This evening's entertainment opened with the Plate Final - Tony Arthur against Pete Scully. Pete played disappointingly in the first game. In fact his opening serve (the first serve of the match) was about two feet out of court (and there were many more to follow)! Tony kept the pressure on and won the first game fairly convincingly with a score of 9/5. Pete got his act together in the next game and did some good lob serving which prevented Tony from hitting winning return of serves. Pete's speed around the court also allowed him to get to shots which Tony believed were winners and he then start putting real pressure on Tony. In this game, Pete pulled back from 5/1 down to win 9/7. The third game again went to Tony - Pete made the mistake here of getting involved in front of court skirmishes which inevitably Tony (with his very quick reactions) won almost every time. In the fourth game, Pete built up a 6/1 lead with some good retrieving and surprise straight drives, and it looked as if we were heading for a five setter. Tony had other ideas however, and pulled it back to 7/6. Pete got up to 8/7, served for the game to make it 2-2 and . . . served out! That was really Pete's last chance, and although he did serve for the game twice more, Tony eventually took it 10/9. There was no wavering from the marker in this game. Although there were a fair few tricky situations, appeals and counter appeals, Martin Beck did an excellent job of controlling the match ensuring a fair outcome. The final score was 9/5 7/9 9/5 10/9
The Ladies' Finals was next. This was between Louise Nuttall (the number 1 seed and last year's champion) and Lorna Robinson (the number 2 seed). It was good to see Louise facing a serious challenge on her way to victory. Louise has an excellent range of shots, and that coupled with her speed around the court makes her a formidable player. She powered her way to a 5/0 lead in the opening game and everything seemed to be going her way. However, after a shaky start, Lorna proved herself equal to the challenge, and, without appearing to move particularly quickly, she covered the court in a very economical and effective way. She showed excellent retrieving skills and hit her share of winning shots, but, the lead was just too great in that opening game - Louise took it 9/5. Lorna had a good start in the second game, and built up a small lead, but Louise's power game came to her rescue and pinned Lorna to the back of the court. Louise took that game 9/3. I don't think Lorna had much left after that, and although she still fought on, she didn't take any more points off Louise in the match. This was a very enjoyable good-natured game which was much appreciated by the audience. The final score was 9/5 9/3 9/0.
The Men's final was a cracking affair. I really think these finals get better every year. This year it was between Glen Danks (the number 1 seed) as usual, and Brett Green (the number 3 seed). Glen was fairly fresh (having had a relatively easy game against a tired Martyn Whiting the previous day), whereas Brett must have been feeling the effects of the marathon game he had against Russ. I'm not sure if I'm qualified to comment on a game of this calibre, but I'll have a go. The pace of the whole match was phenomenal. Both players were reaching balls that were clearly impossible to reach, and then playing shots that were clearly impossible to play to a level of perfection that I can only marvel at. If you only watched a few minutes of the game, you would have to say that Brett was the better player, because his retrieving was more impressive, and he chose more aggressive shots like crosscourt drops aimed at the nick, and boasts that were less than 1mm above the tin. It was only when you had seen half an hour of this match that you realised that Brett appeared to be the better retriever because he was doing more of it - Glen was consistently making Brett cover more of the court that Glen needed to. Also, out of every 20 attacking shots of Brett's, Glen would get to 17 of them, Brett would put two down, and one would be a winner. This meant that Glen was getting more points out of Brett's attacking shots than Brett was!
In the first game, Glen built up a useful lead of 6/2 through steady consistent play. This is when Brett produced his best squash of the match, and he hit a purple patch where his cross court drops were finding nicks, and he caught Glen off guard with his wicked boasts. Brett got back to 7/8, but allowed Glen back in who then took the first game 9/7. I'm not sure what happened to Brett in the second game, but he attempted several risky winners which didn't come off. It was all over very quickly - 9/1 to Glen. Glen surged into a 6/0 lead in the third, and then took the pressure off. Brett responded by playing magnificently and at this late stage in the match did two or three rallies with the best retrieving I have ever seen - much to the delight of the appreciative audience. He also managed something else in this game I have never seen before - he won two rallies with shots that Glen could get nowhere near. However, all this effort from Brett only goes to prove what an exceptional player Glen is. He allowed Brett to get up to 6/7 and then turned up the pressure once more. He produced a couple of low forehand drives that were so tight that Brett was unable to put a racket on them as they bounced for the second time in the front-side wall nick at the back of the service box. Glen took this game 9/6 and with it the match. This game was one of the best I've seen in recent years - particularly on account of the way in which both players would play the ball whenever it was physically possible to do so - there was absolutely no stroke hunting. The final score was 9/7 9/1 9/6.
