|
|
• TODAY • 2006 Finals • SEMIS • Day SIX • Day FIVE • Day FOUR • Day THREE • DAYS ONE & TWO • WILLSTROP •
Day FIVE, Thu 9th Feb,
QUARTERS TAKE ONE
MEN'S QUARTERS:
[1] James Willstrop bt [8] Joey
Barrington
11/8, 11/5, 11/3 (34m)
[3] Lee Beachill bt [7] Adrian Grant
11/9, 11/6, 11/5 (45m)
WOMEN'S QUARTERS:
[2] Tania Bailey bt [6] Becky Botwright
9/1, 9/0, 9/0 (22m)
[4] Alison Waters bt [7] Dominique
Lloyd-Walter
9/5, 9/5, 10/8 (48m)
It's the Pontefract Semi
 James
Willstrop and Lee Beachill set up a repeat of last year's final
as they eased to quarter-final wins at the National Squash Centre in
Manchester.
In the women's quarters Tania Bailey and Alison Waters also won in
straight games to set up a repeat of their first-round clash last
year. |
MAIN DRAWS
THE MASTERS
 |
|
|
One too far for Joey
 Top seed James Willstrop moved into his second successive Nationals
semi-final, beating Joey Barrington in three games.
With both fathers at courtside, the first game was evenly contested until
8-all when Willstrop finished it off with three quick winners.
Barrington found his game again to reach 5-all in the second, but from
then on it was pretty much one-way traffic as Willstrop controlled the
game, moving Barrington from corner to corner and firing in winners from
all over the court.
 "It's
so different on the glass court, it plays in a different kind of way.
The top guys play each other on it all the time, but I've only ever
played on this court four times, and the last time I played on a glass
court was in the British Open.
"James played very well, he's at the top of his game at the moment,
and what I need is to play these guys in these conditions more often,
that's the level I aspire to.
"I'm a bit frustrated, I thought I could do a lot better than that,
but he put his shots in well and only made a couple of errors in the
whole match.
"It's great to have my dad here to support, it doesn't happen very
often but it's a really good feeling."
 |
|
Malcolm Willstrop reports ...
Top-seeded James Willstrop took on Joey Barrington in the first of the
men's quarters, Barrington having come through an 85-minute match with
Daryl Selby to reach this stage.
The first game was well-contested as Barrington matched Willstrop until
quite late on, when the world number six drew clear to win 11/8.
Barrington, as would be expected with such a pedigree, moves and is
tenacious, and he was well well in contention to five-all in the second
when Willstrop's pressure told and he established a 2-0 lead, 11/5.
Opening up, Willstrop showed a wide range of attacks to win the third 11/3
very quickly, but Barrington, who continues to improve, can be relatively
pleased with his efforts.
Willstrop will now meet title-holder Lee Beachill in Saturday's
semi-finals, and can feel quite happy with his performance tonight.
"It was a tough take for Joey after the
long match he played yesterday. I know all about that, God knows how
many of those I had in my life, I know exactly how it feels. I had to
keep the pressure on him at all time though…
"We played an awful lot against each other about 18 months, two years
ago, and not at all since. He has improved steadily, but he started
late, and it’s never easy, as you miss out in experience, and you are
always playing catch up. But it’s a superb effort, Joey is now top 8
in England, that’s already an great achievement.
"I felt good, fairly sparkly and sharp and ready to go. I don’t mind
the pressure, I’m enjoying it actually, in a weird kind of way. And I
keep on repeating myself here, but I just get on with each match, who
ever I’m playing, like my team mates, my friends, it’s all part of our
job, and we just get on with it…"
 |
|
|
|
Second Semi for Tania
Tania Bailey reached her second Nationals semi-final in four years with a
comprehensive victory over Manchester's Becky Botwright.
On the same court on which she reached the British Open final in 2002,
Bailey was dominant from the start, her weight of shot and ball placement
simply too much for a nervous Botwright to deal with.
 "It's
never as easy as it looks. If you let your concentration go, play
anything loose, all of the girls these days can take encouragement
from that and punish you.
"I hadn't played Becky for a long time, but I knew that I needed to
keep focussed after a good start, and I'm pleased that I managed to do
that.
 |
 MY
IMPRESSIONS
NEVER BELIEVED…
A Tania in full possession of her talent, her strength, and with her
determination under her shoes, a Becky far too respectful for her
opponent, never believing she could actually beat the number two seed, and
you have a good picture of the match.
Tania was never under threat. Her shots were precise, tight, well thought,
well executed. Becky didn’t do anything wrong. She didn’t put the ball in
the tin, she didn’t make unforced errors. She just couldn’t compete with
Bailey’s hunger for victory today, who, quite rightly, advances further in
the tournament.
Tania has got a revenge to take. On life, which tried to take her career
away from her. And this championship could be the year she gets it back.
Full blast…
|
Malcolm Willstrop reports ...
