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Prince
English Grand Prix - Birmingham 2007, Birmingham, England
Final:
[4] James
Willstrop (ENG) bt [3] Thierry Lincou (FRA) 11-8,
11-8, 9-11, 7-11, 11-3 (77m)
Prince Willstrop Clinches
English Grand Prix Crown
In a dream
outcome for event sponsors Prince, new signing James
Willstrop clinched the Prince English Grand Prix –
Birmingham 2007 title in the Great Hall at
the University of Birmingham - upsetting higher-seeded
Thierry Lincou in a dramatic climax of the
inaugural 5-star PSA Tour championship in
the West Midlands city.
Just 24 hours
after being hailed as the new global face of the racquet
brand, fourth-seeded Englishman Willstrop secured an
unexpected place in the English Grand Prix final after
battling to a five-game victory in 95 minutes over world
champion David Palmer, the top seed from Australia.
And at two games
and 6-0 up over third seed Lincou in the final, it looked as
if the 24-year-old Yorkshireman had the title in the bag.
But the wily
Frenchman, who had also prevailed in a marathon five-game
semi-final, had other ideas - and reclaimed the advantage to
force the match into a fifth game decider.
However,
Willstrop was not to be outdone: The former world junior
champion quickly raced to a 7-1 lead - and after 77 minutes
secured his fairytale 11-8, 11-8, 9-11, 7-11, 11-3 triumph.
 "It's
a real honour to win this one, especially as it's my first
Prince tournament, absolutely brilliant," Willstrop told the
official event website
www.englishgrandprix.net.
"Thierry is a fantastic squash player - I've been watching him
for so long, and he is the king for three things: one, king of
starting slow, then, at getting better as the matches go on,
and three, at coming back!
"And when I was
2/0 and 7/1 up, I treated it differently as I would have with
anybody else, because I've seen him coming back from that
position so many times. But he was so accurate, I was
scraping balls off the wall and I just couldn't do anything.
It's nothing fancy, nothing complicated, simple squash but so
efficient. I came through just by sticking at it, and giving
it everything I had," added the new champion, after claiming
the 7th PSA Tour title of his career.
A disappointed
Lincou explained: "I lacked patience in particular in the
first two games. I did train and work into a more offensive
game, but I would say that I used it wrongly tonight, and that
I didn't find the right tempo."
Both players will
now be focussing their attention on the forthcoming Dunlop
British Open, which takes place at the National Squash
Centre in Manchester from 20-24 September.
Incredibly, Willstrop is scheduled to meet Palmer in the
quarter-finals, with the winner likely to face Lincou in the
following round!
Official Site:
www.englishgrandprix.net
Semi-finals:
[4] James
Willstrop (ENG) bt [1] David Palmer (AUS) 11-9,
8-11, 6-11, 11-2, 11-9 (95m)
[3] Thierry
Lincou (FRA) bt [2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 3-11,
11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 11-5 (87m)
Willstrop & Lincou
To Contest
Prince English Grand Prix Final
It took three
hours of dramatic squash on an all-glass court in the
spectacular setting of the Great Hall at the
University of Birmingham to produce the two players -
James Willstrop of England and Thierry Lincou of
France - who will contest the final of the Prince English
Grand Prix – Birmingham 2007.
Fourth seed
Willstrop was the first through to the climax of the inaugural
5-star PSA Tour championship in the West
Midlands city after beating Australian favourite David
Palmer in a semi-final clash between the reigning British
National champion and the World Open champion.
In his third
successive encounter in the event with an Englishman, Palmer
recovered from a game down to take a 2/1 lead - and looked in
ominous form. But Willstrop, the 24-year-old England number
one from Leeds, immediately regained the upper hand to draw
level after taking the fourth game for the loss of just two
points.
It was nip and
tuck in the decider until the Englishman moved to match ball
at 10-9 - when, to add the already intense drama, Willstrop
broke a string and had to enforce an untimely break as he left
the court to replace the racquet.
Shortly after his
return, however - and to a huge roar of delight from the
packed crowd - Willstrop finally clinched the point to earn an
11-9, 8-11, 6-11, 11-2, 11-9 victory in 95 minutes to claim
his 10th appearance in a PSA Tour final.
"I got a
brilliant start - but at 2/1 down, he was totally in control
and I was on the ropes," admitted Willstrop on the event's
official website
www.englishgrandprix.net.
"You have to believe you can come back against any opponent,
so I just dug in and it came together.
"It's great for
Prince reasons and great for me too," added the world No7,
referring to his recent signing to title sponsor Prince.
"I just love competing in these events and I hate waking up on
the final day knowing I'm not playing."
The other
semi-final was an all-French affair between the country's two
top players - Thierry Lincou, the third seed and nine
times winner of the French national title, and Gregory
Gaultier, the 24-year-old second seed from Aix-en-Provence who
has now overtaken his compatriot in the world rankings.
It was another
gruelling encounter in which the lead changed a number of
times. However, it was the experienced Lincou who ultimately
prevailed, winning 3-11, 11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 11-5 in 87 minutes.
The triumph takes
the 31-year-old from Marseille - who won three Tour titles in
England last year - into the 33rd PSA Tour final of
his career.
