|
|
• TODAY • Day D4 • Day D3 • Day D2 • Day D1 • FINALS • SEMIS • QUARTERS • Day 2 • Day 1 • Update •
   
TODAY AT THE GAMES
Sat 18th, Day THREE:
Three Aussies & Three English in Semis
Honours were shared in the quarter-finals in
Melbourne t5oday, with hosts Australia and England each having have three
representatives in the Commonwealth Games semi-finals. Men's top seed
David Palmer and Toowoomba sisters Rachael and Natalie Grinham
won through for the Aussies, while England have three men's semi-finalists
in Peter Nicol, Nick Matthew and Lee Beachill - and a
guaranteed silver medal at least - while Malaysia's top seed Nicol
David and New Zealand's Shelley Kitchen will also contest the
semi-finals ...
Men's Quarter-Finals:
men's draw
[1] David Palmer (Aus) bt [6] John White (Sco)
2/9, 10/8, 9/6, 9/0 (79m)
[5] Lee Beachill (Eng) bt [10] Stewart
Boswell (Aus)
9/4, 9/3, 9/3 (74m)
[4] Peter Nicol (Eng) bt [12] Graham Ryding (Can)
9/5, 9/1, 9/3 (48m)
[7] Nick Matthew (Eng) bt [2] James Willstrop (Eng)
9/3, 3/9, 8/10, 10/8, 9/5 (83m)
Women's Quarter-Finals:
women's draw
[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt [8] Tania
Bailey (Eng)
9/6, 10/9, 9/3 (45m)
[3] Natalie Grinham (Aus) bt [7] Madeline Perry (Irl)
9/1, 9/7, 4/9, 9/3 (58m)
[9] Shelley Kitchen
(Nzl) bt [4] Vicky Botwright (Eng)
10/8, 9/5, 9/1 (43m)
[2] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt [6] Linda Elriani (Eng)
1/9, 9/5, 9/5, 9/3 (44m)
FLASH
QUOTES:
from
the Melbourne news desk
|
Framboise in Melbourne
Linda Elriani's
Melbourne Experience
EN BREF #3
Results from Melbourne
BBC Games coverage
from Howard Harding |
|
|
SESSION
ONE ... Framboise
reports from Melbourne ...
|
|
|
 |
|
|
[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt [8] Tania
Bailey (Eng)
9/6, 10/9, 9/3 (45m) |
NICOL DANGEROUS AS EVER…
The little marvel from Malaysia is playing very well this week yet again,
she moves superbly, gets the irretrievable back on a regular basis,
forcing her opponent to take more and more risks, hence making errors, and
her short game seems to have improved since the last time I saw her, as if
her opponents needed that!
The second game was crucial really, and Tania will hate herself to have
let it slip through her racquet. The English lady was up 6/1 in no time,
and she looked really good out there. But as ever, Nicol is so dangerous
when she is behind on the score, and the Malaysian starting string point
after point, and got herself at game point 8/7.
But Tanya knew she couldn’t let that one go, you can’t go down 2/0
against the world number one, not really recommended in the WISPA handbook. So
she planted her heels, equalised at 8/8, then got three game balls, made a
few errors, but on a last cross court ending in the tin, the English girl
gave the game to her opponent, 10/9 in 18 minutes.
And from that point, the mountain was sooo high to climb. Nicol felt she
had a psychological advantage, gave it a last push, increase the pace, and
concluded in7 minutes to find herself in a cosy semi final of the
Commonwealth Games...
 "I made a few errors at the end of the second, but I feel like I put 110%
effort, that I couldn’t have done anymore.
"Coming back on court 2/0 down was just so hard, as somehow, I thought I
deserved to win that second game, well, obviously, Nicol deserved it as
well, but I would have deserved to get something out of that game, and it
was so frustrating….
"Nicol makes it so hard for you, she never gives up, and picks everything
up…
"In the third, I stepped down instead for stepping up, I worked and tried
hard until the last shot, but I couldn’t get it back in the end…
Tania Bailey |
|
|
 "I played well to come back in the second, then I may have relaxed a bit,
and she started playing her shots at 8/6, caught me up at 8/8. So I just
kept on digging in, and digging in, trying to play as tight as I could, to
prevent her from playing her game.
