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Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open

March 8-12 2005

Colin McQuillan Reports From Kuwait City 

Day Four....12.3.05....The Finals

 Palmer Completes Total England Defeat

David Takes A First Major Title  

Australia’s David Palmer completed his destruction of the entire England team in Kuwait tonight, beating the fourth seeded defending champion, Peter Nicol, 11-4 9-11 11-3 11-6 in the 46 minute men’s final of the Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open on the centre court of the Salmiya Club.

     It was a first defeat for Nicol on Kuwait soil since he first won here eight years ago, and it deprived him of a 50th title win on the PSA World Tour. In the two previous rounds Palmer, the Antwerp based British Open Champion playing here with a force and precision as good as he has ever displayed, defeated first James Willstrop and then Lee Beachill.

    Earlier tonight Malaysia’s fourth seeded Nicol David took her first major title on the WISPA World Tour beating Natalie Grainger, the sixth seed from the USA, 4-9 9-6 9-7 10-8 in the 45 minute women’s final.

    The event was thrown into turmoil for the third night in succession as unexpected rainfall drove the matches off the glass showcourt mounted at the Green Island leisure park and back onto the plaster courts of the club.

Pressure To Stay Another Day

    This time there was added tension as the organisers tried to persuade the players to postpone the finals until Sunday, when the forecast was for more clement weather. When the men explained that they had to be in London for Monday to start the Canary Wharf  Classic, the pressure on the women finalists became intense for them to alter their plans and provide some sort of show to precede long planned closing celebrations at Green Island.

    “If it had not been for our existing commitment to Canary Wharf, we could have stayed on to play tomorrow,” Palmer said after the final. “This is an important event on the PSA World Tour. It was not much fun changing courts and venues through the last few days, but  we have to play where we can so long as it is part of the general scheduling.

    “The plaster court probably favoured me a bit tonight. Peter’s speed and delivery is lethal on the glass court. He was a bit tired from his efforts over the past couple of days and I was able to keep the pace high enough to control things for most of the time.”

    Nicol, who staged one of his heroic fighgt back wins against another Australian, Anthony Ricketts, in the quarter-finals and removed the top seeded World open Champion, Thierry Lincou of France, from the semi-finals, played with genuine brilliance to capture the second game, but was unable to stay with Palmer beyond that.

    “Too big,” he shouted as Palmer easily reached one of his lobs to volley drive fiercely into the deep right corner as he reached 8-3  in a three handed capture of then third game.In fact the tall long-limbed Australian was too big for Nicol tonight in almost every way.

Not Even For The Ambassador

    Natalie Grainger, as WISPA President, refused to bend to the pressure for the women to step in  for the Sunday programme. Nicol David was even required to meet with the Malaysian Ambassador to explain to him why such a re-arrangement was impossible.There were some suggestions after this that a women’s tournament might not happen next year, although many of the women were already suggesting they might not want to return if they were again to be treated as merely supplementary to the men.

    “The debates at Green Island made the change of venue even more difficult than it was on semi-finals day,” David admitted. “Then when we got to the club there was a lot of fuss about seating and so on. I just tried to keep my mind centred on the match ahead and separate myself from everything else. I had not played on the glass court apart from  the  one game of the semi-finals, so really I was quite pleased to come back to the club where I had played well all week.

    “When I got to the court, Natalie started off at a furious pace and I had all my attention on just trying to hold on to her and slow the rhythms down to where I could play my own game.”

 

David's First Major Tour Title

    This was David’s 15th title on the WISPA World Tour, but far the most important, Grainger, who has been in and out of the game over the past year with illness and injury, perhaps left her best efforts in the tough semi-final she took in the fifth game to prevent the World Open Champion, Vanessa Atkinson, from taking over as World No1 with a Kuwait win after David had taken out the defending champion, Natalie Grinham.

    Grainger is a big-hitting and talented former South African No1 now resident in Washington, USA. She began tonight in formidable style, cruising to 7-2 in the first game and 6-3 in the second with high paced heavy driving rallies that opened the front court for her accurate short shot racketwork.

    But the diminutive and astonishingly speedy Malaysian showed coming back twice from 0-6 down against Grinham that she can approach every rally as merely the beginning of the rest of the game. She made the end of the first game difficult before Grainger clinched it with a brace of inch perfect backhand dropshots.

    In the second she advanced from merely difficult to downright impossible by winning from 3-6 in two hands of all court coverage and clinical shot selection. In the third both players went into a higher paced unforgiving mode, but it was Nicol David who lasted the 10 minute spell best to take a match lead in one hand from 6-7 with a floating forehand boast, a clinging forehand volley down the righthand wall and two relentless retrieval rallies that Grainger could only conclude with desperate tinned shots on either hand.

    It was Grinham revisited in the fourth game: Grainger raced to 6-0 on a mixture of good shots, opponent’s errors and a couple of marginal calls in her favour. That all ended on a magnificent clinging forehand David return of serve that disappeared into the righthand deep corner. A brace of clever backhand drops bracketed two unforced tinned errors from Grainger and, suddenly, the initiative had obviously changed sides.

