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Sun 5th The Final:
[3] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt
[8] Nick Matthew (ENG) 11/4, 11/8, 11/10 (3-1) (47m) |
Wan:
Lincou claims his biggest win
 Thierry
Lincou, the fine
28 year old Frenchman today captured what he described “the best win of my
career”, after disposing of a rather nervous Nick Matthew.
 Matthew
graciously paid tribute to Lincou saying “His lengths were a couple of
inches tighter to the back than anyone I’ve played all week. Many times, I
had to stretch to reach the shots”.
Full
report from Alex Wan |
Willstrop:
Hong Kong Afterthoughts
李田福
Thierry Lincou in Chinese |
|
Lincou squares the Circle
Press release from Hong Kong
 |
 What
a beautiful
Tournament
Yes, it was a beautiful tournament, the 2004 Cathay Pacific Hong Kong
Open was.
Well, I’m bound to say that, aren’t I? A fantastic win for a great young
French athlete, who worked very very hard at his craft. And a fantastic
journey for another young man, Nick Matthew, another hard worker.
We would like to thank all the people that have helped us to cover this
magnificent 2004 Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open ...
Tournament roundup from
Framboise |
Sat 4th Semi-Finals:
[8] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt
[4] David Palmer (AUS) 11/6, 11/10 (3-1), 9/11, 11/9 (59m)
[3] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt
[2] Lee Beachill (Eng) 11/10 (3-1), 11/6, 3/11, 11/6 (48m)
|
Wan:
New Cathay Champion Tomorrow
 Tomorrow,
there will be a new champion in the tournament as David Palmer was
taken out by Nick Matthew in 4 thrilling games and Thierry
Lincou beat second seed Lee Beachill.
Full
report from Alex Wan |
Hong Kong:
New level for Matthew
 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
in the semi-finals.
Press release from
Hong Kong Squash |
Quote of the Day:
"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.
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."
Nick Matthew |
Photo of the Day:
Running court repairs ...
 |
Fri 3rd: Quarter-Finals:
[8] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [16] Adrian Grant (ENG)
7/11, 11/5, 11.8, 11/10 (3-1) (56m)
[4] David Palmer (AUS) bt
[6] Jonathon Power (CAN) 11/9, 8/11, 11/5, 11/10 (5-3) (55m)
[3] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt
[7] Amr Shabana (Egy) 11/5, 6/11, 11/1, 11/6 (33m)
[2] Lee Beachill (Eng) bt
[5] John White (Sco) 9/11, 8/11, 11/10 (2-0), 11/10 (3-1),
11-5 (67m) |
Thu 2nd: Round Two, the Last 16:
bt [1] Peter Nicol
(ENG) 9/11, 11/5, 11/10 (2-0), 8/11, 11/6 (63m)
[8] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt
[10] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 11/7, 6/11, 8/11, 11/3, 11/7 (83m)
[4] David Palmer (AUS) bt
[Q] Hisham Ashour (EGY) 10/11 (0-2), 11/4, 11/5, 11/9 (30m)
[6] Jonathon Power (CAN) bt
[11] Joseph Kneipp (AUS) 11/2, 11/9, 11/10 (8-6) 55m)
[7] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt
[13] James Willstrop 5/11, 4/11, 11/9, 11/6, 11/8 (49m)
[3] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt Paul Price (Aus) 11/9, 11/7, 11/6
(32m)
[5] John White (Sco) bt Ong Beng Hee (Mas) 11/4, 11/5, 10/11
(1-3), 11/8 (49m)
[2] Lee Beachill (Eng) bt
[9] Karim Darwish (Egy) 11/9, 10/11 (0-2), 11/7, 11/6 (43m) |
Willstrop:
Shock of all shocks ...
As predicted, Nick Matthew and Gregory Gaultier
produced a purposeful game, with Matthew emerging a deserved winner in the
fifth.