"Tania is so dangerous in the middle, especially if you give her time on
the ball, so you have to try and keep her in the back corners…
"You’ve got to adapt to the conditions, every day it’s different, when we
started it was a bit cold, now it’s quite warm… But so far, it’s been very
good…"
Nicol David |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
[3] Natalie Grinham (Aus) bt [7] Madeline Perry (Irl)
9/1, 9/7, 4/9, 9/3 (58m) |
NATALIE PREVAILS…
It was not a walk in the park for the Australian today, although her first
game let us think that the match could be over rather quickly.
 Down 1/0
and
3/0 in the second, Madeline seemed to suddenly find her pace, and the
rallies went longer and longer as the match progressed.
But it was a
strange game, as both girls made a lot of unforced errors, and the Irish
getting rather frustrated with her mistakes. Natalie clinched that game as
well, finding herself in the very enviable position of being up 2/0.
But Madeline didn’t give up, far from it, it seemed to liberate her, and
suddenly, all the mistakes seemed to vanish to be replaced by exquisite
drop shots. Natalie seemed to suffer a bit physically as well, and the
Irish came back 2/1.
 With all her experience, Natalie knew that she had to take a good start in
the fourth, and that she did, leading quickly 3/0 then 5/2. Madeline could
never catch up with her opponent, and one match ball was enough to
seal the Irish’s fate…
Australia is happy, already one Australian in the semis…
|
 "I think that in the first game, Madeline had trouble adjusting to the
glass court, as yesterday she was playing on a traditional court. Then in
the second, she started to get into it, and in the third, she must have
said to herself that she had nothing to lose, and just went for her shots
and played her game… In the last one, maybe she got a little tired…
Natalie Grinham
 "At the start of the match, she played some superb drop shots, and in the
second, I made so many errors…. I think that I may expect a bit too much
of myself, as I’ve had a few good results recently. And I may try and play
a squash that is too complicated, instead of just playing my game,
volleying and drop shots.
"Doubles next, something a bit different, with no pressure on me, I’m going
to enjoy it…"
Madeline Perry |
|
|
|
[4] Peter Nicol (Eng) bt [12] Graham Ryding (Can)
9/5, 9/1, 9/3 (48m) |
THIRD TIME UNLUCKY FOR GRAHAM
Peter was quite comfortable in the first game score wise, as he went up
quickly to 6/2, but then the Canadian put much more weight in his shots, came
back to 5/6, where we had a superb rally that enchanted the crowd, won by
the Englishman who went on to take the game in 21 minutes.
Graham seemed a bit overwhelmed by Peter’s attacks in the second, but came
back with a vengeance in the third, and the difference today I feel was a few
errors at the wrong time…
 "This was the third time I played Graham in the quarters of the
Commonwealth Games…
"I wanted to get on the glass court and play, as yesterday I was playing on
the traditional court. So at the start, I was not confident about stepping
up the court, and he made me work very hard. But it was a good thing
actually, because he got me going, he got me moving, and in the end, I
think that it’s my movement that gave me the edge today, which got me out
of trouble…
"And the score may not say it, but it was a tough and hard match. Graham
played very well, only occasionally he made a few errors, and at the
crucial points…
"It was good to play in front of 2000 people. I haven’t played an
Australian yet, but it’s bound to happen…"
Peter Nicol |
|
 "I was looking forward to playing Peter, and I think we both played well,
Peter played the front of the court exchanges really well.