    The tall strong sixth seed became visibly rattled as David sped around the court delivering a backhand dropshot across the face of the frontwall, a backhand drop shot crosscourt into the right nick and a crisp backhand drive into created space; all at the end of long hard rallies and all at full extension in the front court.

   One deep forehand drive seemed capable of bringing Grainger back into control of things at 6-5, but an immediate unforced backhand error relinquished the opportunity and, despite battling into a tiebreak from matchball down thanks to an ungenerous no-let call on a blocked backhand drop shot, Grainger never seemed likely to win from there.

    Two tired and rather unnerved errors, one on either hand, finally brought the fourth seed to the best results of her senior career.

 

Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open

Kuwait City

 

Men's Final Result:

[3] David Palmer (AUS)  bt [4]Peter Nicol (Eng) 11-4 9-11 11-3 11-6 (46m)

 

Women's Final Result:

[4] Nicol David (MAS) bt [6] Natalie Grainger (USA) 4-9 9-6 9-7 10-8 (45m)

 

©SquashNow !

 

Day Three....11.3.05....The Semi-finals

 

Nicol Tops Night Of Seedings Destruction

England’s Peter Nicol, the fourth seeded defending champion, topped an extraordinary destruction of the seedings in the semi-finals of the Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open in Kuwait City today, beating the World Open Champion, Thierry Lincou of France, 11-3 11-4 7-11 11-10 (2-0) in the 64 minute final match of an evening disjointed by unexpected rainfall.

    I played very good squash for two games,” Nicol said. “Then I started to tire a bit and Thierry began to impose his own play on the match. I am not back to full fitness after a year disturbed by injuries and illness. I really need a good summer of background training. But I am very heartened by the way my game has come back together.

    “I think Thierry was not at his best and that gave me the chance to work my shots off a convenient length and width. It is likely to be quite different against David Palmer in the final if he again plays as well as he did against James Willstrop in the quarters and then Lee Beachill in the semis here. His power and speed are awesome when he is playing this well. I will have my hands full tomorrow.”

    Earlier play had started on the outdoor glass showcourt at the Green Island Leisure Park, but heavy rain that fell after one game of the first women’s semi-final drove the action back onto the indoor plaster courts of the Salmiya Club for the second night in a row.

Nicol David Topples World No1

    Malaysia’s fourth seeded Nicol David lost the single outdoor game 9-0 to Rachael Grinham, the top seeded defending champion from Australia, but back in more familiar club surroundings she fought back from 0-6 down in the second game and 0-6 down in the fourth reach her 15th WISPA World Tour final with a 52 minute 0-9 9-7 9-4 9-7 victory that actually took  more than two hours to complete and looked for a time to have removed Grinham from her World No1 ranking.

    David had not been allowed practice time on the glass court while  it was drying out from a downpour on quarter-finals night. The only match completed at Green Island on that quarter-final evening was Grinham’s easy defeat of Linda Elriani, the British Champion. The discrepancy in feeling for the court conditions showed in the first game today as Grinham stormed to a 9-0 score with her usual fast movement out of  clever slow-paced rallying.

    But a 10 minute halt for spitting rain and then a complete cessation as thunder rolled and the heavens opened meant a transfer to the dry indoor courts of Salmiya after a breakneck drive and a one hour break.

    “I was comfortable as soon as I got back on the courts I had been playing all week,” David admitted. “The rain was my friend today. Rachael just didn’t settle after the second start.”

    On the club court Grinham again tried to keep the Malaysian player under control with slow high lobs and soft drop shots. But David on a plaster court is a busy little figure. At times her bustling approach to the game is like a miniature version of the mighty Jahangir Khan. She stepped up to sharply return the soft drops as either fierce little drives or real working drops. She faded back to collect the lobs on the volley and drove them either to the deep corners or the front nicks. “These are cold courts. If you hit the corners and the nicks the ball does not come out again,” she explained later.

Missed Chance ?

    Holland’s second seeded Vanessa Atkinson, the in-form World Open Champion who might have wanted to exploit Grinham’s failure with a Kuwait win that would ensure her own first elevation to World No1, promptly lost the opportunity in a 57 minute 10-8 9-7 1-9 8-10 9-5 loss to the sixth seeded Natalie Grainger of the USA.

    Grainger has been in and out of the game over the past year or so, but she looked tonight as if she has found a level of fitness and enthusiasm that could carry her into contention n for the top slot.

    Atkinson did not play badly tonight, although she did feed the top left corner rather more than was sensible against someone moving as well and striking with such variable intensity. She fought back from two games down, resisted a matchball at 7-8 in the fourth game and led the fifth 3-1 before Grainger’s firm driving and astute front court retrieval wore her down towards the end of their hour on court.

    “I hope I haven’t deprived Vanessa of her first World No1 ranking,” Grainger said with a slightly insincere grin at the end of the match.

