| Sat 15th Feb [4] Rebecca Macree bt [1] Linda Charman 10-9, 9-1, 9-6 (71m)
[1] Peter Nicol bt [15] James Willstrop 15-8,
15-13, 15-11 (46m)
[3] Cassie Jackman bt [2] Tania Bailey 9-4, 9-2, 9-0
(26m)
[3] Lee Beachill bt [6] Alex Gough 15-7, 15-8, 15-6
(46m)
Nicol & Beachill to renew rivalry
Howard Harding reports
Beachill on a hat-trick
"I knew Alex would be tired after last night's match," said Lee
Beachill after completing a routine victory over Welshman Alex Gough to reach
his third successive Nationals final and keep alive hopes of a hat-trick.
Although Gough started well, taking a 6-3 lead in the first,
he was unable to stay with Beachill once the champion got into his stride.
Beachill recovered from 3-6 to 13-6 in the first, moved from 7-5 to 13-6 in
the second, and from 5-6 down in the third won the final ten points to close
out the match.
"I wanted to start fast, but Alex started fast and tight
too," explained Beachill. But once I got a good length and started getting him
behind me it started to tell. There were patches in each game where after a
couple of hard rallies I won several quick points as Alex struggled to
recover."
The final will be a repeat of last year's, when Beachill
beat the world number one to become the first man to retain the title. "We
always have tight matches," said Beachill, "and I don't expect tomorrow to be
any different."
Cassie canters in to the final
Cassie Jackman moved into her sixth successive National final,
crushing new England number one Tania Bailey in a one-sided encounter.
Jackan opened up an early lead, which she never
relinquished. "I played well, although Tania clearly wasn't at her best," said
Cassie, "and I'm pleased to make another final after all my troubles."
Bailey said she had been suffering from a stomach virus
since shortly after last weekend's Grantham Open. "I was really looking
forward to this," she added, "but I felt pretty rough out there, and just
couldn't do myself justice."
Jackman will be striving for a record-equalling fifth title
against Macree tomorrow. "It will be a tough match," said Jackman, "it's
always a physical game with lots of lets when I play Becky." Their last
meeting was in last year's BSPA Grand Prix finals in Nottingham, where Macree
won 3-1.
Nicol still the master
James Willstrop's run in the Nationals came to an end in the
semi-finals, as the world number one asserted his authority over the world
junior champion.
It took Nicol five minutes to establish a 5-0 lead in the
first game, as the top seed tested the mettle of his young pretender. Nicol
eased away after that, taking the first game 15-8. Willstrop streaked to a 6-0
lead in the second and, with the crowd willing him on, looked like he might
take a game off Nicol as he lead 13-9. Nicol wasn't having any of it though,
and reeled off six points in a row to go two up.
The third was entertaining, but Nicol was always in control
as he moved into a second successive Nationals final.
"I was moving well," said Nicol afterwards, "and I knew I
needed to keep the pace up against James. It's great for squash to see him
coming through," added Nicol, "he's handling it very well and now needs to put
in consistent performances on the PSA circuit."
Nicol took three weeks off after Christmas, "I thought it
might be too long, but I'm happy with my form now. Obviously I want to win
this title, then it's New York next week where I need to do well to hold on to
my number one position."
Macree topples top seed Charman
A battle was expected, and a battle was duly delivered. In 71 minutes of
squash peppered with collisions, decisions and arguments, Rebecca Macree put
out top seed Linda Charman to reach her first National final.
"I'd beaten Linda a couple of times before," said Macree
afterwards, "but this was the one I wanted."
Macree led most of the first game, reaching 8-4 before
Charman levelled. After a host of decisions, with the players colliding in all
parts of the court, referee Roy Gingell lectured both on the need to "make
more effort to clear, and make more effort to play the ball." It was Macree
whose nerve held, taking the game 10-9 in 32 minutes.
Macree took a quick lead in the second, and held it to take
in 9-1 in just 11 minutes. Again Macree took a quick 5-0 lead in the third,
and reached 8-2 to put herself on the verge of the final. A couple of
decisions went against her, and Charman started to claw her way back into the
match. Finally though, Macree closed it out after 71 minutes, easily the
longest women's match of the tournament.