"I made a few
errors, a few strokes, and that make the whole difference…
"Against Peter, you’ve got to go for the winner, and still expect it to
come back, and he still plays very well when he is tired, but he is human…
As far as I’m concerned, I’m quite fit at the moment, but I seem to run
out of steam when I play against him…"
Graham Ryding |
|
|
|
[7] Nick Matthew (Eng) bt [2] James Willstrop (Eng)
9/3, 3/9, 8/10, 10/8, 9/5 (90m*) |
THE
MAN WHO WOULDN’T
SAY DIE…
Oh my God, what a match… yet again…
I seem to write a lot about these two cutting each other’s racquet strings
on a regular basis, and every time you think this cannot get anymore
dramatic. Take Hong Kong, for example, where Nick was up 2/0 and finally
lost 3/2…
Well, it still can get more dramatic…
Those two started “slowly”, I mean, compared to their usual standards of
course, and both were totally dominant in each of the first games, same
score, same time of match, 9/3 for 12 minutes (well, 30secs more for the
first game).
And then all hell broke lose in the third. Both fully pumped up, with
still I felt a little edge for Nick, whose confidence at the moment is
just incredible. From 5/3 for Nick, James scored four points in a row to
reach 7/5, and needed four game balls to clinch the game 10/8 in 20
minutes. But so many long rallies, played at such a pace. And I could see
each rally hurting James more and more. I can’t explain why, but it seemed
that Nick was that much fitter, had that much more energy today…
And it became obvious in the fourth. James had gone in a flash to 8/2
match ball. Did he relax slightly? Or was he just totally out of steam?
Not sure. But Nick just kept at it, and nibbled away at James’ lead. And
don’t think that James put everything in the tin, no, each rally was
fought for, hard, passionately, desperately by both players. Still, James
served out one of his five match balls, and offered a game ball to Nick,
clipping the tin at 9/8, a gift that Nick seized in a flash.
Watch
the fourth game
But the Pontefract boy didn’t stop. Even when Nick took a perfect start in
the decider, 5/1, James dug in, and climbed back, point by point, got to
5/5. Then we had probably the rally of the tournament, where James ended
flat out on the floor…
That was the last straw, and Nick never looked back, winning a match that
he fully deserved, having played one of the most gutsy performance I saw
in my life, despatching some astonishing winners, great length, speed and
tenacity beyond duty…
 "I never give up, but tonight, in the
fourth, I nearly did, and I kept saying
to myself, come on, make him win it, make him win it, and then, the
momentum went with me. I just wanted to come back to 6/8, you can win
a game from there…
"And then I thought I had him in the fifth, I was up, and then he came
back, and I thought, that’s it, it’s his turn now… There was nothing
between us, and it seems to be always the case, every time we play,
contrasting styles, and we both want it so badly… I feel for James,
because I know exactly how he feels, he must be devastated, I know I would
be, so my heart goes to him…
"It didn’t feel right to play against an Englishman, in the Commonwealth
Games, it feels like it should be a team event almost. And I’ve got to do
it again tomorrow, at least, there will be an Englishman in the final,
that’s a bonus for the coaches and the team…
"English Squash is really on a massive high, we represent 50% of the
quarters, and when the other sports ask us how we are doing, we keep
telling them, yes, we’ve gone through, we’ve gone through.
"And I feel that we keep making each other better. Every time James beats
me, I get better for the next time, and then I beat him, and he gets
better the next time…
Nick Matthew |
|
 "In the
fourth, I didn’t quite have the energy to finish at 8/2, he made me
work very hard in the previous game, and I think he probably won the game
in the third, it was played at such a fast pace.
"I played well I thought, he is the man in form at the moment, I really
played at my best, I spilled blood out there, and if I can’t win playing
like that, well, I don’t know, I’m really devastated…
"Nick and I it’s a bit like two club players, it has become a sort of a joke
the number of times we’ve played now… And yes, as we are good friends,
it’s a bit heavy sometimes, but it’s always like that on the court.
"I have a lot of admiration for what the man did tonight, not everybody had
tipped him for the tournament, and he’s been fantastic tonight…
"I know I made a few errors, and sometimes, that’s been reproached to me,
the fact I go for too much. And yes tonight, it didn’t work, but look at
the number of matches I won recently with that kind of game…
"Now, I need to move on to the next competition, I play doubles with Nick,
I’m desperate for a medal, and I think we’ve got a shot at it… I’m got to
forget about the match and move on…"
James Willstrop |
|
|
|
SESSION TWO ...
