DAY 4: SEMI-FINALS
Pulsating Matthew win
sets up final with Nicol
Nick Matthew, put out James Willstrop, in a pulsating high
intensity contest in which he dominated the T and applied so much pressure
that his opponent struggle to get toward and use his extravagant talent to
attack.
Matthew was confident from the start, volleyed whole succession of balls,
hit hard and straight and kept pushing Willstrop back. It was beautiful
squash, tight, with both players searching for the opening. From 8-all
Matthew saw out the first 11-8.
Willstrop sneaked the lead with the cooler ball in the second (and again in
the third) and although Willstrop got in front for the odd foray Matthew
kept pushing him back. His movement was flowing. His feet skipped off the T
and he danced across the court to smash volleys away and power tight and
straight drives past his opponent. Crosscourts were angled into the side to
beat the volley and straight drives faded into the wall in the area in which
Willstrop would choose to volley from. All the time Willstrop was struggled
to get forward and get the balls to attack.
It was close. The second was won 11-9 Willstrop wasting the penultimate
point going too low in his attack as he was forced to throughout the match.
The third to was so close and this time Willstrop was given the chance to
get forward a little more as Matthew was over eager to finish the match and
let his game plan slip. Willstrop scored with deceptive forehands that died
and had Matthew scrambling which gave him a way back 12-10.
Matthew got away in the fourth 2-0 and although and kept the pressure on as
there was the suspicion that Willstrop tired and he saw it out 11-4 in 63
minutes.
“I have done a lot of good work in training and building my speed,” said
Matthew, “and it has paid off.”
“I tried to play the volleys fast and low. He is a big guy and he has a long
way to go to the front and I wanted to put it in fast.”
“My legs were a little heavy in the third but I got a good start in the
fourth. We will have to see how they go tomorrow against Peter Nicol.”
Nicol repulses White onslaught
Peter Nicol repulsed an onslaught from John White and although the scoreline
was convincing enough, he won 11-5, 11-8, 11-8 in 43 minutes, he was far
from comfortable. In the end he may have been glad that John White, a
favourite here, was only just back into playing after a break and did not
have the fitness to challenge the new trim and fit Nicol in a sustained way.
White got away to a 3-1 start, got just one more point in the first game and
was away again to 5-1 in the second and then to 7-4 – a good lead in point a
rally to 11 – so we had a match on. Nicol was explosive, in his retrieving
sort of way, hard hitting and trying to keep his opponent back while White’s
power was almost overwhelming at times, the unreadable low kills hurt his
opponent who was frustrated by his dinking volley shots and deception. The
pace however told on White as Nicol levelled to 7 all and then when he again
levelled to 8 again he was stuffed in a draining all-court rally. The lack
of pressure for a moment allowed Nicol to come in with winners, take the
game 11-8 and it was obvious White, in this condition, was not going to be
able to mount a challenge that would allow him to take three games in a row.
White however did challenge gamely in the third but at 6-6 a grinding
all-court rally had him groaning at every desperate recovery, and the crowd
wincing, before he dived full length to flick off the back and collapse on
the floor where he stayed for some considerable time. Nicol helped him up
for he was keen to be off and saw out the game 11-8.
“He hits so hard it is difficult to be comfortable,” against him Nicol
explained despite his convincing scoreline.
“I am in better condition than I have been or 2 or 3 years.” You can keep a
better mental focus when you are not so tired.
Nicol has so far gone through this event in straight games, as he did the
World Games.
“If you get involved in hard games in early rounds it can take its toll,” he
said on the advantage of not dropping games.
The fact that he is fresh could be a major benefit in the final against the
winner of James Willstrop or Nick Matthew.
He is looking forward to it. “I am moving well and my fitness is good,
technically I am not happy yet but it is great to finally be playing well in
one of my own tournament,” said the promoter.
___________________________________________________________
DAY 3: QUARTERS:
Sheffield Star Dethrones
Champion At The Crucible
Sheffield squash star Nick Matthew recovered from two games
down - and saved four match balls in the fifth game decider - to dethrone
defending champion and favourite Lee Beachill after a nail-biting tie-break
in tonight's (Friday) quarter-finals of the Mamut English Open, hosted by
Sheffield City Council, at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
Despite never having beaten his Yorkshire and England team-mate before,
Matthew had taken the world No2 from Pontefract the full distance in their
previous two meetings this year. But after defeating Australia's former
world No4 Stewart Boswell 24 hours earlier - a tough first round
confrontation he called 'a blessing in disguise' - the fifth seed was eager
to end the hoodoo that Beachill had on him.
