Reports Lincou
Triumphs As Palmer Chokes In Liverpool 08 Final
France's Thierry Lincou claimed one of the most
dramatic victories of his career when he fought back from
two games down to defeat Australian favourite David
Palmer in the final of the Liverpool 08 Open Squash
Championship at St George's Hall in the heart
of Merseyside.
The 83-minute encounter provided a sensational climax to
the international squash circuit's richest ranking event
in England for five years, which attracted a star-studded
field for the first ever major event on Merseyside to be
played on a state-of-the-art all-glass court.
In a notable breakthrough for the inaugural event, staged
to highlight Liverpool's status as the 2008 European
Capital of Culture, the final was broadcast live on
Sky TV.
Palmer, who boasts a 7/2 head-to-head career against the
Frenchman, started off at a blistering pace – taking the
first game after 11 minutes. In the second, Palmer
led 9-6, but Lincou caught up to earn the first game ball.
Palmer, however, saved it and went on to extend his lead
to 2/0 by winning the tie-break.
The 30-year-old world No3 from Marseille adopted a
completely different tactic in the third, mixing up the
pace and clearly unsettling his opponent. Lincou
took the game to reduce Palmer's advantage, but the
29-year-old from New South Wales raced to a 5-0, then 8-5,
lead in the fourth – and again it looked as if the title
was heading to Australia.
But in a single hand, Lincou secured the game to draw
level – and 19 minutes later, in a fifth game decider in
which Palmer was awarded a conduct stroke against him for
hurling his racket out of the court in frustration, the
Frenchman raised his hand in triumph in celebration of a
remarkable 3-11, 10-11 (0-2), 11-5, 11-8, 11-8 victory in
83 minutes.
"That was the worst choke of my life, without doubt" said
a despondent Palmer afterwards. "It's ridiculous to
lose from that position – but all credit to Thierry,"
added Palmer – who, in his 40th international
final, had never before lost after winning the first two
games.
Despite the final lacking any home interest, Lincou
surprisingly acknowledged help from his great rival
Peter Nicol, the Englishman who topped the world
rankings for 60 months and won two Commonwealth Games
gold medals in Melbourne in March.
"After losing the first two games, I thought about what
Peter Nicol would do at this stage – he has staged some
fantastic comebacks, lobbing the ball and trying to break
up the pace.
"Peter is so clever – he has this capacity to drive me
crazy and gets me really frustrated, so I thought I would
try and do this to David!" said the victorious Frenchman
afterwards.
"But at the beginning of the game, I just couldn't handle
the pace that David was playing at – he was so quick on
the ball."
The Liverpool Open 08 Championship, presented jointly by
Squash UK and the Liverpool Culture Company,
was conceived to celebrate "Liverpool Performs" year – the
third themed year in the build up to 2008 when the
Merseyside city is the European Capital of Culture.
The year focuses on sport and arts – and presented
alongside one of the biggest international squash events
of the year were performances by rock band Lost for
Words (featuring squash players Lee Beachill
and James Willstrop); dance company X-TENSION;
samba reggae band Batala; and keyboard player
Peter Olude.
"The Liverpool 08 Open gave us a perfect opportunity to
bring together sport and arts in an iconic venue," said
John Moore, Creative Sports Manager for the Liverpool
Culture Company.
"The event has been a huge success – beyond our
expectations. And today's final was just the icing
on the cake, a simply magnificent climax to a great week
at St Georges Hall.
Tournament promoter Alan Thatcher added: "I'm sure
that this match will be talked about in and around the
city of Liverpool for months to come – with the result
that fans will be clamouring to have the event brought
back again to St George's Hall in a year's time."
Palmer Denies Beachill Liverpool Final Berth
Australia's David Palmer dashed hopes of a home
finalist in the biggest ranking event in England for five
years when he beat Yorkshire's Lee Beachill in four
games in the semi-finals of the Liverpool 08 Open
Squash Championship at St George's Hall in the
heart of Merseyside.
Event favourite Palmer was in blistering form in the first
game to take the early advantage. But Beachill, the
fifth seed who is rediscovering his form after dropping to
a four-year low world No11 this week, bounced back to draw
level.
Admitting later that he wrongly pushed too hard in the
second game, Palmer refocused in the third and ultimately
strode to an 11-9, 4-11, 11-7, 11-6 victory in 57 minutes.
"I didn't play badly, but he played more winning shots
against me than he's ever done before " which shows how
relaxed he is and how well he's playing at the moment,"
conceded Beachill, the 28-year-old former world No1 from
Pontefract.
"We've had a lot of very hard matches over recent years,
and some which were not very good to watch, but tonight's
was a very good match, with very few incidents," explained
the Englishman.
"He played well " but then he had to beat me."
Palmer agreed that winning the first game had been
crucial. "I had a really good start " which was important
as to have had to come back after losing the first game
would have been tough.
"Over the past six months or so, Lee seems to be making
more errors than he used to " in the middle of the third
and fourth games he gave me some easy points," added the
29-year-old from Lithgow in New South Wales, also a former
world No1.
"But I've sensed a keenness in his approach here in
Liverpool," said Palmer. "But he always plays well
in England, he's always more tough to beat at home."
In the 40th major final of his career, Palmer
goes on to face Frenchman Thierry Lincou, the third
seed who beat Egyptian Karim Darwish 11-8, 5-11,
11-10 (2-0), 11-6 in the other semi-final.
Lincou resisted a spirited fight back by eighth seed
Egypt's Karim Darwish, winning in four games to
reach his 30th major international final.
The former world No1 from Marseille took early control of
the match on the all-glass court at St George's Hall to
open up a 1/0 lead after 15 minutes. But Darwish
romped away with the second game and quickly established a
9-3 lead in the third.
The 24-year-old underdog from Cairo, who has lost all of
the previous five PSA Tour encounters with Lincou,
soon reached game ball at 10-6 " one point away from a
two-games-to-one lead.
But in a classic do-or-die effort from the Frenchman,
Lincou kept up the pressure, saving three game balls
before converting his own in the tie-break. Lincou
led throughout the fourth before clinching his 11-8, 5-11,
11-10 (2-0), 11-6 victory in 60 minutes.
"He's improved a lot over the past six months " with some
good scalps and a good run of results," said Lincou of the
world number ten. "He's certainly capable of beating
anyone " and even though our previous record was in his
favour, I knew it wasn't going to be an easy match.
"I feel I played the right shots at the right time,
particularly from the third game onwards, but I got tired
and had to slow the pace down.
"I had to keep the play on his back hand as he's got such
a strong forehand," added Lincou, the world No3.
A despondent Darwish felt he didn't deserve to win:
"I was controlling the game at one point, but then he
began to play so well, getting everything back. I
was just in too much of a hurry.
"After that my brain went," added the Egyptian.
Quarter-finals
Willstrop Wiped Out
By Devilish Darwish
Hopes of an English finalist from the bottom half
of the Liverpool 08 Open Squash Championship
draw were dashed today (Friday) when Egypt's
Karim Darwish upset second-seeded
Yorkshireman James Willstrop at St
George's Hall in the heart of Merseyside.
Darwish, the No8 seed, was in devastating form as
he defeated the lacklustre England number one
11-10 (2-0), 11-3, 11-8 in 43 minutes, later
declaring it to be "one of my best ever
performances."
A surprisingly relaxed Willstrop afterwards
conceded that he simply wasn't able to make enough
impression on the encounter. "I can't really
explain it, I'm not unhappy with my game, but I
just wasn't right mentally.
"Karim outlasted me and demoralised me, he was
just too good," said the 22-year-old from
Pontefract who celebrated a career-high world No2
ranking last December.
Darwish was delighted with his approach to the
match: "I always feel I struggle with James,
but today I was really focussed on winning.
"I was pretty confident, my shots were great and I
felt I was controlling the match," said the
24-year-old from Cairo who last week won the
Egyptian national title for the second time.
Darwish will meet Thierry Lincou in
Saturday's first semi-final after the third-seeded
Frenchman gained revenge for his unexpected defeat
by Gregory Gaultier in the French National
Championship final in February by beating his
fellow countryman in the day's opening match.
But it wasn't achieved in the style he would have
liked, as Gaultier, after taking the second game
to draw level with his higher-ranked French
team-mate - fell awkwardly in the first rally of
the fourth game and badly twisted his ankle.
After an 11-minute injury break, it was clear that
the 23-year-old No7 seed was not going to be able
to carry on, and duly conceded the match
11-5, 4-11, 11-3, 0-0 (ret.) to
Lincou after
66 minutes.
Olli Tuominen,
the Finn who caused the tournament's first upset
when he beat Scotland's sixth seed John White
in the previous round, was unable to produce the
same giant-killing display in the quarter-finals
against top seed David Palmer.
After losing the first game, the ninth seed from
Helsinki fought back from 5-8 down in the second
to lead 9-8, then had the first game ball in the
tie-break. But Palmer ultimately clinched
the game to go 2/0 up, then ran away from 7-all in
the third to take the match 11-6, 11-10 (4-2),
11-7 in 44 minutes.
