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Mamut
English Open Squash Championship, Sheffield
Final:
[1] James
Willstrop (ENG) bt [2] Nick Matthew (ENG) 9-11, 11-9, 11-6,
11-6 (75m)
Willstrop Prevails In All-Yorkshire
Mamut English Open Final
 British
national champion James Willstrop completed a
remarkable hat-trick of international squash titles on home
soil when he beat England team-mate Nick Matthew in an
all-Yorkshire final of the Mamut English Open at the
English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
Winner of the
Canary Wharf Classic in London in March and the Prince
English Grand Prix in Birmingham in September, the
24-year-old world No6 recovered from a game down to upset
higher-ranked Matthew, the England No1, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-6
to claim the eighth PSA Tour title of his career.
Only days earlier
the pair had played alongside each other in India -
leading England to a spectacular triumph over
Australia in the final of the Men's World Team
Championship, to successfully defend the sport's most
prestigious world team trophy.
 But
in the 5-star PSA Tour event, hosted by Sheffield
City Council, it was back to being opponents that was to
complete an eventful year for both players.
Matthew, born and
raised in Sheffield, took an early lead in the first game -
but Willstrop fought back to draw level before the home hero
clinched the final two points to win the game and establish
the opening advantage. In a similar pattern in the second,
Willstrop moved ahead - and Matthew drew level before
Willstrop re-established his advantage to take the game.
The pace moved up
a couple of notches in the next two games - with Willstrop
taking early leads, then running away from five-all in the
fourth to clinch the match after 75 minutes.
The encounter was
the pair's 15th Tour meeting since 2001, with the
pre-match career head-to-head tally poised at 7-7. The
victory also ended a three-match winning sequence for Matthew
over Willstrop - including the US Open final in
September, which the Sheffield star won in straight games.
"I've definitely
been struggling a bit with Nick of late - he's had the upper
hand in recent matches," conceded the tall 24-year-old from
Leeds afterwards. "So I'm very pleased to have reversed that
today - on a big occasion and in a big tournament in our home
county!
"We both had to
push - and we knew that - but I just managed to produce the
win. I was very pleased with way I played."
Matthew denied
that it was better to lose to a friend: "I like him a lot,
but I'd rather lose to anyone else, to be honest! There is a
massive, if respectful, rivalry between us. We both want to
be Yorkshire number one, England number one - and world number
one!" said Matthew, now runner-up in his home town for the
second time, after being beaten in the 2005 final.
After Matthew
overtook Willstrop in the December world rankings, this
success in the final PSA Tour event of the year could reverse
the situation and see Willstrop back as the top-ranked
Englishman in the first list of the New Year.
17-Dec-07, Semi-finals:
[1] James
Willstrop (ENG) bt [4] Peter Barker (ENG) 11-10 (2-0),
11-5, 4-11, 11-1 (49m)
[2] Nick Matthew
(ENG) bt [3] John White (SCO) 11-7, 11-6, 11-4 (38m)
Willstrop & Matthew Set Up Dream
All-Yorkshire Sheffield Final
Top seeds
Nick Matthew
and James Willstrop - England team-mates ranked
five and six, respectively, in the world - will meet in a
dream all-Yorkshire final of the Mamut English Open
after surviving the semi-finals of the 5-star PSA Tour
squash event at the English Institute of Sport in
Sheffield.
 Willstrop,
the favourite from Leeds, faced fourth seed Peter Barker
- the third member of the England squad which lifted the
Men's World Team Championship title in India only five
days ago.
Barker, who made
his world championship debut for England in Chennai - and
confidently clinched the winning rubber in the dramatic final
against Australia - had a good run to reach the semi-finals in
Sheffield, but went down 11-10 (2-0), 11-5, 4-11, 11-1 to
Willstrop in 49 minutes.
The 24-year-old
Essex - who acknowledged earlier that his win in the world
final decider was "easily the best moment of my career so far"
- was not too downhearted by his English Open loss:
"I'm not too down
on myself. The win in India was fantastic, probably beyond my
expectations. I'm very happy, though a bit disappointed
today," said Barker.