The top seed was in fine form in the first two games and built up a 4-0
advantage in the third. "I told myself to dig in at this point and get more
composure into my game," explained the ecstatic Matthew after his 6-11 7-11
11-6 11-9 11-10 triumph in 93 minutes - the longest match of the tournament.
"I began to construct the rallies better and soon the momentum was going my
way. But when we got into the decider, I remembered that I'd done this to
him in the Super Series Finals in May - then he made me look stupid in the
fifth!
"Lee is someone for whom I've always had a lot of respect, and to have
finally beaten him is a huge honour," added Matthew, now a Crucible
semi-finalist in his home town for the first time in three years. "This is
definitely the best win of my career."
Matthew will now face another Yorkshireman - former world junior champion
James Willstrop, who earlier delighted the crowd by beating qualifier Peter
Barker in straight games to become the first player through to Saturday's
semi-finals
After countless confrontations at junior level, this was only the pair's
third meeting as seniors - but the 22-year-old from Pontefract was able to
maintain his unbeaten record with an 11-5 11-10 11-3 victory in 42 minutes.
"We always have tough matches, but I was glad to get through 3/0," said the
fourth seed afterwards. "Peter's improving all the time, so I had to play
well. My next match is going to be a big game, either way. But I'm ready to
win it," added Willstrop.
Third seed Peter Nicol maintained his recent form to come through the second
quarter-final of the evening in fine style, beating Australia's Joseph
Kneipp 11-10 11-2 11-6 in 42 minutes. The former world number one, who is
also a co-promoter of the event, is in the last four for only the second
time in three years - and eager to progress further for the first time!
His opponent will be Scotland's sixth seed John White, the 2003 champion,
who survived a late five-game match against unseeded Finn Olli Tuominen -
saving two match balls in the decider to win 11-10 7-11 11-7 8-11 11-10 in
87 minutes.
Earlier in the day, Jenny Duncalf extended the Yorkshire interest at the
Crucible when she despatched English compatriot Lauren Briggs in the first
round of the Eventis Women's English Open.
The top seed from Harrogate, ranked a career-high nine in the world, beat
Briggs 9-1 9-3 9-2 to set up a semi-final meeting with 21-year-old Alison
Waters, a 3/4 seed from London. Waters, a surprise finalist in the British
Championships earlier in the year, brushed aside Lancashire's Rebecca
Botwright 9-4 9-2 9-2.
The Botwright family had cause for celebration in the last women's match of
the day when older sister Vicky Botwright defeated Pakistan's Carla Khan.
Despite losing her way in the third game, the second seed from Manchester
triumphed 9-0 9-1 5-9 9-1 to earn a semi-final clash with Irish champion
Madeline Perry.
____________________________________________________________
Landmark win for
Matthew over Beachill
"I’d like to thank Lee for a brilliant match,” said Nick Matthew when he
first gained breath after having beaten Lee Beachill in the quarter-finals
of the Mamut English Open.
“He is the one top ten player I have never beaten,” he added to put his win
in perspective.
That win came after a resolute comeback before which Matthew took what he
called a lesson for two and a half games. The match was finally won 6-11,
7-11, 11-6, 11-9, 15-13 (5-3) after 93 minutes.
Lessons are something Matthew has been taking from Beachill for a while. “He
is one or my role models,” explained Matthew. However recently he had been
getting close with hard fought five game matches in both the Nationals and
the Super Series Finals putting him in touch.
“I learnt a lot from them. How to hang in. That helped me. I was able to
come back today using what I had learnt,” he said.
“To come back from 2/0 down against Lee Beachill has to rank as my best ever
result.”
“At the start I was trying to force it but not from good positions. I was
trying to win the rallies with one shot.
I was disappointed with how I played.”
Matthew recounts how between games when he was receiving advise from coach
David Pearson he looked up at the results monitor and saw that it said ‘From
2/0 up Lee Beachill has never lost in 69 occasions. (20 this year)
Q. What turned it around?
“I said to myself, ‘don’t go out without a fight’. I tried to structure the
rallies more.”
“The momentum changed in the third. I got in front. David Pearson said to
lengthen the court and I tried to concentrate on that. When I got in front I
was able to twist him.”
“At the beginning of the fourth I felt I had a chance but then I let him
back in.”
The fifth was desperately close with Beachill having the initiative at 10-8
and an opening. He was quick to pounce, perhaps too quick, for his drop just
tipped the tin.
