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Reports
Dunlop British Open To Climax
In First All-French Final
For the first time in the event's 77-year history, the British
Open Squash Championships will climax in an all-French men's
final, after Gregory Gaultier and Thierry Lincou
both upset higher-ranked opponents in the semi-finals of the
Dunlop-sponsored event at the National Squash Centre at
Sportcity in Manchester.
Malaysia's defending champion Nicol David will contest the
women's final for the third successive year - and will face
Australia's Rachael Grinham in a repeat of the 2006 climax.
Gregory Gaultier, the third seed from
Aix-en-Provence, celebrated his maiden appearance in a British
Open final after defeating Egypt's world number one Amr Shabana,
the top seed, 11-9, 5-11, 11-5, 11-9 in 61 minutes.
"It's always
been a kind of a dream of mine, getting to the final of the
British - well, winning the British Open I mean," the delighted
Frenchman said. "I'm very happy with my game, I'm happy to be
back after a bad injury - and tomorrow, I'm not going to give
100%, not 500%, but 1,000%," added the 24-year world number four.
"Amr and I have a lot of respect for each other, he is really a
great guy, he is such a fair player. I have learnt so much from
him over the years, he is such an example for me and for the
sport."
The later men's semi-final produced the dream outcome for French
squash when fourth seed Thierry Lincou repeated his victory over
Australian David Palmer at the same stage of the event last
year - beating the reigning world champion 5-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-7,
also in 61 minutes.
World number three Palmer was clearly struggling with his movement
and took a three-minute injury break midway through the third
game.
"At 8-7 in the second, I pulled a muscle, and the match was over,"
explained 31-year-old Palmer, a three-time winner of the title.
"There was nothing I could do on my right leg, my dominating leg.
We put a cold spray on it, but it didn't make any difference."
Lincou, who is celebrating his second successive appearance in the
final, sympathised with his opponent: "I'm happy to win of
course, but I'm unhappy for David, I've just come out of a long
injury, I know what it is and what you feel. We are both 31, and
I know that the road doesn't stop there, for either of us -
there's still plenty of time left.
"I find I'm playing better as the tournament is unfolding, because
I'm getting more and more relaxed as the match goes on," added the
former world number one from Marseille.
"When I heard the result on Greg's match, I sent him a text to
tell him how happy I was, how this victory confirmed his
ascendancy over Shabana, and how delighted I was that he was in
the final. As for tomorrow, we'll see. The moment is magic, and
one must appreciate it as such.
"With two Frenchmen in the final of the British,
France is already a winner!"
Home interest in the 2007 British Open evaporated when
England number one Tania Bailey went down 9-1, 10-8, 9-3 in
41 minutes to Nicol David - the dominant Malaysian who is now in
her 17th WISPA World Tour final in a row since
November 2005!
"A three-nil scoreline doesn't show what a good game we played,"
agreed David, who this month celebrated her 17th month
at the top of the world rankings - thus becoming the fourth
longest standing women's world number one of all-time!
"From our last few matches she got the hang of what to do, and I
had to work hard in every rally. It was a tough match, and I'm
glad I pulled through.
"It was a great experience winning my first British Open title in
Manchester two years ago on this court. I hope I can do it again
tomorrow and I hope everyone that's been giving me such great
support comes back too!"
The other women's semi-final produced the 16th
international meeting between Australian sisters Rachael
Grinham and Natalie Grinham - and the second successive
win for older sibling Rachael after three losses already this
year.
But Natalie, the record three-time Commonwealth Games gold
medallist who is based in the
Netherlands, was clearly still suffering with the Achilles injury
which has minimised her preparation for the event.
"It was crucial to win the second, from 8/5 up," said third seed
Rachael after her 9-3, 10-9, 10-8 upset over her second-seeded
sister. "I knew it would be a boost for me, and for her it would
have meant she had to come back and win three games. I know she's
still not fully fit, just like when we played in
Holland.
