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M50
Ian Bradburn bt Duleep Adihetty
6/9, 9/5, 5/9, 9/7,
9/4 (43m)
M45 Phil Whitlock bt Greg
Pearman
10/9, 9/0, 9/1
(41m)
[1] James Willstrop bt [8] Alister Walker
11/5, 6/11, 11/8,
11/5 (60m)
[2] Lee Beachill bt [4]
Adrian Grant
11/8, 11/7, 8/11,
19/17 (91m)
[3] Laura Lengthorn-Massaro
bt [1] Tania Bailey
11/6, 11/9 rtd
(29m)
[4] Alison Waters bt [2] Jenny
Duncalf
10/12, 11/8, 12/10,
11/5 (48m)
Seventh Heaven for Beach,
Duncalf dethroned ...
The first two semi-finals gave the Sportcity crowd a pair of
contrasting matches as Laura Lengthorn-Massaro made her
first Nationals final while Lee Beachill reached the climax
for an amazing seventh time.
Lengthorn was two games up against Tania Bailey when the
2006 Champion was forced to retire to protect her injured leg.
Beachill won a real thriller against Adrian Grant. It looked as
though it was going all the way as Adrian had several game balls
to take it into a fifth, each one spurned as Beachill fought back
to claim victory in 91 minutes.
The second women's semi-final saw Alison Waters reach her
third consecutive final, dethroning her conqueror last year, Jenny
Duncalf, in the process.
Last up was the men's defending champion James Willstrop,
who was given a real good run for his money by emerging Alister
Walker. |
En Bref Issue #3
Photo Galleries
Howard Harding's
Roundup |
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[1] James
Willstrop bt [8] Alister Walker
11/5, 6/11, 11/8,
11/5 (60m)
A STAR IS BORN…
Framboise reports
Tonight, people were expecting the British Closed Champion to whiz
through this match, and walk all over an opponent he’s played
dozens of times in juniors (Alister is one year older than James).
But Ali, on the verge of exploding on the world circuit I believe,
was dragged up by James’ game, speed and accuracy, and matched him
point by point, shot by shot, for three games out of four tonight.
We all know James’ precision at the front, and relentlessness at
the back. Well, Ali just retrieved the irretrievable,
counter-attacked astonishing shots, and found some great
length. It was like everything in Ali’s game was coming into place
tonight.
Only problem. At 8/8 in the third, Ali started thinking, and
realised he was maybe going to get the biggest scalp of his
career, and zoom, James scored three points right under his
racquet! ”I started thinking about the match, instead of
concentrating on the squash”, admitted Ali at the end… How many
times did I tell you boys. Don’t think. Not good.
James seemed unhappy about the match, "an uncomfortable 50
minutes," he stated. Well, no wonder! Ali gave him a hard time
tonight, but nothing that the Pontefract start couldn’t handle
eventually, and the hard physical work that James put his opponent
through paid dividends at the end…
 "The
third game was crucial, I let him go four points ahead, then
managed to get back into it, at 7/7, 8/8, but then he got to 10/8,
and it was always going to be hard to come back from there… I
should have kept on concentrating shot for shot, and not point by
point I think at that stage…
"The most important is that I’m now able to compete with somebody
like James, and if I had gone up 2/1, it’s a totally different
match.
"I felt rushed at times, as the pace was a step up from the pace
of my three previous matches, but I want to be able to handle that
kind of pace, I did most of the match. But I hope that if I go
2/1, I won’t lose 11/5 in the fourth next time!
"I don’t want to be surprised to sustain that pace, I don’t want
to be glad I’m matching up that pace, this is something I need to
do all the time now…
"Of course I would have been very happy if I’d won, but although
I’m disappointed, I think this is probably one of my best
matches…"
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[4]
Alison Waters bt [2] Jenny Duncalf
10/12, 11/8, 12/10,
11/5 (48m)
Duncalf dethroned
Steve reports
After two minutes and seven points of this semi-final no-one would
have put money on Alison Waters to win it. She made a terrible
start, clattering the tin or failing to get the ball out of the
back corners as defending champion Jenny Duncalf raced ahead.
That she managed to steady the ship was to her credit, even
managing to get t game ball at 10/9 as the jitters seemed to
transfer themselves to Jenny. A volley nick from Jenny levelled
it, and two tins from Alison presented Jenny with an escape route.
For the rest of the match though, it was Alison generally in
charge, patrolling the T ready to unleash her characteristic
volleying game and moving Jenny from corner to corner. A 6/1 lead
in the second was converted, with Jenny receiving a conduct
warning for throwing her racket in disgust at the end, and a
slender lead was maintained throughout the third.
Again in the fourth, Alison took the initiative, reaching 5/1 with
a deceptive little flick at the front, and 9/3 after one of
several tins from Jenny. That was a good enough lead, and she was
soon into her third successive final ...
 "I
feel that the game was littered with tins here and there, and at
this level, you can’t afford those errors.
"I started well in the second game, but she was quite steady, and
I gave her too many opportunities on the volley in particular.