Meanwhile the shock of all shocks, as world no 1 Peter Nicol found
himself 2-1 down to fellow countryman Adrian Grant, and could not
recover.
Full report from Malcolm
Willstrop |
Wan:
Nicol upset as Refs steal the show
Adrian Grant, the 23 year old left
hander today scored his biggest ever career win when he upstaged world
number 1 Peter Nicol in a thrilling match lasting 83 minutes.
On a personal note, it’s just a shame to see such bad refereeing at such a
big prestigious event. I was told assessments were being done here, but
why such a major event?
Full
report from Alex Wan |
|
No way back for Nicol |
Quote of the Day:
"It was certainly a bad day at the office. I
was moving well and striking the ball well but I could not get up on my
toes and attack the ball the way I should. I think I have lost a little of
the confidence in my game that is usually automatic."
Peter Nicol |
Wed 1st: Round One, Bottom Half:
[13] James Willstrop (Eng) bt Renan Lavigne (Fra) 11/4, 11.10 (2-0), 11/5 (27m)
[7] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [Q] Simon Parke (Eng) 11/9, 11/8, 11/3 (38m)
Paul Price (Aus) bt [12] Anthony Ricketts (Aus) 11/4 10/11 (0-2), 11/8, 9/11, 11/5 (58m)
[3] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt [Q] Jonathan Kemp (Eng) 11/4, 11/7, 11/2 (22m)
Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt [15] Mohammed Abbas (Egy) 6/11, 11/8, 11/7, 4/11, 11/8 (56m)
[5] John White (Sco) bt [Q] Peter Barker (Eng) 11/8, 11/2, 5/11, 11/8 (35m)
[9]
Karim Darwish (Egy) bt Mansoor Zaman (Pak) 11/8, 11/5, 11/4 (19m)
[2] Lee Beachill (Eng) bt Mark Chaloner (Eng) 11/8, 11/6, 11/5 (28m)
|
Willstrop:
No trouble for the top men
John White
and James Willstrop kicked off the
second phase of the first round of the Cathay Pacific and although White
lost the third game to qualifier Peter Barker, he was not seriously
troubled to win 3/1. Nor was Willstrop, even though he fell well behind in
the second to Renan Lavigne. He recovered it stylishly and won the
other two games with ease.
Full report from Malcolm
Willstrop
|
Wan:
Ricketts falls to Price
Paul Price,
the 28 year old Australian, today created the biggest upset so far at the
Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open when he took out compatriot Anthony
Ricketts.
In a game lasting 58 minutes of solid action, Price played some brilliant
attacking squash to clinch a spot in the second round.
Full
report from Alex Wan |
Quote of the Day:
"I feel I am into the senior tour now. I
was looking on every senior success or failure as part of the learning
process. Even the win in Canary Wharf I thought was a lesson in how to
adapt and take advantage of different conditions. But now I think I am
here because I should be and I am telling myself every time I go on court
knowing that I can beat these guys and I can succeed."
James Willstrop |
Photo of the Day:
 
Watch that racket !!! |
|
Tue 31st: Round One, Top Half:
[1] Peter Nicol (ENG) bt Wai Hang Wong (HKG) 11/4,
11/8, 8/11, 11/5 (38m)
[16] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt [Q] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS)
8/11, 8/11, 11/6, 11/8, 11/8 (53m)
[8] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Dan Jenson (AUS) 11/8, 11/9,
11/10 (2-0) (49m)
[10] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [Q] Bradley Ball (ENG)
11/10 (3-1), 11/8, 11/3 (39m)
[4] David Palmer (AUS) bt [Q] Wael El Hindi (EGY) 11/8, 11/7,
8/11, 10/11 (0-2), 11/6 (53m)
[Q] Hisham Ashour (EGY) bt [14] Omar Elborolossy (EGY)
9/11, 11/3, 11/6, 9/11, 11/3 (39m)
[6] Jonathon Power (CAN) bt [Q] Phillip Barker (ENG) 11/3,
11/10 (0-2), 11/8, 11/5 (34m)
[11] Joseph Kneipp (AUS) bt Graham Ryding (CAN)
11/8, 5/11, 7/11, 11/8, 11/7 (50m) |
 Willstrop:
Tough task
for the Qualifiers
Peter Nicol, the world no one, began his quest for his fourth Cathay
Pacific title with a 3-1 win over local wildcard Wong Wai Hang,
which was designed to keep the crowd entertained and did so. Nicol was
never out of cruise control and with a refreshing Summer behind him, may
still be the man to beat.