"It would be awesome to get a third title, it's one of the most
important in the game and having two is already a great
achievement for me. I haven't had a good couple of years, haven't
won many tournaments lately, so it would be great to do it now,"
added Rachael, the British Open champion in 2003 and 2004.
Champion Dethroned
As Bailey Leads
Lone Home British Open Challenge
England's defending champion Nick Matthew crashed out of
the Dunlop British Open Squash Championships - Manchester 2007,
leaving Tania Bailey to lead a sole English
challenge into the semi-finals of the world-renowned event at the
National
Squash Centre
at Sportcity in
Manchester.
It was a quarter-final day of high drama on the all-glass court
which staged the Commonwealth Games action five years ago.
All the top four seeds in both events survived - but only after
lengthy battles, the last of which took 100 minutes and finished
well after midnight!
Matthew, the sixth seed from Sheffield, faced top seed Amr
Shabana - the Egyptian who has topped the world rankings for
18 months since April last year. The 27-year-old Yorkshireman,
who last year became the first Englishman for 67 years to win the
sport's longest-established trophy, took the opening game - but
Shabana fought back to take the match 6-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-7 in 69
minutes.
"From when I
won my British Open title, I'm definitely a better player,"
Matthew said afterwards. "The third game was crucial - but at
nine-all I put a lob out of court, and I can't say that I missed
my chance, that I lost the match there, but it was such an
opportunity, and after that, coming back from 2/1 was a different
story.
"I just need to get better at what I'm good at, and add new
dimensions to my game, to be able to challenge consistently for
the titles."
Shabana, now in his second British Open semi-final, was full of
praise for his opponent: "Nick is an incredible player - I just
beat him only 3/2 here in the Super Series Finals, so I knew that
it was going to be so close. He has improved a lot, there is much
more variation in his game, and having won the British Open gave
him a lot of confidence.
"It's so different to have the crowd by you, and the English
players, you can feel, they really love and are ready to play when
they have the crowd by their side."
The 28-year-old from
Cairo will now face Gregory Gaultier, the third-seeded
Frenchman who beat England's surprise quarter-finalist Peter
Barker, the No12 seed, 11-7, 11-8, 11-3 in 48 minutes.
There is also French interest in the other men's semi-final where
fourth seed Thierry Lincou takes on
Australia's three-time champion David Palmer, the No2 seed.
Lincou, runner-up last year, took out another surprise
quarter-finalist -
Malaysia's 16th seed Ong Beng Hee who upset
eighth-seeded Australian Stewart Boswell in the previous
round. The Frenchman won 11-8, 11-2, 11-10 (2-0) in 61 minutes.
But the clash which kept the audience in their seats till after
midnight was the longest of the tournament - in which Palmer
avenged his loss to James Willstrop in the Prince
English Grand Prix final earlier this month to beat the
England number one 11-10 (2-0), 6-11, 11-10 (2-0), 6-11, 11-5 in
100 minutes.
"I gave it everything I had - when I play a match like that, I
can't complain. I thought it was a very good game of squash,"
explained a dejected Willstrop afterwards. "Of course I'm
extremely disappointed; I wanted to win that tournament
desperately.
"To his credit, he played a top fifth game, and made it hard for
me. I just couldn't keep it up with it really. He had a great
3-0 kick-start, and that's not a big help to find yourself down
after all the work I had done for the whole of the match," added
the 24-year-old Yorkshireman.
The victorious Palmer explained his determination to win: "I
said recently that there was one more British Open Championship in
me, and I hope this is the one: that's why I tried so hard
tonight."
In the women's event, fourth seed Tania Bailey faced
England team-mate Vicky Botwright - the sixth seed from
Manchester who views the NSC as her 'home club'. Bailey came back
from a game down to win 6-9, 10-8, 9-4, 2-9, 9-0 in 69 minutes.
