Willstrop & Duncalf Claim Yorkshire Double At Manchester Nationals

James Willstrop, the world No9 from Pontefract, and Jenny Duncalf, the world No12 from Harrogate, produced a sensational Yorkshire double in Manchester today (Sunday) by winning the men's and women's titles, respectively, in the British National Squash Championships at the National Squash Centre at Sportcity.

In the men's final - played at a blistering pace - top seed Willstrop overcame a mighty challenge from John White, beating the second-seeded Scot 11-10 (2-0), 11-7, 11-5 in 44 minutes to win the title for the first time.

Both players had reached the climax in contrasting circumstances - White demolishing England's fourth seed Adrian Grant in straight games and Willstrop being given a walkover when his England and Pontefract club team-mate Lee Beachill sustained a neck injury in practice the previous day and was forced to withdraw.

"I'm just so proud to win the title," said a jubilant Willstrop after receiving his trophy.  "I've been coming here for so many years - I've had so much inspiration from the event.  It's something I've been brought up on.

"Winning this title has always been one of my main ambitions - alongside the World Open and British Open."

The packed crowd was treated to a high-octane match.  John White is renowned as the game's hardest hitter - and Willstrop saw plenty of evidence of that quality in his opponent.

"It was brutal - three absolutely intense games," said the new champion.  "The pace was absolutely blistering in the first game - just ridiculous!  You've got to read the ball so well against him.

"When he plays like that, he's so difficult to beat.  In terms of sheer pace, he's the best.

"Winning here in Manchester is extra special - it's such an amazing crowd for us to play in front of.  It's what we thrive on.

"It's a great confidence-booster to be back winning again.  I had a good end of 2005, winning the Qatar Classic and the World Team Championships with England - but nothing much has happened since then.  You get out of the habit of winning."

Earlier, Jenny Duncalf staged her third sensational comeback in three days to beat close friend and England team-mate Alison Waters in five games.

The 24-year-old sixth seed was two games down against Waters, the No4 seed from London, before fighting back to clinch her maiden title 5-9, 6-9, 9-3, 9-0, 9-3 in 74 minutes.

It was the third time in a row she had beaten a higher-seeded opponent, and her third successive match lasting more than an hour!

Duncalf began her title bid in the quarter-finals where she upset defending champion Tania Bailey, the favourite.  In the semi-finals, she needed 79 minutes to dispose of eight-times Irish champion Madeline Perry, the third seed.

"That was definitely my best win ever," said Duncalf after the final. 

"I felt a bit under the cosh in the first two games, but then started to relax.  By the time I'd got to 5-1 up in the fifth, I started to think - 'my god, I could win this'!"

The victory also coincided with her mother Jo's 50^th birthday.  "I kept thinking that I haven't even got her a card - but perhaps this will do," said the new women's champion.

Duncalf has been enjoying her best run after a dismal eight-month period - one in which her world ranking dropped from 6 to 12. 

"I learned a lot from that period - and worked really hard.  Now I seem to have turned the corner."

Scotland's John White stands in the way of an English double in Sunday's British National Squash Championships finals after beating Londoner Adrian Grant in tonight's (Saturday) men's semi-finals at the National Squash Centre in Manchester.

The second seed will face James Willstrop, the favourite from Yorkshire in the men's final, while Yorkshire will also be represented in the women's final where sixth seed Jenny Duncalf will meet England team-mate Alison Waters, the fourth seed from London.

Duncalf staged an impressive comeback to upset Ireland's third seed Madeline Perry in today's first women's semi-final.

The 24-year-old from Harrogate is enjoying her best run for the past eight months - a period in which her world ranking has dropped from 6 to 12.  Duncalf reached the last four after removing her England team-mate Tania Bailey, the defending champion and top seed, in the quarter-finals.

The England No5 took the opening game in the semi-finals, but a confident Perry stormed back to move 2/1 ahead.  The home favourite drew level and then raced to 7-3 in the decider.

The service changed hands a number of times without altering the score, before Duncalf finally regained the initiative to earn her historic 9-6, 5-9, 2-9, 9-4, 9-3 win in 79 minutes - recording the longest match of the women's tournament to date.

"In the third game, I felt really flat and just couldn't get into it," said a smiling Duncalf afterwards.  "But I said to myself 'stay calm, stay calm' - and in the fourth I got my length back.