The evening was rounded off with food in the bar and the presentation of trophies. As usual many people were conspicuous by their absences! I would expect everyone who entered to show up at the finals, but 22 out of the total entry of 38 didn't came along to support! They missed some excellent squash, good food and drink in the bar, and a scintillating speech from our captain, Brian Ireland (seriously, it WAS a good speech).
Good bye till next year!.
In the first of the semi finals today, Brett Green (the number 3 seed) beat Russ Harrison (the number 2 seed) in a thrilling very close game. Brett was playing the more attacking game and stretching Russ with his boasts that cannot have been more than a couple of millimetres above the tin. Russ could get to most of them, but the few he missed were enough to let Brett sneak ahead in the first couple of games 9/3 9/4. In the third game, Brett relaxed completely and took a lot of pressure off Russ. He also attempted a few risky volley nick shots which either tinned, or leapt out of the nick. You cannot afford to play like that against Russ, and Russ won that very comfortable 9/1. All of a sudden, the outcome didn't seem so certain any more. Brett still couldn't get his act together in the beginning of the fourth game and Russ built up a comfortable 7/2 lead. At this stage, Brett started producing some first-class squash again, and hauled in the lead, saved one game point and took the game 10/8 and with it the match. This was fast exciting squash and in my opinion would have made a worthy final.
Martyn Whiting (the number 5 seed) hadn't fully recovered from his marathon game against Steve Dyke the previous day when he was expected to go out and perform against Glen Danks (the number 1 seed). Glen set a relentless pace and kept Martyn on the move continuously with his alternating straight and cross-court drives, and his ultra-safe (but from Martyn's perspective, strength-sapping) backhand volley drops. Martyn was very tired after the first game, and Glen kept to the same formula throughout - getting to everything that Martyn played with ease and inflicting serious damage on Martyn’s stamina at the same time. Martyn did well to keep going and extract six points from Glen. The final score was 9/4 9/2 9/0.
Two plate semi finals were also held. Steve Porter and Pete Scully had an enjoyable and entertaining game. Steve really controlled the way this game went. He played in his usual attacking way and whenever he could get a good swing at the ball, hit it harder than I thought is humanly possible! If it went up. he had a good chance of winning the rally, but if it went down (which many did) he was giving points away. Pete was doing the correct counter measure of keeping the ball in play, which in the end, paid dividends. Steve hit too many into the tin and this allowed Pete to take the match 3-1. The scores were 9/5 8/10 9/5 9/4.
The other plate semi final was between Tony Arthur and Paul Heneghan. The game started off well for Tony and he built up a 6/2 lead in the first. Then, he started hitting the tin with increasing reliability and seemed a bit surprised at some of Paul's rare drops. This allowed Paul to take the first game without dropping another point. Paul carried on to win the first six points of the next game, but at this stage Tony changed tactics, stopped hitting the ball into the tin and started working for the points. Tony got the next seven points and after a struggle at 8/8, Tony took the second game 10/8. The third and fourth games also went Tony's way, and although Paul rallied briefly at the end of the 4th game, it was too late for a chance of a comeback. The assembled audience was not impressed at some refereeing decisions being overturned because of badgering of the referee, but it didn't affect the outcome of the game. The final score was 6/9 10/8 9/1 9/3.