Unblemished Skill

David Palmer, the third seeded Australian, then produced a performance of almost unblemished skill to defeat England’s second seeded Lee Beachill 11-7 11-9 9-11 11-3 in 55 minutes.

    James Willstrop commented afterwatrds that he had never seen Palmer play so well. “He was totally dominant on anything from knee to shoulder height on either hand tonight and moving with fantastic speed and assurance,” Willstrop said. “Lee never really got into his game and I think it was because he was just unable to get in front of Palmer until spells in the third game.”

 

Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open

Kuwait City

 

Men's Semi-final Results:

[4]Peter Nicol (Eng) bt [1] Thierry Lincou (Fra) 11-3 11-4 7-11 11-10 (2-0)  (64m)
[3] David Palmer (AUS)  bt
[2] Lee Beachill (ENG) 11-7 11-9 9-11 11-3  (55m)

 

Women's Semi-final Results:
[4] Nicol David (MAS) bt [1] Rachael Grinham (AUS) 0-9 9-7 9-4 9-7  (52m)

[6] Natalie Grainger (USA) bt [2] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) 10-8 9-7 1-9 8-10 9-5 (57m)

 

©SquashNow !

    

Day Two....10.3.05....The Quarter-finals

Nicol In Heroic Mode

 

Peter Nicol, the fourth seeded defending champion, today produced an 85 minute  11-6 11-9 8-11 10-11 (0-2) 11-10 (2-0) fighting win at the Salmiya Club in Kuwait City that, while it took him into the semi-finals of the Sheikha Al Saad Open as required, is likely to live longer in the memories of the its Kuwaiti witnesses as one of the great heroic performances of their experience.

    Nicol defeated seventh seeded Anthony Ricketts, the young Australian fresh in from dominating the Tournament of Champions in New York and in fearsome mood as he started the match patiently contesting a rally of at least 200 strokes for the second point,  then roared back from a two game deficit to hold matchball at 10-4 against a 31-year-old who should have taken the hint and allowed the last rally to escape him in graceful acknowledgement of a well played defeat.

    But graceful defeat, while sometimes unavoidable, does not seem to be high on Nicol’s list of priorities. After a couple of well called penalty strokes gave Ricketts an 8-2 lead, the former world champion chanced his arm with a cheeky little drop into the top right corner that the Australian could only scuff into the tin.  When Ricketts nicked a backhand return of service for 9-3, Nicol ran fluently through two let rallies to eventually win another point with a forehand dropshot picked up late in the top left corner. Ricketts responded with a heavy wrong-footing forehand crosscourt passing shot  to take what looked like a procedural matchpoint, but turned out to be just the start of another Nicol resurgence that led on to seven  more matchball rallies and a famous fighting victory.

    “I was in real trouble at 2-8,” Nicol admitted. “Anthony was playing with real force and dominating the front court firing short shots in behind his heavy driving that I was having trouble getting round him for. I was flapping about a bit really. Then he just took his foot off the gas a bit. Perhaps he thought it was as good as won and he just had to play in a relaxed way until the last point fell his way.

    “But it let me into the rallies again and I found a few points reaching forward to drive one ball through him down the middle of the court,  push another across the face of the frontwall while he was looking for a drop to the other side and then a good long backhand drop that slipped nicely into the nick.”

    At 7-10 experience told Nicol that this title defence might not be over after all. “Anthony maybe started to feel the pressure a bit then. He put a backhand service return into the tin and he started to go short much earlier than he had in the rest of the match.”

    With more room to work in and less ground to cover as Ricketts abandoned his firm driving preparation for drop shots, Nicol produced a wrong-footing backhand passing shot at full extension and followed this with a recovery from a full length sprawl in the deep right corner so effective that his opponent hit a backhand crosscourt volley into the tin as he tried unsuccessfully to decide which shot was best suited to the situation.

    A huge roar of anticipation greeted the tiebreak at 10-10 while  Nicol’s rhythm and balance returned with a vengeance, Ricketts moved into sheer panic mode. He hit another backhand volley into the tin as he attempted a volley with Nicol hovering on his shoulder and then picked up a tight little ball in the top left corner only well enough to rattle the tin one last time.

    Joe Kneipp, who had been talking to Ricketts in the corner between games, declared the contest one of the finest he had seen for many months. “Good clean working squash with fine tight driving and skilful shotmaking. An absolute joy to watch,” said the man who had come close to overturning Thierry Lincou, the world champion, the previous evening. “Ricketts will be dreaming about that one for a while to come.”

    While this was going on, Vanessa Atkinson, Nicol David and Natalie Grainger progressed without loss in almost complete isolation on another court to put three of the seeded favourites through to the women’s semi-finals.

Rain Stops Play

Later in the evening the other three men’s quarter-finals and the last of the women’s quarter-finals were scheduled for the showcourt at Green Island, but only the women managed a finish before the rain came down to cancel outdoor proceedings for the night and initiate a desperate mass drive through the traffic-jammed city to get the action back on court at the Salmiya Club.