"We were both hitting the ball well and it was really hot on
there, we were both picking stuff up really well," said Bailey.
"It was nip and tuck all the way in the first three, then Vicky
played really well in the fourth – I don't think I did anything
wrong, she just played better than me.
"I never really felt in control, but I really wanted to win -
winning this title would be the best thing I can do, so I came out
in the fifth determined to play my game and fortunately it all
went well for me," added the 27-year-old from Stamford in
Lincolnshire who was runner-up in 2002.
Bailey will face top seed Nicol David - but the world
number one from
Malaysia who is bidding for a third successive title was taken the
full distance by Natalie Grainger, the fifth seed from
Washington DC who is making the first appearance in the city of
her birth since becoming a US citizen earlier this year.
David took the first two games, but Grainger struck back to draw
level before the favourite upped her game to win 9-3, 9-3, 7-9,
2-9, 9-0 in 53 minutes.
"I felt good in the first two games and went for it right from the
start, but then she started going for her shots and hit some
really good winners," said the 24-year-old from Penang.
"This event on its own is the highlight of the year, along with
the worlds; you just have to give it your all however you feel and
whatever's happening."
Grainger made no secret of her disappointment at losing -
especially to 9-0 in the fifth game: "But I'm glad I finally
managed to impose myself on her. In the fourth I could feel it,
the aura had gone!"
The other women's semi-final will provide the latest chapter in
the sibling rivalry between Australian sisters Natalie Grinham,
the No2 seed, and Rachael Grinham, the third seed.
Natalie, the younger, and runner-up in 2005, defeated Ireland's
No7 seed Madeline Perry 9-3, 9-6, 9-7 in 54 minutes, while
Rachael, runner-up last year, outlasted Dutch number one
Vanessa Atkinson, the eighth seed, 7-9, 9-7, 9-6, 9-0
in 75 minutes.
At 8-3 to Grinham in the third game, an accidental clash resulted
in Atkinson taking more than an hour-long break to treat a cut to
her racket hand.
"I was just panicking in the break," admitted Grinham senior
afterwards. "Vanessa is playing very well at the moment; your
best chance is to wear her down, which I'd started to do in the
third. The last thing you want is a break where she can come back
out fresh again.
"I totally expected her to come out attacking when we started
again; she had nothing to lose and knew it would be mentally
devastating for me if I'd lost that game from 8-3 up."
Barker Battles Into
British Open Quarters
Essex's Peter Barker ensured that there will be English
interest in all but one of the quarter-finals in the Dunlop
British Open Squash Championships - Manchester 2007 after
pulling off an impressive upset over No7 seed Wael El Hindi
in the second round of the world-renowned event at the National
Squash Centre at Sportcity in
Manchester.
The 23-year-old left-hander dropped the first two games against El
Hindi. But 12th seed Barker, who had never before
beaten the Egyptian, fought back to take the match 9-11, 3-11,
11-9, 11-8, 11-4 in 72 minutes to earn a place in the event's last
eight for the first time.
"I took my time to get into each game, but I was particularly
disappointed with the second," Barker commented. "You can't give
him anything on his forehand, he just flattens it, so I started to
play everything on my forehand, his backhand, and it worked.
"It was a tough match - but I'm absolutely delighted."
Barker will now face Gregory Gaultier, the third seed from
France who was taken to four games by Barker's
England team-mate Adrian Grant before winning 11-5, 11-9,
4-11, 11-8 in 69 minutes.
Defending champion Nick Matthew comfortably made it through
to his third successive quarter-final with an 11-9, 11-5, 11-4
defeat of Malaysia's 14th seed Mohd Azlan Iskandar.
"I was really wary of Azlan, he's one of the fittest players on
the tour and he's had a few good scalps – including me – recently,
so I'm very happy to get off three-nil," said the 27-year-old from
Sheffield who last year became the first Englishman for 67 years
to win the sport's longest-established trophy,
"He also beat me 3/0 the next tournament after I won the British
last year, so I was never going to take anything for granted!"
