REPORTS
Final:
[3] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt [8] Nick Matthew (ENG)
     11/4, 11/8, 11/10 (3-1) (47m)

Lincou Squares the Circle

Thierry Lincou, the Franco-Chinese World No3 who first broke into the top flight of the professional game reaching the 2001 final of the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open but uniquely reached World No1 ranking earlier this year without actually winning a major title, today squared the circle of his squash destiny by winning the 2004 Hong Kong title with a 51 minute 11-4 11-8 11-10 (3-1) victory over England's eighth seeded Nick Matthew.

It was the 22nd time the 28-year-old Lincou had stepped into a PSA World Tour final but the first time he walked out as winner of a Super Series Final. He has won tournaments, of course; the first in the 1996 Tirolean Championships in Austria and the latest in this year's non-ranking Super Series Finals in London. But this was the moment he had pursued almost since first becoming a local hero in Hong Kong removing the 2001 defending champion, Peter Nicol, on his way to the final.

"I am just so pleased that I have taken my first Super Series title at last and that it has happened in front of a Chinese audience in Hong Kong," he told said. "I always feel welcome here and the spectators always give me such good support. I feel I have won this for them as much as for myself.

"I have wanted for a long time to go back to the village near Canton in China where my grandparents lived before they left for Reunion Island during the Communist revolution. My mother, Luk Lan-sun has been back but this is as close as I have managed so far."

The conversion of the PSA World Tour from 15 point games to 11 point games started with this Hong Kong Open and was perhaps the key to Lincou's long awaited breakthrough. He took the Super Series title last May when the new scoring was being trialled and he changed his training to concentrate his established tight rallying and sharp front court attack into a formidable sustained pressure on his opponents. "You can officially say that I like the new scoring," he said with a smile today.

He defeated Australia's sharp shooting Paul Price, Egypt's World Open Champion Amr Shabana and England's World No2 Lee Beachill before shutting the fast rising Matthew out of the final. "He just didn't let me in until quite late in the third game," the 24-year-old Sheffield base player said.

"I have to be pretty pleased with my tournament here. It has taken me in among the top flight players and into my first Super Series final. But I have beaten Thierry in the past and I was hoping for the ultimate success today. He just played too well for that to happen."

Lincou explained that, after watching Matthew take Australia's top player, David Palmer, out of the semi-finals with a fast early attacking game, he planned to play too deep and too tight to allow the youngster a similar chance in the final. "This game is more a mix of the mental and the physical than the old 15 point game. You must play every rally at maximum pressure and not allow your opponent the chance to get ahead in the game.

"I wanted my drives to leave nothing to play from at the end, my cross court shots to be wide enough to be beyond Nick's favourite volleying counter-attack, and my drops to fire in when he was leaning backwards rather than forwards. It went perfectly most of the time.

"In fact it has been a perfect tournament for me. Not easy, but perfect. I played every match as I planned and I kept the pressure on everyone else all the way through. With all the other action going on, nobody took too much notice of my early results."

In the final that pressure brought him the first game in just eight minutes as he wrong-footed Matthew three times in a row to lead 3-1, then forced his way to 10-2 in a single hand in which every point was won with a different clinical winner as the culmination of crisp and carefully shaped rallies.

Matthew entered the second game more ambitiously, but his attempts to wrest the initiative from his opponent ended too often in tinned errors as he snatched at the Frenchman's fearsome distribution. He stayed in the race to 8-8, partly thanks to three generous penalty stroke awarded by the Australian referee, Chris Sinclair, but three unforced forehand errors; first a crosscourt out on the lefthand wall, then a penalised interference with the racket swing in midcourt and finally a tinned crosscourt drive, gave the 15 minute game to Lincou.

With legs tiring and speed dropping, the third game was a closer affair altogether, with Matthew looking capable of carrying the match into at least a fourth game as he led 6-5 with a confident backhand return of service straight down the top right-hand nick. But another tinned error and another penalty stroke for racket swing interference stopped his advance and, within seconds, the Englishman was 7-9 down to a stinging forehand kill and a measure forehand pass into the deep left corner.

To his credit Matthew resisted a first matchball at 8-10 with a fine long forehand drop to the top right corner and took the game into a tiebreak with a floating backhand boast that left even the fasted footed Frenchman groping for a contact on the ball. But he hit a forehand out of court to allow a second matchball and, pressing too eagerly, gave away a last penalty stroke to bring on a third matchball before watching the championship fall inevitably to Thierry Lincou as a forehand crosscourt drive passed him by on its way to the deep left corner.

Press Releases from Hong Kong Squash

by Colin McQuillan

 
   
Semi-final Results:
[8] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [4] David Palmer (AUS)
     11-6, 11-10 (3-1), 9-11, 11-9 (59min)
[3] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [2] Lee Beachill (ENG)
     11-10 (2-1), 11-6, 3-11, 11-6 (48min)

New level for Matthew,
but Lincou denies Beachill

England's eighth seeded Nick Matthew today took his professional squash career to a new level beating Australia's David Palmer, the reigning British Open Champion, former World Open Champion and World No1, 11-6, 11-10 (3-1), 9-11, 11-9 in a 59 minute semi-final of the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open Championship.