It was sweet revenge for the 29-year-old
Australian from Lithgow in New South Wales who
suffered a shock defeat to the Finn in their last
meeting, in the first round of the English Open
in August 2005.
The final match of the day saw a significant
renaissance for fifth seed Lee Beachill whobeat his England team-mate and fellow
Yorkshireman Nick Matthew in a decisive
straight games encounter.
Beachill, the three-times British National
champion from Pontefract who lost his title to
Matthew in February in his record sixth successive
appearance in the final, has suffered mixed
fortunes over the past year, a fact cruelly marked
by a drop to 11 in the world rankings this month,
his first absence from the top ten for four years.
"But even when I walked on court, I was so
confident about winning," said the 28-year-old
after his 11-4, 11-8, 11-2 triumph over fifth seed
Matthew in 39 minutes, the shortest quarter-final
of the day.
"I seemed to just get out of the habit of winning
over the last year or so, but tonight I played
some really good squash, pushing Nick hard, then
capitalising on his errors," said a buoyant
Beachill.
"If I continue to play like that, I feel I can
beat anyone in the world."
A despondent Matthew admitted that he was almost
embarrassed by the way he played in parts of the
game: "I felt as if I hardly broke sweat,"
said the 25-year-old who is four positions higher
than his opponent in the world order.
"He's clearly got his appetite back, but I really
wanted to go out on a high in the last ranking
event of the season, but Lee just didn't let me.
If you want to be the best in the world, you can't
afford to play like that," conceded Matthew.
Beachill will face Palmer in Saturday's second
semi-final at 6.00pm, which will be broadcast live
on Sky TV.
Flying Finn Flays Scot At St George's
Hall
Finland's Olli Tuominen produced the first upset
in two days of the Liverpool 08 Open Squash
Championship when he despatched Scotland's sixth
seed John White in today's (Thursday) second
round at St George's Hall in the heart of
Merseyside.
White, one of four former world number ones competing in
the international squash circuit's richest ranking event
in England for five years, is renowned as the hardest
hitters of the ball " with a world record 172 mph smash
to his name!
But the flying Finn from Helsinki matched White shot for
shot - and after 49 minutes wrapped up the shock 11-7,
11-6, 11-10 (2-0) win which takes the ninth seed into a
surprise quarter-final.
"I really saw the opportunity," said the smiling
Tuominen, who admitted that the head-to-head record
between the pair was relatively even. "I had a
good run in last week's European Championships " and
that was ideal preparation for this event at St George's
Hall."
The 27-year-old world No14 spends most of his training
time in Helsinki. "It may not be where a lot of
squash players are based " but it's home," explained
Tuominen.
His next opponent will be the PSA Super Series
event's top seed David Palmer, the world No2 from
Australia. The experienced three-times British
Open
faced the event's only teenager, 18-year-old world
junior champion Ramy Ashour.
The remarkably assured Ashour seemed far from overawed
by the highest-ranked player he had ever faced on a
court, but Palmer soon imposed his authority on the
match and cleaned up 11-7, 11-5, 11-6 in 32 minutes.
"I knew he was going to be sharp from the start, he's a
great shot player and moves well - in fact, for 18, he's
unbelievable," said Palmer, 29, from New South Wales.
"If he was smart, he would look at Shabana's game " his
improved length and fitness are what have made him the
player he is today. Ramy will be in the world top
ten, one day, for sure " but he'll get there a lot
quicker if he models himself on his countryman."
Ashour was disappointed with his performance: "I
wasn't patient enough " I just wasn't playing well
enough today. But wait till the World Open in
September by the pyramids in my home country. I'll
do well there " I promise!"
Earlier in the day, England's second seed James
Willstrop struggled to a four-game victory over 14th
seed Shahid Zaman, then admitted: "He's
tricky " I don’t enjoy playing the guy."
The England number one seemed to be cruising to a
straight games win over Zaman when the Pakistan number
one took the upper hand in the third game.
"I just went dull " my game lacked sparkle - I was a bit
loose," said the 22-year-old from Pontefract who went on
to win 11-4, 11-5, 8-11, 11-4 in 48 minutes.
Willstrop, who led England to success in last week's
European Team Championship title in Austria, will
meet Egypt's Karim Darwish for a place in the
last four of the international circuit's richest ranking
event in England for five years.
Darwish, the eighth seed, ended hopes of an all-English
quarter-final when he beat 16th seed Peter
Barker 11-10 (3-1), 11-6, 11-5 in 37 minutes.
The Egyptian beat Willstrop the last time they met, in
the Canary Wharf Classic in London in February.
"Karim's in great shape at the moment, so I'm going to
have to be on top of my game to beat him," conceded
Yorkshireman Willstrop.
Two marathon encounters earlier set up an all-French
quarter-final on Friday. Seventh seed Gregory
Gaultier, from Aix-en-Provence,beat
Australia's 12th seed Stewart Boswell
11-6 11-9 11-6 in 63 minutes, and Marseille's third seed
Thierry Lincou recovered from a game down to
overcome Malaysia's Ong Beng Hee 5-11, 11-8,
11-10 (3-1), 11-8 in 76 minutes.
Beng Hee, the tenth seed who is enjoying something of a
renaissance since plunging out of the top 20 after
reaching a career-high world No7 five years ago, was
pleased with his performance against Lincou, the new
world No3.
"Not winning is a bit of a disappointment, but I really
felt I pushed him " and if I can play like that again,
I'd be quite happy," said the 26-year-old from Kuala
Lumpur.
Gaultier, the fast-improving French number two, had to
battle hard to keep Boswell at bay. The
27-year-old from Canberra fought back from 299 to 20 in
the world rankings in 2005 after a long layoff with a
mystery back ailment. In the past five months, his
progress has been somewhat slower, to 15 in the world.
"I need to improve some things if I'm going to play at
that level," said Boswell after his Gaultier defeat.
"I feel as if I'm playing to top 16, but the next level
just isn't happening for me at the moment."
Gaultier added: "I knew I had to play at a fast
pace today. But I'm confident with my skills " I didn't
ever have my head down, I was feeling strong throughout
the match."
He and Lincou meet on Friday for the first time since
Gaultier claimed his first victory over his fellow
countryman in February's French National championship
final. "I consider Greg first as a friend, and
secondly as a good player in the world's top eight.
It's logical that meetings between us will happen more
and more."
England team-mates and fellow Yorkshiremen Nick
Matthew and Lee Beachill secured the final
two quarter-final places at the end of the evening's
second round session. Matthew, the fourth seed
from Sheffield, beat compatriot Adrian Grant, the
11th
seed from London, 11-9, 11-8, 4-11, 11-10 (3-1) in 68
minutes, while Beachill, the fifth seed from Pontefract,
defeated Welsh number one Alex Gough 11-6 11-7
11-5.
England Team-Mates Through, But Matthew Stretched In Liverpool
Just four days after securing the European Team Championship
title in Austria, England team-mates James Willstrop,
Peter Barker, Nick Matthew and Lee Beachill
successfully negotiated their first round opposition in the
Liverpool 08 Open Squash Championship,the
international squash circuit's richest ranking event in England
for five years.
Staged in the spectacular St George's Hall in the heart
of Liverpool, the PSA Super Series championship has
attracted a star-studded field for the first ever major event on
Merseyside to be played on a state-of-the-art all-glass court.
Nick Matthew, the British national champion from Sheffield, was
taken the full distance by newly-crowned Italian champion
Davide Bianchetti before prevailing in 83 minutes – the
longest match of the day.
The 25-year-old Yorkshireman recovered from a game down to take
a 2/1 lead – then squandered leads of 6-2 and 9-6 in the fourth
to allow Bianchetti to force the match into a fifth game
decider.
It was nip and tuck throughout the game before Matthew, the
fourth seed, took the final three points in a row to claim his
7-11, 11-6, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7 win.
"Davide was quite consistent, and plays better on a glass court
than he used to," said the world No7 afterwards. "I felt I
was playing all right, but only in patches. All the
ingredients were there, but not all at once."
Willstrop, the No2 seed from Pontefract, beat Indian qualifier
Ritwik Bhattacharya 11-10 (3-1), 11-10 (3-1), 11-5 in 39
minutes, then declared that the game could not have been more
different than those last week in Vienna.
"It's like tennis players going from clay to grass – it becomes
almost a different sport," explained the 22-year-old
Yorkshireman, comparing the difference between the all-glass
court and the conventional plaster courts on which the European
championships were played.
"I was a bit rusty to start with, and the first two games were
close - but then I got into a better rhythm.
"But St George's Hall is a spectacular setting – we're lucky to
be able to stage squash events in sensational buildings.
That's the beauty of the game, you can put a glass court almost
wherever you want."
Peter Barker, the 22-year-old from Upminster in Essex who made
his England debut in last week's European Championships, beat
Australia's experienced former world No10 Joseph Kneipp
11-3, 11-6, 11-7 in 31 minutes.
