| Sun 16th Feb Men's Final:
[1] Peter Nicol bt [3] Lee Beachill
7-15, 15-11, 15-9,
12-15, 15-8 (93m)
Women's Final:
[3] Cassie Jackman bt [4] Rebecca Macree
9-6, 4-9, 9-4, 9-3
(68m)
Nicol & Jackman
clinch National titles
Howard Harding reports
Malcolm Willstrop on the finals
Nicol takes the title from Beachill
Peter Nicol reclaimed the National title from Lee Beachill in a thrilling
five-game final, denying Beachill a record third consecutive title.
"It was tough," said Nicol at the end. We both controlled
parts of the game, but I managed to control a little more of it than Lee,
and in the end he ran out of steam a little."
Beachill controlled the first game, putting Nicol under
pressure particularly on his backhand, and forced enough errors from Nicol
to take the lead.
Nicol came back strongly though, taking the next two games
before it was Beachill's turn to regain control in the fourth, hitting two
glorious winners to ease away from 12-11 to game ball.
There was little sign of the chopping winners that
Beachill used to such effect on Nicol last year though, and in the fifth it
was Nicol exerting the pressure again. He eased away to establish an 11-8
lead before Beachill, desperate to retain the title in front of a noisy
Pontefract crowd, threw in two errors to help Nicol reach match ball, before
taking his second title in four finals.
"I hadn't done the work before the worlds to perform at my
best," said Nicol, "and a hard game with Anthony Ricketts took its toll on
me. I had a good break over Christmas and New Year and I've worked to build
up strength in my ankle and leg. I'm 100% fit now, so it should stand me in
good stead for New York next week where I need to do well to retain the
number one spot."
Just Champion for Cassie
Cassie Jackman claimed a remarkable record-equalling fifth
National title, beating Rebecca Macree in fine style just two months after
stepping back onto court after a second career-threatening back operation.
It was a tough, physical match, with 67
decisions, but never descended to the level of yesterday's semi-final.
Jackman kept Macree pegged into the back corners for much of the match, an
too the first game, pulling away from 5-6 down.
Macree won the second, during which Jackman
ran into Macree chasing a ball and collapsed on the court. No treatment was
required, but Macree went on to take the game and after Jackman received
some stretching treatment during the game interval she Jackman regained
control to take the final two games to retain the title.
"This is bloody brilliant," she told the
crowd afterwards. "If anyone told me two months ago that I'd even be
competing in this event I would have been pleased, but to win it is just
fantastic."
Jackman was pleased with her game too. "I've
been moving well all week, and it went according to plan today. I knew I
needed to keep Rebecca deep and wait for opportunities, she's got good shots
if you go short too much. She changed her game and attacked more in the
second, but apart from that it all went pretty well."
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