“I got lucky,” said Matthew.
Matthew survived and as Beachill’s footwork got tied up a fraction – he was
stroked, conceded a point (that would have been a stroke) and tinned as a
delighted Matthew thrust his fists in the air.
“I can’t rest on that. I’ve got James next,” he said later.
Just then James Willstrop, his England colleague came down, congratulated
him and they shook hands.
“James and I have good games,” said Matthew. “It’s fast and open.”
___________________________________________________________________________
DAY 2: Round 1: England Landslide
Ensures Home Finalist At The Crucible
England players overwhelmed their opposition in tonight's first round
matches in the Mamut English Open Squash Championship, hosted by Sheffield
City Council, with home victories in all four matches guaranteeing domestic
interest in Sunday's final at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
Perhaps the most notable of the successes was achieved by local hero Nick
Matthew, the Sheffield-based fifth seed who ended the 37-match unbeaten run
of Australian comeback king Stewart Boswell.
The pair last met four years ago, when the Yorkshireman was ranked a lowly
41 and Boswell stood at No9 in the world - eight months before reaching a
career-high No4. Since then the 27-year-old from Canberra has been fighting
his way back to full fitness after a two-year layoff with a mystery back
ailment. Over the past four months he has picked up seven successive PSA
titles en-route to returning to this major event stage in Sheffield, as a
qualifier.
"It was a blessing in disguise, being drawn to play Stewart," said Matthew,
after his 9-11 11-8 11-8 11-6 victory in 70 minutes. "I had to be up to
speed from the word go - I couldn't afford to make the same mistake I made
last year when I put too much pressure on myself to do well in front of a
home crowd, and lost to a qualifier in the quarter-finals.
"He's still up there with the best players in the world - he hits the ball
so accurately," added the 25-year-old world No9. "I'm certainly delighted to
have won."
On the pressure of playing on a major stage in his home town, Matthew
explained: "Even though this is the third time I've played here at the
Crucible, I didn't really appreciate until this year how special it is. I
suddenly realised that there are not many players in the world top twenty
who get the chance to play a major event in their home town!"
Matthew, now in the last eight for the third year in a row, will meet his
Yorkshire rival and England team-mate Lee Beachill, the defending champion
and top seed from Pontefract who took just 34 minutes to defeat unseeded
compatriot Bradley Ball, from Ipswich, 11-3 11-7 11-2.
"I've never beaten Lee before, but he knows I'm there, chomping after him,"
added Matthew, who took the world No2 to five games in their two meetings
earlier this year. "He's a world class player, certainly, but anything can
happen on the day - and I'm expecting big crowd here tomorrow!"
Earlier, Essex's Peter Barker became the only qualifier to claim a place in
the last eight after pulling off a significant first round upset over
seventh seed Shahid Zaman. The world No29 from Upminster, who arrived in
Sheffield fresh from two PSA Tour title successes in South America, overcame
the Pakistan number one 11-8 11-8 4-11 11-7 in 46 minutes.
Barker spent his entire junior squash career in the shadow of James
Willstrop, and will meet the 22-year-old Yorkshireman in Friday's
quarter-finals.
Fourth seed Willstrop, who beat the 21-year-old left-hander in the finals of
the British, European and World Junior Championships, coasted to an 11-6
11-10 11-9 victory over Ben Garner, a wildcard from Surrey, to reach the
quarter-finals for the second successive year.
DAY 1: Round 1: Promoter Peter On
Course At The Crucible
Former world number one
Peter Nicol avenged his defeat last year by England team-mate Simon Parke by
beating the Yorkshireman in straight games in tonight's (Wednesday) first
round of the Mamut English Open Squash Championship, hosted by Sheffield
City Council, at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
Nicol, the co-promoter of the four-star PSA Tour event,
was leaving the organisational work to his two partners in a bid to give
himself a chance of success in the season opener in which he has failed to
shine over the previous two years.
It was a determined and ruthless performance by the
32-year-old third seed from London, who overwhelmed Parke 11-8 11-2 11-8 in
43 minutes.
"I am more motivated than I've been for a long time, and
really focussed on playing," said Nicol, who celebrated his 50th major
international trophy last month at the World Games in Germany. I do
want to win this title.
Despite his defeat, 33-year-old Parke was encouraged by
his performance I could see that Peter was feeling the same way that I
did last year when I arrived here after a really good summer's training,
explained the former British champion who has now relocated himself in
Halifax after living in Nottingham for more than ten years.
He's fitter and sharper than last year, and I'm not quite
as strong as I was, added Parke.