"It was the same at 7-3 in the fifth, I thought I'd never get to match ball - and said to myself 'stay calm - just win the next rally'."

It was an exhausted Perry that talked to reporters afterwards:  "At four-all in the fourth game I suddenly felt really tired, my strength just went and I couldn't keep up with the pace," said the eight-times Irish national champion from Banbridge near Belfast.

"At 3-7 in the fifth, I tried to get back into it, but just didn't have the strength."

"But overall, I'm really pleased with my progress here - I haven't played this well for months," said the 30-year-old, a semi-finalist for the first time.

In the other all-English semi-final, fourth seed Alison Waters came back from a game down to beat Lancashire's No5 seed Laura-Jane Lengthorn 8-10, 9-2, 9-4, 9-7 in 56 minutes to reach her second final in three years.

"We both had patches where we dominated the game, but I had to make sure I kept the ball wide - she's really strong around the middle of the court," said Waters, the 22-year-old world No10 from Southgate in London, afterwards.

Lengthorn, who made it through to her first semi after upsetting Manchester-based No2 seed Vicky Botwright, felt that she hadn't played as well as she had in the quarter-final.

"But I wasn't allowed to play as well - Alison didn't let me," said the 23-year-old world No11 from Preston. 

"But I'm happy getting to the semis - I feel I'm playing well."

The most eagerly-awaited match in the event - the predicted men's semi-final between England and Pontefract club team-mates James Willstrop and Lee Beachill - failed to materialise when Beachill was forced to withdraw today after sustaining a neck injury in practice on Friday.

Willstrop, now in his second National final, will face White - the 33-year-old US-based Scot who was champion in 2004.

White stormed to an 11-3, 11-4, 11-8 victory in 36 minutes over Grant - extending his unbeaten record over the London left-hander.

"I had a game plan - and stuck to it all the way through," said White.  "There were not too many unforced errors and I kept the rallies going.

"I built up a good lead in each game - I wasn't going to give him any cheap points.

"I like playing Adrian - he's a fast player.

"But I'm happy - another youngster out of the way!"

Lee Beachill, the three-times British National Squash Championship champion from Yorkshire who was one match away from reaching a record seventh successive men's final, has been forced to pull out of today's (Saturday) semi-finals at the National Squash Centre in Manchester due to a neck injury sustained in practice on Friday.

The 29-year-old former world number one from Pontefract was due to face his club and England team-mate James Willstrop, the top seed to whom he has never lost, for a place in Sunday's final. 

Five minutes into a knock up at the National Squash Centre with Manchester's Nick Taylor, a former England international and runner-up in the event, Beachill heard his neck "click" - and within five minutes couldn't turn his head round.

"I haven't got a clicky neck - so I knew something was a bit weird," said a disconsolate Beachill at a press conference, held shortly after he returned to the venue to express his disappointment to the packed crowd waiting to see one of the most eagerly-anticipated clashes in British squash.

"I've never had a problem with my neck before - so this was a real shock.  It seems that I've trapped a nerve in the side of my neck, and it's now in spasm. 

"I had physio treatment immediately after the incident yesterday, and again all morning today.  I even tried acupuncture as a last-ditch effort.  But I can't turn my head round at all, so playing would be impossible.

"If I could have gone on, I would have done.  I know this is a match everyone wanted to see - especially being in England - as well as it being a match we both wanted to play," added Beachill.

The audience were not totally disappointed:  Willstrop played a best-of-three match against club-mate Saurav Ghosal, the Indian national champion and world No46 who is a student at Leeds University.

"It's the worst thing that can happen to a professional squash player - and there's nothing you can do about it," said Willstrop, when asked to express his feelings about Beachill's situation.

The 23-year-old world No9 will now face either John White, the No2 seed from Scotland, or Adrian Grant, the fourth seed from England, in Sunday's final at 5.00pm.
 

16-Feb, Quarters part two:
Botwright Beaten As Laura Lands
Semi-Final Slot In Manchester

Lancashire's Laura-Jane Lengthorn landed her maiden appearance in the semi-finals of the British National Squash Championships when she upset her second-seeded county colleague Vicky Botwright in tonight's (Friday) women's quarter-finals at the National Squash Centre in Manchester.

The 23-year-old fifth seed from Preston was in sparkling form, beating local star Botwright, the world number seven from Manchester, 9-4, 9-5, 9-5 in 42 minutes.

