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TODAY at the Nationals, Thursday 14th Feb, Day FIVE:
Quarter-finals
part one, More Masters ... |
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[3] Laura
L.Massaro bt [6] Dominique Lloyd-Walter
11/9, 11/6, 11/5 (34m)
[1] Tania Bailey bt [8] Sarah
Kippax
11/7, 11/7, 11/7 (27m)
[4] Adrian Grant bt [9] Daryl Selby
11/5, 11/9, 13/11 (49m)
[2] Lee Beachill bt [5] Alex Gough
11/7, 11/4, 11/5 (31m)
Howard Harding's
Roundup
Laura into second semi
 Laura
Lengthorn-Massaro and Dominique Lloyd-Walter opened
proceedings on the glass court, and it was the Lancashire lass who
prevailed, reaching her second successive Nationals semi-final.
It was a measured match, both players generally prepared to work
their openings rather than go for any dramatic winners, and it was
Laura, more used to this court, who maintained a slight lead
throughout, accelerating from 6-5 in both the first and second
games to take a two-game lead.
The third was quicker, Laura finding her range and making
Dominique work harder, this time taking six unanswered points from
3-all and ultimately taking the match in just over the half hour.
 It’s
all about rising to the occasion, and I just couldn’t do that
today. I get to play on that court about once a year, and hitting
half an hour in the morning is not going to make a big difference
really, whereas she gets to practice on it a lot, and was getting
a very good length.
Also, in the first game, I got really annoyed with two decisions,
two shots of mine that I saw good, and the ref saw down or changed
her decision at the last minute, and as the game ended 11/9, those
two points were pretty crucial really.
But Laura is playing very well, she gave me a good game in
Apawamis. She is very strong at the moment, and I think she’ll do
well in this tournament…
Dominique Lloyd-Walter
 I
think that Dominique will be a bit disappointed with the way she
moved today, she can move so much better than that… She’s put a
lot of work in in the past 3 months, and this match doesn’t
reflect the way she can play at all. And it’s all credit to Laura,
who prevented her from playing her game.
She has improved a lot, she’s definitely got more variety in her
game, but Laura played very well today, played a second game
pretty error free, and getting a lot of shots back.
We can take a lot of positives from this, but still disappointing
really…
Steve Townsend
Dominique's Coach |
Day 5 Gallery
En Bref Issue #1
Men's Head to Head
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 "It's
good to be back in the semi-finals again - but there's more
pressure this year as I am seeded to do so. Dominique and I have
had some battles over the years - in juniors she was a couple of
years older and always beat me then. So I know how to play her.
"I started working with Nick Taylor here at the National Squash
Centre just before Christmas - he's been helping me with my
technique. I feel good here - I definitely like playing here."
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[1]
Tania Bailey bt [8] Sarah Kippax
11/7, 11/7, 11/7 (27m)
Kippax brings the best out of Bailey
Tania Bailey, champion here in 2006, admitted to almost not
playing in this year's event, having suffered a recurrence of the
injury that kept her out of action a few months ago. And while she
wasn't at her best tonight, she needed to be playing well to fend
off the challenge of Sarah Kippax.
Sarah can be prone to strings of errors, but none of that tonight,
she kept the error count low, kept Tania under pressure
throughout, and stayed close to her illustrious opponent for the
major part of all three games.
That it was the more experienced Tania who should prove he
steadier and stronger at the tail-end of all three games isn't a
surprise, but she certainly knows she's been in a match and Sarah
can take great heart from this performance.
 "She
really got stuck in from the start and took me a bit by surprise -
I knew she was fit and that she'd get a lot back, but we've played
quite a few times and that's far and away the best she's ever
played against me.
"The court's really hot but dead at he same time - if you put it
in short or really deep it dies, and she was playing it really
tight.
"The scoring tends to give the underdog a bit more belief, I know
it would me if I was up against say Nicol David, so although I
pulled away at the end of each game it was at 7-all rather than
one or two-all like it might have been in traditional scoring.
"I pulled my abductor again three weeks ago, but the physio here
has done wonders, it's really come on and it's a lot better than I
thought it would be. I've still got problems with my knee, but
I'll just live with that, I don't want to take any more time out
than I have to.
"So I'm still lacking a bit of confidence in my body, but the rest
day will do me good. I've had some good battles with Laura,
looking forward to another one ..."
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[4]
Adrian Grant bt [9] Daryl Selby
11/5, 11/9, 13/11 (49m)
KEPT THE BEST FOR LAST…
… Adrian, who had found some pretty good back of the court
attacking shots all match long, placed three absolutely stunning
drop shots from outside the court really!
And that reflects the whole of the match. Daryl played very well
for somebody who had two very heavy first rounds, and plays on the
glasscourt for once in a blue moon…. He was focused, didn’t lose
his concentration one bit, kept on retrieving the attacks of his
opponent, and never lost touch with the score…
 And
look at the score, ok, forget the first one, Daryl was a bit rusty
from his previous games there, but the second and the third, 16
and 17 minutes, could have gone either way, and had Daryl taken at
least one of them, he may have been able to put Adrian under
pressure just that much more…
Still, it has to be stressed that Adrian was in a zone today.
Keeping the errors to a minimum, an average of two per game, which
is an excellent score for him, as he now has changed his game to a
much more incisive and aggressive style, he twisted and turned
Daryl relentlessly.