Earlier, English qualifier Alex Stait was unable to
capitalise on a first game lead against eighth seed Joseph Kneipp and went
down 10-11 11-1 11-6 11-7 in 50 minutes to the Amsterdam-based Australian.
I really thought I had a good chance, said the 25-year-old
from Stroud in Gloucestershire. I feel I am capable of beating the top
players in the world, but I was a bit off the pace and just couldn't
concentrate enough, added the world No73 who is playing in his first
tournament since undergoing knee surgery in March.
Finland's unseeded Olli Tuominen pulled off a major upset
when he defeated second-seeded Australian David Palmer in an 81-minute
marathon encounter.
That's definitely the best win of my career, admitted the
26-year-old from Helsinki after his 11-8 11-10 7-11 11-8 victory - his first
win over the former world champion in ten PSA Tour meetings over the past
five years.
Our matches have always been close, but I have never
beaten him before, said the delighted Finn. Today, I kept my
concentration, and tried to keep the ball at the back of the court.
And this summer I prepared differently - by arranging a week of matches at
home with Amr Shabana (the world No7 from Egypt), so instead of arriving at
the beginning of the season after three or four months without any tough
matches, I am much more prepared for the sort of match I had tonight.
Reflecting on his first first round exit since January
last year, Palmer admitted that he hadn't felt comfortable on the court. "It
just wasn't my night tonight," conceded the 29-year-old world No3 from
Lithgow in New South Wales.
In the last match of the night, 2003 champion John White
came from a game down to beat Pakistan qualifier Mansoor Zaman 9-11 11-4
11-4 11-7 in 38 minutes. The sixth-seeded Scot, who recently moved
from Nottingham in England to Philadelphia in the USA for the sake of his
wife and four young children, looked in relaxed form as he made up for the
disappointment of his quarter-final exit last year.
"The fact that my family life is better means that my
squash life is better," said the 32-year-old former world number one.
"We had a great vacation, and I've been working on my fitness in a gym just
yards from our new home. But, only since I've been back in the UK for
the past eight days have I been back on a squash court."
_____________________________________________________________
Mixed Fortunes
For
Barker Brothers In Sheffield
There were mixed fortunes for Essex brothers Phillip and
Peter Barker in tonight's (Tuesday) qualifying finals for the Mamut English
Open Squash Championship, hosted by Sheffield City Council, which gets
underway at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield tomorrow (Wednesday 17
August).
Phillip, 23, from Upminster, was attempting to qualify for
the four-star PSA Tour event for the first time - but went down 11-8 11-8
11-6 in 29 minutes at Abbeydale Park Squash Club to Pakistan left-hander
Mansoor Zaman, the highest-ranked player in the qualifying draw.
Zaman, 25, from Peshawar, will now face Scotland's John
White, the sixth seed and English Open champion in 2003, in the first round.
Over at the Hallamshire Squash Club, Phillip's younger
brother Peter, aged 21, was taken to four games by experienced South African
Rodney Durbach, but ultimately prevailed over the UK-based 33-year-old to
win 11-8 11-5 5-11 11-5 in 57 minutes - and make the main draw for the
second successive year. His opponent will be seventh seed Shahid Zaman,
from Pakistan.
A fiercely-fought all-Gloucestershire battle saw Alex
Stait recover from a game down to beat Alister Walker 10-11 11-10 11-9 11-0
in 49 minutes in his first PSA Tour outing since undergoing knee surgery in
March.
It was sweet revenge for Stait, 25, from Stroud, who lost
to his county team-mate in the qualifying event for the Tournament of
Champions in New York in February. Stait has been drawn to line-up
against Australia's Joseph Kneipp, the No8 seed, in the main draw.
In the final match of the day, Australia's Stewart Boswell
overcame a 2/1 deficit to beat training partner Davide Bianchetti, from
Italy, 11-5 6-11 2-11 11-5 11-3 in a 72-minute marathon. The former
world No4 from Canberra has now won through to his first major event since
withdrawing from the PSA Tour more than two years ago with a mystery back
ailment.
Boswell's first round opponent will be local hero Nick
Matthew, the Sheffield-based world No9 who is the event's fifth seed and has
been a quarter-finalist at the Crucible for the past two years.
The last time the pair met was in September 2001, when the
Yorkshireman was ranked a lowly 41 and Boswell in the top ten at No9.
It was the first round of the Al-Ahram International in Egypt, where the
Australian prevailed in straight games. The Englishman will relish his
long-awaited revenge in front of an enthusiastic home crowd!