Quarter-finals:
[1] David Palmer
(AUS) bt [5] Nick Matthew (ENG) 11-10 (5-3),
11-4, 11-8 (54m)
[4] James
Willstrop (ENG) bt [7] Peter Barker (ENG) 6-11,
11-7, 11-5, 11-3 (56m)
[3] Thierry
Lincou (FRA) bt [6] Lee Beachill (ENG) 9-11,
11-6, 6-11, 11-5, 11-8 (64m)
[2] Gregory
Gaultier (FRA) bt [Q] Davide Bianchetti (ITA) 11-8, 10-11
(2-4), 11-8, 11-7 (68m)
Willstrop Shoulders Home Hopes
In Prince English Grand Prix
Defeats for his
three England team-mates in the quarter-finals of the
Prince English Grand Prix – Birmingham 2007 leaves home
hopes in the inaugural 5-star PSA Tour squash
championship at the University of Birmingham
resting solely on the shoulders of England number one James
Willstrop.
 On
the opening day of action on the all-glass court in the
University's impressive Great Hall, the fourth-seeded
Yorkshireman from Leeds recovered from a game down to beat
compatriot and long-time rival Peter Barker 6-11, 11-7,
11-5, 11-3 in 56 minutes.
"I was very loose
tonight in the first game - I don't know why, but I never felt
confident enough to play shots tonight," 24-year-old Willstrop
told
www.squashsite.co.uk
"You always have
to give 100%. I had a good record against Peter in the
juniors and I want to keep that going - a bit like Lee's
(Beachill) good record against me, you never want to lose in
matches like that."
Willstrop, the
British National champion, will now face Australia's
David Palmer, the World Open champion, for a place
in the final.
Top seed Palmer
showed little sign of his 98-minute encounter 24 hours earlier
when he beat England's British Open champion Nick
Matthew 11-10 (5-3), 11-4, 11-8 in 54 minutes.
"I was frustrated
at last night's match - all credit to Daryl (Selby) - but I
think I should have done better," said Palmer. "All day I got
stuck into being positive, and because Nick is someone who can
win every tournament, the game plan was to have a very good
start - if possible, take the first game and then put the
pressure back on him."
The other
semi-final will be an all-French affair between second seed
Gregory Gaultier and third seed Thierry Lincou.
Gaultier battled
for 68 minutes to overcome Italian qualifier
Davide
Bianchetti 11-8, 10-11 (2-4), 11-8, 11-7, while Lincou
prevailed in a see-saw encounter with Lee Beachill,
beating the sixth seed from England 9-11,
11-6, 6-11, 11-5, 11-8 in 64 minutes.
Lincou, the
31-year-old former world number one from Marseille, has
enjoyed notable success in England - winning three PSA Tour
events in the country in 2006 - while Gaultier, the four times
European champion from Aix-en-Provence, has yet score an
English Tour title.
Official Site:
www.englishgrandprix.net
1st round:
[1] David Palmer
(AUS) bt [Q] Daryl Selby (ENG) 7-11, 8-11, 11-6,
11-4, 11-9 (98m)
[5] Nick Matthew
(ENG) bt Cameron Pilley (AUS) 11-7, 11-4, 11-1
(42m)
[4] James
Willstrop (ENG) bt Bradley Ball (ENG) 11-10 (3-1),
11-8, 11-6 (48m)
[7] Peter Barker
(ENG) bt Alister Walker (ENG) 11-6, 11-8, 11-8
(57m)
[6] Lee Beachill
(ENG) bt [Q] Jan Koukal (CZE) 8-11, 11-5, 7-0
ret. (23m)
[3] Thierry
Lincou (FRA) bt Jonathan Harford (ENG) 11-4, 11-4, 11-6
(29m)
[Q] Davide
Bianchetti (ITA) bt [8] Alex Gough (WAL) 11-10 (2-0),
11-10 (2-0), 11-8 (82m)
[2] Gregory
Gaultier (FRA) bt [Q] Tarek Momen (EGY) 11-5, 11-4 ret.
(24m)
Willstrop Leads England Team-Mates Into
Prince English Grand Prix Quarters
England number
one James Willstrop comfortably came through the
opening round of the Prince English Grand Prix – Birmingham
2007 to join his three England team-mates Nick Matthew,
Lee Beachill and Peter Barker in the
quarter-finals of the inaugural 5-star PSA Tour squash
championship which is taking place at the
Edgbaston Priory Club and University of Birmingham.
Fourth seed
Willstrop, the 24-year-old world No7 from Leeds, survived a
tie-break first game before easing to an 11-10 (3-1), 11-8,
11-6 victory over compatriot Bradley Ball in 48
minutes.
The Yorkshireman
now takes on career-long rival Peter Barker, the
23-year-old from Essex whom he regularly faced in junior
competition finals around the world. Barker, the No7 seed,
beat fellow countryman Alister Walker 11-6, 11-8, 11-8.
Top seed David
Palmer was taken the full distance by English qualifier
Daryl Selby in a dramatic 98-minute first round marathon.
The 24-year-old outsider from Essex stunned the crowd by
taking the first two games against the former world number
one.
But Palmer, the
reigning world champion from Australia, clawed his way back
into the game to beat Selby 7-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-9 in
one of the longest matches in both players' careers.
The only upset on
the opening day's play at Edgbaston Priory came when Italian
qualifier Davide Bianchetti defeated Alex Gough,
the No8 seed from Wales, 11-10 (2-0), 11-10 (2-0), 11-8 in 82
minutes.
Bianchetti, the
world No33 from Brescia, will now face Frenchman Gregory
Gaultier for a place in the semi-finals. Second seed
Gaultier had a trouble-free first round win, claiming his
quarter-final place when his teenage Egyptian opponent
Tarek Momen retired injured after two games.
Play continues
today (Friday) on the all-glass court in the Great Hall at the
University of Birmingham.
Official Site:
www.englishgrandprix.net
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