In the first upset of the tournament, Martyn Whiting played superbly this evening to beat Steve Dyke 3-1. This was undoubtedly the best (and closest) match of the tournament. I knew in the knock-up that it was all over for Steve when Jimmy announced that Steve would definitely win! But it took 45 minutes of gruelling squash for Jimmy's kiss of death to take effect. The first game should really have been Steve's. He played excellent squash to go from 4/4 to 8/4, taking the pace off the ball, hitting perfect lengths that nicked on the second bounce and going for the odd kill at the right time. Martyn had all but given up towards the end of that game when Steve attempted a risky cross court volley drop which hit the tin. In no time at all, the score was 8/8 and then there was a long battle until in the fifteenth minute, Martyn took it 10/9. In the next game (and the ones that followed), Steve's drop shots disintegrated. Time and time again, Martyn would bring him to the front right corner of the court with a drop or a boast, Steve would get there with plenty of time and would then stroke it into the tin. It even started to affect his backhand drops at one stage. Despite this, the next games were very close with Martyn taking the second 9/5 and Steve taking the third 9/7. When they came out in the fourth game, both players looked exhausted and were keeping the ball up in the air to give themselves time. I'm sure at the back of their mind was the thought that the winner would meet Glen tomorrow in the semis. Steve started going for winners again, and enough of these came off to put him in a 6/3 lead. But a few more tinned drops from Steve and a few excellent drops from Martyn (who was dropping superbly the entire match) brought Martyn through to 9/6 and with it the match. The final score after 45 minutes play was 10/9 9/5 7/9 9/6.
All the other games tonight were plate games. Pete Scully and Richard Evans finally got around to playing their second round game, and as expected Pete won that fairly comfortably. In the few minutes that I saw, Richard was playing very well and had built up a 4/0 lead, but the final score was 9/1 9/7 9/3 to Pete. Fortunately for Pete, his quarter final opponent never showed, so he is now through to the semis.
Louise Nuttall and Steve Porter had a close game. Louise took the first game 10/9 with some very stylish squash. This really put the pressure on Steve to say nothing of the heckling he got from his so-called friends and supporters in the balcony! He had to turn on all the stops to level the match by winning the next game 9/5. I think at this stage Louise was tiring a little and she made a few uncharacteristic errors in the third which Steve took 9/5. Louise then built up a comfortable lead in the fourth and got to 7/4 helped it must be said by Steve getting excited and tinning the ball more than a few times. However, at this point Steve settled down and played steadily to take the game 9/7. The final score was 8/10, 9/5 9/5 9/7 to Steve.
Tony Arthur had quite an easy game against Paul Jones. Paul had no answer to Tony's spectacular range of kills. The score was 9/2 9/4 9/0.
Paul Heneghan had a bit of a shaky start against Neil Thorneywork to allow Neil a lead of 3/1 in the first game, but then Paul settled down, kept the ball in play and pressurised Neil into a few mistakes. The final score was 9/4 9/1 8/2.
Two of the quarter finals were held tonight. Martin Beck (the number 8 seed) was taking on Glen Danks (the number 1 seed) and Gray Wilson (the number 7 seed) was playing Russ Harrison (the number 2 seed).
Martin was not in the least overawed by the enormity of the job in front of him and started off in excellent form. His drops were to millimetre accuracy, but Glen still got to them! It was close up to about 2 all in the first game and then the inevitable happened. Glen's punishing rallies and effortless retrieving took their toll on Martin, and mistakes began to creep in. Glen never really let Martin back in the match after that and cruised to a 9/2 9/0 9/2 victory.
Gray's battle against Russ was much closer. Gray didn't seem particularly hampered by his knee injury tonight and was moving around the court very smoothly. Russ was playing his usual game of keeping his opponent at the back of the court and administering the odd coup de grace. The first game really should have been Gray's. He went into a 5/2 lead early on and got to 8/5. At 8/5 up you don't expect Gray to lose, however, his crosscourt volley nicks just weren't working tonight and he let Russ back in who then took the first game 10/8. The next game saw a lot of errors from Gray with many unforced tinned volley drops. Russ took this game 9/1. It all seemed over in the third game when Russ went 8/1 up. At this point however, Gray staged one of his miraculous come backs (helped by some indifferent squash from Russ). But it was too great a task, even for Gray, and Russ took that game 9/6. The final score was 10/8 9/1 9/6.