"The end of the third was pretty crucial really, I made a couple
of loose shots, and made a few poor shot selections…
At some point, I thought it was pretty scrappy, a bit hit and
miss. But overall, she constructed her rallies well, and I played
some silly errors….
"I’m very disappointed, obviously, when you’ve done well one year,
you want to back it up the following year, but it was always going
to be tough, we are all so close, and Ali is playing very well at
the moment.
"She played better on the day…"
 |
"I made such a terrible start. At 7/0 I thought 'oh no', I just
wanted to make it respectable and not lose 11/0 or 11/1, I was so
glad to get back into it.
"After that I was determined not to give her a good start again,
and conscious not making mistakes. I also tried to mix it up more,
rather than play one paced.
"I felt more in control after the first, but in this scoring any
blip in concentration and a few points can go quickly, I thought I
played well in the fourth though.
"I've had some good matches with Laura, I beat her in Greenwich so
that's a boost, but it should be a good match ..."
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[2]
Lee Beachill bt [4] Adrian Grant
11/8, 11/7, 8/11,
19/17 (91m)
ALL IN THE HEAD…
Framboise reports
In one corner, one player who’s won it all (or nearly), just back
from surgery, nothing to prove, no expectation. In the other
corner, a player desperate to make his mark on the British scene,
so keen, so anxious, too anxious probably…
Lee and Adrian strangely enough have had the same sort of game,
patient, at the back a lot, and going for shots only when the
opening is obvious. And for years, Lee was just better at it.
 About
two years ago, they both started to change their squash,
incorporating more and more attacking shots into it, and I feel
that Adrian has now caught up wit Lee squash-wise, compensating
for an occasional lack of precision with some stunning physical
abilities. And that’s why today, when Adrian came back from 2/0 to
clinch the third, I thought it had five setter written all over
it.
But Lee is so strong in his head, so clever with his racquet, so
precise with his timing. He knows so well when to delay, when to
accelerate, when to flick, and had Adrian all over the court,
chasing the ball away.
Still, the “Londoner” has matured a lot, and kept with it, nearly
perfectly, first and second game, it could have been anyone's up
to 8/7 in the first, 7/6 in the second. Again, Lee found the
acceleration and the placement to move Adrian out of his comfort
zone, although he had to let go of the third, the body starting to
let him down o ever so slightly.
 But
that fourth! What a game. What a suspense. In short, Adrian had
five games balls, Lee four match balls. Unfortunately for the
youngster, the end of the match was the exact moment his feather
volley drop shot decided to let him down. So anxious he was, he
moved so fast on the ball, so desperate to make that shot…
You know the rest. Far too many unforced errors against Lee, who,
even struggling physically, is as strong as ever both mentally and
tactically. The former British Champion stuck in, and made his
opponent mishit his last two shots of the match..
We can only bow to the Master… |
 "I
played terrible in the beginning and at the end of the match. And
my volley drop, I was there every time, I was winning the rally, I
moved so fast, but I was too anxious, and every time, it clipped
the tin. If I had played it ½ millimetre higher, it was a perfect
wining shot…
"I think we were both tired, but I thought I could hold it a bit
longer, and it was all about finding the balance between keeping
the rallies going, and attacking. At the end, I got a bit carried
away by the attacking…
"I’m so disappointed, I’m gutted, absolutely gutted…"
 |
 "I
knew I had to win the first game. In those first two I don’t think
he played at his best, but in the third and fourth, he started to
take the ball to the front, and expose my movement and I had to
try to force things. Once the third was gone I thought that would
be the end of it, but I got him into a couple of long rallies in
the fourth and he didn't push himself physically as much as I
thought he would. And then when I got to eight or nine I told
myself 'it's only a few more rallies from here'.
"To be honest, it got scrappy at the end, I was struggling
physically, but I was pleased with the way I played that end of
the fourth, I didn't make any bad errors, just clipped the tin
with the first one of my match balls…
"It’s been a very long time since I’ve been in that position, head
to head with a top player, and won. Winning is a sort of habit,
and I got used to find myself losing 3/1, or 3/2, and falling into
the same mental trap that the previous defeat…
"Today, I won by stubbornness, but also because I don’t have too
many expectations, just wanted to move well, and play well.
Whereas Adrian is now 27, he is desperate for a win here, he maybe
feels that he hasn’t achieved what he wanted to achieve, and that
made him to bit too keen, a bit too anxious.
 "And
the way he made errors at the end really gave me a boost, because
I was tired, but I was expecting him to be more solid in the
rallies, and I thought he was playing shots that were so soft that
I could have got if they hadn't been in the tin.
"You’ve got some events like that, where everything works for you,
even the luck of court, and you tell yourself, “I don’t see myself
losing this”…
"If I play tomorrow, I will try and keep him on court by the
minute, the way he’s been dispatching everybody! James and I tend
to bring the best out of each other, I think he is playing the
best squash of his life at the moment, he has gone up a notch, I
always thought he was going to achieve a lot anyway…"
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[3]
Laura Lengthorn-Massaro
bt [1] Tania Bailey
11/6, 11/9 rtd
(29m)
Laura puts out top seed
Steve reports
Top seed and 2006 champion Tania Bailey crashed out of the
Nationals at Sportcity, retiring at the end of the second game
against local girl Laura Lengthorn-Massaro.
