Tue 10th Feb:
JOHN WHITE WRAPS
THE NIGHT AWAY
And the evening finished late (thanks to Ben Garner’s match
that lasted forever) with the tall Scotsman, the nicest man on the circuit
(well, that’s my opinion anyway), John White against Alister
Walker.
What to say about the match? That young Alister Walker, 21, did his best to
win some very intense rallies; that he showed that he has a lot of promise;
that he has improved tremendously in 18 months; that he is not afraid of
trying out his teeth either on the best players, or on the marker/referee.
We saw some great rallies, with John White having to really get out of his
way to pick up the ball. But as usual, what is amazing with great players,
is that whatever great shot you throw at them, they send you back an even
better un-returnable shot. And no matter how many times you do pick up the
ball, you eventually make a mistake, and they win.
Pretty depressing really.
But it was a nice warm up for John White, and a good way to finish a LONG
day. White beat Walker in 40 minutes, 15/8, 15/12, 15/10.
Very happy to hear that we will see more of Ben Garner, brother of
Tim, who went to 5 sets to beat Tim Vail. As he plays in the same league as
Wimbledon Squash and Racquet Club (my club), I've had the pleasure to see
him play quite a few times, and I’m happy to see him progressing in the
tournament. A really nice young man.AND BARKER
WAS
STILL RUNNING…
Since the beginning of this tournament, the players have been
dropping out like flies, and there are more lucky losers than one would like
in a National competition. But it didn’t prevent me to get to watch if not
great matches, great sets.
A good example was the match between Welshman Alex Gough, the former
world number 5, at the moment world 27, seeded 7, and Phil Barker, a
qualifier.
The conditions of the court were to the advantage of the young Barker, as he
likes a slower pace: the court is rather hot, the ball is quite bouncy, and
the players have a tendency to automatically lower the pace. Gough was not
really concentrated in the first game, and made a few mistakes, even if the
score was quite close up to 9/10, Gough serving. And then Barker played some
lovely shots, especially some which seemed to be glued to the left front
corner, very difficult to pick up, and won the last point 15/9 on a boast.
Then it changed, and it may be thanks to the clever notes from Chris
Robertson, now Welsh National Coach, who advised Alex to speed up the pace.
And God, did he not!
The rallies were long and varied. No drive after drive after drive, but lots
of drops, cross courts, lobs. Gough wrong footed his opponent a few times,
who kept on running, and running, and running. The Welshman went up to 8/1,
then 12/3, and chose that moment to relax a bit, losing a few points in a
row, but wining the set 15/9.
The third set was very close indeed, and Gough made some beautiful boasts
from the front of the court, Barker made some lovely volley drops, but
especially succeeded to anticipate a few attacks from Gough in front of the
court. Barker probably ran a marathon during the match, as Gough really had
him on a string. The rallies were really long, really intense, and the
squash was at a very good standard indeed. Alex won eventually 15/12 by a
definitive volley drop.
The 4th and last game was a formality, as Barker’s fitness eventually wore
out on Gough’s festival of shot combinations, especially on a very long
rally at 5/4 for Gough. That game lasted only 11 minutes, and the Welshman
won the match in 75m, 15/9 in the 4th.
GRANT SLOW TO START
Adrian Grant, ranked 21 in the world, his highest ranking so
far and seeded 6, was playing a “revenant”, as we say in French, (a come
back from the past, I think you say in your lovely language).
Young Grant faced Phil Whitlock, 41, a qualifier, who played his last
tournament in 94, against a newcomer named Peter Nicol, in a tournament
(don’t ask me to name it, I wasn’t born yet) which then was won by Peter
Marshall.
Yes, that long.
Well, the first set was a bit of a surprise for those who were expecting a
white wash for the London born player, now living in Halifax. Whitlock was
leading the score up to 8/1! Grant made a lot of mistakes, and especially
lacked of precision in his drop shots. At that point, Whitlock didn’t seem
to have any problems reading Adrian’s game. He was anticipating very well in
front of the court, and succeeded several times in surprising his opponent
who couldn’t do anything but conceding point after point. Whitlock won the
1st set 15/9, having led as much as 12/4.
Adrian started to correct the situation, but Whitlock was playing some
lethal lobs and drop shots that really put Grant under pressure. There were
a few disagreements with the referee, and it was a bit obvious that the 2
players didn’t intend to spend their Easter Break together on a desert
island. Slowly but surely, Adrian started to exhaust the 41 year old player,
who conceded the match in 60 minutes, 9/15, 15/7, 15/6, 15/7.
I tried to speak with the young winner, but I kept on missing him! The only
place I could pinpoint him to was the male changing room, but I was refused
the entrance. Blast!