Rob FitzMaurice went on court today determined to beat Steve Dyke (the number 4 seed) and for the first half of the first game, everything was going according to plan. Rob was racing around the court like a man possessed, forcing the odd error from Steve and doing some superb drops with no margin for error. At 4-4 in the first, the match could have gone either way. Then Steve settled into his game and started moving Rob all round the court. Steve eliminated all short shots as Rob was getting to these and putting him under pressure. Rob was forced to reduce his margin for error, and the inevitable tinned drops followed leading to a 9/5 win for Steve in the first. Rob came out in the second with the same game plan and fought very hard to recover the serve from Steve. But after 10 or so rallies with the score at 1/0 to Steve, Rob began to tire. He started hanging back a little, hoping for lengths from Steve, and in general, Steve obliged, but threw in the occasional winning short shots, which Rob was losing interest in getting to. Steve played a excellent controlled game to take the second 9/1. It all seemed over in the third until Steve made a number of uncharacteristic mistakes while going for short winners. This let Rob back in momentarily, but at 4/4, Steve tightened up his game once more and went through to 9/4 in a single hand. It was a good match to watch, and Rob deserves credit for stretching Steve in the first game. The final score was 9/5 9/1 9/4.
Martin Kiff got off to a flying start in his quarter final battle with Brett Green, forcing his higher seeded opponent into uncharacteristic errors to take the first game 9-3. The second game was entirely different, with Brett taking command after the opening encounters. Dominating the front of the court, he ran the tireless Kiffy around the back in a series of long rallies, and took control of the game with his unplayable trademark cross court nicks, taking it by 9-0, a scoreline which did little justice to the retrieving skill of his opponent. The third game was much more evenly balanced, with Brett serving six hands to Martin’s five, but the long rallies and Brett’s consistent lengths started to take their toll on Martin’s concentration, allowing unforced errors to creep in. Brett eventually won by 9-3. After a shaky start, Martin rallied in the fourth game, making a strong recovery to 5-6, when it looked as if he might even the match. Brett however was able to hold off the challenge, and served out to win the game by 9-5, and the match 3-1. This was an exhibition of club squash at its best, played throughout in a sporting manner by two players of great capability and potential. The final score was 3/9 9/0 9/3 9/5.
Lorna Robinson put Mary Boyle out of the championship this afternoon in one of the closest matches of the tournament so far - only one other match in the tournament has also gone to five games. Both players played very well and hit deep penetrating shots waiting for a weak reply to finish off the rally. The first two games were all square at five all, but Lorna managed a run of points in the first game (9/7) whereas Mary got the run in the second game (9/6). Mary was doing more attacking, but Lorna was able to read Mary's front-of-court drops and managed to hit winners off several. However, she had no answer to a couple of Mary's VERY low hard forehand drive kills from the back of the court. Lorna took the third game 9/5, but found herself struggling in the fourth game after Mary won six points in a single hand to go 7/2 up. At this stage, Lorna tightened up her game and started clawing back the points to go 8/7 up which gave her match ball. Mary saved the match point and then used good match psychology to serve from the left. This let her get to 8/8 and she only had to save one more match point before taking that game 10/9. Exciting stuff! I'm not sure what happened in the last game, but it was all over very quickly. Mary's concentration wavered slightly, whereas Lorna seemed to have been holding something in reserve. Mary's widths started coming out from the side wall and this gave Lorna the chance to put them away. After a couple of minutes, Lorna took the last game 9/0 to clinch the match 9/7 6/9 9/5 9/10 9/0.
Karen Campbell put up a very spirited fight against Louise Nuttall in the first Ladies' semi final today. Karen was playing better than I've ever seen her play before and was covering the court very well. Whenever the opportunity presented itself, she would go for winners which usually came off. Unfortunately, she occasionally selected the wrong shot and didn't allow herself an exit path giving several strokes to Louise. Louise played a very steady game and was mostly content to keep driving the ball to the back of the court with a sprinkling of her famous backhand drive kill shots. Although in all three games the girls were neck and neck up to about four all, Louise was the one who was always able to get a run of points at the end. The score was 9/5 9/4 9/6 to Louise.