   It took the tops seeded Rachael Grinham just 54 minutes to deal with Linda Elriani, the British Champion who last month reached the Tournament of Champions final in New York at the expense of the fast little Cairo based Australian. This time Elriani’s attempts  to slowball Grinham to death failed in the moist conditions of the outdor glass court mounted on Green Island with sea breezes chilling the audience but offering no solace inside the court.

    Elriani returned of 0-5 and 3-7 down in  the first game but, as Grinham found her footing and some measure of her sharpshooting style, the second went for no real answer in just seven minutes, the third in a single hand from 5-5 after 12 minutes and the fourth from 1-6 down in another 12 minutes.

    Lee Beachill and Amr Shabana were next up, but they were only 24 minutes into their quarter-final, at 6-6 in the second game after Beachill took the first in 13 minutes of action on the glass court, when the rain began to fall gently and matters were adjourned.

    A cramped 103 minute journey put things back on the same court that had seen Nicol’s escape act earlier in the day. But Beachill was not about to allow an Egyptian version.

    In another 11 minutes the second seeded triple British Champion had the second game tidied away and eight more minutes saw him safely into the semi-finals with a 11-8 11-9 11-7  win that was timed officially at 44 minutes but actually recorded two hours and 36 minutes on the clock.

    Jahangir Khan was in the audience. Perhaps he was recalling that match against Gamal Awad in Chichester. They were locked in battle for 10 minutes longer than that, and no 103 minute rests in the middle.

    “It was a nightmare having to change courts that way. I just tried to shut down on the bus between venues and then to get myself up really high again for the restart,” Beachill said after the win.

    “I wanted to play him hard and fast from the start. If you let Amr set himself for the shot it can go anywhere and you are just chasing his balls. So being able to rekindle that pace of play at the second attempt was crucial.”

    Shabana was less than pleased. He threw his racket across the court at the end of the second game and broke it across his knee at the end.

So It Will Be Palmer Versus Beachill Again !

Australia’s David Palmer returned to the club in determined mood to defeat James Willstrop of England 11-6 11-9 3-9 11-5 in 58 minutes saying the change of courts was the same for both players and he was content to go along with the force of circumstances.

    “I always enjoy playing James and this was a good match in which I felt in control until he started going for it a bit in the third game. The win takes me to a semi-final against Lee Beachill, which is a different thing altogether.”

     Palmer was moved to call Beachill a cheat last time they met on an Arab court, in the semi-finals of the World Open Championship in Qatar, after the Englishman refused to give up a matchball point that Palmer was convinced came from a tinned forehand dropshot.

    This followed a British open final clash in which Beachill was convinced Palmer willingly profited from poor refereeing calls……Should be quite a semi-final !            

 

Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open

Kuwait City

 

Men's Quarter-final Results:

[1] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [8] Karim Darwish (EGY) 7-11 11-6 11-6 11-6 (57m) 

[4] Peter Nicol (ENG) bt [7] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) 11-6 11-9 8-11 10-11 (0-2) 11-10 (2-0)  (85m)

[3] David Palmer (AUS) bt [6] James Willstrop (ENG) 11-6 11-9 3-9 11-5 (58m)

[2] Lee Beachill (ENG) bt [5] Amr Shabana (EGY) 11-8 11-9 11-7  (44m)

 

 

Women's Quarter-final Results:
[1] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [5] Linda Elriani (ENG) 7-9 9-0 9-5 9-5 (54m)

[4] Nicol David (MAS) bt [Q] Laura-Jane Lengthorn (ENG) 9-3 9-1 9-0 (24m)

[6] Natalie Grainger (USA) bt  [3] Natalie Grinham (AUS) 9-6 9-6 9-6 (31m)

[2] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt Jenny Duncalf (ENG) 9-0 9-5 9-7 (37m)

 

©SquashNow !

   

Day One....9.3.05....The First Round

England's Young Women In The Frame Again

England’s rising generation of women began once again to impact upon senior matters today as the first round of the Sheikha El Saad Open began at the Salmiya Club in Kuwait City.

    Laura Jane Lengthorn, the World No21 from Preston in Lancashire took her first tour victory over Omneya Abdel Kawy of Egypt, the seventh seed, while Alison Waters, the Southgate based World No20, took British Champion Linda Elriani to four games over an hour of play in which she pressed the experienced fifth seed a good deal harder than when they met in the national final in Manchester a month or so back.

    Then Jenny Duncalf took her great Yorkshire feud with Jenny Tranfield into new territory with a stubborn 86 minute 8-10 9-7 2-9 9-4 10-9 win that she declared a complete relief after poor performances in the British National Championships last month.

     Tranfield lodged official complaints with England Squash when Duncalf was selected ahead of her for the squad sent to the World. Team Championship in Amsterdam late last year. Her determination to build on that complaint was evident as she fought back in a single hand from matchball down at 4-8 in the fifth game today to reach her own matchball at 9-8.