Lengthorn secured her career-first win over her north west rival in last November's Wolverhampton Open -  but then lost in straight games to Botwright in January in New York, where she was playing her first tournament after a 6/7 week layoff due to an ankle injury.

"That win in Wolverhampton gave me a lot of confidence - and, under the circumstances, I felt my loss to Vicky last month was a really positive result!

"I've been working hard on my short game recently - and it's really paying off," added the world No11. 

The defeat was a major blow to Botwright, the England No2 on whom local hopes have been pinned for many years - and who has now failed to get past the quarter-finals on five occasions since 2001.

Lengthorn will face Alison Waters in the semi-finals on Saturday.  The fourth seed survived a marathon encounter with Middlesex county team-mate Dominique Lloyd-Walter to reach the last four for the third year in a row. 

The 22-year-old, from Southgate in north London, squandered a 2/0 lead to allow Lloyd-Walter to draw level.  But Waters composed herself in the decider and romped to a 9-7, 9-4, 3-9, 7-9, 9-0 victory over the No7 seed after 70 minutes.

"In the fifth, I had to get in front and stay in front," said a relieved Waters afterwards.  "We play each other a lot and are good friends.

"There are five players left in the event who are capable of winning the title - any one of us has a chance.  I'd love to win the National title - any British player would!"

The two men's quarter-finals produced the predicted semi-final between Scotland's second seed John White and England's No4 seed Adrian Grant.

Former champion Simon Parke, the 34-year-old Yorkshireman who has already spent 169 minutes on court fighting through two rounds to get to the last eight, added another 60 to his tournament tally in tonight's quarter-final battle with Grant.

The champion in 1998, Parke was celebrating the 20^th anniversary of his first appearance in the Nationals in December 1987 - as a 15-year-old.  Two decades later, he has notched up 15 Championships' appearances - and his clash with Grant marked his 47^th match.

But it was the fourth seed from London who ultimately prevailed, coming back from a game behind to beat Parke 8-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-8.

"I think he was really up for it tonight," said Grant of his opponent. 

"Parkey's biggest strength is being able to raise his game when he's behind - and that’s what makes him so difficult to beat," explained the 26-year-old world No14 who is based in Halifax in Yorkshire.  "He plays his best squash when he's down.

"My focus was to keep up the pressure through the rallies - then I tried to become more aggressive in my play."

White, the game's hardest-hitter, was in powerful form against England international Peter Barker, the fifth seed from Essex.

White led throughout most of the opening game, but his left-handed opponent saved four game-balls to force a tiebreak - which the Scot won. 

At 0/2 down, Barker established a healthy lead in the third game and went on to reduce the deficit - but White, a former world No1 now ranked ten, reclaimed the initiative to run out an 11-10, 11-6, 6-11, 11-3 victor in 54 minutes.

"I fell asleep at the end of the first game and was lucky to get it in the tie-break," said the self-deprecating Scot, who has never before lost to the Englishman.

"It was definitely the toughest game I've played against him - he's had some good results recently and he's a bit of a danger."

"It would be nice to get another British title under the belt - it would be good for the confidence," said the US-based 33-year-old who won the title in 2004.
    

Yorkshire's Jenny Duncalf caused the biggest upset in the British National Squash Championships so far when she beat defending champion and England team-mate Tania Bailey in tonight's (Thursday) women's quarter-finals at the National Squash Centre in Manchester.

In one of her best results since the middle of last year, the 24-year-old from Harrogate fought back from a game down to defeat England No1 Bailey 2-9, 9-3, 9-5, 9-3 in 63 minutes.

"I had an absolute shocker of a time in the last half of last year," admitted Duncalf, who failed to achieve her seeding in a series of WISPA tournaments, causing her world ranking to drop from 6 to 12.

"I trained really hard over Christmas, to get a decent level of fitness - and when your ranking is down there's not so much pressure.

"But I really had to concentrate on being steady against Tania - she's a great player and you have to play well to beat her.  I had nothing to lose," added the sixth seed.

A forlorn Bailey, who won the title for the first time last year, admitted she could have played better:  "Jenny played better than me on the day - and you can only play as well as your opponent lets you."

Duncalf will meet third seed Madeline Perry in Saturday's semi-finals following the eight-times Irish champion's 9-6, 9-4, 9-0 victory in 39 minutes over England's No8 seed Laura Hill.

