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Here at last ...
It feels as though it's been a long time coming, especially for
the 32 players who set out on the road to qualification back in
July at St George's Hill
in Surrey, but the day has finally arrived and 32 players are
set to battle it out for the biggest cheque ever seen in the
world of squash.
LJ's wait is over
 Only
one upset to report on the first day's play of the 2007 Saudi
International as Laurens Jan Anjema recorded "the win I've
been looking for for two years" with a 3/1 win over Mohammed
Abbas, the Dutchman's first big win in a major event, and boy
was he pleased.
Elsewhere it was a good day for the English with Nick
Matthew, James Willstrop, Lee Beachill, Peter Barker and Adrian
Grant all through, although Grant's 92-minute marathon win over
Joey Barrington threw the schedule slightly out of synch - as
did Wael El Hindi's 96-minute comeback from 2-1 down against Borja Golan, another bruising battle between the pair.
Quickest win of the day belonged to Olli Tuominen, who
lived up to the 'flying fin' tag as he swept Davide Bianchetti
aside in just 20 minutes. "I got a good start that lasted for
two and a half games," said Olli. "That just about sums it up,"
added Bianchetti.
Ramy & Jon go inside ...
Ramy Ashour and Jonathan Kemp started off on the glass court,
but after a quickfire first game where rallies over four shots
were a rarity, it was decided to move the match to the inside
courts, where the Egyptian completed his win.
 "It wasn't slippy as such," said Kemp, "but neither of us could
push off. If you knew where the ball was going you were ok, but
we both hold our shots, so it was just impossible to go after the
ball."
Ramy was so nearly joined by elder brother Hisham, who lost out
in a tense five-games to Ong Beng Hee, with Ramy torn
between watching and taking his part in the opening ceremony!
After the ceremony local wildcard Mohammed Al-Saif found
Stewart Boswell too much of a handful, both players
struggling a little with footing Egyptians Amr Shabana - the
defending champion - and Omar Mosaad rounded off the day back on
the inside courts with Shabana coming through 3/1 to set up
another all-Egyptian clash with Karim Darwish.
First Round:
[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt Omar Mosaad (Egy)
11/7, 11/6, 12/14, 11/7 (57m)
[9] Karim Darwish (Egy) bt Cameron Pilley (Aus)
14/12, 8/11, 11/4, 11/6 (52m)
[5] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt Azlan Iskandar (Mas)
13/11, 8/11, 11/9, 11/8 (71m)
[10] Stewart Boswell (Aus) bt Moh’d Al-Saif (Ksa)
11/6, 11/4, 11/2 (25m)
[3] David Palmer (Aus) bt Chris Ryder (Eng)
11/3, 11/5, 11/6 (30m)
[13] Adrian Grant (Eng) bt Joey Barrington (Eng)
3/11, 7/11, 11/8, 11/9, 13/11 (92m)
[7]
Nick Matthew (Eng) bt Alister Walker (Eng)
11/6, 11/6, 10/12, 11/6 (61m)
LJ Anjema (Ned) bt [12] Mohammed Abbas (Egy)
12/10, 11/13, 11/2, 11/9 (52m)
[11] Lee Beachill (Eng) bt Alex Gough (Wal)
7/11, 11/7, 11/7, 7/11, 11/5 (71m)
[6] James Willstrop (Eng) bt Daryl Selby (Eng)
11/6, 11/7, 11/5 (35m)
[14] Peter Barker (Eng) bt Chris Simpson (Eng)
11/2, 11/3, 11/3 (30m)
[4]
Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt Jonathan Harford (Eng)
11/0, 11/7, 11/8 (29m)
[15] Olli Tuominen (Fin) bt Davide Bianchetti (Ita)
11/1, 11/2, 11/7 (20m)
[8] Wael El Hindi (Egy) bt Borja Golan (Esp)
7/11, 11/7, 9/11, 11/5, 11/5 (96m)
[16] Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt Hisham Ashour (Egy)
11/8, 7/11, 11/1, 10/12, 11/8 (61m)
[2] Ramy Ashour
(Egy) bt Jonathan Kemp (Eng)
13/11, 11/13, 11/3,
11/7 (31m) |
Willstrop enjoys the air-con
Saudi Snippets
Don't I recognise you
from somewhere ??? |
Ramy's start ... |
... and finish. |
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[9]
Karim Darwish (Egy) bt Cameron Pilley (Aus)
14/12, 8/11, 11/4, 11/6 (52m)
"The first was tight and long, I knew I needed to make it like
that and move him around as much as I could – last time we
played he played really well so I knew it wouldn't be easy and
it wasn't.
"In the second I felt he got a little tired in the second but
played some super squash. I didn't get worried as I could feel
he was under pressure, I just tried to control the T as much as
I could, and in the end I got the time and space to put my shots
in."
 "I
probably should have got the first, and once I got the second I
didn't do anything from then on. He took the tempo up and I kept
o playing at the pace of the second and it wasn't good enough,
he started chopping it to the front and I wasn't there for it.
"The first was crucial, I has one or two game-balls, it would
have been nice to et that one …"
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[5]
Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt
Azlan Iskandar (Mas)
13/11, 8/11, 11/9, 11/8 (71m)
 "The
ball was a bullet today – sometimes you get a fast one and it's
hard to get the right pace, we tend to hit the ball hard and
play quick but when it behaves like that you have to adapt.
"It was a good match, he may have made a few more mistakes than
I did, and we both played some good and some average rallies.
I'm glad to get through, he's beaten the top guys so he's a real
danger in the first round …"
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[13]
Adrian Grant (Eng) bt
Joey Barrington (Eng)
3/11, 7/11, 11/8, 11/9, 13/11 (92m)
 "The
ball was very fast and bouncy, you have to be on your toes, and
all credit to Joey, he was like a steam train in the first two
games. I was moving ok but just not seeing the ball. It's very
hard to attack when the ball is so fast.