    “I couldn’t believe I let that happen,” Duncalf said later. “I was telling myself at 8-4 to concentrate on getting the job done without any mistakes and suddenly I was staring at defeat. I would have had nightmares for the rest of my life if I hadn’t managed to get off court with that win.

    I wanted to put in a good performance here because I thought I let myself down a bit at the nationals. I played well to get to matchball but I had to take things very seriously to finish things off. I think I had five matchballs in all, and she had three, before we were done.”

     Elriani was taking things pretty seriously too. “The courts are very hot here and strangely damp, which makes the ball skid a bit on the walls. If you do not watch everything very carefully things can slip away, especially against a player like Alison who likes to keep the ball running. It is harder to slow things down against her in these conditions.

    “ I also have another problem with Alison. Every time I step on court with her I recall that she was about three years old when I first started playing major tournaments,’ added the 33-year-old with a grin. “I am now trying to convince myself that this is somehow an admirable thing on my part.”

    Lengthorn needed no such convincing today. “I am just delighted,” she acknowledged after her 52 minute 6-9 9-4 2-9 9-3 9-2 win. “I have never beaten Omneya before and I think she cracked here. I won the fourth game quite well and the fifth went my way a bit at the start. I knew I could take it if I stayed strong and kept playing my own game.”

    The Egyptian World No7 collected a conduct warning for throwing her racket into the ceiling after Lengthorn retrieved the service with an extraordinary top spin drop and then edged ahead at 2-1 with another unreadable drop shot into the nick. As the Egyptian’s  temper frayed increasingly, the tall young Englishwoman played with increasing authority to crack the ball into deep spaces and exploit gaps in the front court.

    Both temperament and court conditions played their part in the 64 minute victory of  the eighth seeded Tournament of Champions winner, Anthony Ricketts, 10-11 (5-7)  11-3 11-7 8-11 11-4 over the gangling Mohammed Abbas of Egypt. Play was stopped for 20 minutes after the first game had extended to  17-15  over 21 minutes with the court walls beginning to run with condensation. A swift change of air-conditioning straightened up the court, and changed the game from a deep hitting running challenge into a drop war that brought a few heated exchanges that eventually attracted  a conduct warning, and a collision at 1-1 in the third that provided Abbas with a three minute rest.

    No such problems for the men’s defending champion, Peter Nicol of England, who tidied Pakistan’s Mansoor Zaman away  11-10 (3-1) 11-6 11-1 in 29 minutes, declaring afterwards that the crisp finish out of  a competitive start was just what he needed for boosting his confidence. The women’s defending champion, Rachael Grinham of Australia, defeated England’s Vicky Botwright 6-9 9-7 10-8 9-4 in 80 minutes after dropping the first game and standing gameball down in he third.

    England’s second seed, Lee Beachill,  also moved through in straight games against Davide  Bianchetti, a qualifier from Italy, and was swiftly followed by his Pontefract training partner, James Willstrop, who needed only 29 minutes to despatch Ong Beng Hee of Malaysia 11-1 11-10 (3-1) 11-4.

After the Lord Mayor’s Show Comes The World Champion

Later in the evening we adjourned to Green Island for fireworks and fun around the glass showcourt before David Palmer made polite mincemeat of the Kuwait wild card, Abdullah  Amezayen,  11-9 11-6 11-5 in 23 minutes and Thierry Lincou of France struggled past Australia’s Joe Kneipp 10-11 (7-9) 11-8 11-9 11-10 (2-0)  in 82 minutes.

    Palmer made a fair fist of entertaining a crowd who had just finished singing, dancing and stopping their ears against the huge pyrotechnic explosions. He allowed young Amezayen, enough space and times to show his courtcraft to the home crowd before raising the pace just enough to end matters.

    Lincou, however, might have thought a World Open Champion and World No1 was worth a bit more respect than to find the wily Kneipp waiting  for him on a cold outdoor court with a floor slippery from the evening condensation, and electronic tin that seemed to switch on and off throughout the match, a crowd whose interest had been well and truly diluted, and a referee, Nasser Zahran of Egypt, ready to take a fairly individualistic view of lets and strokes.

    The Frenchman looked to be managing the first game until a fierce skid on the backhand side put the ball over the frontwall instead of safely in the nick on game ball. It took another 16 rallies for the game to fall Kneipp’s way after 36 minutes of desperate rallying.

    Lincou’s fiercely accurate rallying and dropping brought the match back within his grasp soon after, although there was another scare when Kneipp fought back to a second tiebreak in the fourth game.

    More fireworks were ordered at the end. The World Champion just stayed on court to warm down. Perhaps things will warm up for him as the tournament progresses.

