Say it with a French Accent from Broadgate
Framboise Gommendy reports

Day TWO stories from Framboise:

LAST YEAR’S FINALISTS
ARE GONE !!!!!!!!!!!!!


Well, as I told you in my first report, I was watching the final last year, which ended on a now famous 15/14 in the 5th, between Peter Nicol and Jonathon Power.

How things can change quickly, turn quickly, but Jonathon is used to quick changes! When he first appeared in New York, he lost against Ross Norman in the first round. The following year, he was holding the trophy…

So don’t believe for a second that they are retiring.
Peter is exhausted and Jonathan is injured.

End of story.

JOHN WHITE IMPERIAL
John White (Sco) bt Peter Nicol (Eng)
    11/9, 11/7, 11/7 (36 mins)


Once again, yes, Peter Nicol is tired, but you know him, he is not the kind to give up without a good fight. The first game was very close, 11/9 for White in 13 minutes. John chose to hit the ball extremely hard to start with (well, the word is that the front wall is actually launching a complaint to the tournament officials for abuse and bad treatment from Mr White), with good length drives and cross courts, and to vary the pace with sharp boasts (he missed quite a few on the backhand though, maybe something to watch?)

6/6, 7/7, 9/9. Then a trademark crosscourt kill, 10/9 for John, and a beautiful backhand drop shot to finish the first.

What became clear to me was that what makes Peter nearly unbeatable is his anticipation skills and his gun-like start-up abilities. But today, he was starting to move just a bit too late. And too late in the games as well. In the next 2 games, John went up 5/0 and 3/0, leaving Peter to catch up with him.

Peter tried to slow the pace down to get to his own rhythm. The second game was still close, 6/6, 7/7, but 2 boasts, one out of court, and one crosscourt kill later, John was closing the game 11/7 in 10 minutes.

The 3rd started with a “how to exhaust your already tired opponent” lesson from White. Drop shot right front corner, he picks it up, then cross court lob left back corner. Repeat at will. 3 times White sent Nicol running up and down.

So, if you hear people saying that Peter gave it away, please, punch them in the nose from me.

Again 4/4, 5/5, 6/6. John flicked the ball from left to right 7/6, a great forehand drop shot, 8/6, again a front court boast backhand, 10/6, a tin to give a bit of hope to his opponent, and a backhand crosscourt with a lucky nick to take this second victory 3/0 of the tournament.

“I let John in front every time, 5/0 in the second, 3/0 in the third. And I’m just VERY tired”. Said a drained Peter after his match.

“Peter is very relaxed, but he is still very dangerous to play, because he returns so much. The season should have stopped last week!”

I was told that EVERYBODY is going on holiday next week…. And no wonder!

BEACHILL:
WHAT EVER HAPPENED?
Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt Lee Beachill (Eng)
    5/11, 4/11, 11/8, 11/6, 11/8 (72 mins)


After Lee Beachill had asphyxiated Thierry Lincou 11/5, 11/4 in 26 minutes, I gave very few chances for my French friend!

What on earth happened?

“He let me come back into the match, I don’t know why really…” said Thierry at the end of the match.

Well, here is my explanation. As you all know, Lee just had a baby, and not only he is lacking sleep, but also, I don’t think he is THAT happy being here when he would like to see the smile of his son changing day after day.

Beachill very rarely discusses referee's decisions, but today, he was cranky, he even mimicked Lincou's racquet swing twice (Malcolm, rings a bell??), got angry for an obvious stroke against him… Not the Lee I came to know and love (and I mean it, I really warmed up to the kid).

It came to the point where he actually crashed into Lincou's right shoulder so strongly that Alan Thatcher made a joke of it at the end of the match, and said that “obviously, Beachill had been receiving coaching lessons from Ellery Hanley!

The crowd was not impressed, and at the end of the 4th game (Thierry having won the 2 next games 11/8, 11/6 in 25 minutes), the English audience was actually behind the French man. How was that for a surprise!

In the 5th, Thierry was always in front, but the rallies were fierce, varied and intense. He served us with 2 splendid splits, two shots in a row, that left the spectators just behind me stunned (“this must hurt, man”…).

“I’m glad I was able to do those splits, that means that my ankle is completely healed, as I did them without thinking”. Honey, it was not your ankle I was worried about, your adductors more like…

Against all odds, Lincou won the 71 minute match. I was personally sorry to see Lee so unhappy, he is normally a very nice man, well behaved and a stunning player as well.