Framboise reports from Melbourne ...
|
|
|
[2] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt [6] Linda Elriani (Eng)
1/9, 9/5, 9/5, 9/3 (44m) |
A very good start for the English lady, but an Australian switching to
hitting hard/picking up the pace mode.
A good fight from Linda, but as she sometimes does, falls far behind
in the score, and struggles to come back into the match… “It’s not
voluntary”, she smiles…
But Rachel was strong and focused, and gave a mighty good
performance…
 "We
don’t often get the chance to play in front of such a large crowd, and
especially with the support of the home crowd, it’s awesome. ..
"In the first game, I didn’t think about picking up the pace, because it’s
not my game at all, but in the second, I hit the ball harder and played
faster, preventing her from lobbing, and I was able to get into the
rallies. In the end, I was getting pretty tired, because that’s not my
natural game, and I run on adrenalin really…
"For tomorrow, Shelley has a pretty good record when she plays for New
Zealand, she’s got her best results when she plays for her country. So
it’s going to be tough, but I’m also going to enjoy myself…"
Rachael Grinham |
|
"I knew exactly what I had to do, but then to be able to execute it is
another story… I played how I wanted in the first game, then all credit to
her, she adapted and changed her game… After that, I really had trouble
adjusting my height…
"If you put the ball deep enough and keep her moving, she can make
mistakes, and you always tell yourself, I’m going to start that game the
way I finished playing the other one, but it doesn’t always work…
"That’s my games finished, as I’m not playing in the doubles. So I’m
staying here until Tuesday, and then I’m going to meet my husband Laurent
in Perth, as we are going to spend a little bit of time with friends of
ours that have emigrated over here…"
Linda Elriani |
THE MELBOURNE EXPERIENCE
Linda's third Games |
|
|
|
[9] Shelley
Kitchen (Nzl) bt [4] Vicky Botwright (Eng)
10/8, 9/5, 9/1 (43m) |
SHELLEY SHOCKS VICKY
An up for it New Zealander, in top form, and an English girl
recovering from injury, having played four times in six weeks, and you
have a pretty one-sided encounter…
 Vicky
had a good chance to start the hostilities, as she was up 8/5 game
ball in the first game, but seemed to find the tin again and again on
that famous “backhand drop shop finishing with both arms in the air”,
allowing Shelley to come back right into the game, and to win it 10/8
in 16 minutes.
And after that, even if Vicky fought very hard, the New Zealander got
in front most of the rallies, her short game superbly lethal, and
although the English girl came back from 0/8 to 5/8 in the second,
Shelley never gave her a chance to really settle in the match, and
gets a very handy win in three… |
"When I saw the draw initially, I didn’t think I had a chance, and I was
pretty happy to beat Jenny, who I'd only ever ever beaten once before. And
tonight, I know that Vicky has been injured, and was not at her best, I
realised that…
"At the end of last year, I had a couple of bad matches, but I lost
against girls who were playing very well on that day. So I got back to
training, and everything just fell into place nicely…
"New Zealand had a big influence on these Commonwealth Games, so I wanted
to do good. I came back home three months ago, and concentrated purely on
these Games. I trained hard, I didn’t travel at all, as I thought that was
tiring me, and just focused on this event. So my world ranking slipped a
bit, but that was my choice…"
Shelley Kitchen |
|
|
|
[5] Lee Beachill
(Eng) bt [10] Stewart Boswell (Aus)
9/4, 9/3, 9/3 (74m) |
THE MAN IS BACK…
Let me tell you one thing, guys, Lee Beachill is alive and kicking,
and wide awake in Melbourne.