France's Thierry Lincou, one of four former world number
ones in the Liverpool field, continued where he left off in the
European Championships with another win over an Englishman.
The 30-year-old from Marseille defeated England No1 James
Willstrop in a hard-fought European final, then enjoyed a more
straightforward 11-8, 11-2, 11-6 win over Surrey qualifier
Stacey Ross at St George's Hall.
"It's always good beating an Englishman," said the world No3
afterwards – quickly adding "in a team competition," when
mindful of possible misinterpretation by the largely English
inquisitors!
In the final match of the day, Yorkshireman fifth seed Lee
Beachill completed the quartet of England team winners when he
beat Australia's Cameron Pilley 11-5, 11-4, 5-11, 11-2 in
49 minutes.
Upsets Abound In Liverpool 08 Open Qualifying Finals
Upsets littered the final qualifying sessions at the
Liverpool Cricket Club on Merseyside as seven
Englishmen and players from a further eight countries battled for
places in the main draw of the Liverpool 08 Open Squash
Championship.
The international squash circuit's richest ranking event in
England for five years gets underway tomorrow (Wednesday) at St
George's Hall in Liverpool, leading to the final on Sunday (7
May). The PSA Super Series championship, boasting a
$77,500 prize fund, has attracted a star-studded field for the
first ever major event on Merseyside to be played on a
state-of-the-art all-glass court.
Three Englishmen upset higher-ranked compatriots to earn
unexpected places in the first round. Essex's Lee Drew
caused the biggest upset of the day when he survived an 83-minute
marathon against Lincolnshire's Mark Chaloner, saving a
match ball in the fifth game to beat the former England
international 9-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 11-10 (2-0).
"It was an excellent match, and my first PSA win over Mark, so I
feel good about it," said the 29-year-old from Colchester, ranked
more than 40 places lower than his illustrious opponent.
When reminded that Chaloner is President of the Professional
Squash Association (PSA), the players' body, Drew added: "He
seemed OK about it afterwards – I hope it doesn't affect my
membership!"
There was another Essex success later when 23-year-old Daryl
Selby, from Witham, defeated Germany's newly-crowned European
Junior Champion
Simon Rosner
11-6, 11-7, 11-7 in 37 minutes.
An
all-Surrey clash between Ben Garner and Stacey Ross,
ranked 40 and 48, respectively, in the world, produced a
first-time Tour upset for Ross when he recorded an 11-4, 11-5,
11-5 victory in 35 minutes. The 32-year-old from Sutton was
then drawn to face France's former world No1 Thierry Lincou,
the No3 seed,in the first round on the all-glass court at
St George's Hall.
Australia's Dan Jenson headed the international delegation
that claimed qualifying places in the main draw. The
30-year-old former world No5 from Adelaide beat hometown
compatriot Paul Davis 11-3, 11-4, 11-2 in 32 minutes, and
will now face French ace Gregory Gaultier, the seventh
seed.
The event's two top seeds now know their fate after the completion
of the qualifying competition. Favourite David Palmer,
the three-times British Open champion from Lithgow in New South
Wales, will face Australian-born Irish qualifier Liam Kenny,
a straight games victor over Zimbabwean Jesse Engelbrecht.
James Willstrop,
the 22-year-old from Pontefract in Yorkshire who led England to
success in last week's European Team Championships – and,
seeded two, heads domestic interest in the Liverpool 08 Open –
will meet Ritwik Bhattacharya. The Indian number
qualified in impressive style by beating France's higher-ranked
Jean-Michel Arcucci
11-8, 8-11, 11-10 (2-0), 11-2 in 72 minutes.
Davis & Engelbrecht In Early Liverpool 08 Open Upsets
Zimbabwe's Jesse
Engelbrecht and Australian Paul Davis pulled off early
upsets on the first day of qualifying in the Liverpool 08 Open
Squash Championship at the Liverpool Cricket Club on
Merseyside.
The Liverpool 08
Open, at St George's Hall in Liverpool from 3-7 May, is
the international squash circuit's richest ranking event in England
for five years. The PSA Super Series championship,
boasting a $77,500 prize fund, has attracted a star-studded field
for the first ever major event on Merseyside to be played on a
state-of-the-art all-glass court.
A full field of 32 players from 12 countries competed in today's
first qualifying round, with Surrey-based Engelbrecht causing the
first upset when he defeated India's Leeds-based Saurav Ghosal,
ranked 13 places higher in the world rankings, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8 in
31 minutes. The Zimbabwean will now face Ireland's Liam Kenny
for a place in the main draw.
More than 40 ranking positions separated Davis and Pakistan's Arshad Iqbal
Burki –
but the Australian despatched the favoured Burki 11-5, 11-8, 11-5 in
34 minutes to earn an unexpected place in Tuesday's qualifying
finals. Davis will meet fellow Australian Dan Jenson,
the formerworld No5 who is also from Adelaide.
After helping organisers toprepare the Liverpool Cricket
Club for the start of today's (Monday) qualifying competition, club
champion Andrew Breen might have expected to be rewarded with
a good position in the draw, in which he was the recipient of a
'local' wild card place.
But the 22-year-old from Merseyside was drawn to face the most
experienced player in the preliminary competition, ex-England
international Mark Chaloner, ranked 35 in the world.
The 33-year-old from Lincolnshire, a former world No7, made his name
over ten years ago when he clinched victory for England for the
first time in the 1995 World Championships in the decisive final
match against holders Pakistan.
Breen, playing in his first international event, was no match for
the experienced Chaloner, who wrapped up an 11-2 11-5 11-4 victory
in just 16 minutes to earn a place in Tuesday's qualifying finals.
"It was a great experience," said the local hero afterwards.
"But Mark was about ten times faster than anybody I've ever
encountered before," added Breen, before heading over to Liverpool's
St George's Hall to help with the final stages of the
construction of the state-of-the-art all-glass court which will
stage the main draw action of the PSA Super Series event from
Wednesday through to the final on Sunday.
Two-times Merseyside county champion Keith Thomason was also
in qualifying action at the Liverpool Cricket Club. The
23-year-old from New Brighton who is a website developer at
Liverpool University faced recently-crowned European Junior
Champion
Simon Rosner, the 18-year-old world No72 who made his senior
debut for Germany in last week's European Team Championships.
Despite strong local support from the packed club crowd, Thomason
went down 11-7, 11-8, 11-8 to the German teenager who is competing
in his first Tour event in the UK.
Mark Chaloner leads a strong English contingent through to the
qualifying finals, including Lee Drew, from Colchester in
Essex; Ben Garner and Stacey Ross, both from Surrey;
Scott Handley from Oxfordshire; Daryl Selby, from
Witham in Essex; and Gloucestershire's Alister Walker, from
Leeds.
Reports Lincou
Triumphs As Palmer Chokes In Liverpool 08 Final
France's Thierry Lincou claimed one of the most
dramatic victories of his career when he fought back from
two games down to defeat Australian favourite David
Palmer in the final of the Liverpool 08 Open Squash
Championship at St George's Hall in the heart
of Merseyside.
The 83-minute encounter provided a sensational climax to
the international squash circuit's richest ranking event
in England for five years, which attracted a star-studded
field for the first ever major event on Merseyside to be
played on a state-of-the-art all-glass court.
In a notable breakthrough for the inaugural event, staged
to highlight Liverpool's status as the 2008 European
Capital of Culture, the final was broadcast live on
Sky TV.
Palmer, who boasts a 7/2 head-to-head career against the
Frenchman, started off at a blistering pace – taking the
first game after 11 minutes. In the second, Palmer
led 9-6, but Lincou caught up to earn the first game ball.
Palmer, however, saved it and went on to extend his lead
to 2/0 by winning the tie-break.
The 30-year-old world No3 from Marseille adopted a
completely different tactic in the third, mixing up the
pace and clearly unsettling his opponent. Lincou
took the game to reduce Palmer's advantage, but the
29-year-old from New South Wales raced to a 5-0, then 8-5,
lead in the fourth – and again it looked as if the title
was heading to Australia.
But in a single hand, Lincou secured the game to draw
level – and 19 minutes later, in a fifth game decider in
which Palmer was awarded a conduct stroke against him for
hurling his racket out of the court in frustration, the
Frenchman raised his hand in triumph in celebration of a
remarkable 3-11, 10-11 (0-2), 11-5, 11-8, 11-8 victory in
83 minutes.
"That was the worst choke of my life, without doubt" said
a despondent Palmer afterwards. "It's ridiculous to
lose from that position – but all credit to Thierry,"
added Palmer – who, in his 40th international
final, had never before lost after winning the first two
games.
Despite the final lacking any home interest, Lincou
surprisingly acknowledged help from his great rival
Peter Nicol, the Englishman who topped the world
rankings for 60 months and won two Commonwealth Games
gold medals in Melbourne in March.
"After losing the first two games, I thought about what
Peter Nicol would do at this stage – he has staged some
fantastic comebacks, lobbing the ball and trying to break
up the pace.
"Peter is so clever – he has this capacity to drive me
crazy and gets me really frustrated, so I thought I would
try and do this to David!" said the victorious Frenchman
afterwards.
