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R2 Reports |
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Round TWO, 24-Oct
Group B:
Surrey H&RC Croydon 3-2 Tinos Homes Chichester
Anthony Ricketts 3-2 Alex Gough
8/10, 9/2, 8/10, 10/8, 9/2
Davide Bianchetti 1-3 Peter Genever 7/9, 10/12,
9/6, 4/9 (56m)
Tim Garner 1-3 Tim Vail
9/4, 5/9, 4/9, 1/9 (31m)
Chris Simpson 3-1 Tom Pashley
9/7, 9/6, 6/9, 9/3 (45m)
Lauren Briggs 3-1 Line Hansen
9/1, 6/9, 9/0, 9/2 (40m) |
WHAT A
NIGHT…. !
Framboise at Esporta ... match reports from Pete
Smith
 When
I looked at the program of the night, I must say I was expecting a close
call (between an not recovered from injury yet Bianchetti, and a just off
the plane plus five hours drive from Pontefract Ricketts), and boy I
wasn’t disappointed as suspense was the word last night, as Esporta Surrey
and Tinos Homes Chichester were racquet to racquet until the last game of
the last match between their number ones, Anthony for Surrey, and Goughie
for Chichester.
But let’s rewind the tape of the night, and replay this exciting
match for you …
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Round TWO,
24-Oct:
Group A:
Oxford 5-0 Pontefract
Duffield 3-2 Birmingham
Group B:
Surrey 3-2 Chichester
Bristol 3-2 St George's
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| Lauren Briggs 3-1 Line Hansen
9/1, 6/9, 9/0, 9/2 (40m) |
 PETE'S
POSTINGS
Surrey manager Pete Smith reports ...
 Lauren settled into her game quickly and sped to a first game
9-1.
Line then settled down and applied some pressure, hitting a good
length and width to take the second game 9-6.
Lauren then came
out and upped the tempo of the game by taking the ball much
earlier and went through the next two games 9-0, 9-2.
Good match with good squash enjoyed by the crowd.
Surrey Health & R C 1 Chichester 0
 "In
the second, I tried to slow her down, to give myself more
time to play the ball and adjust my length and shots. I
don’t want to play too fast against Lauren, she is so fit
and strong…
"But I wasn’t able to do that for the whole match, I wish I
could have played more like I did in the second game,
cutting down on the errors…"
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 "Last
time I played Line was in December last year, and I beat her
3/0.
"Today I felt comfortable from the start and that I could win
it. I played particularly well in the first, and took the ball
very early.
"But in the second, she changed the pace and took the game. So,
I regrouped and regained the control for the last two games.
"What makes Line so dangerous is that she always go for her
shots, she puts you under pressure all the time, and if you give
her the time, she can be very dangerous on the ball. I thought
she played very well tonight."
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| Tim Garner 1-3 Tim Vail
9/4, 5/9, 4/9, 1/9 (31m) |
 This was being played on the show court while the ladies was
going on and provided some thrilling squash for the crowd.
Tim Garner came out the blocks the quickest and took the first game
9-4. Tim Vail then came out in the second and was hitting nicks from
all over the court which Tim G could do nothing about, 1-1 9-5.
The match then continued in the same vein with Tim Vail playing some
exceptional squash and not allowing Tim G to get back into the game
at all Tim Vail stormed through the next two games 9-4 9-1.
You could see youngsters were inspired by some of Tim Vail’s shot
play which was breathtaking at times.
Surrey H & RC 1 Chichester 1
FRAMBOISE'S IMPRESSIONS
Those two always give us a good fight, between a Vail who plays
nicks and winners standing on the head, and a Garner who runs
marathons for breakfast, the outcome is always uncertain, especially
as our National Tim Garner doesn’t have much time to sleep or
breathe really, between his manager of Lambs duties, the BSPA,
Eventis, to which you add a family run business, match leagues and
exhibitions here and there, and as Tim Vail’s back is still playing
up…
From where I stood, Vail was just too precise today and could be
plainly described as “on fire”.
He was controlling every rally from the second game, and although
Garner gave it all, run in the four corners and retrieved
beautifully, Vail didn’t run out of energy as he sometimes does, and
was able to close it out in four.
Esporta’s supporters were a bit worried…
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 "I
played Tim twice last season, lost once in 5, won the following
week 3/0, now I expect to beat him but because of a back lock, I
didn’t have a clue of how well I was going to be able to move.
"So I used the first game to see how the body was going to
react, and if I could move, and after that, I felt quite
comfortable.
"I thought if I can play a good length, step forward and volley
well, I was hoping that I wouldn’t have too much problem…"
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 "I
was moving well in the first game, I was quite happy, my length
was fine, but after that, it all went wrong.
"I couldn’t focus on
what I was doing, and couldn’t hit a decent length for the rest
of the match, and if there is one player you need a good length
against, it’s Tim.
"If you don’t, he’ll decide whether you’ll win the point or not, and
today, he put more in than in the tin!"
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| Chris Simpson 3-1 Tom Pashley
9/7, 9/6, 6/9, 9/3 (45m) |
 This was going to be a crucial rubber with regards to the final
match score.
These two youngsters put on a fantastic match for the crowd with
some excellent retrieving and attacking play and they have a great
future ahead in the game of squash.
Chris ran out the 3/1 winner to put Surrey back in front.
Surrey H & RC 2 Chichester 1
"Chris and I train a lot
together, and I have a lot of respect for him, but still, I went
on court to win the match!
"I had a good start in the first, but I wasn’t able to close it
down, as Chris played steadily and kept it straight. I hit a few
winners to start with, but he stopped me from playing those.