 Later,
Sheffield's own Nick Matthew extended his
straight-games-winning run in the event by beating Scotland's
John White, the No3 seed, 11-7, 11-6, 11-4. Though
clearly not moving quite as well as normal, after sustaining a
back injury in the quarter-finals, White tested the local star
before succumbing in 38 minutes.
""It's never that
comfortable playing John," said Matthew afterwards of his
renowned hard-hitting opponent. "But he came back well after
last night."
When asked if he
and Willstrop were great rivals on court, despite coming from
the same county, Matthew replied: "It's healthy, friendly
rivalry. But very competitive too.
"Tactically I've
got it right against him for the last couple of games - so
hopefully tomorrow I'll do it again!"
Matthew and
Willstrop's Tour head-to-head record is poised at 7-7. But
the Sheffield hero has come out on top on the last three
occasions - including at the US Open final in October
and the World Open quarter-finals earlier this month in
Bermuda.
""He's had me the
last few times - and I'm getting a bit sick of it, to be
honest," said Willstrop. "Hopefully this'll be my time."
16-Dec-07, Quarter-finals:
[1] James
Willstrop (ENG) bt [7] Renan Lavigne (FRA) 11-6, 11-5,
9-11, 11-8 (44m)
[4] Peter Barker
(ENG) bt [Q] Chris Ryder (ENG) 11-5, 11-3, 11-1
(27m)
[3] John White (SCO)
bt [6] Shahier Razik (CAN) 11-2, 11-8, 10-11 (2-4),
11-9 (43m)
[2] Nick Matthew
(ENG) bt Jonathan Kemp (ENG) 11-9, 11-7, 11-4 (34m)
England Team-Mates Reach English Open Semis
Less than a week
after playing alongside each other to win the Men's World
Team Squash Championship title for England in
India, James Willstrop and Peter Barker will
face each other in Monday's semi-finals of the Mamut
English Open after successfully overcoming their
quarter-final opposition today (Sunday) at the English
Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
The pair will be
joined in the last four by the third member of the world
title-winning England team. Nick Matthew, the England
No1, will face Scotland's John White in the other
semi-final.
 Fourth
seed Barker, the 24-year-old from Essex who clinched the world
title for England by winning the decider against Australia,
took only 27 minutes to reserve his place in the last four of
the 5-star PSA Tour event, beating English qualifier
Chris Ryder 11-5, 11-3, 11-1.
"I played well in
India and carried that forward to here," said the
left-hander. "But it's a monumental step up to play James
tomorrow - I'll have to improve again.
"He's a quality
opponent - but he's the sort of guy I've got to beat to get
into the world top five."
Favourite
Willstrop faced seventh seed Renan Lavigne - the
Frenchman Barker beat as England despatched France in
the world semi-finals. The 24-year-old from Pontefract took
four games to overcome the French No3 11-6, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8
in 44 minutes.
Willstrop and
Barker have played each other countless times in the past -
particularly during their junior careers when they met in the
finals of the British, European and World Championships, with
the Yorkshireman boasting a 100% success.
 "Peter's
firmly established in the world's top 16 now and has had some
good results. I'll need to play well to beat him - I'll have
to be 100%," said Willstrop, who has only lost to his England
team-mate once in 12 meetings over the past six years.
Local hero
Nick Matthew, the 27-year-old world No5 from Sheffield who
is the second seed, brushed aside unseeded Englishman
Jonathan Kemp, beating the 26-year-old left-hander from
Telford 11-9, 11-7, 11-4.
"I just about did
enough today," said Matthew, runner-up two years ago. "Jon
can hit winners from anywhere, so I had to keep focussed. I'm
still feeling the effects of jet-lag, but I should be fine
tomorrow."
 Matthew
will face third seed John White, the event's inaugural
champion in 2003. The US-based Scot was coasting to a
straight games win over Canadian Shahier Razik when his
movement became hampered by a back injury.