"But at the beginning of the game, I just couldn't handle
the pace that David was playing at – he was so quick on
the ball."
The Liverpool Open 08 Championship, presented jointly by
Squash UK and the Liverpool Culture Company,
was conceived to celebrate "Liverpool Performs" year – the
third themed year in the build up to 2008 when the
Merseyside city is the European Capital of Culture.
The year focuses on sport and arts – and presented
alongside one of the biggest international squash events
of the year were performances by rock band Lost for
Words (featuring squash players Lee Beachill
and James Willstrop); dance company X-TENSION;
samba reggae band Batala; and keyboard player
Peter Olude.
"The Liverpool 08 Open gave us a perfect opportunity to
bring together sport and arts in an iconic venue," said
John Moore, Creative Sports Manager for the Liverpool
Culture Company.
"The event has been a huge success – beyond our
expectations. And today's final was just the icing
on the cake, a simply magnificent climax to a great week
at St Georges Hall.
Tournament promoter Alan Thatcher added: "I'm sure
that this match will be talked about in and around the
city of Liverpool for months to come – with the result
that fans will be clamouring to have the event brought
back again to St George's Hall in a year's time."
Palmer Denies Beachill Liverpool Final Berth
Australia's David Palmer dashed hopes of a home
finalist in the biggest ranking event in England for five
years when he beat Yorkshire's Lee Beachill in four
games in the semi-finals of the Liverpool 08 Open
Squash Championship at St George's Hall in the
heart of Merseyside.
Event favourite Palmer was in blistering form in the first
game to take the early advantage. But Beachill, the
fifth seed who is rediscovering his form after dropping to
a four-year low world No11 this week, bounced back to draw
level.
Admitting later that he wrongly pushed too hard in the
second game, Palmer refocused in the third and ultimately
strode to an 11-9, 4-11, 11-7, 11-6 victory in 57 minutes.
"I didn't play badly, but he played more winning shots
against me than he's ever done before " which shows how
relaxed he is and how well he's playing at the moment,"
conceded Beachill, the 28-year-old former world No1 from
Pontefract.
"We've had a lot of very hard matches over recent years,
and some which were not very good to watch, but tonight's
was a very good match, with very few incidents," explained
the Englishman.
"He played well " but then he had to beat me."
Palmer agreed that winning the first game had been
crucial. "I had a really good start " which was important
as to have had to come back after losing the first game
would have been tough.
"Over the past six months or so, Lee seems to be making
more errors than he used to " in the middle of the third
and fourth games he gave me some easy points," added the
29-year-old from Lithgow in New South Wales, also a former
world No1.
"But I've sensed a keenness in his approach here in
Liverpool," said Palmer. "But he always plays well
in England, he's always more tough to beat at home."
In the 40th major final of his career, Palmer
goes on to face Frenchman Thierry Lincou, the third
seed who beat Egyptian Karim Darwish 11-8, 5-11,
11-10 (2-0), 11-6 in the other semi-final.
Lincou resisted a spirited fight back by eighth seed
Egypt's Karim Darwish, winning in four games to
reach his 30th major international final.
The former world No1 from Marseille took early control of
the match on the all-glass court at St George's Hall to
open up a 1/0 lead after 15 minutes. But Darwish
romped away with the second game and quickly established a
9-3 lead in the third.
The 24-year-old underdog from Cairo, who has lost all of
the previous five PSA Tour encounters with Lincou,
soon reached game ball at 10-6 " one point away from a
two-games-to-one lead.
But in a classic do-or-die effort from the Frenchman,
Lincou kept up the pressure, saving three game balls
before converting his own in the tie-break. Lincou
led throughout the fourth before clinching his 11-8, 5-11,
11-10 (2-0), 11-6 victory in 60 minutes.
"He's improved a lot over the past six months " with some
good scalps and a good run of results," said Lincou of the
world number ten. "He's certainly capable of beating
anyone " and even though our previous record was in his
favour, I knew it wasn't going to be an easy match.
"I feel I played the right shots at the right time,
particularly from the third game onwards, but I got tired
and had to slow the pace down.
"I had to keep the play on his back hand as he's got such
a strong forehand," added Lincou, the world No3.
A despondent Darwish felt he didn't deserve to win:
"I was controlling the game at one point, but then he
began to play so well, getting everything back. I
was just in too much of a hurry.
"After that my brain went," added the Egyptian.
Quarter-finals
Willstrop Wiped Out
By Devilish Darwish
Hopes of an English finalist from the bottom half
of the Liverpool 08 Open Squash Championship
draw were dashed today (Friday) when Egypt's
Karim Darwish upset second-seeded
Yorkshireman James Willstrop at St
George's Hall in the heart of Merseyside.
Darwish, the No8 seed, was in devastating form as
he defeated the lacklustre England number one
11-10 (2-0), 11-3, 11-8 in 43 minutes, later
declaring it to be "one of my best ever
performances."
A surprisingly relaxed Willstrop afterwards
conceded that he simply wasn't able to make enough
impression on the encounter. "I can't really
explain it, I'm not unhappy with my game, but I
just wasn't right mentally.
"Karim outlasted me and demoralised me, he was
just too good," said the 22-year-old from
Pontefract who celebrated a career-high world No2
ranking last December.
Darwish was delighted with his approach to the
match: "I always feel I struggle with James,
but today I was really focussed on winning.
"I was pretty confident, my shots were great and I
felt I was controlling the match," said the
24-year-old from Cairo who last week won the
Egyptian national title for the second time.
Darwish will meet Thierry Lincou in
Saturday's first semi-final after the third-seeded
Frenchman gained revenge for his unexpected defeat
by Gregory Gaultier in the French National
Championship final in February by beating his
fellow countryman in the day's opening match.
But it wasn't achieved in the style he would have
liked, as Gaultier, after taking the second game
to draw level with his higher-ranked French
team-mate - fell awkwardly in the first rally of
the fourth game and badly twisted his ankle.
After an 11-minute injury break, it was clear that
the 23-year-old No7 seed was not going to be able
to carry on, and duly conceded the match
11-5, 4-11, 11-3, 0-0 (ret.) to
Lincou after
66 minutes.
Olli Tuominen,
the Finn who caused the tournament's first upset
when he beat Scotland's sixth seed John White
in the previous round, was unable to produce the
same giant-killing display in the quarter-finals
against top seed David Palmer.
After losing the first game, the ninth seed from
Helsinki fought back from 5-8 down in the second
to lead 9-8, then had the first game ball in the
tie-break. But Palmer ultimately clinched
the game to go 2/0 up, then ran away from 7-all in
the third to take the match 11-6, 11-10 (4-2),
11-7 in 44 minutes.
It was sweet revenge for the 29-year-old
Australian from Lithgow in New South Wales who
suffered a shock defeat to the Finn in their last
meeting, in the first round of the English Open
in August 2005.
The final match of the day saw a significant
renaissance for fifth seed Lee Beachill whobeat his England team-mate and fellow
Yorkshireman Nick Matthew in a decisive
straight games encounter.
Beachill, the three-times British National
champion from Pontefract who lost his title to
Matthew in February in his record sixth successive
appearance in the final, has suffered mixed
fortunes over the past year, a fact cruelly marked
by a drop to 11 in the world rankings this month,
his first absence from the top ten for four years.
"But even when I walked on court, I was so
confident about winning," said the 28-year-old
after his 11-4, 11-8, 11-2 triumph over fifth seed
Matthew in 39 minutes, the shortest quarter-final
of the day.
"I seemed to just get out of the habit of winning
over the last year or so, but tonight I played
some really good squash, pushing Nick hard, then
capitalising on his errors," said a buoyant
Beachill.
"If I continue to play like that, I feel I can
beat anyone in the world."
A despondent Matthew admitted that he was almost
embarrassed by the way he played in parts of the
game: "I felt as if I hardly broke sweat,"
said the 25-year-old who is four positions higher
than his opponent in the world order.
"He's clearly got his appetite back, but I really
wanted to go out on a high in the last ranking
event of the season, but Lee just didn't let me.
If you want to be the best in the world, you can't
afford to play like that," conceded Matthew.
Beachill will face Palmer in Saturday's second
semi-final at 6.00pm, which will be broadcast live
on Sky TV.
Flying Finn Flays Scot At St George's
Hall
Finland's Olli Tuominen produced the first upset
in two days of the Liverpool 08 Open Squash
Championship when he despatched Scotland's sixth
seed John White in today's (Thursday) second
round at St George's Hall in the heart of
Merseyside.
White, one of four former world number ones competing in
the international squash circuit's richest ranking event
in England for five years, is renowned as the hardest
hitters of the ball " with a world record 172 mph smash
to his name!
But the flying Finn from Helsinki matched White shot for
shot - and after 49 minutes wrapped up the shock 11-7,
11-6, 11-10 (2-0) win which takes the ninth seed into a
surprise quarter-final.