The possibility of a first all-English final in Hong Kong evaporated when Lee Beachill, the second seed, was locked out by a forceful performance from Thierry Lincou of France, the third seed, who won 11-10 (2-1), 11-6, 3-11, 11-6 in the 48 minute second semi-final.

The win puts Matthew, a 24-year-old from Sheffield, into his first Super Series final. "I have been training hard as part of the England squad to develop more speed and explosiveness for the new 11 point format in play on the PSA World Tour from now on," Matthew said. "I played the English Open early in August and was badly beaten by Simon Parke in the early rounds, so we have been concentrating on movement and speed."

The heart of the semi-final lay in the second game when Palmer struck back for a hold on the match after dropping the first in 15 minutes. He raced to 3-0 and then fought back to 8-8 and 10-10 with increasing confidence. But Matthew was strong in reply, producing a range of fast strong shots under pressure that took him first from 0-3 to 8-6, then to game ball on 10-9. Playing volley kills, cunningly delayed drop volleys and piercing deliveries into well contrived space, Matthew lost a drop duel in the top left corner to reach the tiebreak, slipped in the back left corner to go game ball down on Palmer's opportunistic backhand drop shot, but then played two textbook defensive rallies to bring a brace of Palmer errors, one over the left wall and one into the tin, before imposing complete authority at 13-11 with a forehand slammed nick shot that left the big Australian blinking in surprise.

The Australian attacked again for the third game, leading 5-0 and 6-5, but Matthew launched a two hand assault to 8-6 that was broken only by a poor no-let call on a blocked forehand drive. When Palmer hit a backhand volley into the tin for Mathew to lead 9-7 the match look over and done. But the Australian's best spell of the semi-final; four rallies of superbly controlled rallying decorated with icily precise shots into the front court brought him a toehold on the match.

A 4-0 lead in the fourth game suggested Palmer might be able to press on to add a second appearance in the Hong Kong final to the one in which he defeated Thierry Lincou three years ago. But Matthew's vision of a first appearance in the final for which only Phil Kenyon and Peter Nicol have entered an English challenge before was the stronger. The eighth seed relinquished only single points on the way to a 10-7 lead, survived a splendid nicked forehand drop shot and an inch perfect crosscourt drive in to deep lefthand corner, and won his place in the final from a penalty stroke as his opponent failed to clear a backhand drop shot.

Beachill Fades out to France

The opening game of the second semi-final suggested it might be just as good a tussle, but Beachill admitted later that even in this game his mental hold on the semi-final was not strong. "I don't think I played badly but I only played well in patches while Thierry was at the top of his game from the first rally," the World No2 explained.

" I just could not settle in my mind to what was required. Thierry played with great force and control. Even when I hit a good spell and started to force a mistake or two out of him, he just went back to his usual tight rallying game until the chance came again to start forcing the issue."

Lincou agreed that the match had hinged upon the mental battle of the first game. "That was about imposing the shape of the match on each other. I was determined that my attack should be such that Lee would be unable to drive me deep into the court. I got a good start and was able to return to the dominant position for the tiebreak. After that I felt generally in control of things even when Lee found his game again for the third game."

It was the loss of the first game tiebreak after grinding back from 3-8 down to 10-10 that hurt Beachill most noticeably. He pushed desperately into the second game and slightly tweaked a hamstring going for a well disguised drop shot fired into the top right corner by Lincou. From there he lost his hold on the play and was 8-2 and 10-3 down almost without reply.

"It did not become a problem. I played through it really. But in this new format the smallest loss of attention can prove so expensive. Two or three rallies speed by and suddenly the end of the game is approaching and you start thinking about how to get out of trouble. Under 15 point scoring you had time to settle down and work your way back into a game."

He certainly found his way into the third, clipping through to 10-2 by taking the action out of the Frenchman's control and then finishing off on a brace of penalty strokes in the backhand court; one to Lincou and then one to himself. "That was mainly done on anger with myself. I went back on just furious at the way I let the second game go after making such a good try for the first," the second seed explained.

He started the fourth game pretty angrily too as the referee, Chris Sinclair, awarded only a let at 2-1 after Beachill's racket knocked a ring from Lincou's finger which he insisted should have been an automatic point against the man who chose to wear the jewellery. But the anger faded to wry humour over the next few minutes as the lock fell off the court door as he slammed it on the referee's explanation and a clutch of officials gathered around to stick things together with packaging tape.

When play got underway again the French mentality was firmly back in place. Beachill managed a forehand kill on a service return for 3-6 and three more good forehand winners defending match ball from 10-3, but a switch to the back hand was his undoing as the last volley slid down into the tin.


Press Releases from Hong Kong Squash

by Colin McQuillan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't think I played badly but I only played well in patches while Thierry was at the top of his game from the first rally, and playing someone like Thierry, you simply cannot afford to let him lead 2-0 before you start playing.

Lee Beachill

 

 

 

It is always great to have the crowd behind you

Thierry Lincou


 

 

 

Rules Point:
7.7.3 If the object falls from a player, that player shall lose the rally, unless Rule 7.7.5 applies or the cause is a collision with the opponent. In the latter case the Referee shall allow a let.
 