Adrian’s problem has always been his lapses in concentration. But
none of this today. Let’s see if he can keep that up against….
whoever he “pulls” tomorrow…
 I
was aware that Daryl, who’s had some very good wins recently, was
in my section, and was the one separating me from Barrington. All
credit to him, he stuck in there after two very hard matches in
his previous rounds, which proves how tough an opponent he is.
At the end I was really annoyed at the ref, as I thought he made a
few poor decisions and I felt hard done by. But instead of putting
my head down, I decided to channel the anger, and taking it out on
the ball, and it came off! I wouldn’t do that all the time though,
don’t think it would come off every time! I thought I was up 2/0,
only a couple of points between us, and I thought I’d better take
the opportunity before he did…
 They’ve
changed the lighting on court, it was a bit of a shock when I got
on court the first time, but I think it’s a great idea for the
spectators, as it’s very dark around the court, and it makes it
easier for them to see the ball. It warms up the ball a bit
though, not that’s that's bad or anything, it’s just a change that
you’ve got to adapt to when you start playing…
I’ve changed my game over the past months, after talking with
David Pearson and David Campion, because I was using a lot of
those attacking shots in training, but I hardly used them on the
court. And that’s what we talked about, it’s all about expressing
myself on there, and having the confidence to play those shots in
matches, instead of only in practice…
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 It
was tough, he was playing very very well today, anything I would
play, not loose, but just not tight to the wall, he would stick in
a roll and nick it! And if he plays like that, I think he’s got a
good chance to do very well here.
I played well, although I started at half pace, a bit slow maybe
from the two previous matches, but then, the two other games were
only two points difference, so I can’t be disappointed with that
really, I’m happy with the way I played today.
I just came across a better player on the day….
Daryl Selby
 Adrian
was just too good today, he was chopping them in from deep and I
don't think he missed one of those shots he took to the front. He
probably didn't want another marathon, but he was just
outstanding.
Daryl had a couple of long matches in his legs, but he'll go away
happy with how he's played this week.
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[2]
Lee Beachill bt [5] Alex Gough
11/7, 11/4, 11/5 (31m)
FLAT AS A WELSH PANCAKE…
Although Alex sort of denies his age, and tells you to get
yourself another story, instead of talking about his grey hair,
the Welsh Devil was tired today. Very tired indeed.
I’ve seen him play enough in all circumstances, happy or sad, and
from the 8th rally, as he was leading 5/3, I could see he was not
his normal lunatic self, you know, the one that’s able to get way
past the pain barrier to get that extra shot back…
Well, the man played a lot of squash recently, after a long period
of absence, since the Team Worlds in India really, and he’s got to
start feeling it, especially as he had the supremely excellent
idea to play in two events at the same time, the main draw
(getting to the quarters), and the over 35s, the semi-finals,
against which he’ll be playing his mate Peter Marshall tomorrow….
Lee? Well. Astonishing, it has to be stressed. Six weeks ago, the
man was under anaesthetics for a hernia operation. And here he is.
Last week, playing in Sweden, and today, playing his 11th
successive quarter final, and reaching the semis of his Nationals
yet again.
And although he is not 100% happy with his movement, he is 200%
spot on with the racquet, let me tell you. And as he feels no
pressure, as he’s been there, got the t-shirt, wrote the book, he
plays at his best. Pure and simple.
As he likes to say in his after-match interviews, if he keeps on
playing like that, he’ll be “hard to beat”….
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 I’ve
been playing Goughie for a number of
years now, and I think that for the past 18months to two years,
he’s been playing the best he’s been for a very long time, the way
he hits the ball, the way he is constructing rallies…
Recently, he’s been playing a hell of a lot of squash, and “at his
age”, he’s bound to have some days where he feels a bit under the
weather. But I feel that it seems to be better for him to keep on
going than to actually stop and do nothing, maybe not marathons or
hard games like he did yesterday though…
Now for him playing in the two events, it’s maybe not the most
clever thing to do, but then again, he’s not the smartest of
people, he keeps on doing silly things, but that's him all over,
that’s part of his likeability, if you like!!!!!!
 As
for me, I’ve always had a terrible run to this tournament, one
year, I had a knee surgery, then at Christmas, I was as ill as
possible, then last year was a pure nightmare with my neck, I had
a pretty good match against Goughie in the quarters, and then, we
had the day off, and my tournament was over. It was a terrible
moment for me, and it took me a long time to get over it. And
again this year…
I’ve got to keep reminding myself that six weeks ago, I was in
surgery, and not to expect too much of myself. Still, I’m hitting
the ball very well, I’m not sure I ever played better, from a pure
racquet skill point of view.
When you’ve been around for a while like I’ve been, there are a
few venues you like coming back to, this is definitely one of
them, I’ve always done well here. I don’t feel any pressure here,
I don’t have many expectations. I’ve achieved a hell of a lot, and
I’ve got nothing to prove…
 I’ve
got a pretty good idea when I’ll stop on the PSA circuit, and cut
down on the travelling and all, (and no, I’m not telling you!),
but I’ll keep on playing in this tournament as long as I can be
competitive, and get to the first/second round, and be a pain in
the neck for all the top players…
I’ve recently got onto the PSA board, and I’m delighted. For a few
years, I’ve been one of the players that have been whinging and
complaining, so it’s only fair that I do something about it now.
There are a few other people on the board that have been trying to
make some changes too, and it’s good that they’ve got an extra
voice now. I’m not somebody that can stay there and do nothing
when things are not right, I just come out and say it as it is…
And we are here with the board to try and make a difference…
And by the way, I’m staying home tomorrow, and I’m not going
ANYWHERE, and especially not anywhere near Nick Taylor…
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