"I really saw the opportunity," said the smiling
Tuominen, who admitted that the head-to-head record
between the pair was relatively even. "I had a
good run in last week's European Championships " and
that was ideal preparation for this event at St George's
Hall."
The 27-year-old world No14 spends most of his training
time in Helsinki. "It may not be where a lot of
squash players are based " but it's home," explained
Tuominen.
His next opponent will be the PSA Super Series
event's top seed David Palmer, the world No2 from
Australia. The experienced three-times British
Open
faced the event's only teenager, 18-year-old world
junior champion Ramy Ashour.
The remarkably assured Ashour seemed far from overawed
by the highest-ranked player he had ever faced on a
court, but Palmer soon imposed his authority on the
match and cleaned up 11-7, 11-5, 11-6 in 32 minutes.
"I knew he was going to be sharp from the start, he's a
great shot player and moves well - in fact, for 18, he's
unbelievable," said Palmer, 29, from New South Wales.
"If he was smart, he would look at Shabana's game " his
improved length and fitness are what have made him the
player he is today. Ramy will be in the world top
ten, one day, for sure " but he'll get there a lot
quicker if he models himself on his countryman."
Ashour was disappointed with his performance: "I
wasn't patient enough " I just wasn't playing well
enough today. But wait till the World Open in
September by the pyramids in my home country. I'll
do well there " I promise!"
Earlier in the day, England's second seed James
Willstrop struggled to a four-game victory over 14th
seed Shahid Zaman, then admitted: "He's
tricky " I don’t enjoy playing the guy."
The England number one seemed to be cruising to a
straight games win over Zaman when the Pakistan number
one took the upper hand in the third game.
"I just went dull " my game lacked sparkle - I was a bit
loose," said the 22-year-old from Pontefract who went on
to win 11-4, 11-5, 8-11, 11-4 in 48 minutes.
Willstrop, who led England to success in last week's
European Team Championship title in Austria, will
meet Egypt's Karim Darwish for a place in the
last four of the international circuit's richest ranking
event in England for five years.
Darwish, the eighth seed, ended hopes of an all-English
quarter-final when he beat 16th seed Peter
Barker 11-10 (3-1), 11-6, 11-5 in 37 minutes.
The Egyptian beat Willstrop the last time they met, in
the Canary Wharf Classic in London in February.
"Karim's in great shape at the moment, so I'm going to
have to be on top of my game to beat him," conceded
Yorkshireman Willstrop.
Two marathon encounters earlier set up an all-French
quarter-final on Friday. Seventh seed Gregory
Gaultier, from Aix-en-Provence,beat
Australia's 12th seed Stewart Boswell
11-6 11-9 11-6 in 63 minutes, and Marseille's third seed
Thierry Lincou recovered from a game down to
overcome Malaysia's Ong Beng Hee 5-11, 11-8,
11-10 (3-1), 11-8 in 76 minutes.
Beng Hee, the tenth seed who is enjoying something of a
renaissance since plunging out of the top 20 after
reaching a career-high world No7 five years ago, was
pleased with his performance against Lincou, the new
world No3.
"Not winning is a bit of a disappointment, but I really
felt I pushed him " and if I can play like that again,
I'd be quite happy," said the 26-year-old from Kuala
Lumpur.
Gaultier, the fast-improving French number two, had to
battle hard to keep Boswell at bay. The
27-year-old from Canberra fought back from 299 to 20 in
the world rankings in 2005 after a long layoff with a
mystery back ailment. In the past five months, his
progress has been somewhat slower, to 15 in the world.
"I need to improve some things if I'm going to play at
that level," said Boswell after his Gaultier defeat.
"I feel as if I'm playing to top 16, but the next level
just isn't happening for me at the moment."
Gaultier added: "I knew I had to play at a fast
pace today. But I'm confident with my skills " I didn't
ever have my head down, I was feeling strong throughout
the match."
He and Lincou meet on Friday for the first time since
Gaultier claimed his first victory over his fellow
countryman in February's French National championship
final. "I consider Greg first as a friend, and
secondly as a good player in the world's top eight.
It's logical that meetings between us will happen more
and more."
England team-mates and fellow Yorkshiremen Nick
Matthew and Lee Beachill secured the final
two quarter-final places at the end of the evening's
second round session. Matthew, the fourth seed
from Sheffield, beat compatriot Adrian Grant, the
11th
seed from London, 11-9, 11-8, 4-11, 11-10 (3-1) in 68
minutes, while Beachill, the fifth seed from Pontefract,
defeated Welsh number one Alex Gough 11-6 11-7
11-5.
England Team-Mates Through, But Matthew Stretched In Liverpool
Just four days after securing the European Team Championship
title in Austria, England team-mates James Willstrop,
Peter Barker, Nick Matthew and Lee Beachill
successfully negotiated their first round opposition in the
Liverpool 08 Open Squash Championship,the
international squash circuit's richest ranking event in England
for five years.
Staged in the spectacular St George's Hall in the heart
of Liverpool, the PSA Super Series championship has
attracted a star-studded field for the first ever major event on
Merseyside to be played on a state-of-the-art all-glass court.
Nick Matthew, the British national champion from Sheffield, was
taken the full distance by newly-crowned Italian champion
Davide Bianchetti before prevailing in 83 minutes – the
longest match of the day.
The 25-year-old Yorkshireman recovered from a game down to take
a 2/1 lead – then squandered leads of 6-2 and 9-6 in the fourth
to allow Bianchetti to force the match into a fifth game
decider.
It was nip and tuck throughout the game before Matthew, the
fourth seed, took the final three points in a row to claim his
7-11, 11-6, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7 win.
"Davide was quite consistent, and plays better on a glass court
than he used to," said the world No7 afterwards. "I felt I
was playing all right, but only in patches. All the
ingredients were there, but not all at once."
Willstrop, the No2 seed from Pontefract, beat Indian qualifier
Ritwik Bhattacharya 11-10 (3-1), 11-10 (3-1), 11-5 in 39
minutes, then declared that the game could not have been more
different than those last week in Vienna.
"It's like tennis players going from clay to grass – it becomes
almost a different sport," explained the 22-year-old
Yorkshireman, comparing the difference between the all-glass
court and the conventional plaster courts on which the European
championships were played.
"I was a bit rusty to start with, and the first two games were
close - but then I got into a better rhythm.
"But St George's Hall is a spectacular setting – we're lucky to
be able to stage squash events in sensational buildings.
That's the beauty of the game, you can put a glass court almost
wherever you want."
Peter Barker, the 22-year-old from Upminster in Essex who made
his England debut in last week's European Championships, beat
Australia's experienced former world No10 Joseph Kneipp
11-3, 11-6, 11-7 in 31 minutes.
France's Thierry Lincou, one of four former world number
ones in the Liverpool field, continued where he left off in the
European Championships with another win over an Englishman.
The 30-year-old from Marseille defeated England No1 James
Willstrop in a hard-fought European final, then enjoyed a more
straightforward 11-8, 11-2, 11-6 win over Surrey qualifier
Stacey Ross at St George's Hall.
"It's always good beating an Englishman," said the world No3
afterwards – quickly adding "in a team competition," when
mindful of possible misinterpretation by the largely English
inquisitors!
In the final match of the day, Yorkshireman fifth seed Lee
Beachill completed the quartet of England team winners when he
beat Australia's Cameron Pilley 11-5, 11-4, 5-11, 11-2 in
49 minutes.
Upsets Abound In Liverpool 08 Open Qualifying Finals
Upsets littered the final qualifying sessions at the
Liverpool Cricket Club on Merseyside as seven
Englishmen and players from a further eight countries battled for
places in the main draw of the Liverpool 08 Open Squash
Championship.
The international squash circuit's richest ranking event in
England for five years gets underway tomorrow (Wednesday) at St
George's Hall in Liverpool, leading to the final on Sunday (7
May). The PSA Super Series championship, boasting a
$77,500 prize fund, has attracted a star-studded field for the
first ever major event on Merseyside to be played on a
state-of-the-art all-glass court.
Three Englishmen upset higher-ranked compatriots to earn
unexpected places in the first round. Essex's Lee Drew
caused the biggest upset of the day when he survived an 83-minute
marathon against Lincolnshire's Mark Chaloner, saving a
match ball in the fifth game to beat the former England
international 9-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 11-10 (2-0).
"It was an excellent match, and my first PSA win over Mark, so I
feel good about it," said the 29-year-old from Colchester, ranked
more than 40 places lower than his illustrious opponent.
When reminded that Chaloner is President of the Professional
Squash Association (PSA), the players' body, Drew added: "He
seemed OK about it afterwards – I hope it doesn't affect my
membership!"
There was another Essex success later when 23-year-old Daryl
Selby, from Witham, defeated Germany's newly-crowned European
Junior Champion
Simon Rosner
11-6, 11-7, 11-7 in 37 minutes.
An
all-Surrey clash between Ben Garner and Stacey Ross,
ranked 40 and 48, respectively, in the world, produced a
first-time Tour upset for Ross when he recorded an 11-4, 11-5,
11-5 victory in 35 minutes. The 32-year-old from Sutton was
then drawn to face France's former world No1 Thierry Lincou,
the No3 seed,in the first round on the all-glass court at
St George's Hall.