 Laura,
playing very well on her 'home' court, had taken those two games
and in her own words was "really fired up for the third," a game
which never happened.
Tania had started the better, leading 3/1 and 4/2 in the first,
but once Laura caught up at 5-all she didn't look back, moving
herself and her opponent around the court nicely.
The start of the second was tight too, Tania again leading at 4/2,
6/5. Laura levelled with a ball driven deep into the back corner
which enticed a determined "c'mon" from the Prestbury girl. With a
steely look in her eye she drove on, taking the game 11/9 as Tania
couldn't reach a delicate dropshot.
She was back on court waiting for the third, but shortly after the
call of 'time' the referee announced that Tania had retired. She
had been under the physio for the last two weeks, and although
there was no obvious impairment to her movement the travail of the
week had clearly caught up with her.
So a first final for Laura, and a fourth win over Tania - weirdly
enough, all of which have come about with Tania retiring before
the natural completion of the match. |
 "I’ve
been feeling pretty good, and playing well lately, and it gave me
a lot of confidence.
"I was really disappointed to lost to Tania in Madrid when she was
ill, everyone expected me to win that one and it got to me. Today
I went in with no expectations, but knowing that I could win.
"I knew she didn't have a lot of matches under her belt so I was
generally trying to keep the rallies long and go it only when the
openings came up, and it was working.
"I've been working on my technique, with Nigel Willis for a year
and Nick Taylor since Christmas, and it's helping my movement, I'm
getting in and out of the corners more easily, and I can finish
rallies off better than I used to be able to.
"It’s a bit of an anti-climax, as I was really looking forward to
that third game, but I felt towards the end of the second that
something wasn’t right with Tania. She has had a bad run of
injuries and I hope she’ll be ok soon…
"I'm excited to be in the final, I'll sit back and watch hose two
fight it out now ..."
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M50
Ian Bradburn bt Duleep Adihetty
6/9, 9/5, 5/9, 9/7,
9/4 (43m)
DIFFERENT STYLES…
Framboise reports
 Ian
is all about power, hitting hard, Duleep is all about placing the
ball. But if Ian has got, like his opponent, a superb
counter-attack and redrop, he has got one little weakness, he
doesn’t like the back corners.
And despite his coach’s advise, Duleep didn’t take advantage
enough of that fact, playing short far too early, and getting
himself caught up every time.
Also, the fitness I feel, may have been a factor, as Ian’s
stunning boasts must have been heavier and heavier in poor
Duleep’s quads!
Still, lots of great shots, nice good rallies, some stunning
“double-style” reflexes from both players… We had an excellent
start of the day…
 He
was too fast at the front, and I think he did upped his game. I
was too slow going to the front, like holding back a bit…
Just too fast for me today…
 |
 He
is a much better shot maker than I am, so my only solution was to
run him off the court. I’ve got only one game, that’s my problem,
and it was touch and go all the way. If I got dragged into his
game at the front, and him moving me around, I was in trouble. I
had to impose my own game…
And when we started the fifth, I didn’t know who was going to win,
I didn’t feel over confident, I tell you!
I’m so glad, I’ve just turned 50, and did a lot of training for
this…
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M45
Phil Whitlock bt Greg Pearman
10/9, 9/0, 9/1
(41m)
Elevenses for Phil
 A
good big 'un will always beat a good little 'un, they say, but
tonight it was the other way round.
Phil Whitlock won the main event in 1993 and since then had won
ten masters titles at various age groups. Tonight he added an
11th, overcoming a considerable size difference to beat Greg
Pearman in three games.
The first was very well contested, Greg leading for the most part,
and the referee involved more than a little as they tried to avoid
each other in the middle of the court.
Phil managed to take that 10/9 and proceeded to take the next 17
points too, Greg troubling the scorer at 8/0 down in the third,
but Phil took the serve straight back and wrapped it up with a
lovely dropshot.
 |
 "Have
you ever tried to play an Octopus? He is all over you!
"If he had won the first game, well, it would have been a
different game! Luckily, I just managed to take it, and took it a
bit forward after that…"
Phil Whitlock
 "He
is a bit slow getting out of the way, but nothing bad, it’s very
subtle… I think we were very good at getting in each other’s way…
"I wish I had taken the first game, to be able to relax a bit and
play my shots…
"He does the simple things very well. I think he does less than me
squashwise, but he does it better…"
Greg Pearman |
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"In
a physical sense it was fine, but it was a strange match, so many
lets, it was hard to work out what was going on. He's very quick
and I wasn't anywhere near as fluent as yesterday, it didn't feel
like a very satisfactory 50 minutes.
"I
just felt it in the first game, then a couple of lunges in the
second gave me a sharp pain and after that every time I went on
the forehand on that leg I could feel it. I'm so disappointed, I
hate stopping and I don't want to but I was going to do myself no
favours. 
