their arsenal. But not
frequently.
White remained patient as Abbas tested him looking always
for the indication of fatigue.
“Once I saw him tire at 5-3 in the fifth,” White
commented, “I knew I had him.” Two fighters looking for
the opportunity to smell blood and go in for the kill.
Coaches who annotate winners and errors will need to set
up an additional column called “dead nick winners” for
this brand of play. Appropriately, White won the match on
a forehand back wall dead nick ace as the defending
champion moved forward to a meeting with David Palmer.
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"I’m tired. I tried to hold and get the ball back. I
felt if I could have won the third at 13-14 I would have
won. I played John in Hunagry and won 3-1 but he wasn’t
in his best shape. He likes to shoot, too."
Mohammed Abbas |
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 "This
is a mental win. It’s a matter of being patient and
watching for your opponent to be tired.
"I like to shoot and so does he. So in the end it comes
down to experience."
John White |
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[2]
James Willstrop (Eng)
bt
[11] Karim Darwish (Egy)
11/7, 11/5, 11/7 (44m)
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Willstrop takes advantage
Despite the fever Egyptian Karim Darwish had for the
past three days, he managed to take an early 6-2 lead in the
first game before eventually losing in three to James
Willstrop.
Second seed Willstrop controlled the match at a moderate
pace, looking to attack where he could after establishing
good length.
“I like to play an attacking game,” said the World # 6, who
now faces compatriot Nick Mathew in the Sunday’s
quarterfinals. “I’ve beaten him the last two times we’ve met
and I’m feeling fit and ready.”
The 24 year old Darwish now heads home to Cairo for a two
week rest and then is scheduled to play in the Canary Wharf
Classic.
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"I had no energy. The fever
affected my whole body.
"I was up 6-2 in the first and squandered the lead. I
wasn’t sharp or focused enough."
Karim Darwish |
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"I felt confident tonight.
He’s a tough player and likes to attack. It’s just going
to get tougher from this point on."
James Willstrop |
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[5]
Jonathon Power (Can)
bt
[10] Gregory Gaultier
(Fra) 11/9, 11/5, 11/7 (44m) |
Power maintains his
hold
over Gaultier
Everyone new that the last match of the evening
between Jonathon Power and Gregory Gaultier
would be cantankerous. Both players found themselves on
the floor several times and at one point Power found
himself wedged-up against the forehand sidewall with
nowhere to go.
Gaultier challenged Power in the first but lagged
throughout, losing 11-8 although several let calls went in
his favour. At 10-8 both players seemed confused by a “no
let” call, but the referees did a good job of curtailing
complaints and discussion.
In the second and third Power looked in control with a
well-received display of shot making and great gets. But
at 7-2 in the third, Gaultier packed it in and let the
game go.
After re emerging as January’s world #1 Power felt, "a
sense of relief more than anything. I put some work in
last year and realized the opportunity."
But by Tuesday’s final, that relief may quickly evaporate.
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"It was a physical battle for two and a half games. I
was happy to get off court with the win."
Jonathon Power |
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