Wed 3rd Dec
Men's & Women's Quarters Qatar Quotes
Men's Quarters:
[9] Lee Beachill (Eng) bt [1] Peter Nicol (Eng) 15/11, 15/10, 15/7 (40m)
Nick Matthew (Eng) bt [3] David Palmer (Aus) 11/15, 17/16, 15/12, 15/8 (72m)
[4] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt Adrian Grant (Eng) 15/11, 15/9, 15/6 (52m)
[2] John White (Sco) bt Omar Elborolossy (Egy) 15/12, 15/9, 15/9 (38m)
Full men's draw
Women's Quarters:
[1] Carol Owens (Nzl) bt [13] Fiona Geaves (Eng) 9/4, 9/0, 9/3 (27m)
[3] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt [6] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned) 7/9,9/6,9/0,6/9,9/3(60m)
[4] Cassie Jackman (Eng) bt [7] Natalie Grinham (Aus) 10/8, 7/9, 9/5, 9/2 (56m)
[2] Natalie Grainger (Usa) bt Isabelle Stoehr (Fra) 9/4, 9/7, 0/9, 9/2 (40m)
Full women's drawQuick Pics from Fritz
Fritz Borchert reports on Wednesday's play
More photos in the Gallery
The curtain raiser for today’s Quarter Final play was a tough encounter between Rachael Grinham and Vanessa Atkinson. The Dutch girl made a great start, taking the opening game and leading well into the second before the British Open Champion found her length and levelled the match. In the 5th Atkinson simply ran out of steam.
"Vanessa played so well at the beginning," said Grinham. "I couldn't get near her. When she is playing that well it is tough. Later I played much more straight. You have to on a glass court, otherwise you run around for ever."
"It came down to who was volleying the best would win the match," added Atkinson. "I couldn’t keep it up, it took to much out of me."
Then it was the turn of Rachael's sister Natalie to take on England's Cassie Jackman.
Grinham started very well, with fast retrieving dominating the front of the court, forcing Jackman into many errors. Jackman straightened out her game, and playing good length brought the initiative back to the English girl, as she ran out the 3-1 winner, quite comfortably in the end.
"I am pleased to get that out the way, particular after yesterday's long match with Jenny [Duncalf]," said Jackman. "You have to play straight, otherwise she makes the game, she is very fast."
The winning run of England hopeful Adrian Grant came to an end against Frenchman Thierry Lincou. Having been successful against Ong Beng Hee and England Stalwart Mark Chaloner, he could offer little resistance losing 3-0. It was obvious by the movement of the young Englishmen that this was one match too far.
"I had a very bad cramp in my match with Bengy and a tough match yesterday. I've had this [cramp] before. When I get home, I'll have some tests" said Grant.
It was a brighter story for the other English youngster in the quarter-finals as Nick Matthew took on an injured David Palmer.
Matthew played from the start to a plan, knowing the world Champion was carrying a injury to his right leg. Dropping balls short in the forehand corner whenever possible. Showing great frustration with his inability to move freely, Palmer would not be Palmer without making it as tough as possible for the Sheffield lad. But Matthew prevailed over his third successive injured opponent.
"My plan worked, but it was difficult to stay positive and not play all the time to his forehand," said a delighted Matthew.But probably the biggest shock of the day came in the last match when Lee Beachill beat his Commonwealth Games doubles partner Peter Nicol in three games.
Beachill was good, but Nicol was definitely below par. "Peter was very slow in movements on court today. He seemed to be struggling while reading the flight of the ball. For me, this certainly is one of my more famous victories. I haven’t played this well in a long while," said Beachill.
Match of the day :
Rachael Grinham v Vanessa Atkinson
Quote of the day :
Nick Matthew:
"This is my best tournament ever. The first time I have beaten a top three player."