Oh well, better luck next time. I’m talking about chatting with Grant, of
course….
JOEY BARRINGTON
GOES OUT FIGHTING
It’s always a pleasure to see Joey Barrington play.
Not only is he extremely attractive (excuse me boys, but it’s a French woman
speaking, what do you expect?), very well dressed (actually, Matthew
Crowley, from Wales, asked the referee, with a smile, if Joey was allowed to
wear “that sort of socks”, a lovely football pair of white and navy high
socks, just before the start of their game!), his behaviour on a squash
court is always impeccable, and his game varied, precise and with a lot of
flair.
After playing two matches yesterday to qualify (the first one against Nic
Birt in 4 sets, the second in 3 against Matthew Crowley), he was opening the
day playing against Simon Parke, seeded 10.
And boy, did I enjoy the show! Joey started very well, and went up to 5/0,
succeeding to keep his advance for quite a while. At 12/9 for Barrington,
Simon changed a referee decision from a stroke to a let, as he hit Joey with
a ball going for a side wall (whereas the ref saw it going to the front
wall). Nice gesture from Parke, especially as he was a bit behind at the
time. Parke played some awesome backhand drives that seemed to stick to the
wall like misery on Crystal Palace fans to eventually catching up with the
score at 12/12, and went on to win the 1st set 15/12 in 27 minutes.
An exhausted Barrington gave the second game away in 9 minutes 2/15. Not
surprising, as he played two long matches the day before.
The third set was very interesting. Joey seemed to have recovered, and
starting playing some extremely good rallies, running to get every lob and
every drop shot that Parke was throwing at him. A few mistakes from Parke
allowed a very inventive and precise Barrington to come back to 10/12. Parke
attacked every point, speeding up the rhythm of the rallies, to eventually
win the third 15/12 in 22 minutes.
So Barrington is out, but I was impressed by his game: he was very patient,
very calm, lovely drop shots and lobs, was not afraid of challenging Parke
in his backhand drives, not afraid of long rallies that he won more than
once. I would like to see Joey play the same kind of opponent with rested
legs. We may have a surprise coming up.
NO PROBLEM FOR
DAVID EVANS
Well, the match lasted 45 minutes, but a courageous Sam Miller (Warwicks),
nicknamed Mad Max, couldn’t stop a very laid back Welshman. The first game
was a bit messy, lots of balls in the centre, game not really structured,
even if the rallies were long.
Evans finished the set at 15/9 with a lovely right-hand boast, like he
finished the second one, same shot, but 15/6. He started to relax a bit in
the third, as he was leading 6/0. A few out of court, a few tins, and Miller
re-emerged for a short while, hitting the ball well, and directing the
rallies. But Evans decided that enough was enough, and finished the set
15/8.
JONAH MAKES AN
APPEARANCE
In the spectators, were Alex Gough, supporting his compatriot, and
also Jonah Barrington, supporting Sam Miller, as Sam is sharing a
flat with his son Joey. The two young players, who know each other from
University, are thinking about going abroad to train, maybe to the US.
Jonah arrived this morning to see his son Joey playing, stayed until Sam
Miller finished, and left.
"I don’t want to stay too long away from my 'monastery'", said the legendary
player! And off he went. As it was the first time I met The Man, I was not
only pleased, but also charmed. What a clever unorthodox character. What a
presence. What a personality.
Well, it was a pleasure to see you, Mr Barrington….
BEACHILL TAKES IT
ONE AT A TIME
LEE BEACHILL thinks that the tournament is very open this year.
“You can’t write Peter Nicol off, at any time. John White hasn’t played
particularly well in this tournament in the last couple of years, but he is
very motivated, as he never won it. And if he has a good week, he could be
devastating.
"James Wilstrop is in great form, having played very well in the last two
tournaments, Nick Matthew just did very well in Sweden…
"Speaking for myself, so far I always do well in this tournament, I won it
twice, been in the last three finals, I have got a good record.
"But if anyone starts thinking in the second round that they can win, you
can be sure they are not going to win, so, let’s take one round at a time,
and see what happens.”
His first round didn’t cause him any problems whatsoever, as he won in 3
sets, 15/2, 15/9, 15/11 in 37 minutes against Laurence Delasaux (qualifier
from Yorks).
|
Framboise Gommendy
Today's stories:
-
White wraps it up
-
Barker still running
-
Grant slow to start
-
Joey goes out fighting
-
No
problem for Evans
-
Jonah makes a show
-
Beachill hedges his bets
John White
Joey Barrington
David Evans
Lee Beachill
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