 

Sheikha El Saad Open

Kuwait City

 

Men's First Round Results:
[1] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt Joseph Kneipp (AUS) 10-11 (7-9), 11-8, 11-9, 11-10 (2-0) (82m)
[8] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt Adrian Grant (ENG) 11-9, 11-8, 11-6 (42m)
[4] Peter Nicol (ENG) bt [Q] Mansoor Zaman (PAK) 11-10 (3-1), 11-6, 11-1 (29m)
[7] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) bt [Q] Mohammed Abbas (EGY) 10-11 (5-7), 11-3, 11-7, 8-11, 11-4 (64m)
[6] James Willstrop (ENG) bt Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 11-1, 11-10 (3-1), 11-4 (29m)
[3] David Palmer (AUS) bt Abdullah Almezayen (KUW) 11-9, 11-6, 11-5 (23m)
[5] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [Q] Wael El Hindi (EGY) 6-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-8 (42m)
[2] Lee Beachill (ENG) bt [Q] Davide Bianchetti (ITA) 11-7, 11-9, 11-1 (40m)


Women's First Round Results:
[1] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt Vicky Botwright (ENG) 6-9, 9-7, 10-8, 9-4 (80m)
[5] Linda Elriani (ENG) bt [Q] Alison Waters (ENG) 9-6, 5-9, 10-8, 9-3 (60m)
[4] Nicol David (MAS) bt Shelley Kitchen (NZL) 10-8, 9-3, 9-5 (35m)
[Q] Laura-Jane Lengthorn (ENG) bt [7] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) 6-9, 9-4, 2-9, 9-3, 9-2 (52m)
[6] Natalie Grainger (USA) bt [Q] Tania Bailey (ENG) 9-0, 2-9, 9-3, 9-7 (36m)
[3] Natalie Grinham (AUS) bt Fiona Geaves (ENG) 9-1, 9-10, 9-5, 9-1 (44m)
Jenny Duncalf (ENG) bt [8] Jenny Tranfield (ENG) 8-10, 9-7, 2-9, 9-4, 10-9 (86m)
[2] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt [Q] Pamela Nimmo (SCO) 9-7, 9-2, 9-3 (27m)

  

©SquashNow !

  

England's Women Out-Qualify The Men 

England failed to get a single player through the men's qualifying finals of the Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open, although all three English contenders in the women's event survived to make the first round proper in Kuwait City.
    Joey Barrington, runner-up in last week's COAS International in Pakistan, went down 11-8 11-6 11-6 to Mohammed Abbas.  The Egyptian is rewarded with a first round clash against seventh seed Anthony Ricketts, the Australian winner of last month's Tournament of Champions in New York.
    After taking the first game against Italian Davide Bianchetti, Bradley Ball battled for 67 minutes but was beaten 10-11 11-4 11-9 11-7 by the world No34 from Brescia.  Bianchetti will now face second seed Lee Beachill.
    Sickness prevented Peter Barker lasting the complete match against Pakistan's Mansoor Zaman.  The Peshawar left-hander raced to an 11-3 5-1 lead before Barker threw in the towel to let Zaman into the main draw - where he will meet fellow left-hander Peter Nicol, the defending champion from England.
    The final men's qualifying place went to Egypt's Wael El Hindi, whose 5-11 11-7 11-10 11-4 victory over Dutchman Laurens Jan Anjema rewarded him with a match against fellow Egyptian Amr Shabana, the fifth seed.
    It was an all-British line-up after the women's final qualifiers - with Scotland's Pamela Nimmo joined by English players Laura-Jane Lengthorn, Tania Bailey and Alison Waters.
    Waters avenged two defeats by Madeline Perry last year to beat the Irish champion 9-3 9-2 3-9 9-3 in 41 minutes.  Her opponent in the first round is compatriot Linda Elriani, the fifth seed from Eastbourne who beat Waters in last month's British National Championship final to win the title for the first time.

 

Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open

Kuwait City

Men's Qualifying Finals Results:
Mohammed Abbas (EGY) bt Joey Barrington (ENG) 11-8, 11-6, 11-6 (38m)
Davide Bianchetti (ITA) bt Bradley Ball (ENG) 10-11 (1-3), 11-4, 11-9, 11-7 (67m)
Mansoor Zaman (PAK) bt Peter Barker (ENG) 11-3, 5-1 ret.
Wael El Hindi (EGY) bt Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 5-11, 11-7, 11-10 (3-1), 11-4 (53m)


Women's Qualifying Finals Results:
Laura-Jane Lengthorn (ENG) bt Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) 4-9, 9-6, 9-5, 4-9, 9-5 (77m)
Pamela Nimmo (SCO) bt Engy Kheirallah (EGY) 9-0, 5-9, 9-5, 9-6 (48m)
Tania Bailey (ENG) bt Raneem El Weleily (EGY) 9-2, 9-3, 9-1 (26m)
Alison Waters (ENG) bt Madeline Perry (IRL) 9-3, 9-2, 3-9, 9-3 (41m)