There were some more good matches today, some of which were very close, but they all went to the higher ranked player. So, if Steve Dyke beats Rob FitzMaurice on Wednesday, then all the seeds will have survived the second round.
Glen Danks (the number one seed) got revenge on Neil Healey for beating him in the Handicapped Tournament last year. That time, Neil had a 19 point handicap, today, they played off scratch! Neil managed to lose with the very impressive score of 9/1 9/5 9/3 and was actually leading 5/3 in the second game for a while. Some first division players from other clubs have not done as well!
Russell Harrison beat Pete Scully 3-0 this morning. I didn't see this match, but I'm sure there was LOTS of running.!
Brett Green and Louise Nuttall produced the most elegant game of the championship so far. They both hit text book shots and covered the court very well - it was more like an exhibition match than a tournament match. Louise won several points with attacking backhand kills, but Brett soon started anticipating those. In the end, Brett's superior speed around the court coupled with a number of unforced errors from Louise gave Brett a comfortable victory 9/4 9/3 9/4.
Martin Whiting put a lot of pressure on Errol Ferris in their game. Martin played a good percentage game of mostly powerful shots to the back with a few good boasts and drops thrown in to move Errol around the court. Errol did some phenomenal retrieving, but Martin was relentless and took the match 9/4 9/2 9/5.
Richard Chinn had a close game against Martin Kiff this morning. I didn't see it, but the score line speaks for itself. 9/5 9/3 6/9 9/3 to Kiffy. I bet Richard is regretting those last five beers he had last night!
Dave Potter played well enough in his game against Gray Wilson to get Gray more than a little worried. Gray is still suffering from a knee injury, and once again was trying to move as economically as possible. At the beginning, Dave took advantage of Gray's reduced mobility and went for all the winners he could. For the first two games, this was very effective, and Dave took these games 9/6 9/7. At 5/3 down in the third game, Gray decided it was time to change gear. All of a sudden, balls which were unreachable were being reached, and Dave was constantly fooled by Gray's reverse angles and volley drops with no pace that slid off the front wall into the nick. Dave didn't get many more points after that! Gray's final winning score was 6/9 7/9 9/5 9/2 9/4.
There were also two plate matches played this afternoon. Steve Porter played Lorna Robinson, and Neil Thorneywork played Peter Harrison. Lorna found Steve's unorthodox left-handed style a little difficult to cope with, and this, combined with a number of tinned forehand volley drops from Lorna, gave Steve the game. The score was 9/4 9/1 9/4.
Neil Thorneywork played better than I have ever seen him play before in his match against Peter Harrison. Neil hit nick after nick and all Peter could do was hang in there and hope for a change of fortunes. Peter did raise his game a little towards the end, but by then it was too late. The final score was 9/0 9/2 9/3.
We need a competent marker for the rescheduled Brett Green v Martin Kiff match. It will be held on Tuesday 4th April at 20:15. Any volunteers?
I'm very grateful to all the players who have turned up to mark the matches (and who have often stood around for long periods of time because of rearranged matches). Thank you.
Martin Beck met Stan Biffin in the second round today and we were treated to an excellent match. Martin produced his usual dazzling array of power nick shots and disguised drops, but in the first game made too many errors and suffered a loss of concentration over a marking decision. Stan played some steady percentage squash and this coupled with his trademark boasts (it's not going to reach . . . it's not going to reach . . . Wow, that WAS a good shot) gave him the first game 9/5. This gave Martin the incentive to tighten his squash, and over the next three games, he turned up the pressure, making Stan work hard to cover the court. Stan's anticipation was excellent, but he was still occasionally drawn to the front for an obvious drop only to see the ball sail over his head. Martin took the next two games 9/2 9/4. In the fourth game, Stan managed a superhuman effort to go into a 7/5 lead with some drops and boasts and disguised forehand drives that Martin could only reach at their second bounce. Once again, Martin tightened up his game and despite producing one drop shot that was a good three feet high on the front wall (a trick he obviously learned from me), allowed Stan only one more point before taking that game (and the match) 10/8. Exciting stuff to watch, and as expected between players of this calibre, a clean game played in the right spirit. The final score - 5/9 9/2 9/4 10/8
Tony Arthur had a very enjoyable game against Granthan Speake. Granthan played exceptionally well, and Tony Arthur, for once, entered into rallies. Granthan obviously takes after his dad when it comes to hitting winners from absolutely impossible positions, and this combined with some consistently good serving allowed him to take the second game! This got Tony worried enough to start producing his ridiculously risky winners which were unreturnable. Tony's winning score was something like 9/4 9/10 9/5 9/5.