Full report from Malcolm
Willstrop |
 Wan:
Top seeds
safely through
The top 4 seeds in the upper half of the main draw made it through the
first round of the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Squash Open 2004. At the
bottom of the upper half, Jonathan Power will play Joseph Kneipp
on Thursday. Playing with a hip injury, Power struggled against
Englishman Phillip Barker.
Full report from Alex Wan |
|
Quote of the Day:
"I think the 11 point scoring is a move in the right direction.
Personally, I think we should have gone to nine points to create a common
feel to the game at all levels. But I am sure that this takes us forward
from the 15 point game we have been playing on the professional circuit
for the past few years."
Peter Nicol |
Photo of the Day:
 France's
World number three Thierry Lincou is always willing to offer his
services to help promote the game, and today he conducted a coaching
clinic, with 150 Hong Kong schoolchildren queuing up for a little court
time and a signature from the great man. Well, he is half-Chinese, after
all! |
Mon 30th:
Qualifying
Willstrop:
History as PSA moves to 11
When the first of the qualifying matches began at 1.30pm
Hong Kong time, history was being made as the PSA tour adopted 11 points a
game scoring.
Olli Tuominen, the no 1 qualifier, faced Bradley Ball on Centre
Court and the Englishman's deserved win was no surprise to those of us who
know how well he plays English National League scoring to nine.
Alex Wan:
The English Invasion
Qualifying matches took place on 2 courts at
the Hong Kong Squash Centre located right smack in the Central
Business District. Having not been around on the first qualifying round, I
joined the action on the qualifying finals today. The new 11-PAR scoring
is something new that I was looking forward to, which didn’t disappoint.
There was more attacking from the players and once one reaches 7, the
intensity of the match somewhat changes.
|
Top
seeds lie in wait for qualifiers
Quote of the Day:
"For the spectators it will bring a
more explosive and sustained excitement to the game. For the players,
especially those maturing like myself, it will remove those dead
meaningless rallies that spoiled the middles of so many matches under both
the traditional nine point system and the PAR 15 point system.
"For me personally the change has the added advantage of securing my
record of having always called one point in tiebreaks for all time. I have
called one point tiebreaks for 15 years and now nobody can ever outdo me."
Jonathon Power |
Qualifying Finals:
Bradley Ball (ENG) bt Raj Nanda (AUS) 11-5, 11-3, 11-5 (34m)
Peter Barker (ENG) bt Alister Walker (ENG) 9-11, 11-10 (2-0), 11-5,
11-8 (71m)
Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt Jan Koukal (CZE) 11-7, 11-8, 11-5
(27m)
Phillip Barker (ENG) bt Arshad Iqbal Burki (PAK) 11-4, 9-11, 11-9,
8-11, 11-4 (47m)
Simon Parke (ENG) bt Joey Barrington (ENG) 11-10 (4-2), 11-2, 11-10
(2-0) (46m)
Wael El Hindi (EGY) bt Gavin Jones (WAL) 11-8, 11-3, 11-1 (25m)
Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) bt Cameron Pilley (AUS)
11-10 (2-0), 4-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-10( 4-2) (62m)
Jonathan Kemp (ENG) bt Davide Bianchetti (ITA) 11-8, 11-9, 11-4
(27m) |
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