PREVIEW

 
FULL DRAWS
and results


John White & Rebecca Macree
GP Finals Champions 2004

Mark Cairns & Marcus Berrett

Photos from Alan Horton

FULL DRAWS
and results

  White in friendly form 


 

Please Note:
due to limited facilities in Oxfordshire, this event will not receive the usual full coverage.
 

WEDDING-MANIA …
What is it? Wedding fever or what? Linda Charman and Laurent Elriani, Mark Cairns, Cassie Jackman very recently, and now Rodney Durbach, and the last one? Stacey Ross! And he is also going to be a dad as well.

Do I dare?

ALL THE BEST ARE NOW GONE!

Blimey!

You may wonder why I’m speaking about weddings…. Well, because, it was a bit relevant in the quarter finals of the BSPA Grand Prix Finals. Rodney Durbach (ranked 28) was playing Scott Handley (ranked 80, but was 41 in 2000), stepping into the squash shoes of Adrian Grant (funny expression really, as Adrian just signed a new footwear sponsorship deal with Asics!).

31 minutes and three sets were enough for the Englishman to push aside the gorgeous South African. Rodney was not really with us, poor man. “I’m just back from my honeymoon”, he confessed with a contented smile. “Could you tell?”. Oh, yes, dear, we could.

“He was off the pace”, said Scott, quite rightly, “and I was up to it. On a good day, there is not much difference between us anyway. I tried to keep the pace up, and I volleyed as much as I could.”

It worked fine, didn’t it. 11/5, 11/5. Scott didn’t give much away. In the 3rd, Rodney really stuck to it, and we stayed for a while (a few lets) at 4/7, Rodney serving. I think that if he had won that point, the match could have turned. But Scott retrieved some beautiful attacks from his opponent, both now playing at their best. It was from far the nicest rally of the match. 4/8 and 2 games down was just too much for the newly-wed, and he didn’t score another point.

I don’t he’ll mind that much….

STAG NIGHT?
And the same goes for Stacey Ross, who, I was told, was just back, not only from holidays, BUT ALSO from his Stag night.

If my information is right, it would explain the lack of combativeness of the Surrey player, who is enjoying his highest world ranking ever, jumping from74 to 65 in just one month. So, a new life, a baby, a wife, and a new house as well in Ewel.

Was it a bit too much for Ross? Maybe. Marcus Berrett played beautifully well, good length, in control, keeping the rallies short and sweet. But the score was pretty close in the first (3/3, 5/5, 6/6) to finish 11/6, and Stacey was way in front in the second, 8/2, to finally lose 11/10 (2-0). The 3rd was a formality, 11/4. The whole match lasted only 27 minutes…

Marcus got his revenge from the Intercounty Finals, where he was leading 2/0, to finally lose the match 3/2.

It will be interesting to see what he is going to do against Steve Meads in the semi-final. Last time I saw those two play was in Ilkley, after the Meads/Walker marathon/Testosterone match. Marcus lobbed his opponent to death.

MEADS/GOUGH:
73 MINUTES OF FRIENDSHIP
What a pleasure that match was. Well, maybe not that much for Alex Gough, the famous Welshman, former world number 5, now 25, but for us anyway.

I do like watching Mr Gough play. Not only is he not unpleasant to look at (if you read my articles, you will know that I particularly appreciate his type - dark and not too tall…), but I just love his game. The racquet always feels lighter when he moves it. He doesn’t go for flamboyant shots all the time, no, length, width, height, he anticipates beautiful well, has the “squash instinct” of where and when to drop the ball, and has a lovely touch to make it all complete.

But today, against the “grinding machine”, he just got tired.

Gough took the first one easily, 11/7, but one could feel that, if Meads had felt like he was treading water to start with, he was catching up quite well. Which he did in the second, winning 11/6.

Gough reassessed his length in the 3rd. The rallies were long, he varied his shots, but was always looking for the perfect angle on the back wall. Steve was just a bit out sorts in this one, but still close enough to push the Welshman to use his energy reserves. Gough takes the 3rd 11/9.

In the 4th, Steve was way up, 6/1 then 7/2. But Alex gave us a festival of squash, to come back to 7/7, then to 10/10. He used quite a lot of energy there. Eventually, Meads clinched the game, 11/10 (3/1).

The Welshman started well in the last one, leading 3/1, then 6/3. But Steve had wore him down. 6/6. And from then on, it was Steve all the way. 11/8 to finish in 73 minutes.

“We are playing against each other all the time” said Meads afterwards. “I read his game, he anticipates mine. I think it was a good match, although I thought playing to 11 was supposed to shorten the matches…”

What was remarkable about this game was the friendship reigning on the court. Those two must have played hours and hours to arrive to that quality of relationship. The referee (Linda Davie) didn’t have much to do, just enjoy the show.

Thanks guys, nice match…

WHITE-GENEVER :
WHY SO MUCH HATE?
Stop right there. French humour, OK? Just look at the picture, for crying out loud !

And the match was played in about the same atmosphere. Great respect between the players. John White lost the 1st game 11/7, as Peter Genever was able to handle the hard hitting of the Scotsman, transforming it in delicate counter drop shots.

As it was expected, John won the next 3 games, 11/7, 11/9, 11/9. He was always in control, even if Genever was able to stick to the score, and gave us a nice match to watch.

“The first game was good”, said Peter, while in the back, I could hear Mr White going “I thought the first game was really bad...”, to the delight of his opponent. “I’m just back from 2 weeks holiday, and the lungs are not working as they should. I just couldn’t keep up the pace, and John is quick, REALLY quick. And at the moment, I just want an easy life…”

By the way, yes, at this minute, the Family Man John White is down in the world rankings, at 5. But watch this space, as he will be back, at number 1.

Very soon.

Oh yes.
 

 
FULL DRAWS
and results

   Day ONE results  

[1] John White bt Peter Genever
      7/11, 11/7, 11/9, 11/9 (36m)

Scott Handley bt [3/4] Rodney Durbach
     11/5, 11/5, 11/4 (31m)

[3/4] Marcus Berrett bt Stacey Ross
     11/6, 11/10 (2-0), 11/4 (27m)

Stephen Meads bt [2] Alex Gough
     7/11, 11/6, 9/11, 11/10 (3-1),
     11/8 (73m)

Handley with
honeymoon man Durbach

But tonight is Scott Handley's

Steve's Dad is impressed!

Please Note:
due to limited facilities in Oxfordshire, this event will not receive the usual full coverage.

I do like BSPA tournaments,
as we enjoy watching the “old” favourites, and discover some new faces.

I also imagine it’s very good for the players too. The young ones can rub their horns on their elders, learn the tricks of the trade, how to deal (or not) with pressure, with the referees, with an audience… The “experienced” ones can still enjoy the thrill of competition without having to spend too much time or money on travelling.

Long live BSPA!

Framboise rounds up the 2003/04 season

I do like BSPA tournaments