Three ladies' first round matches were played tonight (Louise got a walkover as Zelda did not turn up). The first of these was Lorna Robinson v Ros Porter. Lorna produced some very good lengths and widths to take the first two games very easily and it was only towards the end of the third game Ros woke up. She then started hitting the ball harder and got some good lengths and boasts that started moving Lorna off the T. Lorna was never really in any danger and finished with a comfortable 9/0 9/0 9/2 win.
Mary Boyle played ex club champion Enid Walker (and never used the big, big S - What, never? - No, never! - What, never? - Hardly ever!). Enid produced her usual text-book lob serves, lengths, widths and drops, but Mary countered with some excellent retrieving, and did a good job of keeping the ball off Enid's racket. Enid's anticipation is second to none, but despite reaching many of Mary's front-of-court boasts, she got there too late to hit winners. Mary won the first game 9/2. Enid pulled the second game back from 8/6 down to 8 all, but Mary squeezed through 10/9. Mary finished off the third game with some very good drops - her most improved shot. The final score was 9/2 10/9 9/6.
The two Karens battled it out on court three (chosen because the pastel shades complemented their outfits? - unfortunately the balcony was not big enough to hold all their fans!). This was another exciting game with big swings of fortune. Karen Campbell's nerves were almost under control (there was a fair bit of talking though!) and she powered her way through the first game 9/0. This gave Karen Archard the incentive to fight back and she (Karen A.) won the next game 9/1. The third game was close but Karen A's lack of match fitness was beginning to tell and she sometimes was a fraction late to the ball. Karen C. won that game 9/7 and went on to win the next one 9/2. The final score was 9/0 1/9 9/7 9/2.
We need a competent marker for the rescheduled Steve Dyke v Rob FitzMaurice match. It will be held on Wednesday 5th April at 17:15. Any volunteers?
Please note that many matches in the second round have had to be rescheduled to fit in with peoples non squash commitments. The website, should always have the most up-to-date times. Please ring Paul Heneghan (871565) if you need to rearrange any matches.
Dave Potter had a 3-0 victory over Simon Harrison. Simon did a spectacular knock-up, but lack of match practice showed against an opponent who cannot resist a reverse angle or two (or three . . . ). The score was something like 9/2 9/2 9/4.
Martin Kiff and Lorna Robinson never managed to play their game, so by mutual consent, Martin goes through and Lorna goes into the plate.
The score from the Martin Beck v Ian Smith match has just come in. 9/0 9/2 9/5 to Martin.
Here is a commentary just received by e-mail.
BECKY V SMITH
Although short, this match was definitely a lesson in impeccable manners (coming from someone who swore Twice ...very loudly!) and skill. Martin cruised through the first game 9-0 producing all the shots straight from the book and one or two nicks. Ian (a keen tennis player) struggled to read the ball around the court (had he forgotten that a squash court had 4 walls attached to it?). But he did not forget his manners and was very complimentary on his opponents every shot. Eventually Ian did settle down and managed a healthy lead in the third game putting the pressure on Martin with some fine forehand service returns which died in the corner causing Martin to fluff one or two shots. But feeling the pressure Martin upped his game within seconds and completed the match 3-0.
Current club champion Glen Danks played his first match of the tournament against Ben Salcedo tonight. It's a pity this match was not held on the Saturday afternoon when there was a good audience, because it was a very entertaining match. Glen’s aim was obviously to keep the ball in play and to allow Ben to make the mistakes. Ben, (unfortunately for him) didn’t make many, so some LONG rallies developed with Ben doing almost all of the running. Glen kept Ben's hopes alive with over-hit lengths and loose drops and boasts. Every now and again, Ben would hit a really good shot which would put Glen under real pressure. Glen would then respond in the only way he knew how which would be with a winner. The headline ‘Ben takes a point off Glen’ is true, but misleading. This point occurred in the fourth game after the match had ended! It is still a point that Ben should be proud of though. The score in the match was obviously 9/0 9/0 9/0.