"I wanted to win it in three," said Macree, "I didn't want
another of our five-game marathons."
Neither did the referee, who had 80 decisions to make in the
three games ...
|
Full results
Men's Draw
Women's
Draw
Age Group Draws
RESULTS from the tournament desk
More photos
in the GALLERY
Beach on for three
Cassie at a canter
Little 'n Large ...
Lumsden & Manning
Men's O50 Final:
Dave Manning bt Dave Lumsden
9-3, 6-9, 9-4, 9-5 (35m)
Women's O40 Final:
Liz Brown bt Mandy Preuss
9-2, 9-2, 9-6 (20m) Men's
O45 Final:
Ian Bradburn bt David Clark
9-5, 9-3, 9-0
More photos
in the GALLERY |
NICOL & BEACHILL TO RENEW
NATIONALS RIVALRY
Howard Harding reprots
Commonwealth Games Men's Doubles gold
medallists Peter Nicol and Lee Beachill will renew their singles rivalry
in Sunday's final of the British National Squash Championships - a
repeat of the 2002 final - after straight games victories in today's
semi-finals at the National Squash Centre in Manchester.
The women's final will feature defending champion Cassie Jackman and
Essex's first-time finalist Rebecca Macree after upsets in both
semi-finals.
Third seed Beachill, the world No8 from Yorkshire, remains on track to
become the first man to win the title for a third successive year after
beating Welshman Alex Gough 15-7 15-8 15-6 in 46 minutes.
"I drove home to Pontefract last night planning my match today against
John White, the second seed, only to get a call at around midnight to
say that Alex had beaten him in a titanic one-and-a-half hour battle.
Alex was obviously still feeling the effect of this and I was eventually
able to exploit that," said 25-year-old Beachill.
Peter Nicol, the world No1 and top seed from London, despatched surprise
teenage opponent James Willstrop 15-8 15-13 15-11 in a semi-final
featuring master and pupil: Nicol, who first became world No1 in 1998,
was facing for the first time the world junior champion widely regarded
as his eventual successor.
Willstrop, 19, the 15th seed from Pontefract in Yorkshire who had
already removed two higher-ranked players, was far from overawed - and
in the second game raced to a 6-0 lead before the wily and
vastly-experienced Nicol fought back to nullify the advantage.
"I expected him to be good, and he's certainly got the potential to go
far," said the favourite after his triumph over the 6' 5" tall youngster
on the same all-glass showcourt that he won his Commonwealth Games gold
medal last summer. "I want to win this title desperately and I'm glad to
be in the final again," added Nicol
Cassie Jackman, the third seed from Norfolk, crushed second-seeded Tania
Bailey 9-4 9-2 9-0 in just 26 minutes. Bailey, suffering from a stomach
virus, conceded: "You've got to be 100% to cope with that sort of pace,
yet I kept feeling dizzy and just couldn't raise my game."
Jackman, a former world No1 and world champion, is making her comeback
at the event just five months after undergoing career-threatening back
surgery for the second time! "I'm so glad to be in the final again, but
most of all just glad to be playing again," sad the 30-year-old from
Norwich who has reached her sixth successive final and will be bidding
for a record-equalling fifth title.
In the other semi, Linda Charman, the world No4 from Sussex who was
fancied to win the women's title, crashed out 3-0 to arch rival Rebecca
Macree.
The match was always going to be a grudge affair after the pair's
acrimonious battle last year which led to Charman, Chairman of the
women's international players' association, being banned for a week.
"I really wanted to win that badly" said fourth seed Macree after her
10-9 9-1 9-6 shock upset in 70 incident-filled minutes. "That was my
best ever win over her - and I was determined to make sure I wrapped in
up in three games as I didn't want it to go to five."
The first game alone lasted 32 minutes, with Linda saving four game
balls from 8-4, then having two of her own at 9-8 before Macree
eventually closed the game 10-9 to reach her first final in her 16th
successive appearance in the event.
|
Malcolm
Willstrop