  REPORTS
Quarter-final Results:
[8] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Adrian Grant (ENG)
     7-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-10 (3-1) (56min)
[4] David Palmer (AUS) bt [6] Jonathon Power (CAN)
     11-9 8-11 11-5 11-10 (5-3) (55min)
[3] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [7] Amr Shabana (EGY)
     11-5, 6-11, 11-1, 11-6 (33min)
[2] Lee Beachill (ENG) bt [5] John White (SCO)
     9-11, 8-11, 11-10 (2-0), 11-10 (3-1), 11-5 (67min)

11 Point scoring favours
rallying in Hong Kong Quarters

The new 11 point PAR scoring system introduced to the Professional Squash Association's World Tour this week at the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open was expected to favour the shot makers and risk takers of the circuit, but today's quarter-finals all benefited men whose games are founded in sound rallying and disciplined skills.

England's second seeded Lee Beachill reached the semi-finals with a 67 minute 11-10 (2-0), 11-10 (3-1), 11-5 win over John White of Scotland that he declared later to be the best mental performance of his life.

"I probably would not have won without my coach, Malcolm Willstrop, in the corner between games. He talked me through the situation very calmly, keeping me convinced that I could still win the match once I could get my own game plan into play," Beachill explained.

"John was seeing the ball like a football in the first two games. All I could do was hold myself together and work to survive the blitz. The refereeing was poor, but it was poor for both of us, so that was another pressure to deal with. Once I escaped from matchballs in the third game, I was able to settle into my own game plan and take over the front of the court enough to move back into the match."

Beachill stood two games down, 7-8 and 10-10 in the third game after leading 7-2, then 6-7 and matchball down in the fourth before winning both games on tiebreaks and tidying up the fifth in four quick hands.

White admitted he had thought the quarter-final was his when he fought back from 3-7 to 8-7 in the third game despite a series of overly generous stroke decisions in midcourt, but then the refusal of a let in the tiebreak for a turning drive from Beachill at the backwall seemed to completely unhinge the hard hitting Scotsman's concentration.

Many assumed that White, the hardest hitting and most adventurous player in the modern game, would spring immediately to the fore in the new 11 point PAR scoring system adopted by the Professional Squash Association from this tournament. Having sometimes run out of steam when forging ahead under the previous 15 point system, White himself openly welcomed the change as a recipe for his own success and seemed set to prove the point until Beachill escaped with a cry of delight from the third game tiebreak and in the next game hit a deep drive to space after turning on the ball at the backwall to gain gameball in that tiebreak.

White was under the impression that a player cannot play a shot after turning on the ball in this fashion, but that rule only applies when a ball retrieved in this manner strikes the opponent. He argued long and hard with Fayyaz Mohammad over this, but found himself unrewarded and unable to redirect his thoughts when Beachill served for the game, then became completely detached from the fray as the second seed wrapped up the fifth in four hands of disciplined rallying.

England also have Sheffield's Nick Matthew into the semi-finals. The eighth seed will play Australia's David Palmer after defeating Adrian Grant, his closest friend and training partner, 7-11, 11-5, 11-8 11-10 (3-1) in a 56 minute quarter-final. "All our matches are close," Mathew admitted. "If that tiebreak in the fourth had gone the other way, the fifth game might have favoured either of us. The hardest part was separating ourselves from our friendship with so much at stake on court."

Palmer defeated the Canadian showman Jonathon Power 11-9, 8-11, 11-5, 11-10 (5-3) in 55 minutes, surviving two bursts of outrageous front court attack for which he later admitted he was prepared after training with Power at his Bermuda base during the summer. "I am still not sure that I like this 11 point scoring, but I have to admit this was an exciting quarter-final session in which I was able to prove to myself that good rallying and disciplined racketwork can still win the day."

Power was another whose flair and improvisation on court was thought to be ideally suited to the new short game and, indeed, the Hong Kong audience was delighted by his sparkling capture of the second game and his scintillating return from 7-10 to a tiebreak lost eventually at 13-15 in the last game. But Palmer withstood a severe battering in the top righthand corner during the last game and several disruptive disputes with the marker before imposing his heavyweight rallying game upon the result.

"The referees and markers have to stay on the ball in this new game," he said afterwards. "I had a few bad calls in that match that I might normally have just absorbed under the old 15 point scoring system. But a bad call in this game can be the difference between winning and losing. I had calls tonight that could have cost me the match."

Beachill will face Thierry Lincou in the semi-finals after the third seeded Frenchman defeated Egypt's Amr Shabana, the World Open Champion, 11-5, 6-11, 11-1, 11-6 in 33 minutes. The World Champion was limping as he left the court, complaining that his fight back from two games down against England's James Willstrop the previous evening had left him with shin splints.

"People say this is a game is fast and less tiring," Shabana said. "I don't think it is that way at all. It is much more concentrated and explosive which is just as tiring as long slow marathon matches. I had a hard fight in the second round and my legs were in no shape at all for this quarter-final."
 


Press Releases from Hong Kong Squash

by Colin McQuillan