The first four first round matches - from the bottom half
of the draw - will take place at the Crucible on Wednesday, beginning at
5.30pm.
____________________________________________________________
Stait & Boswell Burst Into
Qualifying Finals
England's Alex Stait and Australia's Stewart Boswell overcame higher-ranked
opposition in tonight's (Monday) first qualifying round of the Mamut English
Open Squash Championship in Sheffield to reach the qualifying finals on
Tuesday.
The Mamut English Open, hosted by Sheffield City Council and widely regarded
as the first major event of the new international squash season, is now in
its third year and gets underway on Wednesday (17 August) at the Crucible
Theatre, traditional home of the World Snooker Championships.
Alex Stait, 25, from Stroud in Gloucestershire, is competing in his first
PSA Tour event since undergoing knee surgery in March. Currently ranked 73,
Stait battled for five games to beat Dutchman Laurens Jan Anjema, the world
No32, 9-11 11-5 11-9 9-11 11-8 in 73 minutes - the only qualifying match to
last more than an hour.
Later it transpired that Gloucestershire is guaranteed interest in the first
round of the $45,000 four star PSA Tour event when Gloucester-based Alister
Walker beat Essex's Daryl Selby 11-7 8-11 11-4 11-4 to set up a play-off
with county colleague Stait.
Stewart Boswell is competing in his first major event since making his
return to international competition four months ago after recovering from a
mystery back ailment which ruled him out for almost two years. The
27-year-old from Canberra, a former world No4, tonight brushed aside Welsh
champion Alex Gough, the world No25, to secure his 36th successive win on
the PSA Tour since winning the South Island Championship - the first of
seven successive titles - in New Zealand in April.
Boswell now takes on his training partner Davide Bianchetti, the world No35
from Italy, who beat England's Stacey Ross, from Surrey, 11-6 11-3 11-3.
Tuesday's qualifying finals line-up features Mansoor Zaman (PAK) v Phillip
Barker (ENG), and Alex Stait (ENG) v Alister Walker (ENG) at Abbeydale Park
Squash Club from 6.30pm; and Peter Barker (ENG) v Rodney Durbach (RSA), and
Stewart Boswell (AUS) v Davide Bianchetti (ITA) at Hallamshire Squash Club
from 7.00pm.
_________________________________________________________________________
New Top Seat Ticket Release
Eventis Sports Marketing today announced the release of a number of prime
seats for the Mamut English Open hosted by Sheffield City Council.
"Having looked at our sponsor and guest
requirements we have been able to give the general public the opportunity to
buy some of the best seats in the house by putting them back on general
sale". explained Eventis director Tim Garner.
He went on to add, " Although the nature of
the Crucible and the use of the all glass court means that there are no bad
seats, this will give the fans the chance to be just a few rows back from
the back wall. "
The Mamut English Open promises to be an
exhilarating event with six of the Worlds top 10 vying for the crown that
has seen past winners elevated to World no.1 within a few months. Top seed
is World no.2 and defending champion Lee Beachill but he will face fierce
resistance from British Open Champion David Palmer, World Games winner Peter
Nicol and local lads James Willstrop & Nick Matthew.
With a womens event running concurrently for
the first time tickets are certain to be in demand and are are now are
available from The Crucible box office on 0114-249 6000 and online at
www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/buyit
__________________________________________________________
World Games Champion
Nicol Seeks Crucible Revenge
Peter Nicol, the former world number one squash player whose company Eventis
Sports Marketing is staging the Mamut English Open at the Crucible Theatre
in Sheffield next month, will be after revenge when he faces Yorkshireman
Simon Parke in the first round.
It was Parke, originally from Harrogate but now based in Nottingham, who
upset the top-seeded promoter at the Crucible twelve months ago, en-route to
an all Yorkshire final against England No1 Lee Beachill.
It was a rejuvenated Nicol who swept through World Games tournament in
Duisburg, crushing France’s world champion Thierry Lincou, the top seed, in
straight games in the final to win gold for Great Britain in this major
multi-sport event.
"Winning my 50th title is a big landmark for me – and I'm really happy," the
smiling Nicol told the crowd before the medal presentations. "I didn't quite
realise what a big event this was before I got here, but I'm delighted I
came and even more delighted that I won."
He admitted that he was surprised at how well he played, in view of the
tournament coming in the middle of his summer training period.
“But I'm looking forward to getting fitter, stronger and better," said Nicol,
sounding an ominous warning to his English Open rivals! |
