27-Jul:
WHITE SETS TWIN TARGETS
FOR BRIGHTON ...
You can forgive top seed
John White if his mind is not
totally focussed on the build-up to next week’s Brighton and Hove Beach
Classic – for his wife is expecting twins any day now!
World No.5 White, the hardest hitter in the history of squash, might be
suffering from a few sleepless nights before he appears in the first round
against a qualifier next Wednesday (August 4th).
His American wife, Susie, is due to be induced this week as the couple
double their number of offspring in one go. They already have a son, Tyler
(6) and daughter Kyra, who will be four on Tuesday.
Amazingly, White reveals that he has managed to maintain his summer
training schedule despite this domestic upheaval. He said: “I have managed
to get a lot more done than last summer, actually. It’s all down to having
a good routine.
“I have been seeing Vaughan Williams, my fitness coach at Nottingham
University, three times a week for six weeks and slowly getting back on
court to play more matches. Before that I was just going on court once a
week to keep my eye in.
“When the children were both still at school it was easier to build my
training schedule around their school times, so I could pick them up at
3.30 every day and allow Susie to have some rest.
“I am feeling sharp at the moment and have been working on three key
areas, strength, endurance and speed, so I am now looking forward to some
tournament play.”
World No.5 White is seeded to meet rising star
James Willstrop in the Brighton
final and is full of admiration for the way the young Yorkshireman has
cemented his place in the upper echelons of the world game.
He said: “I rate James very highly. All the top guys know they have to get
their wins over him now because he keeps improving and is certainly
heading for the top.
“At the age of 20 he has a lot more experience than other junior players
emerging into the senior ranks. He has a great reach, great strength, and
is very strong mentally for someone so young. He has climbed to 13 in the
world so you that you can’t muck around at all with a player like him.
“In training he gives it 100 per cent and knows what has to be done. With
world No.2 Lee Beachill as a training partner and the knowledge that his
father (leading coach Malcolm Willstrop) gives him, he is emerging as the
leader of the pack behind the top guys.
“I am glad that he is in the other half of the draw because I am due to
meet him in the second round of the English Open in Sheffield the week
after.”
Looking elsewhere in the draw, White knows he faces a serious threat from
Malaysian star Ong Beng Hee, the
No.4 seed at Brighton who recently won the Asian Championship for a third
consecutive time.
White added: “Bengy was like James in some ways. He was world junior
champion and quickly got to the world top seven by the age of 21, but in
the last couple of years he has lost his way a little bit and has found it
hard to stay there.
“He actually went a long time without winning a first round match in major
PSA tournaments. There is no doubt that he has got the lot. He’s got the
talent, he’s got everything, but sometimes it’s just a mental thing. He’s
realised that, having got near the top, you have to be an extra two or
three steps ahead of everybody else to stay there, because everyone else
wants to beat you and he has struggled to cope with that.
“But I’m expecting him to come out firing at Brighton because he’s kept
busy in the summer playing the Asian championship and then had a nice
break at home with his family. That will have done him a lot of good
because I know from my own experience that with all the travelling we do
on the world tour that it’s always good to get home and recharge the
batteries.”
White’s training partner at Nottingham,
Simon Parke, is due to face fellow Yorkshireman Willstrop in the
Brighton quarter-finals and White added: “Simon seems to have got his
fitness back after the injury problems he had last year. We have played
each other twice in the last week or so and he took me out in five games
in the first one and then I did the same to him in an hour and ten minutes
last week, so he is obviously getting fitter and stronger.”
White is the game’s hardest hitter after being timed at an astonishing
172mph in the Canary Wharf Classic earlier this year, and, after the birth
of the twins, he is looking forward to delivering high speed entertainment
to the crowds at Brighton next week. |
John with Kyra and Tyler |
22-Jul:
SUSSEX GIRLS
BATTLE ON THE BEACH
Suzie Pierrepont is looking forward to her battle on the beach with
Sussex colleague Linda Elriani in the first round of the Brighton
and Hove Beach Classic on August 4.
Brighton-based Suzie will be flying in from the USA a few days before the
tournament after spending some time coaching and training in the USA.
At 19, Suzie knows she will be facing a tough time against the world No.7
from nearby Eastbourne but is looking forward to the experience.
Speaking from New Hampshire, where she is coaching at Dartmouth College,
Suzie said: “Drawing Linda in the first round is unfortunate, especially
as we train together, but at least I didn’t have to fly a few thousand
miles around the globe to do it!
“It’s also a great experience for me as it’s the first time I've drawn a
top ten player in a WISPA event.