This match commentary (for the Granthan v Ben match) has just been submitted by a lady spectator!
They strode onto the court smiling, but will they be enemies OAR still friends at the end?
The first game was close - both players covering the court well and it could have gone either way but Granthan took the first game.
Then disaster struck in the following games for Granthan who first broke his racquet; his S.O.S (Save Our Squash) was answered by Johnny Johnson who produced his racquet (very brave).
Not content with breaking his racquet Granthan nearly broke his knee cap.
Gradually his game began to SINK as Ben continued to produce some excellent lengths and drops.
However Granthan limped on and at times looked like he was making a comeback with some fine low hard crosscourts but Ben SAILED onto victory, but not before both players produced some good rallies.
An enjoyable game...those tight shorts....and those legs....and...okay that's it!
Well done BUOYS
Eight matches were held today and they were all won by the higher ranked players.
The nearest to an upset came in Errol Ferris's match against tournament organiser Paul Heneghan. The first game went to Errol 9/2. But during the next two games, Paul stepped his game up and there was a real battle. At 7/5 up in the second, Paul surprised Errol with a cross court drop. Errol was going for the straight drop and while attempting to change direction, tripped over Paul's feet! After much deliberation, Errol was awarded a let. Errol then clawed his way back to 8/7 and seemed sure to take the game. Ten rallies later, Paul squeezed through 10/9. The next game was similar, but with fortunes reversed. Paul disputed a let that he felt sure should have been a stroke, but was unable to prevent Errol taking the game 10/9. Both players were tiring in the fourth game and this is where Errol's superior shots clinched the match for him. The score in that game was a fairly comfortable 9/3 to Errol. This was undoubtedly the closest fought match so far.
The other games in the first round also ran to form. Steve Dyke beat Neil Thorneywork 3-0. Rob Fitz beat a rusty Peter Harrison 9/2 9/1 9/2.
Mary Boyle played out of her socks (and swore loudly - twice!) and gave Russell Harrison (the number two seed) a good game. Russell was taking it easy and was never in any trouble despite the score of 10/8 9/4 9/4.
Richard Chinn had an easy victory over Steve Porter 9/0 9/2 9/4. Steve had a definite 'off-day' and was in severe depression the last time I saw him. Cheer up Steve! We could meet in the plate.
Stan Biffin cruised to victory over Wayne Hooper. Stan was in no mood to enter into rallies and his short game caused real problems for Wayne. The score was 9/5 9/1 9/1.
Bob Speake caused serious problems for Martyn Whiting (the number five seed) with his return of serve. Martyn was two love in games and 7/1 up in the third when Bob hit FIVE backhand return of serves in a row into the nick! Martyn then tried serving to his forehand. Bob hit another nick! If only the rest of Bob's game was as good as his return of serve! It was all very enjoyable to watch and was played in good spirits. The score in that match was 9/2 9/4 9/3 to Martyn.
Another good game to watch today was Brian Ireland (the squash captain and oldest player in the tournament) against Gray Wilson (the number seven seed and ex number one in the club). Gray has a knee problem at the moment and is wearing about half a ton of hitech hinged knee brace. The six million dollar man would have been quite envious! Gray tried to play with total economy of movement i.e. if he could reach a shot without moving more than one step, he did. This might sound a bit limiting until you realise that Gray (who is about 9'6" in squash feet and inches) can reach any part of a squash court in 1.1 steps. It is to Brian's credit that he frequently hit the ball into the 10% of the court that Gray couldn't (or didn't want to) get to and he totally deserved the points that he took off Gray. Gray eventually won 10/9 9/10 9/4 9/7.
Dave Potter never showed today for his match against Simon Harrison. This will be played during the week sometime.
As expected, Tony Whitehouse dropped out with a hip injury. Pete Scully is therefore through to the next round where he meets Russell. Russell likes rallying, and Pete is a great retriever, so that should be a good match.