Australia's Dan Jenson headed the international delegation
that claimed qualifying places in the main draw. The
30-year-old former world No5 from Adelaide beat hometown
compatriot Paul Davis 11-3, 11-4, 11-2 in 32 minutes, and
will now face French ace Gregory Gaultier, the seventh
seed.
The event's two top seeds now know their fate after the completion
of the qualifying competition. Favourite David Palmer,
the three-times British Open champion from Lithgow in New South
Wales, will face Australian-born Irish qualifier Liam Kenny,
a straight games victor over Zimbabwean Jesse Engelbrecht.
James Willstrop,
the 22-year-old from Pontefract in Yorkshire who led England to
success in last week's European Team Championships – and,
seeded two, heads domestic interest in the Liverpool 08 Open –
will meet Ritwik Bhattacharya. The Indian number
qualified in impressive style by beating France's higher-ranked
Jean-Michel Arcucci
11-8, 8-11, 11-10 (2-0), 11-2 in 72 minutes.
Davis & Engelbrecht In Early Liverpool 08 Open Upsets
Zimbabwe's Jesse
Engelbrecht and Australian Paul Davis pulled off early
upsets on the first day of qualifying in the Liverpool 08 Open
Squash Championship at the Liverpool Cricket Club on
Merseyside.
The Liverpool 08
Open, at St George's Hall in Liverpool from 3-7 May, is
the international squash circuit's richest ranking event in England
for five years. The PSA Super Series championship,
boasting a $77,500 prize fund, has attracted a star-studded field
for the first ever major event on Merseyside to be played on a
state-of-the-art all-glass court.
A full field of 32 players from 12 countries competed in today's
first qualifying round, with Surrey-based Engelbrecht causing the
first upset when he defeated India's Leeds-based Saurav Ghosal,
ranked 13 places higher in the world rankings, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8 in
31 minutes. The Zimbabwean will now face Ireland's Liam Kenny
for a place in the main draw.
More than 40 ranking positions separated Davis and Pakistan's Arshad Iqbal
Burki –
but the Australian despatched the favoured Burki 11-5, 11-8, 11-5 in
34 minutes to earn an unexpected place in Tuesday's qualifying
finals. Davis will meet fellow Australian Dan Jenson,
the formerworld No5 who is also from Adelaide.
After helping organisers toprepare the Liverpool Cricket
Club for the start of today's (Monday) qualifying competition, club
champion Andrew Breen might have expected to be rewarded with
a good position in the draw, in which he was the recipient of a
'local' wild card place.
But the 22-year-old from Merseyside was drawn to face the most
experienced player in the preliminary competition, ex-England
international Mark Chaloner, ranked 35 in the world.
The 33-year-old from Lincolnshire, a former world No7, made his name
over ten years ago when he clinched victory for England for the
first time in the 1995 World Championships in the decisive final
match against holders Pakistan.
Breen, playing in his first international event, was no match for
the experienced Chaloner, who wrapped up an 11-2 11-5 11-4 victory
in just 16 minutes to earn a place in Tuesday's qualifying finals.
"It was a great experience," said the local hero afterwards.
"But Mark was about ten times faster than anybody I've ever
encountered before," added Breen, before heading over to Liverpool's
St George's Hall to help with the final stages of the
construction of the state-of-the-art all-glass court which will
stage the main draw action of the PSA Super Series event from
Wednesday through to the final on Sunday.
Two-times Merseyside county champion Keith Thomason was also
in qualifying action at the Liverpool Cricket Club. The
23-year-old from New Brighton who is a website developer at
Liverpool University faced recently-crowned European Junior
Champion
Simon Rosner, the 18-year-old world No72 who made his senior
debut for Germany in last week's European Team Championships.
Despite strong local support from the packed club crowd, Thomason
went down 11-7, 11-8, 11-8 to the German teenager who is competing
in his first Tour event in the UK.
Mark Chaloner leads a strong English contingent through to the
qualifying finals, including Lee Drew, from Colchester in
Essex; Ben Garner and Stacey Ross, both from Surrey;
Scott Handley from Oxfordshire; Daryl Selby, from
Witham in Essex; and Gloucestershire's Alister Walker, from
Leeds.
“I am thrilled that
Liverpool is to stage one of
Europe’s biggest squash tournaments.
The Liverpool 08 Open Squash Championship is a prestigious addition to
our ever growing portfolio of international events and further enhances
the city's sporting offer in the run-up to 2008."
"Squash is a fantastic spectator sport and to have the best in the world
competing will I hope act as an inspiration to our youngsters to pick up
a racket. To be staged at such a fabulously unique venue will be no
doubt one of the major highlight of our Capital of Culture themed year -
Liverpool Performs.”
- Councillor Warren Bradley,
Leader of Liverpool
City Council -
Andrew Breen,
the Liverpool Cricket Club squash star who was offered a 'local' wild
card place in the qualifying competition for the Liverpool 08 Open Squash
Championship, will face the highest-ranked player in the 32-man field
following this morning's (Monday) qualifying draw at the club.
Breen will take on former
England international Mark Chaloner, ranked 35 in the world, later
today on the Merseysider's home courts at the Liverpool Cricket Club.
Chaloner, a former world No7 from Lincolnshire, made his name in the sport
over ten years ago when he clinched victory for England for the first time
in the 1995 World Championships in the decisive final match against holders
Pakistan.
Players from 13 countries
will battle it out over the next two days for the eight available qualifying
places in the Liverpool 08 Open at St George's Hall from 3-7
May.
The international squash
circuit's richest ranking event in England for five years boasts a $77,500
prize fund. The PSA Super Series championship has attracted a
star-studded field for the first ever major event on Merseyside to be played
on a state-of-the-art all-glass court.
Further local hopes in the qualifying draw will be shared between
Merseyside's Keith Thomason, who has been drawn to meet Germany's
European Junior Champion Simon Rosner, and North West Counties leaguestar Stephen Siviter, who faces Surrey's
Ben Garner
Qualifying gets
underway tomorrow (Monday) for the international squash circuit's
richest ranking event in England for five years. The Liverpool 08
Open Squash Championship,boasting a $77,500 prize fund, has
attracted a star-studded field to St George's Hall from 3-7 May
for the first ever major event on Merseyside to be played on a
state-of-the-art all-glass court.
Fresh from leading
England to a successful defence of their European Championship
title in Austria this weekend, North West star James Willstrop
heads domestic interest in the PSA Super Series event. The
22-year-old, who leads the Manchester team in the Premier Squash
League, is the No2 seed – and expected to face Australia's top seed
and former world No1 David Palmer in the final on Sunday.
Willstrop and Palmer,
together with another former world No1, Frenchman Thierry Lincou,
face qualifiers in the opening round. But thequalifying field
itself has drawn top squash talent from countries as far afield as
Australia, Egypt, France, Germany, Ireland, India and Pakistan - each
eager to claim one of the eight available places in the 32-man draw.
The two-day qualifying
competition takes place on Monday and Tuesday at the Liverpool
Cricket Club – where English interest will be led by
ex-international Mark Chaloner, the former world No7 from
Lincolnshire.
Local qualifying hopes
will be led by Liverpool Cricket Club star Andrew Breen and
Merseyside brothers Ian and Keith Thomason.
Another breakthrough
feature of the 2006 Liverpool 08 Open is that the event will be
featured live on Sky Sports TV - the semi-finals on Saturday 6
May (6pm Sky Sports 2) followed by the final on Sunday 7 May (5pm Sky
Sports Xtra).
England No1 James
Willstrop is looking forward to the event: "After all the
travelling we do on the world tour, it’s wonderful to have a massive
tournament here in the UK. Two days of live coverage on Sky Sports is a
massive breakthrough for the sport and something we look to build on in
the future. The St George’s Hall venue is truly spectacular and there
is a real buzz among all the word’s top players leading up to the
tournament."
Gawain Briars,
Chief Executive of the Professional Squash Association (PSA) was
also delighted with the TV breakthrough: "The Liverpool 08 Open
represents a breakthrough for the professional game in that this new
tournament is the first to achieve PSA Super Series status in Europe for
some years now and, most excitingly, will boast live satellite coverage
on SKYTV for our dedicated squash enthusiasts.
"This marks a special
occasion for squash in England - and Alan Thatcher, his team and the
Liverpool City Council should be commended on their efforts in raising
the bar of promotion for squash in the UK and Europe."
A Tall Story ENGLAND
squash champion James Willstrop usually faces a tall order when it comes to
finding beds to fit his 6ft 5inch frame.
6ft 5in James Willstrop
tries out the beds at the Liverpool Holiday Inn
But the racquets ace found he was in for a treat when he spent the night at
the Holiday Inn in Liverpool City Centre.
Towering James, 23, is ranked number 3 in the world and travels thousands of
miles across six continents to compete in top-flight matches.
He was in the city to prepare for the Liverpool08 Open Squash Championship
2006 which which culminates in the finals at St George's Hall on 7th May.