“I have a huge amount of respect for Linda and everything she has
achieved. I came through as a junior watching Linda play, as have the
other Sussex girls who are coming through, and she has set the bar for all
of us.
“She made me realise just how hard you have to work to get to the level at
which she plays. When I first made the decision to play full time I asked
her what her thoughts were and she gave me great advice. I ask her advice
a lot and she always tells me exactly what she thinks!”
Suzie added: “I’m currently coaching at the Power Squash Academy at
Dartmouth College, in New Hampshire, on squash summer camps. There are a
few players here coaching as well, including Canadian Katie Patrick, who
is also playing in the tournament, so we’re getting lots of training in as
well.”
Linda Elriani might be a strange name for squash fans to get used to. The
former Miss Charman recently married the French international Laurent
Elriani at Alfriston Parish Church and this will be her first tournament
using her married name.
Speaking from Kuala Lumpur, where she is No.2 seed in the
Malaysian Open, Linda confirmed
that she was looking forward to meeting Suzie and was full of compliments
about her progress in the game. She said: “Suzie is one of the strongest
juniors to come through into the professional ranks for some time. She is
now gaining some valuable experience playing in WISPA ranking events.
“She volleys well and takes the ball short well, and uses her height to
her advantage. Once she has got some good training and tournaments under
her belt I think she can go a long way.
“It’s a shame that we’ve been drawn to play one another in the first round
in Brighton as we are both local and we sometimes train together at the
Corals Club in Brighton.
“I will obviously treat the match as I do with any other and concentrate
on sticking to my game plan.”
07-Jul:
WHITE HOT ON THE
BEACH
John White, the biggest hitter in the world
of squash, today promised to make it hot on the beach when he confirmed
his appearance in the Brighton and Hove Beach Classic, which kicks off the
European season in style next month.
The new tournament runs from August 1-7 and promises to provide some
spectacular squash in a stunning location. The portable glass court is
being housed in a marquee on the beach directly beneath the world-famous
five-star De Vere Grand Hotel, which is hosting the event along with
Brighton and Hove City Council.
Tournament Director Alan Thatcher said: "We are delighted to have a player
of John White's calibre in the draw. He was world number one earlier in
the year and although he has slipped down the rankings to five he is still
one of the biggest draws in the game.
"He plays the most attacking brand of squash at the top level and his
appearances always guarantee exciting and entertaining squash.
"I am sure Sussex squash fans will be delighted to see White in action.
During the recent Canary Wharf Classic he was timed at 172mph. That's
22mph faster than Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick's fastest serve."
White, 30, is a real sporting globetrotter. Born in Australia, he now
represents Scotland and lives in Nottingham. He is facing a busy summer
schedule, with the defence of his English Open title in Sheffield coming
two weeks after the Brighton tournament. His American wife, Susie, is also
expecting twins. The couple already have two children.
The De Vere Grand Hotel is providing a family suite for the Whites during
their stay in Brighton. The prize money may not match Wimbledon, but at
last squash players are receiving five-star treatment in some quarters.
20-Jun:
Squash Gets Down
On The Beach ...
A new tournament on the international squash
calendar, the Brighton and Hove Beach Classic, will be launched in the UK
this summer.
The spectacular event will take place on the Sussex town's seafront below
the world-famous De Vere Grand Hotel from 03-07 August.
The $23,000 PSA Tour event for men, and $15,000 WISPA World Tour
tournament for women, will be contested on the all-glass court housed in a
marquee on the beach.
The Brighton and Hove Beach Classic will be hosted by the De Vere Grand
Hotel and Brighton and Hove City Council, with Butlins the Associate
Sponsors and PowerPlay Sports the event retailers.
"We are delighted to be bringing world-class squash to Brighton and Hove,
especially as Mark and I are both from Sussex," said promoters Alan
Thatcher and Mark Bellinger. "The beach will be a fantastic venue and is
sure to create a tremendous atmosphere throughout the tournament.
"We have received enormous support from Brighton and Hove City Council and
look forward to working in partnership with them to build this tournament
into one
of the major events on the world calendar in years to come," Thatcher
added.
"Having a household name like Butlins as one of our Associate Sponsors is
extremely pleasing and again we look forward to developing a relationship
with them that will last for many years."
Gawain Briars, Chief Executive of the PSA, added: "We are delighted
to welcome another top class squash event in England. The innovative style
which the promoters are bringing to the event will be a positive move for
squash in the UK."
WISPA Executive Director Andrew Shelley echoed Briars' upbeat
sentiments: "Any event that brings squash to the wider public has to be
great news." |
Linda Elriani
John White
|