Updated Men's First Round Draw:
[1] Thierry Lincou (FRA) v Joseph Kneipp (AUS)
[8] Karim Darwish (EGY) v Adrian Grant (ENG)
[4] Peter Nicol (ENG) v [Q] Mansoor Zaman (PAK)
[7] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) v [Q] Mohammed Abbas (EGY)
[6] James Willstrop (ENG) v Ong Beng Hee (MAS)
[3] David Palmer (AUS) v Abdullah Almezayen (KUW)
[5] Amr Shabana (EGY) v [Q] Wael El Hindi (EGY)
[2] Lee Beachill (ENG) v [Q] Davide Bianchetti (ITA)

Updated Women's First Round Draw:
[1] Rachael Grinham (AUS) v Vicky Botwright (ENG)
[5] Linda Elriani (ENG) v [Q] Alison Waters (ENG)
[4] Nicol David (MAS) v Shelley Kitchen (NZL)
[7] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) v [Q] Laura-Jane Lengthorn (ENG)
[6] Natalie Grainger (USA) v [Q] Tania Bailey (ENG)
[3] Natalie Grinham (AUS) v Fiona Geaves (ENG)
[8] Jenny Tranfield (ENG) v Jenny Duncalf (ENG)
[2] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) v [Q] Pamela Nimmo (SCO)

 

              Crunch Time In Kuwait For Rachael
After failing to fulfil her top seeding in her the four WISPA World Tour events, Australia's Rachael Grinham will be going all out to successfully defend her title in the Women's Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open Squash Championship..
    Grinham is top seed in the WISPA Grand Prix event - the second of the year - and is expected to meet second seed Vanessa Atkinson in Saturday's final.
    The 28-year-old Australian claimed five WISPA titles last year and became world No1 in August.  However, the Queenslander is in danger of losing the top spot to world No2 Atkinson, who rounded off last year by winning the World Open title, then clinched the Tournament of Champions trophy in New York last month.
    The pair met seven times in 2004, with Grinham ahead 4/3 - but it was the Dutch champion who prevailed in the two most recent encounters, in December's Qatar Classic final and World Open semi-finals.
    Grinham takes on England's Vicky Botwright, a Tournament of Champions semi-finalist, in the first round - and is then likely to face another English opponent Linda Elriani for a place in the semi-finals.  Elriani clinched her first victory over the Australian in three years in the other New York semi.
    Atkinson, also 28, from The Hague, meets a qualifier in the first round in Kuwait before a predicted semi-final against Rachael's sister Natalie Grinham, a regular practice partner in the Netherlands.

                                Matthew Backs Out

England's World No8 Nick Matthew has been forced to withdraw from this week's Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open Squash Championship, from 9-12 March in Kuwait City.
    In the Tournament of Champions in New York, a back injury caused the 24-year-old from Sheffield to concede his quarter-final match against Thierry Lincou midway through the third game.  "The same injury has reoccurred a few times now, so it's a case of having a month or so of strengthening and rehab work before I'll be 100%," Matthew told the PSA.
    In a reseeding of the event, and a revised draw, Egypt's Karim Darwish is elevated to eighth seed and will now face England's Adrian Grant in the first round.  Malaysian Ong Beng Hee comes into the draw and will take on England's sixth seed James Willstrop.
    The Kuwait event, in its second year as a PSA Tour 5-star championship, has attracted the world's leading players, led by world No1 and world champion Thierry Lincou.  The Frenchman is expected to face England's No2 seed Lee Beachill, the world No2, in Saturday's final.
    Defending champion Peter Nicol is aiming for his fourth title in Kuwait City, after also winning the event in 1997 and 1998.  The fourth-seeded Englishman is expected to meet Australia's in-form Anthony Ricketts in the quarter-finals, in a repeat of their clash at the same stage of last month's Tournament of Champions.  Ricketts prevailed in the encounter - and went on to lift his first Super Series title after beating Thierry Lincou in the final at Grand Central Terminal
.

 

©SquashNow !

 

 
Sheikha Al Saad 2005
07-12 March,  Kuwait, $65k
1st Round
9th Mar
Quarters
10th Mar
Semis
11th Mar
Final
12th Mar
[1] Thierry Lincou (Fra)
10-11 (7-9), 11-8, 11-9, 11-10 (2-0) (82m)
Joe Kneipp (Aus)  19.00 GI
Thierry Lincou
7-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-6 (57m)
 Karim Darwish
Thierry Lincou
11-3, 11-4, 7-11, 11-10 (2-0)
v
Peter Nicol
Peter Nicol

