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TODAY
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Saturday 14th, Semi-Finals:
[Q] Simon Parke (Eng) bt [1] Peter Nicol
(Eng)
10/15, 15/9, 15/6, 15/3 (69m)
[2] Lee Beachill (Eng) bt [6] James Willstrop (Eng)
15/11, 12/15, 15/3, 15/10 (71m)
Parke Powers Past Nicol
Steve Cubbins on the semi-finals
Simon Parke stunned the Crucible crowd with a devastating
performance against world number one Peter Nicol to reach the final
of the Mamut English Open.
 It
all looked different at the start, as Nicol eased into a 9-2 lead into the
first with Parke struggling to stay with the event favourite. But the
gritty Yorkshireman staged a recovery late in the game, to lose it 15/10,
which was a sign of things to come.
"I played the game at Peter's pace in the first game," said Parke
afterwards, "but after that I stepped the pace up and it paid dividends."
It certainly did, as Parke took total control from early in the second.
Nicol was denied any balls to attack as Parke ran down everything he had
to offer and returned it with interest.
"He was playing at a really fast pace, and attacking, but attacking with
deep balls," said Nicol afterwards. "I couldn't get hold of anything,
couldn't find any opportunity to attack myself."
While Parke looked fit and full of running - "he's just getting faster and
faster" said Lee Beachill from behind the court - Nicol was looking
listless, letting balls go that he would normally chase down and return
with interest.
It was effectively over as a contest when Parke took a 9-1 lead in the
second, as the crowd watched the qualifier run rings, almost literally,
round the world number one.
"I've put some good training in recently," said Nicol, "but I needed a
long rest and I'm not where I need to be yet."
Parke enjoyed the benefits of his hard summer's training, and the
inspiration of Andre Agassi. "That's the best I've played in a long time,"
he said. "I feel I can cope with long, hard games at the moment. Just one
to go!"
Beachill wins Pontefract derby
Lee Beachill and James Willstrop have played many times over
the years, but rarely in competitions. Beachill, the 'senior' partner,
maintained his record against 'young' James, maintaining control for most
of the match.
 Beachill
eased away from 8-all in the first. "There were a few brutal rallies
there, which I was lucky to come out on top of," he said.
Willstrop started strongly in the second, reaching 11-4, but Beachill just
kept plugging away, forcing Willstrop into the corners and forcing errors.
Beachill recovered to 12-all before Willstrop scored the next three points
to level the match.
But fatigue was beginning to tell on James, after last night's brutal
match with White. "We train to play hard matches back to back," said
Willstrop," and I felt strong enough to start with, but maybe it began to
take effect towards the end."
Beachill remained virtually error-free, took the third with ease and held
a healthy lead in the fourth before fighting off James's last stand.
"I've got better in each round this week," declared Lee. "I'm fairly
happy with my game at the moment, and if I'm playing well I'm hard to
beat."
So Beachill moves on to an all-Yorkshire final against a rejuvenated Simon
Parke.
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A few
TICKETS still
available for the Final
0114 249 6000 |
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ALL-YORKSHIRE
SEMIS IN SHEFFIELD
Steve Cubbins sreport
The semi-finals of the Mamut English Open will be all-Yorkshire affairs,
with Peter Nicol (registered to Yorkshire) taking on a rejuvenated
Simon Parke, and Pontefract clubmates Lee Beachill and
James Willstrop meeting in a rare competitive encounter. Here's how
they got there ...
Ricketts is back, alright ...
When Peter Nicol raced away with the first game a repeat of last
year's magnificent match between these two looked unlikely. But
determination was always one of Anthony Ricketts' strong points,
and in six months out he proved that he hasn't lost that quality.
The strong Australian powered back into the match, forcing Nicol into
retrieving mode for long spells as he levelled, and came mighty close to
taking the lead at the end of a tense third game. From 12-all it was Nicol
that held his nerve to regain the lead.
 The
fourth was another almighty tussle, but from 6-all Nicol took a run of
points, and from 11-6 there was no way back for Ricketts, however hard he
tried - and he tried hard.
Nicol was breathless during the post-match interview. "No matter how hard
you train, however much time you put into practice, it's never as tiring
as hard matches like that. And that was hard, believe me," said a relieved
world number one.
Willstrop dethrones White
A magnificent match that ended in a prolonged standing ovation from the
Crucible crowd, and with the defending champion literally on his knees.
 John
White started like a train, finding the winners that were eluding him
last night, as he took the first game 15/7.
James Willstrop was in no mood to give White an easy ride though,
as he upped his own pace in the second. White was still on top though, as
he reached 14-10. Willstrop recovered to 14-all, but White called one and
took a 2-0 lead on a stroke. Willstrop was distraught.
In the third White again started well, leading 6-2 before Willstrop found
his range to take it 15/10.
From then on the two traded blows like the heavyweights they are, with
rally after rally featuring miraculous shots, miraculous retrieving and
miraculous effort, especially from White, who towards the end was ending
most rallies, during many of which he was hurling himself full-length to
reach the ball, doubled up or on his knees.
How he kept going was a wonder, but he did, expending every last drop of
energy he had. But it was not enough, and even though White knew it was
over half-way through the fifth he kept going until James had won it.
The crowd rose as one at the end, as Willstrop completed a recovery that
dethroned the champion.
"John's such a good player when he gets ahead," said Willstrop after the
match. "He just gets more and more confident, so I knew I had to get on
top early. I got a good start in the first two games, but going 2-0 down,
that's hard work."
The world junior champion was already looking forward to the semi-finals.
"I normally play quite well after I've played John, so I hope I can do
that tomorrow!"
Parke pulls it off again
Simon Parke looked much more impressive than Nick Matthew in their
respective first round matches, but surely even a rejuvenated world no 35
would not beat a fast-improving world number eight.
But the pattern continued. Parke won a closely contested first game, and
from then on never looked back. It wasn't that Matthew played poorly - he
did little wrong, but Parke was full of running, full of retrieving, and
kept Matthew under pressure the whole time.
Simon has been training harder this summer than for many years, and it
looks like it's paying dividends.
"I went back to 'old school' training this summer, to see if my body could
take it," Parke, who say he is inspired by the late-career form of Andre
Agassi, explained afterwards.
"But I've exceeded my expectations, and I've been delighted with my play.
I've proven to myself that if I'm as fit as these guys my experience can
see me through."
Beachill completes the set
Lee Beachill cruised into the semi-finals in
the last match of the evening, dominating Adrian Grant to set up a
semi-final with his Pontefract clubmate James Willstrop.
The match was always going to struggle to live up with the previous
beauty, and Grant never threatened to live with Beachill.
So Beachill will meet his training partner James Willstrop. When the met
in the Nationals in February Beachill won comfortably, and although Lee
will be pleased that he has enjoyed the easier run to the semi-finals, he
knows that James will be on a high, and looking for an other scalp ...
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