“He started pretty well”, said Thierry to Alan Thatcher, compere of the event. “I couldn’t read his game, and I couldn’t find any solution. Then I got my confidence back. I’m glad that my fitness responded well when I needed it.”

Talking about tomorrow’s match with Amr Shabana, the Frenchman said “He is unpredictable, he is talented. He is a very good friend of mine, so our matches are always friendly.”

It should be even more friendly now that Thierry is in the semis for the 3rd time in a row, and Shabana is out…

MATTHEW WALKS
ALL OVER HIS HEROES!
Nick Matthew (Eng) bt Jonathon Power (Can)
    11/6, 11/9, 2/11, 11/5 (39 mins)

The atmosphere was warm and extremely friendly between Nick Matthew, the 23 year old player whom everybody is talking about, and Jonathan Power, the “old guard”, during their match won by the youngster in 4 games.

You could see the admiration that Nick has for the Canadian, even if today, Matthew was after his scalp.

“Nick was playing a lot on my backhand, that is the side I can move on, so I was able to run a bit, but I can’t go forward on the right side, and I can’t stretch,” Jonathon told me.

But boy o boy, “il a de beaux restes”, as we say, “he’s got some nice left-overs” from his glory days, Jonathan has. He took the third 11/2 in 5 minutes! Matthew didn’t see a ball.

Jonathan played outrageous reflex shots, placed some miracle cross courts, as if he was just getting rid of a burning ball. Nick was so out of his depth. A great, fantastic, amazing display of talent that led Mr Bronstein to say with a beautiful smile “that’s why they call him 'the Magician'”…

But Nick came back with a vengeance to take the fourth 11/5 and get his place in the final stages.

“Yesterday Peter Nicol, today Jonathan Power, and tomorrow?”  Alan Thatcher asked the winner. “John White”, replied a cheeky Matthew. “What do you think of that, John”, Alan asked the tall man. “Not much” he replied simply…

Well, tomorrow’s match won’t have any bearing on the semis, as both White and Matthew are already qualified, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were still up for victory. Both of them.

We shall see, shan't we …

SHABANA:
OH WELL, MAYBE NEXT YEAR*
Joe Kneipp (Aus) bt Amr Shabana (Egy)
    9/11, 11/6, 11/6, 11/3 (42 mins)

*Once again, for you readers who don’t know about Musical, “oh well, maybe next year” is the end line of a very famous song “Send in the clowns”, by Stephen Sondheim, best known for his lyrics of West Side Story.

No, this year was not going to be Shabana’s year in Broadgate. Yes he is a very charismatic figure, lovely to speak to, and you want to be his next best friend, but on the squash court during this event, he wasn’t that impressive, and I’m really sorry about that, as I heard so much about the Egyptian magic I was looking forward to be swept away…

Too many mistakes don’t make up for a few flamboyant kills… And Kneipp meant business, real business. He lost the first, but the score was very close indeed: 3/3, 5/5, 6/6, 7/7, 8/8, 9/9… The rallies were long but neither of them were ready to take the risk to play too dangerously, but still Amr was already making a few mistakes. Nevertheless took the first game 11/9 in 14 minutes.

The rest of the match was all Joe’s, but what I liked about those two, is that they were both attacking from their opponent’s attack. Let me explain what I mean. Most of the time, when a player picks up a difficult drop shot, he defends (lob, cross court lob) but those two were using their position near the front wall to whack a great attack on the other player!

So a really good show for us to see! But once again, Shabana made too many mistakes, too many balls went in the tin, like all shot players not on a good day. Kneipp didn’t give him the chance to come back; Amr’s game suits him much more than Thierry’s length and calculated tactics, and he didn’t get negative like in his previous match against the Frenchman.

He won the match rather comfortably in 42 minutes, 9/11, 11/6, 11/6, 11/3.

So tomorrow, the only “real” match of that last day will be between Joe Kneipp, the newcomer, and Lee Beachill, the new dad…

My money is on…

I’m not going to tell you, am I? Every time, I get it wrong!

 
So what do the
players think of the
NEW SCORING SYSTEM?


Power: I like it, it will take time to get used to it, but it’s definitely an improvement, and I put my name to it - not that it means much today, it used to, but not anymore.
 
Beachill: You can’t afford to go for shots near the tin at the beginning of each game, so, you play more carefully to start with.


 


 

 



Not so friendly once on court ...

 

 

 

 


Beachill starts strongly ...


... but Lincou won't lay down


New baby, New responsibilities
Framboise talks to Lee about being a father ...


 




Matthew beats another
 of his heroes ... White next?


 



Joe just too strong today