11-4, 9-11, 11-3, 11-6

David Palmer

[8] Karim Darwish (Eng)
11-9, 11-8, 11-6 (42m)
Adrian Grant (Eng)
[4] Peter Nicol (Eng)
11-10 (3-1), 11-6, 11-1 (29m)
Mansoor Zaman (Pak)
Peter Nicol
11-6, 11-9, 8-11, 10-11 (0-2), 11-10 (2-0) (85m)
Anthony Ricketts
[7] Anthony Ricketts (Aus)
10-11 (5-7) 11-3, 11-7, 11-7,
8-11, 11-4 (64m)
Mohammed Abbas
Ong Beng Hee (Mas)
11-1, 11-10 (3-1) 11-4 (29m)
[6] James Willstrop (Eng)
James Willstrop
11-6, 9-11, 11-3, 11-5 (58m)
David Palmer
David Palmer
11-7, 11-9, 9-11,
11-3
v
Lee Beachill
Abdullah Amezayen (Kuw)
11-9, 11-6, 11-5 (23m)
[3] David Palmer (Aus)
Weael el Hindi (Eg)
6-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-8 (42m)
[5] Amr Shabana (Egy)
Amr Shabana
11-8, 11-9, 11-7 (44m)
Lee Beachill
 Davide Bianchetti (Egy)
11-7, 11-9, 11-1 (40m)
[2] Lee Beachill (Eng)

Qualifying 07/08 Mar:

  First Round:
 
Mohammed Abbas (Egy) bt Jean-Michel Arcucci (Fra) 11/6, 9/11, 11/3, 9/11, 11/2 (70m)
  Joey Barrington (Eng) bt Arshad Iqbal Burki (Pak) 11/7, 4/0 rtd
  Bradley Ball (Eng) bt Farrukh Zaman (Pak) 11/8, 11/6, 11/9 (28m)
  Davide Bianchetti (Ita) bt Jago Nardelli (Eng) 11/5, 11/4, 11/5 (26m)
  Peter Barker (Eng) bt Nassar B Ali-Ramzi (Kuw) 11/7, 11/3, 11/3 (23m)
  Mansoor Zaman (Pak) bt Mohammed Hajeyah (Kuw) 11/7, 12/14, 11/5, 11/5 (41m)
  Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned) bt Bader Al Hussaini (Kuw) 11/8, 11/4, 7/11, 1/11, 14/12
  Wael El Hindi (Egy) bt Ali Al Ramzi (Kuw) 11/6, 8/11, 11/5, 11/5 (35m)

Men's qualifying finals:
Mohammed Abbas (EGY) bt Joey Barrington (ENG)   11-8, 11-6, 11-6 (38m)
Davide Bianchetti (ITA) bt Bradley Ball (ENG)   10-11 (1-3), 11-4, 11-9, 11-7 (67m)
Mansoor Zaman (PAK) bt Peter Barker (ENG)   11-3, 5-1 ret.
Wael El Hindi (EGY) bt Laurens Jan Anjema (NED)     5-11, 11-7, 11-10 (3-1), 11-4 (53m)

Sheikha Al Saad 2005
07-12 March,  Kuwait, $65k
1st Round
9th Mar
Quarters
10th Mar
Semis
11th Mar
Final
12th Mar
(1) Rachael Grinham (Aus)
6-9, 9-7, 10-8, 9-4 (80m)
Vicky Botwright (Eng)
Rachael Grinham
7-9, 9-0, 9-5, 9-5 (54m)
Linda Elriani
Rachael Grinham
0-9, 9-7, 9-4, 9-7 (52m)
Nicol David
Nicol David
4-9, 9-6, 9-7, 10-8 (45m)

Natalie Grainger

(5) Linda Elriani (Eng)
9-6, 5-9, 10-8, 9-3 (60m)
Alison Waters (Eng)
(4) Nicol David (Mas)
10-8, 9-3, 9-5 (35m)
Shelley Kitchen (NZ)
Nicol David
9-3, 9-1, 9-0 (24m)
Laura Lengthorn
(7) Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy)
Laura Lengthorn (Eng)
6-9, 9-4, 2-9, 9-3, 9-2 (52m)
Tania Bailey (Eng)
9-0, 2-9, 9-3, 9-7 (56m)
(6) Natalie Grainger (USA)
Natalie Grainger
9-6, 9-6, 9-6 (31m)
Natalie Grinham
Natalie Grainger
10-8, 9-7, 1-9, 8-10, 9-5 (57m)
Vanessa Atkinson
Fiona Geaves (Eng)
9-1, 9-10, 9-5, 9-1 (86m)
(3) Natalie Grinham (Aus)
Jenny Duncalf (Eng)
8-10, 9-7, 2-9, 9-4, 10-9 (86m)
(8) Jenny Tranfield (Eng)
Jenny Duncalf
9-0, 9-5, 9-7 (37m)

Vanessa Atkinson
 Pamela Nimmo (Sco)
9-7, 9-2, 9-3 (27m)
(2) Vanessa Atkinson (Ned)

Qualifying 07/08 Mar:

Women's qualifying finals:
Laura-Jane Lengthorn (ENG) bt Isabelle Stoehr (FRA)     4-9, 9-6, 9-5, 4-9, 9-5 (77m)
Pamela Nimmo (SCO) bt Engy Kheirallah (EGY)     9-0, 5-9, 9-5, 9-6 (48m)
Tania Bailey (ENG) bt Raneem El Weleily (EGY)   9-2, 9-3, 9-1 (26m)
Alison Waters (ENG) bt Madeline Perry (IRL)     9-3, 9-2, 3-9, 9-3 (41m)