The seven-day event will be the biggest squash tournament in Europe and one
of the top half-dozen worldwide in terms of prize money and ranking status.
James confided that the night's sleep he got at the Holiday Inn Liverpool
was one of the best he has ever had thanks to its longer-than-average
Queen-size beds.
And he was so impressed that he has pre-booked a room at the Holiday in for
the duration of this year's Liverpool08 tournament.
James said: "It is a rarity to find a hotel bed that actually fits me so it
was a very pleasant surprise when I came to Liverpool.
"It was a real treat to find that my feet did not stick out at over the end
of the bed like they do in most places.
"I would have loved to have had a long lie in. It's perfect and I'm really
looking forward to coming back for the tournament itself."
James, who comes from Pontefract, West Yorkshire, revealed that his great
height has been a mixed blessing throughout his life.
He added: "Being tall has its advantages and disadvantages. I have a good
long reach so I can volley balls which helps put pressure on my opponents.
"But also I weigh a bit more and have to be constantly spatially aware when
I carry out some of my twists and turns."
Speaking about the prospects for the tournament James added: "The Liverpool
Championship is right up there among the biggest competitions in the world
"It's a Super Series event which is a major event. It's the end of the
season. It's a big tournament and it means a lot.
"There's an added thing for the English guys being in our own country. It's
a big incentive playing in your own country with no acclimatization problems
or jet lag.
"And being sure of a good night's sleep is an extra bonus for me. I'm
looking forward to making the Holiday Inn my home."
James is seeded to face Australian and former world champion, David Palmer,
in the final.
But he is keeping close counsel about how far he thinks he'll go.
He added: "I don't ever really predict how I'm going to do. You can't
predict the way squash is at the moment. It's so competitive.
"I wouldn't predict anyone else and I definitely wouldn't want to make
predicting myself.
"There are lots of other good players in this draw. That starts from round
one. Everyone has to be taken seriously."
James has scooped five World Tour titles together with the second highest
world ranking.
His proudest was leading England to victory at the 2005 World Team
Championships in Pakistan.
"Winning the World Team Championship last December was my greatest moment."
The Liverpool08 Championship event is part of the run-up to Liverpool's
reign as European Capital of Culture 2008.
Leader of Liverpool City Council, Councillor Warren Bradley, said: "I’m
thrilled that Liverpool is to stage one of Europe's biggest squash
tournaments.
"The Liverpool 08 Open Squash Championship is a prestigious addition to our
ever growing portfolio of international events and further enhances the
city's sporting offer in the run-up to 2008."
By Dave Himelfield
L-R Joey
Barrington,
James
Willstrop and Kirsty McPhee pictured outside St George's Hall
The Liverpool 08 Open
Squash Championship could see a new world speed record set next week
at St George's Hall.
Tournament organisers
Squash UK are rigging up a new radar gun to check the speed of EVERY
shot struck at the sumptuous Liverpool venue.
And the favourite to
shatter his own record is big-hitting Scot John White.
The world No9 was clocked
striking the ball at 172 mph at Canary Wharf last year and tournament
promoter Alan Thatcher has tipped White to beat his own personal
best speed.
"Watching John White in
full flow is one of the most exciting and dramatic sights in squash," said
Thatcher. "When he winds up to smack that ball, it stays well and truly
smacked. I am sure he can beat that speed and set another record."
Thatcher is planning to
rig up the new radar gun to the tournament scoreboard so that spectators
at St George's Hall can see the speed of every shot.
He is also feeding the
radar gun speeds to the Sky Sports production crew who will be
filming two days of live coverage from the semi-finals and finals next
weekend, plus the groundbreaking live internet coverage produced by
Horizon for the PSALive.tv website.
Thatcher added: "If you
watch tennis and cricket on TV you see the speed of every shot struck and
every ball bowled. We need to introduce extra ingredients like this to
make the TV coverage more compelling to the viewer, and especially those
who are not regular squash fans."
Thatcher first had the
idea of timing squash players after American Andy Roddick had
broken the 150-mph barrier in tennis. He added: "I always knew that
squash players belted the ball harder than tennis players and wanted some
evidence to prove it. Not surprisingly John White was the man who set the
new standard, 22mph faster than the best in tennis."
Former world No1 White,
the No6 seed who is now based in the USA, meets former Nottingham
team-mate Simon Parke in an intriguing first round clash at St
George's Hall on Wednesday (3 May). Parke, the grand old man of the men's
tour, is still playing as competitively as ever at the age of 33. The
Yorkshireman won the Croatian Open in Zagreb last week in his 14th
PSA Tour final appearance in 17 years!
The top three seeds -
Australia's David Palmer, England's James Willstrop and
French ace - all face qualifiers on Wednesday with British national
champion Nick Matthew meeting Italian Davide Bianchetti. Willstrop's
Pontefract and England team-mate Lee Beachill tackles Australian
Cameron Pilley, while Welshman Alex Gough meets England's
Jonathan Kemp in an all-British battle.
England's wild card,
Alex Stait, plays Egypt's 15th seed Ramy Ashour, the world
junior champion, for the prize of tackling top seed Palmer in the second
round on Thursday.
The Liverpool 08 Open
Squash Championship takes place at the St George's Hall from 3-7 May,
following qualifying on 1 & 2 May at the Liverpool Cricket Club
Liverpool lasses
Georgina Stoker and Emmeline Goulden, who play for the
Merseyside SRA county team, are taking part in a four-girl Invitation
Tournament during the finals weekend, with Laura-Jane Lengthorn
(Lancashire) and Kirsty McPhee of Yorkshire.
Willstrop Seeded To Meet
Aussie Ace Palmer In Liverpool 08 Squash Final
England’s rising star
James Willstrop is seeded to meet Australia’s former world champion
David Palmer in the final of the inaugural Liverpool08 Open Squash
Championship in May.
Willstrop, who led England
to the World Team Championship title in Pakistan in December, is
relishing the opportunity to claim a major PSA world tour title on home
soil.
The 22-year-old from
Pontefract has just returned home after competing in the Commonwealth
Games in Australia and the Bermuda Masters.
“After all the travelling we
do, it’s great to see such a brilliant new tournament being staged in
Liverpool," said the young Yorkshireman. "The venue at St George’s Hall
looks absolutely incredible and all the players were talking about the
tournament in Bermuda.”
Promoted by Squash UK
in conjunction with Liverpool Culture Company, the Liverpool08 Open
Squash Championship is a PSA Super Series Silver tournament and
therefore the biggest squash event in Europe and one of the top six in the
world in terms of prize money and ranking points.
It will also be broadcast
live by Sky TV and Willstrop added: “It’s fantastic to see a
tournament reach such a high level in its first year and the organisers and
sponsors have obviously done a great job in putting everything together.
“Getting live coverage on
Sky is a tremendous boost for the sport so soon after the coverage we
enjoyed during the Commonwealth Games.”
Willstrop faces a qualifier
in the first round and is due to meet the winner of an intriguing clash
between No14 seed Shahid Zaman of Pakistan and England’s Joey
Barrington.
The world No27 is the son of
squash legend Jonah Barrington, the man who was largely instrumental
in creating squash’s first steps into professionalism three decades ago. Zaman
is the nephew of Qamar Zaman, a brilliant stroke maker and a
career-long rival of Jonah.
Also in Willstrop’s half of
the draw are Egyptian Karim Darwish, who beat him in a recent
tournament at Canary Wharf, London, and France’s No3 seed Thierry Lincou,
who spent the whole of 2005 at the top of the world rankings.
Willstrop’s main British
rivals are all in the top half of the draw. Yorkshire and England
team-mates Nick Matthew and Lee Beachill, seeded four and
five, are due to meet at the quarter-final stage.
Another mouth-watering clash
in the same round features top seed Palmer and big-hitting Scot John White.
The two met in an absorbing World Open final in Antwerp three years ago
when Palmer recovered from match ball down to take the title.
White is the hardest hitter
in the history of squash, having been registered belting the ball at an
astonishing 172mph.
Other Brits in the top half
include Welsh No1 Alex Gough, who faces English youngster Jonathan
Kemp, Kent’s
Adrian Grant and
Yorkshire’s world tour veteran Simon Parke, who is still playing
great squash at the age of 33.
In all, 18 of the world’s
top 20 have entered the tournament, which features qualifying rounds at
Liverpool Cricket Club on May 1 and 2 before the main event moves to the
beautiful surroundings of St George’s Hall from May 3-7.
The 32-draw first round will
see eight matches at both venues on Wednesday May 3 as big-time squash
arrives on Merseyside.
The tournament features two
days of live TV coverage on Sky Sports during the finals weekend and will be
preceded by a Merseyside Squash Festival on the previous weekend.
ENGLAND STARS BID FOR HOME GLORY IN LIVERPOOL
ENGLAND’S leading squash stars will be heading to Merseyside in May hoping
for home glory in the inaugural Liverpool08 Open Squash Championship at St
George’s Hall.