"I gradually got into it more and started controlling the middle
– I knew if I could do that my racket work was good enough and I
could wear him down.
"He got a second wind, but I managed to hang in there and got
that lucky nick at the end. I didn't feel I played that well, so
it's good to grind out a win like that.
"I'm glad I had an early match today and I much prefer playing
on the glass court so I'm looking forward to tomorrow …"
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[3]
David Palmer (Aus) bt
Chris Ryder (Eng) 11/3, 11/5, 11/6 (30m)
 "I've
known for three weeks I'd be playing David – sometimes you can
think about things too much.
"He's just a different class, it really shows up the difference
in power. I can play quite accurately, but not at that pace.
Everything is so hard and low, and his accuracy's not bad
either. My legs were feeling it, I was almost in shock after
five or six points at that pace.
"What an experience though, to play a double world champion in
such a great event …"
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[4]
Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt Jonathan Harford (Eng) 11/0, 11/7, 11/8 (29m)
 "I
honestly thought I was going to lose 33/0 when it got to 7/0 in
the second! But I got a few points and his mindset was slightly
different after that. I started to move better and relax a bit,
but if he'd wanted to ... there's no trouble.
"I didn't realise how much the travelling would take out of me.
I left Germany yesterday and was travelling for 24 hours,
arriving here five hours before I was due to play. Thanks to my
sister for organising my flights and doing my admin, but getting
my visa just in case was my idea, I'm so glad I did that …"
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"I think we have to accept now that a
Lucky Loser isn't going to win this tournament ..." |
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Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned) bt
[12]
Mohammed Abbas (Egy)
12/10, 11/13, 11/2, 11/9 (52m)
 "I've
been waiting so long for a big win in the first round of a major
tournament, I had some good draws but it just never happened. I
felt I was improving, but didn't get the wins, so to do it today
in the biggest of all is just unbelievable.
The first was really tight and I messed up the second from 10/8
up, then got a good start and some good – for me – calls in the
third.
"I tried to keep calm and play steady in the fourth and stop
going for silly winners, they never come when you need them!"
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[11]
Lee Beachill (Eng) bt Alex Gough (Wal)
7/11, 11/7, 11/7, 7/11, 11/5 (71m)
"We've played
loads of times and I know that if he's not hitting the ball well
he struggles, but the flipside is that when he does, especially
on these courts, it world well for him. He did that well, I
never really felt comfortable out there which was more down to
him than me.
 "I
took the ball in a bit more aggressively in the fifth, but it's
hard to take risks when you don't feel you're hitting the ball
well. That game was a bit better, but overall it was pretty
average.
"I've always had good knocks with James, this season he's proved
himself to be in the top three or four for me, and although he
sees me as a bit of an obstacle I'll be going into it as if I'm
playing one of the very top guys. Every match is tough for every
player though, it never gets easier …"
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[6]
James Willstrop (Eng) bt
Daryl Selby (Eng) 11/6, 11/7, 11/5 (35m)
 "I
know I tend to moan about playing on these type of court, but
it's ok here, pretty much all of us get just one match before
going on to the glass.
"I'd played Daryl four times this year already, they've all been
tough and hard but I was focused today, it's one of the biggest
tournaments in the world and I was pleased with that
performance.
"I hope it carries on and also puts me in good stead fort the
other big tournaments coming up …"
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[16]
Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt Hisham Ashour (Egy)
11/8, 7/11, 11/1, 10/12, 11/8 (61m)
 "Hisham
and Ramy are two of the most talented people on Earth – you just
can't read Hisham's game and you don't know what to expect. I
just went out to make it as hard as I could, be patient and
persistent, which I wasn't in the second and fourth .. if you
give him any sort of opening it's gone.
"Now for the other one, Just like in Kuwait. It can only be good
for my game, and win or lose I'll definitely be moving better
after this tournament!"
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[2]
Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt
Jonathan Kemp (Eng)
13/11, 11/13, 11/3,
11/7 (31m)
 "It
was a bit scrappy. I snatched at a few shots, trying for it too
much. He can make you do that though, he hits winners from
everywhere and nowhere so you feel you have to try that too. I
started making errors early in the games and couldn't pull it
back.
"I feel I'm playing well enough to challenge the top ten and
this was an opportunity, I'd thought I might do a bit better …"
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[8]
Wael El Hindi (Egy) bt Borja Golan (Esp)
7/11, 11/7, 9/11, 11/5, 11/5 (96m)
 "He
played so well, it's always tough to play Borja. I thought I
made a good comeback from 2/1 down, I was playing too much on
the backhand and he was cutting the ball off well.
Plus, I was playing at one pace and he got used to that so I
tried to change the pace and go side to side. In the fifth I got
the gap early and held on.
"It's good to be in the second round, especially with a rest
day, hopefully it will get better round by round …"
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[7]
Nick Matthew (Eng) bt Alister Walker (Eng) 11/6, 11/6, 10/12, 11/6 (61m)
 "He's
my main training partner, so we don't have many lets and it's
easy to be a bit 'flat', mentally you sometimes need that bit
extra to get yourself going.
"At 2/0 and 7/4 up in the third I was annoyed to give away three
or four quick points when all the other rallies had been tough,
but I came back well in the fourth.
"I didn't feel any pressure coming into this on the back of the
US Open, new tournament, new day. This is the period all our
summer training was eared towards. I had a bad month or two, a
bit of a dip after winning the British, so this time I made sure
I got back to basics after New York, and it's been getting
better day by day …"
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