Matthew now faces his toughest test - against top seed Amr
Shabana, the world number one from
Egypt. The stylish left-hander defeated England's former world
number one Lee Beachill 11-5, 2-11, 11-10 (4-2), 11-3.
Fifth seed James Willstrop became the last Englishman to
win a place in the quarter-finals after beating
Egypt's Karim Darwish 11-5, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9.
An all-English quarter-final clash will guarantee domestic
interest in the last four in the women's event.
England number one Tania Bailey needed four games to quash
Dutch opponent Annelize Naude 9-4, 3-9, 9-1, 9-2 - and will
now face England team-mate Vicky Botwright.
Botwright, the sixth seed from
Manchester playing in front of a home crowd, despatched another
England team-mate Jenny Duncalf 9-4, 9-5, 9-5.
Top seed Nicol David, the defending champion from
Malaysia bidding to win her third successive crown, took 42
minutes to overcome England's unseeded Laura Lengthorn-Massaro
9-5, 9-6, 9-4. The in-form world number one will now take on
USA's Manchester-born Natalie Grainger, the fifth seed.
Grainger, runner-up in 2004, is making the first appearance in the
city of her birth since becoming a
US citizen in February, then winning the Pan American Games
gold medal for her new country in July. Grainger dismissed New
Zealand qualifier Jaclyn Hawkes 9-5, 9-1, 9-1 in 28
minutes.
"I've been to the final before, it would be great to go one better
and stand on that podium," said the former world number one from
Washington DC.
Champion Matthew Eases Into
British Open Second
Round
England's Nick Matthew
successfully began the defence of his men's title in the Dunlop
British Open Squash Championships - Manchester 2007 with a
straight games win over compatriot Daryl Selby in the first
round of the world-famous event at the National Squash Centre
at Sportcity in
Manchester.
The 27-year-old from Sheffield, who last year became the first
Englishman for 67 years to win the sport's longest-established
trophy, took 50 minutes on the NSC all-glass court to quash his
Essex opponent 11-5, 11-7, 11-8.
"It's nice
to get the first one under my belt. Whatever form you're in
coming into the tournament, you feel like you're into it after
that," the sixth-seeded title holder said.
"If I can put it all together, I definitely have a chance to
retain the title. I'm fitter and stronger than I was last year,
but then so is everyone else."
Matthew will now face Malaysia's 14th seed Mohd
Azlan Iskandar who battled for 80 minutes to overcome
top-ranked Spaniard Borja Golan 11-10 (2-0), 11-4, 3-11,
11-7.
A dramatic upset looked on the cards when
England's unseeded Joey Barrington took a two-games-to-one
lead over No11 seed Mohammed Abbas. The Egyptian fought
back to level the match against the son of illustrious six times
British Open champion Jonah Barrington - then played a
series of stunning shots in a fightback in the decider to win
11-4, 6-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-8 in 70 minutes.
Favourite Amr Shabana, the Egyptian world number one who
has yet to win a British Open crown, despatched Italian qualifier
Davide Bianchetti 11-7, 11-7, 11-8, and will now face
England's former world number one Lee Beachill - the tenth
seed who beat compatriot Stacey Ross, a qualifier from
Surrey, 11-6, 11-4, 11-4.
Australia's three-time champion David Palmer made a
convincing start to his 11th British Open campaign with
an 11-2, 11-8, 11-4 win over French qualifier Julien Balbo.
The Belgium-based second seed will now take on
Finland's Olli Tuominen for a place in the quarter-finals.
Lauren Briggs
added further English interest in the other main event after
beating the Irish number two Aisling Blake 9-5, 10-8, 9-1
in the qualifying finals of the women's championship. The
28-year-old from
Essex was | 
The
earlier women's final proved to be one of the most dramatic of
all-time - in which 