The Liverpool08 Open runs from May 1-7 and is already the biggest squash
tournament in Europe and one of the top six in the world in terms of prize
money and world ranking status.
It is certain to be a magnet for the world’s leading stars and England’s
world team champions are fully committed to making it a roaring success.
The awesome foursome of James Willstrop, Peter Nicol, Lee Beachill and Nick
Matthew are currently competing in the Commonwealth Games in Australia.
They are bidding for medals in singles and doubles to add to the World Team
Championship title they collected in Pakistan in December, beating Canada in
the semi-finals and Egypt in the final.
Before heading to Liverpool they will be competing in the Bermuda Open and
then travelling to Vienna to defend their European Team title.
England No.1 James Willstrop, the 22-year-old rising star from Pontefract,
is certainly looking forward to competing in Liverpool.
He said: “It’s always great to see new tournaments on the calendar and
Liverpool is already up there with the best.
“The St George’s Hall venue looks absolutely awesome and I am sure all the
players will love the atmosphere of playing on the glass court in such a
fabulous building.”
Tournament promoter Alan Thatcher of SquashUK said: “We are delighted to be
staging such a massive tournament in Liverpool.
“The glass court will look absolutely stunning inside such a beautiful and
iconic venue and, with St George’s Hall directly opposite Lime Street
Station, it could not be more convenient for attracting spectators to
Merseyside.
“We know that squash fans will be travelling to Liverpool by
train from all over the UK and flying in from all over Europe.”
The entertainment value is sure to be high and Thatcher added: “Squash is a
fast, thrilling game and spectators are sure to get full value for money
when they watch the world’s top players in action.”
Tickets went on sale this week and he added: “We have deliberately kept the
ticket prices low in year one to attract a new audience to the sport in
Liverpool.”
Seats will be placed on three sides of the glass court and organisers are
hoping to entice Liverpool’s business community with special hospitality
packages and VIP tables at courtside.
The qualifying competition will be held at Liverpool Cricket Club on May 1
and 2 with the top eight players going into the 32-man first round draw,
which will be split between St George’s Hall and the cricket club’s squash
courts.
The Liverpool 08 Squash Championship will herald a new era for squash as the
world’s leading players compete on the glass court at St George’s Hall in
the Liverpool08 Open Championship.
English fans will be hoping to cheer on a home victory with James Willstrop,
Lee Beachill and Nick Matthew among the top seeds.
We will be anticipating the mouthwatering, colourful mixture of an
international cast featuring present and past world champions Amr Shabana
(Egypt), French ace Thierry Lincou and Australia’s David Palmer.
They will be backed up by compatriots Karim Darwish, Gregory Gaultier and
Anthony Ricketts, to name just a few, but sadly missing will be Jonathon
Power and Peter Nicol.
Nicol is reducing his tournament commitments following the Commonwealth
Games, and Power shocked the squash world recently by announcing first of
all his withdrawal from Canada’s team for the Games in Australia, and then
his retirement from the world tour itself.
What made Power’s announcement all the more staggering was that he had just
returned to the top of the world rankings. He chose the unique setting of
Grand Central Station in New York, scene of many of his greatest triumphs in
the Tournament of Champions, to broadcast the news to a stunned audience.
His exit from the world tour brings to an end his 12-year rivalry with Nicol,
who is making one final push for gold in Melbourne before giving his body a
rest after a lifetime of gruelling punishment on the training courts and in
tournaments.
With more than 100 PSA tour titles between them, and an absorbing rivalry to
match that of Hunt and Barrington and the great Khans in bygone eras, the
international squash scene will be a very different place without them.
As we salute their enormous contribution to the game, we also fast forward
to a dynamic modern era in which the names of Shabana, Ricketts, Willstrop,
Gaultier, Matthew and Darwish will keep spectators spellbound for years to
come.
By Alan Thatcher
Two
weeks to goand
there is a huge buzz around the inaugural Liverpool08 Open Squash
Championship, which runs from May 1-7. It is the biggest squash event in
Europe and one of the top six on the PSA
men’s world tour in terms of prize money and ranking points.
England’s
No.2 seed James Willstrop, who is due to meet
Australia’s former
world champion David Palmer in the final, checked out the stunning St
George’s Hall venue during a flying visit to Merseyside last week.
“It looks
fabulous,” said Willstrop. “It’s a beautiful building and it will look
sensational with the glass court inside. With all the travelling we do it’s
brilliant to have such a major tournament in the
UK and I can’t wait
for it to start.”
+++
After a qualifying competition at Liverpool Cricket Club on May
1 and 2, the 32-player main event moves to St George’s Hall on May 3.
Because of the size of the draw, eight first round matches will be staged at
the Cricket Club as well.
Seventeen
of the world’s top 20 stars will be in action as big-time squash arrives in
Liverpool for the first time.
+++
As well as checking out the venue, Willstrop had another
important Merseyside mission: to test the beds at the Holiday Inn, the
tournament hotel which is opposite St George’s Hall.
At 6ft 5in, Willstrop is the tallest player on the world tour
and gave the Holiday Inn beds a massive thumbs-up. The twin rooms all have
two double beds and Willstrop enjoyed a pleasant nap after a hectic day of
media interviews before heading off to Liverpool Cricket Club for an
exhibition night.
He teamed
up with fellow pro Joey Barrington, son of squash legend Jonah, to give a
coaching clinic to local youngsters before taking to the court with some of
Liverpool’s leading club players for some
fun singles and doubles matches. Ironically, the two could be facing each
other in the second round if James beats a qualifier and Joey removes No.14
seed Shahid Zaman of
Pakistan.
+++
The
Liverpool 08 Open will also include a Women’s Invitation Classic featuring
Merseyside players Georgina Stoker and Emmeline Goulden, Lancashire’s Laura
Jane Lengthorn and
Yorkshire’s Kirsty McPhee.
+++
Before
James and Joey played their fun exhibition match at the Cricket Club, the
two enjoyed a successful trial of a new Battle Of The Sexes experiment in
squash.
Emmeline
and Kirsty teamed up to trial a new format of two girls on court against one
male, and remained unbeaten all evening – even against Joey and James.
They
played a succession of local males who were all “up for it” but quickly
found that they were doing all the running as wherever they hit the ball
there was a female opponent ready to send them to the opposite corner.
The
brainchild of SquashUK founder Alan Thatcher, the format will be repeated on
finals day at the Liverpool 08 Open.
Thatcher
said: “Most tournaments feature a doubles exhibition on finals day and the
format is looking a bit tired. This is something new and exciting and we are
planning to develop the idea for television.”
+++
Talking of television, site checks were being carried out this
week at St George’s Hall by the Sky Sports production team who will be
filming two days of live action during the semi-finals and finals on May 6
and 7.
+++
As well as
the Battle Of The Sexes competition, the glass court will stage the finals
of the Merseyside Squash Festival which takes place at Liverpool Cricket
Club, Northern Crosby and
New Brighton during the weekend
of April 29 and 30, plus a racketball exhibition sponsored by Dunlop
Racketball.
The Liverpool08 Open Squash
Championship is promoted by SquashUK in conjunction with Liverpool Culture
Company as part of the European Capital of Culture Sports Strategy.
Liverpool
is the European Capital of Culture in 2008.
The Qualifying competition takes place at Liverpool Cricket Club, which is
located on Aigburth Road, in the South-East of the city, on the main road
into town from John Lennon International Airport
LIVERPOOL
CRICKET CLUB
AIGBURTH ROAD
GRASSENDALE
LIVERPOOL
L19 3QF
Tel: 0151 427 2930
Qualifying competition for PSA Super Series event has 32 draw.
First round: 16 matches.
Qualifying finals: 8 matches
(8
qualifiers go into first round draw)
Monday May 1:
12
noon. Qualifying draw.
FIRST ROUND
1.00: 4 matches.
2.00: 4 matches.
3.00: 4 matches
4.00: 4 matches
Tuesday May 2:
QUALIFYING FINALS:
8
matches. All on glassback court
1pm
2pm
3pm
4pm
5pm.
6pm
7pm
8pm
ST GEORGE’S HALL
Wednesday May 3:
FIRST ROUND
8
matches at St George’s Hall and 8 matches at Liverpool Cricket Club (Glass
court).
(2
sessions at each venue starting at1pm and 6pm)
Thursday May 4:
SECOND ROUND
St
George’s Hall. Glass court.
8
matches (2 sessions starting at 1pm and 6pm)
Friday May 5:
QUARTER FINALS
St
George’s Hall. Glass court.
4
matches (Evening session)
(2
sessions starting at 1pm and 6pm)
Saturday May 6:
SEMI-FINALS
St
George’s Hall. Glass court.
TWO SEMI-FINALS plus Women’s Invitation (2 semi-finals) and Festival finals
Day session starting at 12 noon (Doors open at 11a.m.)
Sun May 7:
FINALS
St
George’s Hall. Glass court.
THE FINAL plus Women’s Final and third/fourth play-off.
Plus Festival finals
Day session starting at 12 noon (Doors open at 11a.m.)