The first women's match was between Tania Bailey, elevated into the number
one slot in place of the unfortunate Vicky Botwright, and Vicky's younger
sister Becky.
Bailey has not been lucky in her senior career, having suffered
debilitating illness for some two years or more. However looking strong
and positive she proved too good for the Manchester girl, who didn't do
justice to her athleticism.
Playing too many angles in the first game, Botwright left herself open to
attack, and having quickly won the first a confident-looking Bailey was
never going to lose.
She played with increasing authority and never gave Botwright any hope of
a resurgence.
 "I
was very nervous to start with, but also Tania was playing so well,
her shots were so tight, I never felt comfortable enough to attack and
step forward. And when I did attack, my shots were loose, and she just
put the ball away.
"I should have attacked more, been more positive, and I should NOT
have played so many boasts!"
 |
|
|
|
[4] Alison
Waters bt [7] Dominique Lloyd-Walter
9/5, 9/5, 10/8 (48m) |
SCRAPPING THROUGH…
Framboise reports
This match won’t stay in my mind like the best match I saw Alison Waters
play, from far. She made far too many mistakes, in particular her backhand
boasts ended at 90% in the tin, a few low drive kills that loudly tinned,
a bit of frustration that crept in as well, which made it even worse.
On the other hand, Dominique Lloyd Waters could feel the possibility of an
upset and she was trying a bit too hard to finish the point, making too
many unforced errors as well…
At times, we were suffering for both the girls that we could see
struggling to perform at their best….
But that’s where you see the true champions I guess. Despite not being at
the top of her game, last year’s finalist imposed herself with flashes of
strength, speed and precision, recovering from 5-1 and 8-5 down in the
third, to remind us why she is now flirting with the world top ten.
It was probably the match that Alison needed to prepare mentally for the
semis against Tania. After not such a great display today, she’ll may be
even more focus and as she said herself. “I won’t have any pressure on me,
I’ve got nothing to lose”….
 "I'm
relieved more than anything, I made so many errors, and for a long
time I just couldn't hit a backhand boast.
"I had a bit of a shaky start, then settled in a bit and it seemed to
be going well. But Dominique stuck in well in the third and I was
lucky to win that one in the end.
"At least now I can relax, having got to where I'm seeded to be. The
pressure's on Tania now, it's up to her to win that one .."
 |
 |
Malcolm Willstrop reports ...
Alison Waters was a top-class junior, but her transition to world-class
status has been quite dramatic.
Last year she reached the final, unseeded, and she is now in the
semi-final, having staved off a determined and sustained challenge from
Dominique Lloyd-Walter.
That said, Waters always looked as if she could raise her game to whatever
demands were made of her, and she drew clear in the first two games from
mid-way and then edged home 10/8 in the third.
Her match with Tania Bailey is full of possibilities and is eagerly
awaited as Waters seeks to go one better than last year.
 |
|
|
Beachill on the way back
Defending champion Lee Beachill has been unhappy with his form in the
tournament so far, but tonight against an Adrian Grant who himself was not
on top form after a hard schedule and lack of sleep over several days,
Beachill did more than enough to move into his sixth consecutive National
semi-final.
The Pontefract man eased away from mid-point in the first game, retrieved
an 8-4 deficit in the second and dominated the third.
 "I
think I have made some improvements since yesterday – but getting on
that glass court also made a big difference."
"Adrian looked a bit jaded tonight, he's had some hard tournaments and
some tough matches this week, but I still had to play well to take him
to the point where he was uncomfortable, so I'm pleased with that.
"It took longer than I expected to get over my knee surgery, and I had
a couple of niggles since I started training, but I'm just starting to
get somewhere near a decent level again ..."
 |
|
Malcolm Willstrop reports ...
Lee Beachill has had a troubled season and a recent knee operation hasn’t
helped. Enough for Adrian Grant to think he might have a chance of causing
an upset. He had just come back from America, however, which probably
didn’t help him.
In fact the only upset was Beachill’s stomach which caused him to be sick
after the first game and during his post match interview with Andy Nickeas
- some have unkindly suggested that it was looking at Andy that made Lee
feel ill [Andy countered with "I didn't think my questions were that
bad!"].
Beachill played well, well enough to be pleased with it, and in truth
Grant was disappointing, apparently not realising that he might have a
chance.
He played ordinarily, made errors and at times didn’t chase up – perhaps
the product of his schedule.
The best thing for this quite excellent championship would be for all four
of England’s World Team Championship winning team to make their allocated
places in the semi finals and Willstrop and Beachill have provided the
first part of that.
Most squash enthusiasts, neutrals that it would have wanted a Willstrop
Beachill semi final and they’ve got it. It’s up to Peter Nicol and Nick
Matthew to provide the second half. Should they do that anybody at
Manchester Sports City is in for a special day on Saturday.
|
|
|
England's World Champion Team at the Nationals |
Masters
action
MASTERS
REPORTS COMING UP |
|