 He
gave us today a squash lesson, having found the switch on his grinding
machine: I get you into a rhythm, and once you are comfortable, I hit
you a nice little drop shot that leaves you standing there, with your
racquet between your legs kind of image. And if you have the audacity
to play short, I counterdrop you, and you’re dead…
Stewart didn’t do anything wrong, he played four tins in the whole
match, but just couldn’t find any solution tonight. God knows he tried
hard, and he covered a lot of ground, but nothing doing, Lee was just
back at the top of his game…
A lot of lets, a lot of interruptions to clean the floor that got very
slippery, but a clean win for the Englishman in three games that still
lasted 70 minutes, including 28 minutes just for the third…
Like I said, it’s not that Stewart didn’t try…
 |
 "I
felt good tonight, and to be honest, I’ve been playing very well in this
tournament, from the first round, where actually I had a tough draw I
thought, Van Der Wath, who was a very good player. I had to play very well
to beat him, but it helped me in a way, because it got me right into it…
"Then, the way I played against Alex, I didn’t put a foot wrong, and
although the score makes it look easy, it was a tough match, and I was
happy to get through it that way. And the same tonight, this is the first
time ever I beat Stewart…
"I’m happy with my focus, with my concentration, and even in the third,
when we both got a bit tired, it got a bit scrappy, but I kept right into
it…
"Also, every time an Englishman plays an Australian in a Commonwealth
competition, there is always that extra thing to it that makes it even
more exciting…
"Recently, when I was not feeling at my best, and playing maybe at 50% of
my normal game, players are quick to pick up on that, and they make you
pay. So one more reason at the moment to be happy about my form…
"Physically, I feel good, I’m happy with the way I hit the ball, and when
I’m playing as well as I am at the moment, I’m hard to beat. And if
somebody does beat me at the moment, with the way I play, well, they
deserve it, because I’m really at my best right now…"
Lee Beachill |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
[1] David Palmer (Aus)
bt [6] John White (Sco)
2/9, 10/8, 9/6, 9/0 (79m) |
JOHN MUST KICK HIMSELF…
It was the day of missed opportunities today, Tania having a few game
balls that could have made a big difference against Nicol, Vicky who
was up game ball in the first, James up 8/2 match ball, and then, the
Tall Man…
He will hate himself, and if I’m correct, he must feel so awful, not
only for him, but for Scotland, and also having lost in front of his
family and friends… And once again, like ALL the losers of the night,
it’s not because he didn’t try…
He started beautifully, and to be honest, as they seem to say in
Pontefract, in the middle of the second I wouldn’t have bet an
Australian Dollar on David. John had won the first one in a flash, and
although led 6/2 in the second, came back firing all guns to set up a
game ball 8/6. He was perfection, pace, length, volley, interception,
flair, he had it all 100%. And we all knew that with the poor
preparation David had due to his bronchitis, there was about 1.5% of a
chance the Australian would have been able to come back today from 2/0
down…
 And
I guess that’s what David thought as well. He got to panic stations,
matched up John’s pace shot by shot, forced him to tin his shots and
make the error, and finally clinched the game 10/8 in 31 very long
minutes.
The third was again very disputed, and John was up again 6/4, and got
stuck there, the rallies spinning out, like two men possessed, and
David was defending, and retrieving and counterattacking, and John was
flying from one wall to another, throwing himself so many times, and
pushed once again to make the error, and conceded that game 9/6…
And that traditional scoring again, not reflecting what happened in
the fourth: a score of 9/0, and still 15 minutes of hard work, of
desperate work from John, with a David now in perfect control, rightly
in the front, despatching his game to a Scot in perdition, throwing
all in a lost battle.
Against all odds, David Palmer is the only Australian left in the
English tidal wave in the Men’s draw. He will carry a heavy weight,
but he’ll have about 2,500 Australians to help him carry it....
|
 "The
way John blew Joe away last night, I knew he was going to come out
blasting, and that’s exactly what he did. It was incredible, I could only
weather the storm really, and I didn’t feel I played my game, I couldn’t
volley at all, I was defending the whole match…
"To tell you the truth, I don’t know how I got to 2/1, I just couldn’t
believe it, so I said to myself, I’ve got nothing to lose, and I relaxed,
and that’s only when I was able to play a bit of my game, turn the tide a
little bit, and then he had a few errors that crept in…
"I don’t think I’ve played well during this week, but I feel that I played
myself into the tournament. The pressure was still on, although I was
quite poorly when I started the tournament, as Anthony lost yesterday, and
Stewart today, so I really wanted to win for the team. So I’m really happy
to get through for Australia…"
David Palmer |
|
|