There are three matches still to be played in the first round - Glen Danks (the number one seed) against Ben Salcedo, and Martin Kiff (the number 6 seed) against Lorna Robinson, and Martin Beck (the number eight seed) against Ian Smith. There shouldn't be any shocks here (although Ian has a bit of a reputation as a giant killer)- the results will be posted on the web as soon as the matches have been held.
Many of the games in the next round have been rearranged. Please check the times on the website for the latest information.
Chris Thompson has had to pull out. This puts Louise through to the second round where she will play Brett. Lin Beck has also withdrawn. This is regrettable, and was probably due to her opponent's failure to turn up.
It was very annoying that so many players did not turn up for their games tonight. Mark Arnell and Peter McFarlane were stuck on a motorway, which was unfortunate, but Jan Molendorff, and Marshall Dallas DNA'd without letting their opponents or the organisers know. I have personally checked that all the remaining players know they have got games, so we should not have any more incidents of this kind.
The tournament started today at 16:30 with Brian Ireland v Karen Campbell. Brian won 9/5 10/8 9/0. This was a good match to watch. Karen played very well at times and kept Brian under a lot of pressure. I think she may have been a little nervous and this caused her to hit some loose shots. Then, in her efforts to get back on the T, she got in the way of the ball several times and had strokes awarded against her. Brian now goes on to meet Gray Wilson.
The next match of the tournament was Tony Arthur v Neil Healey. Neil won 9/5 9/6 9/1. Both players played well, but Neil's retrieving was particularly good. He also hit some excellent width drives off some of Tony's drops. This forced Tony to lower his margin for error, and he tinned some drops as a result. Tony wasn't helped by the tournament ball. We're using single yellow spot Dunlop Revelation squash balls. These are VERY bouncy and are probably equivalent to the old white dot Dunlop ball or Merco double yellow dot that the club used to use. The court was also warm which again would not have helped Tony. Neil is now likely to meet Glen in the second round. Bye bye Neil!
Wayne dispatched his opponent (new-boy Paul Jones) fairly rapidly. The score was 9/2 9/0 9/0. Wayne will have his work cut out for him against Stan tomorrow.
Mary Boyle had a fairly easy victory over Richard Evans. Richard covered the court very quickly, but lacked the shots to put Mary in danger. The score was 9/1 9/2 9/0.
The last match of the night was Granthan v Ben. They're both fit left-handed rowers, so there was some exciting squash here. Granthan seemed determined to break his racket tonight, so after trying a few swipes at his knees, he then had a go at the wall. The wall won! He carried on the match with Johnny Johnson's racket, but by the time he got used to it, it was all over. The score was 6/9 9/4 9/3 9/3.
Evesham Rowing Club's most athletic, talented, stylish, vocal and Scottish squash player has pulled out. Jimmy Harrison has decided to allow the other players a chance. Sources close to Jimmy have let it be known that he wishes to spend more time with his family. At least we'll save money on the interpreter!
Richard has decided to neutralise the threat of Steve Porter's new restring by getting his Prince Powerring restrung as well. It's an ill wind . . . .
It looks like Tony Whitehouse might also be out of the tournament even before it's begun. He's still suffering from a niggling hip strain. He was due to play Pete Scully in the 1st round. Pete will now go on to meet Russ in the 2nd round. Good luck Pete!
Steve Porter is back on form again. His newly restrung Head Ti120 racket might well give him the power and the confidence to put pressure on Richard Chinn in the 1st round. The winner meets Martin Kiff.
Some late entries have been slotted into the draw. In the preliminary round, Peter Harrison plays Jimmy on Friday at 20:15 and Paul Jones plays Wayne on Friday at 19:30.
These late entries have upset one of the 1st-round matches. Stan will now play the winner of Paul Jones or Wayne on Saturday at 18:45.
Clive has withdrawn with a bruised heel. This gives Gray a slightly easier run through to the quarter finals which he may well need as his knee apparently is giving him a lot of trouble at the moment. Clive's place has been taken up by late-entry Simon Harrison. Simon is capable of some really good squash but is rumoured to be out of practice at the moment.