Gritty Beachill shatters Nicol’s dream
R Ravi Kumar reports for the Gulf TimesTOP-SEEDED Englishman Peter Nicol's dream of a grand Qatar Classic hat-trick met an ugly end yesterday when the world No 1 was vanquished in straight games in the quarter-finals by fellow countryman Lee Beachill at the Khalifa Squash Complex.
Joining Nicol on the scrapheap was world No 3 David Palmer of Australia who was accounted for by young Nick Matthew. In doing so, Matthew set up an all-English semi-final against Beachill. However, the other seeds in the fray – Scotland's John White and Frenchman Thierry Lincou – safely manoeuvred their way into the remaining last four berths.
On the women's side, New Zealand's Carol Owens, who is the world No 1 and top seed here, encountered almost no opposition from Fiona Geaves of England and reached the semi-finals along with second seed Natalie Grainger, British Open champion Rachael Grinham and Cassie Jackman.
Nicol, who won the Classic in 2001 and 2002, was simply not prepared to counter the well-crafted game plan imposed on him by Beachill, who celebrated his 26th birthday two days back. The tussle ended 15-11, 15-10, 15-7 in under 30 minutes and this was the first time the top-ranked player in the world had to exit without a last four billing. In every single tournament played in Doha, Nicol has made the semi-finals or better.
Earlier, Palmer, playing with a heavily strapped thigh, soldiered on against Matthew and despite winning the first game it was obvious to all that the odds were heavily loaded against him. The score was 11-15, 17-16, 15-12, 15-8 for Matthew who quickly sensed that the Australian was having difficulty in keeping up with the pace and shunted him around the court at will.
Beachill has been the in-form player of the tournament so far with convincing wins in all the matches he has played. So it was to be expected that he dictated the pace of the first game. Nicol looked strangely out of sorts and still suffering from the slump which saw him crashing out in the first round of the Canadian Classic last week.
“I didn't expect this result. No. I can play better than that,” said the 29-year-old Nicol. “I struggled with my length and the range. Nothing went right today.”
Beachill was modest in victory. “Once I got the first game under my belt I knew it would be difficult for him. On this type of court, one has to move well, and he was not doing that. So I grew in confidence,” said the Englishman who is eyeing his “first big PSA win”.
“I have beaten him 2-3 times before but this victory was convincing. This is the best I have played here as earlier I have always struggled,” said Beachill who is up against Matthew next. “It will be a big game for us both.”
Matthew, who is based in Sheffield, played a bold gambit, trying to lure his burly Australian rival to the front of the court frequently. In the process, he committed dozens of unforced errors but the strategy paid dividends as Palmer eventually found his aggravating injury restricting his movements. Medical attention between the games proved to be of no help.
Matthew, 23, said: “I knew he was injured and tried to pull him to the front and then shunt him back. I can't say this was my best win ever because he was injured.”
“But this is my first victory over a top-three player and I am quite happy. I hope they keep bringing them to me injured,” he joked. “But Palmer fought for every point and he still has his experience.”
“On a glass-court one has to be very aggressive and this led to unforced errors,” added Matthew.
Earlier, Lincou and his English rival Adrian Grant induced yawns from the spectators and a warning from the irked referee to “make more efforts to play the ball”. Lincou took his own time sizing up Grant and had little problem in dispatching him 15-11, 15-9, 15-6 in 52 minutes.
Thierry's semi-final opponent world No 2 White blasted Egyptian challenger Omar Elborolossy off the court 15-12, 15-9, 15-9 in an awesome display of powerplay. White lagged behind in the first game but never looked in any sort of trouble.
“I gave him some cheap points at the start but was never in trouble. I felt comfortable throughout and hope to make the double,” said White who won the Qatar Masters at the same venue in May.
Owens, who beat Geaves 9-0, 9-1, 9-5, was also set for a Doha double having lifted the WISPA Grand Prix title here in May. "It would be a fine thing if I win," said Owens. “I am deciding if I will be still on the circuit next year. I have this niggling back injury and there is of course life outside squash,” added Owens
News direct from Doha ... www.qatarclassic.com
