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| Daily
Results and Reports from Manchester |
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Day ONE, Sun 6th Feb |
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HAPPY ANNIVERSARY…
Yes, would you believe guys, it was exactly one year ago that I wrote my
first words reporting on squash in English…
A pretty lot has happened since then, now, hasn’t it…?
Anyway, you’ll be glad to know that once again, I got lost, missed the exit
for Manchester, found myself on something called the M62, eventually found
the M60, which of course, I took the wrong way, had to turn back, found
junction 24, couldn’t find the hotel of course, but I did find Sport City.
Will I find Sport City again now that I found the hotel ?
I’ll keep you informed…
Framboise
The crowd starts to build
at Sportcity |
Today's Matches,
Men 's Qualifying Round One
Rob Sutherland bt Arthur Gaskin
11/4, 11/4, 11/1 (20m)
Tom Richards bt Jonathan Tate
11/4, 11/7, 11/7 (23m)
Asa Morris bt
Keith Timms
11/9, 11/9, 8/11, 3/11, 13/11 (70m)
Joel Hinds bt Kristen Johnson
11/13, 11/5, 11/4, 11/9 (42m)
James Wright bt Nathan Langley
11/4, 11/7, 11/2 (20m)
Chris Truswell bt Tom Power
11/7, 12/10, 11/5 (34m)
Stuart Crawford bt Richard Davies
11/6, 10/12, 5/11, 12/10, 21/19 (71m)
Tom Pashley bt Robbie Temple
9/11, 11/7, 11/8, 7/11, 11/5 (50m)
Jaymie Haycocks bt Chris Hall
11/3, 1/11, 9/11, 11/7, 11/7 (47m)
Galen Le Cheminant bt
Thomas Javanaud
11/3, 11/4, 11/4 (26m)
Chris Tasker-Grindley bt
Jamie Moxom
11/2 , 11/9, 11/3 (25m) |
ANOTHER RICHARDS/SIMPSON ENCOUNTER…
Would you believe it?
 When
I saw the qualifying draw, I couldn’t believe my eyes… If Tom Richards
was to win, he was up to play his old pal Chris Simpson. And guess
what, he did…
“I think it will be the 7th or 8th time this season that we are playing
against each other”, smiled Chris…
 Well,
Tom didn’t lose too much energy on his match today Jonathan Tate.
Jonathan didn’t do anything wrong really, he’s got a strong and steady arm,
he hits well and tight, but Tom was just at a different level all together:
volleying, interception, deception, good hitting, lovely retrieving, great
drop shots…
Jonathan was pushed into playing loose shots and imprecise length, and even
if he fought every shot very bravely, the young Tom Richards won rather
comfortably 11/4, 117, 11/7 in a short 23 minutes.
A good warm up for tomorrow’s match…
Tom Richards bt Jonathan Tate
11/4, 11/7, 11/7 (23m)
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SO CLOSE, KRISTEN
My second match today was between the tall Joel Hinds and cute
Kristen Johnson. A very close encounter really. Both players must be the
same age (give or take a few months, they look about the same anyway), and
they played a very interesting game to the delight of a crowd already
swelling.
 The
first game was pretty much Kristen. Well, yes, he did win it, but, not only
that. He was in control of the rallies, showing some great racquet skills,
beautiful return of serve nicks. The pace was fast, intense. Joel didn’t
want to lose the game, and although down game ball 7/10, he got a tie-break,
only to lose 3-1 in 15 minutes, the longest game of the match.
 Joel
then reversed the situation completely, stopped making unforced errors, hit
hard, tighter, and got good possession of the T, using his height to his
advantage rather well. Now, it was Kristen that was making the mistakes, the
tins, the loose shots…
Down 1/2, Johnson woke up, and took an early lead in the fourth game, which
was so close: 3/3, 6/6. Kristen seemed to have control of the event, and
shot up 9/7. But Joel was more and more precise, his drop shots so lethal,
his retrieving breathtaking. 9/9.
A rather decisive let seemed to upset Kristen who was (maybe rightly)
expecting a stroke that would have given him a decisive advantage, 10/9. But
the young man kept his calm and composure. Two rallies later, Joel Hinds was
walking away with victory, and now faces Jethro Binns.
Joel Hinds bt Kristen Johnson
11/13, 11/5, 11/4, 11/9 (42m) |
HAYCOCKS : A HARD BATTLE
Chris Hall played a very hard game today against Jaymie Haycocks,
and it’s a shame he didn’t start very well, as I truly believe that he had
enough talent to win this one.
 Chris
didn’t seem to have his brain cells connected together at the start of the
match. Mis-hits, tins, out of court shots, we had the whole lot, and very
rightly, Jaymie takes the first game in 8 minutes, 11/3.
In the second, the young man is a bit more focused, the superb boasts are
hurting his opponent very badly, the rallies are short and effective, and 4
minutes later, we are at one game all, 11/1.
The third will be so close, 4/4, 7/7, 8/8, 9/9. And a “no let” and a quick
backhand mis-hit later, Chris Hall is up 2/1, 11/9 in 8 minutes.
In the fourth, Chris is making easy mistakes again, the pressure from Jaymie
is getting stronger and stronger, especially some lethal volley drop shots
that force Hall to make several impressive splits…
The decider will start well for Chris, who leads 3/1, but how quickly things
change… An out of court serve and a loose ball that gives Jaymie a stroke,
and we are back to 3/3. And then again, some incredible mis-hits from Hall,
who maybe has lacked just a bit of steam at the end, as in, at the crucial
stage of his match, and who couldn’t contain the remarkable pressure that
Haycocks put him under.
But then again, tomorrow, Haycocks will need all the steam he has to try and
defeat the redoubtable Peter Billson…
Jaymie Haycocks bt Chris Hall
11/3, 1/11, 9/11, 11/7, 11/7 (47m)
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NOT TOO HARD
FOR CHRIS T-G
It took only 25 minutes for Chris Tasker-Grindley to overcome
Jamie Moxom’s resistance.
A pretty unorthodox fighter, that Jamie is. He doesn’t play the shots that
you would expect, and that makes him dangerous. Chris did find himself in
trouble a few times, especially in the second game, and the players were
racquet to racquet 9/9. But Jamie couldn’t return a beautiful glued to the
wall backhand drive, 10/9 for Chris, and a nice drop shot, 11/9 in 15
minutes.
But at the end of the day, nothing TJ couldn’t handle, and the last game
will only be a formality, 11/3.
Chris Tasker-Grindley bt
Jamie Moxom
11/2 , 11/9, 11/3(25m) |
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MATCH OF THE DAY
Not that we saw it (Steve and I were busy grappling with our internet
connection at the time), but by all accounts Stuart Crawford's win
against Richard Davies was the one to watch today.
The fifth game was apparently a little heated, but considering it eventually
finished, after 71 minutes, at 21-19 to Stuart that's hardly surprising !!!
Stuart
sneaks it in the fifth! |
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