Perry, the world No8 from Banbridge near Belfast, is making her first appearance in the event for four years.  "It's exciting playing in the Nationals again after spending the past few years focused on my international career in a bid to get a world top ten ranking. 

"Even though I'd never played her before, I knew Laura would be tough."

When asked if she felt she could win the title, Perry replied:  "I've got a good chance - I think it's pretty much open between a few players.  I'm certainly up for it.

"After the World Open a few months ago in Belfast, where all the attention was on me, it's nice to be here almost unnoticed."

Hill, a full-time fire-fighter from Derbyshire, was seeded in the event for the first time:  "It's taken me five years to get where I am, playing through the qualifiers, then getting beaten by seeds in the first round.  It's nice to be able to give the full-time players a hard time - but it's a shame I can't beat them!

"I was really looking forward to playing Madeline, but it would have helped if I'd given her a better game."

The two men's last eight matches produced the dream semi-final (on Saturday) between top seed James Willstrop and his England and Pontefract club team-mate Lee Beachill, the three-times champion.

Former world number one Beachill is one match away from reaching a record seventh successive final after beating Welshman Alex Gough.  The third seed was fully extended by 36-year-old Gough, the British Open Over-35 champion, for the first two games. 

But in the third, Gough was clearly suffering the effects of an injury - later revealed as a pulled hamstring - and shook hands with Beachill midway through the game with the score standing at 11-3, 11-10 (2-0), 7-0.

"I knew he'd had a hard ride leading up to tonight's match," Beachill told the crowd afterwards.  "After reaching the Swedish Open finals on Sunday, he came straight into a tough game here against local hero Nick Taylor and in the last round faced Alister Walker, probably the toughest opponent in the 9/16 seeding group.

"But he moved so well for somebody who's nearly 40 - all credit to him," joked the three-times champion!

Beachill, who won his first Nationals title in Manchester in 2001 - as the 13^th seed - acknowledged the career breakthrough that the victory provided:  "Wherever you have your first win, you tend to go back there and do well.

"This is a big event nowadays, and when I think of the quality of players who compete in it, it makes me realise that my success here is one of my greatest achievements."

Willstrop took just 28 minutes to overcome Sussex opponent Tim Vail 11-9, 11-6, 11-5 in the last match of the day.  Vail pulled off one of the major upsets of the second round when he defeated seventh seed Jonathan Kemp to become the first unseeded player to reach the quarter-finals for eight years.

"Tim played really well - he's very skilful and I had to be really focused," said the 23-year-old from Pontefract who was runner-up two years ago.

Willstrop's clash with Beachill will be the pair's fifth Nationals' meeting in the past seven years.  The event favourite has yet to record a first victory over his long-time friend and rival.

"I've had the hard end of it for a long time now," said Willstrop after tonight's win.  "I'll just have to give it my best shot - I'm sure it'll be bloody tough!"

Tim Vail became the first unseeded player to reach the men's quarter-finals of the British National Squash Championships for eight years when he upset fellow Englishman Jonathan Kemp, the No7 seed, in today's (Wednesday) second round at the National Squash Centre in Manchester.

After dropping the opening game, the 29-year-old from Lee-on-Solent beat his Shropshire opponent 8-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-9 in 39 minutes to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in eight appearances in the event.

"I thought before the match that if I played well, I could win it," said the England No16 who gave up the international circuit in 2002 to concentrate on coaching.   "I'm chuffed to bits.

"My current form is down to the training sessions I've been having with Stacey Ross and Ian Robinson over the past eighteen months or so.  My main aim now is to get into the England top ten."

Kemp came into the match having not played at all for the past two weeks as the result of a back ailment:  "I knew what to expect against him - but he played really well.  I didn't think I played badly, under the circumstances - but I couldn't miss the Nationals!"

Vail will meet favourite James Willstrop in the quarter-finals on Thursday, when the action at the National Squash Centre moves onto the all-glass show court.  The Yorkshireman, playing on a conventional plaster court, "trundled" to an 11-9, 7-11, 11-3, 11-4 victory over Gloucestershire's 16^th seed Alex Stait.

"It's important to realise that these courts don't suit the way I play - they're a real leveller - so when you encounter players like Alex, you have to treat them with a lot of respect," explained Willstrop, the 23-year-old world No9 from Pontefract. 