"It was a good match, at some point we were playing at a frantic
pace! Physically, I feel good at the moment, even if I was
puffing a bit at the end…
"But the difference came from the fact
that he’s got more experience, and he was able to close down my
options. Not to mention that you’ve got to win the rally so many
times, he picks everything up, even though you think you hit a
winner…"
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 "He
took a flying start today, I found myself down 6/1, and in the
first seven rallies, the ball was dead before I got in! It took
me one long rally to finally get my eye in. Tom was attacking
everything, and I just stuck in and dug in…
"We know each other’s game so well, so today he tried to play
a different way from how he normally does, he came on and had decided to
attack, attack, attack. Once I got used to it, I was OK.
"Tom has improved a lot and we are now at the point where if I
lose my concentration for a split second, it’s all over, but if
I stay focused, I can stay in control… He played extremely well
tonight, and he will be getting pretty good results soon.
"And I’ll give you a prediction. We are both off to Vancouver
for the qualifiers, and I’ll bet you we’ll both get to the main
draw…"
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| Davide Bianchetti 1-3 Peter Genever
7/9, 10/12, 9/6, 4/9 (56m) |
 This was a hard fought game of squash and Peter Genever started
very quickly and got into a consistent game very early with Davide
struggling to settle into his own game.
Peter took the first game 9-7 then the second game was much tighter
with Peter edging through on a tie break 12-10. Davide then fought
back hard in the third game playing some excellent squash to take
the game 9-6.
The fourth game belonged to Peter who came out and played some
excellent length, moving Davide to all corners to take the game and
match 9-4.
Surrey H & RC 2 Chichester 2
MY IMPRESSIONS
Peter Genever’s trouble was always the pressure he put on himself.
He always seemed to withheld his racquet when too much was at stake.
 So, it was a great pleasure to see him finally relaxed and fluid on
the court. He was inventive, his squash was precise, varied, and his
touch was rather astonishing, as he placed some feathery backhand
drop shots that Davide just couldn’t pick up.
On the other side of the court, we had our Vesuvio Davide, always
ready to erupt bless him, but who was already out of breath in the
middle of the second game.
According to my information, Davide has been injured for a few weeks
now, a calf injury I believe that has handicapped him on several
events. So, he is not 100% yet, and you could feel it, even if he didn’t dwell on it in his after match interview…
Still, like the previous match, excellent quality squash, although
Esporta supporters were now REALLY worried….
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 "I
was delighted with the way I played tonight, it’s my coming of
age!
"I’m much more relaxed, no pressure, and it’s nice to play a
professional player who’s got the pressure…. It’s the worst case
scenario for them really, here I am, nothing to lose, and he is
playing somebody that he is expected to beat… Whereas it’s the
opposite for me, it’s quite enjoyable.
"And it was great to bring the team those few extra points…"
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 "I
have six words for you: still good player, not fit enough!
"Peter was playing very well, I tried to hang in there, but I am
just not fit enough at the moment, and I couldn’t do it to the
end…."
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| Anthony Ricketts 3-2 Alex Gough
8/10, 9/2, 8/10, 10/8, 9/2 |
Well it all goes down to the final match. Anthony only arrived
back from Hong Kong in the morning and drove down from Yorkshire for
the match and along with Alex’s experience this was going to be an
interesting game.
 Anthony started well and stormed into a 7-3 lead in the first game
but then the arguing started from Alex with the referee which seemed
to unsettle Anthony and Alex came back and took the first 10-8. In
the second Anthony came out playing some superb squash to take it
9-2, one-all.
The third game was being controlled by Anthony as he stormed into an
8-3 lead, but some more arguing with the referee and stops in play
again caused Anthony to loose concentration and Alex with some good
squash came back to take the third 10-8. 2-1.
In the fourth Anthony was struggling to keep his composure due to
all the stops in play and arguing and Alex went ahead 7-3.
 Then came
a crucial point in which Alex played a drop shot which was clearly
down but the referee called it up 8-3 match ball, this then resulted
in another stop in play but the referee would not change the
decision, until Alex showed some great sportsmanship appreciated by
the crowd and gave the point to Anthony as he obviously clearly saw
the ball down, so it was now 4-7.
Alex then had a match ball at 8-7 which was saved by Anthony who
went on to take the game on a tie break 10-8, two-all.
In the fifth Anthony came out all guns blazing and Alex struggled to
keep with the pace as Anthony took the game and match 9-2.
A match appreciated by the crowd which had a little bit of needle,
arguing and stops in play but also some top squash enjoyed by the
packed audience.
Surrey H & RC 3 – Chichester 2 |
 "It
was a very difficult game due to the circumstances involved.
"I’m glad I won though as it was all depending on my match…"
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NOT PLEASED,
NOT PLEASING…
“What was that all about” is the main comment I heard from
the spectators who witnessed the encounter “decider of the
night” between Alex and Anthony. What started like a brilliant
“serious exhibition” ended with acrimonious bad squash where I
feel everybody involved bears a responsibility, that is the
two players and the ref.
The match changed in one rally in the third game, at 5/3 for
Anthony. There was a mishmash of a rally, a shot down for
Alex, Anthony signalling it, Alex asking for a let because of
the signalling, Ref refusing the let, then giving it. And from
that moment on, the match was gone.
It’s a shame really, as this could have been one of those
classics, with a very tired Anthony (just off the plane from
HK plus 5 hours of driving from Pontefract) and a fired up
Goughie who we all know can still hurt the top boys on his
day.
Overall, it was the kind of match we don’t want to see,
especially on a nice PSL evening. One to forget. And quickly
if you please.
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Well, what a night ... and I now need a lie down!
Next home match Tuesday 28th November v Unisport Guildford so see
you there!
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