"Unlike on the all-glass court, which we're so much more used to playing on, it's really hard to do anything with the ball.  It makes you feel quite ordinary - you just have to trundle your way through matches!"

Willstrop's England and Pontefract club team-mate Lee Beachill cruised through his second round encounter, beating Oxfordshire's 12^th seed Scott Handley 11-8, 11-6, 11-4.

"It's good to get off three-nil.  I didn't feel amazing, but I'm hitting the ball well enough, which is good," said the three-times champion who is bidding to reach the final for a record seventh successive year.

"I'm just looking forward to getting back on the glass court now," added the third seed.

Welshman Alex Gough, the sixth seed, survived his second marathon battle in 24 hours when he overcame Gloucestershire's No9 seed Alister Walker 11-8, 11-8, 6-11, 11-4 in 78 minutes.

"I'm feeling much better than I did yesterday, following a good rest after the match," said the 36-year-old British Open Over-35 champion who reached last week's Swedish Open final against the seedings.

"I thought my win over Karim Darwish (the world No8) in last week's semi-finals in Sweden was one of the best performances of my life - and he was playing well - and this is the continuation of that," said Gough when asked to describe the way he felt he was playing currently.

"I'm hitting the ball well - so, as long as the body holds out, I should be fine.  But it'll all be very different on the glass court."

Walker was disappointed at the outcome:  "I gave myself a great chance before the match - and should have made more of it at 7-7 and 8-8 in both the first two games.  But Alex knows how to play those points so well.  There's a lot to learn mentally from a match like that," said the 24-year-old from Leeds.

Former champion Simon Parke was another 'marathon man' in action for the second day in row:  The 34-year-old No8 seed from Yorkshire took 98 minutes to get the better of Essex's tenth seed Daryl Selby 11-7, 11-10, 10-11, 11-8.

"He's a phenomenal player, I've got so much respect for him," said Selby of his opponent, the 1998 champion, afterwards.  "I can't remember winning any easy points - I was battling for my life all the time.  I've never beaten him before, but I felt I played well.  What an experience!"

Parke will now face higher-seeded Adrian Grant, the Yorkshire-based Londoner who beat Berkshire's unseeded Stephen Meads 11-10, 11-3, 11-6.  The match lasted 77 minutes, but 26 of those were off court while Grant was receiving treatment for a cut knuckle on his racket hand - sustained when he scraped his hand across the floor while reaching for a shot.

Favourite Tania Bailey coasted to a 9-0, 9-4, 9-2 win in 31 minutes over Manchester's Rebecca Botwright in the first round of the women's event.  "I've played Becky probably three times in the past year - and this is definitely the best she's played," said Bailey.

"I feel great, I feel sharp - in fact it's the best I've felt going into a tournament for ages," explained the defending champion from Lincolnshire.

"Last year I wasn't expected to do well, so this year I guess there is a bit more pressure."

Tania and her England team-mates recorded an appearance on the BBC TV show 'Eggheads' last week.  "I was more nervous doing that than I've ever been in all my life!"

Irish champion Madeline Perry made a welcome return to the event after a four-year gap to record her first ever win in the championship by beating Merseyside's Georgina Stoker 9-1, 9-0, 9-1 in 29 minutes.

"I wanted to play well here and get off to a good start," said the third seed from Banbridge, near Belfast, who celebrated her 30^th birthday this week. 

"In previous years I was concentrating on getting into the world top ten, but now that I've achieved that I want to try and win this - it's a title I really fancy!"

Manchester fans had to wait until the final match of the day to see local star Vicky Botwright claim her anticipated place in the quarter-finals with a 9-6, 9-3, 9-2 victory over Warwickshire qualifier Vicky Hynes.

"I didn't play super well, but I'm pleased to get through without dropping a game," said the second seed who has never progressed beyond the quarter-finals in nine appearances since 1997.

Hynes, who had a baby boy some eighteen months ago, was making her return to the event after a three-year gap.

"She's a tricky player and considering how long she was out, she plays really well," added Botwright.
 

13-Feb, Round One:
Beachill & Willstrop Overcome
Early Hurdles In Manchester

England and Pontefract club team-mates James Willstrop and Lee Beachill comfortably overcame their first hurdles in today's (Tuesday) first round of the British National Squash Championships with straight games wins at the National Squash Centre in Manchester.

Top seed Willstrop, the world No9 who was runner-up two years ago, despa