"It happened
about half way through the third game - it seems I may have
pinched a nerve in my lower back," said White later. After
dropping the third game, and taking a three-minute injury
break at the beginning of the fourth, White came back to beat
the sixth seed 11-2, 11-8, 10-11 (2-4), 11-9 in 43 minutes.
"I started to
slow-ball it in the fourth game, and the problem eased up
slightly," added a relieved White.
1st round:
[1] James
Willstrop (ENG) bt Davide Bianchetti (ITA) 11-5, 11-10
(5-3), 4-11, 11-6 (58m)
[7] Renan Lavigne
(FRA) bt [Q] Scott Handley (ENG) 11-4, 11-3, 11-5 (30m)
[4] Peter Barker
(ENG) bt Daryl Selby (ENG) 11-5, 11-10 (3-1),
11-7 (60m)
[Q] Chris Ryder
(ENG) bt [5] Alex Gough (WAL) 6-11, 11-10 (2-0), 11-1,
10-11 (2-4), 11-10 (5-3) (69m)
[6] Shahier Razik
(CAN) bt Chris Simpson (ENG) 11-6, 11-5, 11-4 (27m)
[3] John White (SCO)
bt [Q] Jan Koukal (CZE) 11-8, 11-9, 11-9 (32m)
Jonathan Kemp
(ENG) bt [8] Bradley Ball (ENG) 6-11, 11-7, 7-11,
11-5, 11-5 (42m)
[2] Nick Matthew
(ENG) bt [Q] Alex Stait (ENG) 11-6, 11-2, 11-1 (23m)
England World Heroes Shine In Sheffield
Within three days
of successfully retaining the Men's World Team Championship
title with a stunning victory over Australia in India,
England squash heroes Nick Matthew, James Willstrop
and Peter Barker were back to their winning ways in
today's (Saturday) first round of the Mamut English Open
in Sheffield.
England No1
Nick Matthew, the US Open champion playing in his
home city, scored the day's most emphatic win when he crushed
compatriot Alex Stait, a qualifier from Manchester,
11-6, 11-2, 11-1 in just 23 minutes.
Fellow
Yorkshireman James Willstrop - who levelled the world
final after Matthew went down in the opening match against
former world champion David Palmer - battled to an
11-5, 11-10 (5-3), 4-11, 11-6 win over Italian No1 Davide
Bianchetti in 58 minutes.
"I always knew it
was going to be a tough match - I really had to dig in and
fight as hard as I could," said the 24-year-old world No6 from
Pontefract.
Peter Barker,
the world championship debutant who clinched the world title
for England by winning the decider in Chennai, faced
fellow Essex player
Daryl Selby at the English Institute of Sport in
Sheffield.
The
24-year-old world No13 won
11-5, 11-10 (3-1), 11-7 in 60 minutes to
set up a surprise quarter-final clash with another fellow
Englishman Chris Ryder, a qualifier.
The
World University
champion from Wolverhampton recovered from a game down to
upset Welshman Alex Gough, the fifth seed,
6-11, 11-10
(2-0), 11-1, 10-11 (2-4), 11-10 (5-3) in 69 minutes - in the
event's biggest opening day shock.
"That's
definitely my best result, by some distance," said Ryder,
ranked 12 places below Gough, a World Open
quarter-finalist earlier in the month. "It's one of the
biggest tournaments I've had a big win in - I can't ask for
more!"
Another upset
later in the day saw Jonathan Kemp become the fifth
Englishman to claim a place in the 5-star PSA Tour
event's quarter-finals. The unseeded 26-year-old from Telford
in Staffordshire twice had to come from behind to oust
Bradley Ball, the eighth seed from Ipswich, 6-11, 11-7,
7-11, 11-5, 11-5 in 42 minutes.
Kemp now faces
second seed Nick Matthew in one of two all-English
quarter-finals.
Tickets for the
Mamut English Open,
hosted by Sheffield City Council,
are now available
only from the venue. For further information, please check
the official website
www.englishopensquash.co.uk
15-Dec-07:
England World Championship
Heroes Head For Sheffield
England's world
championship-winning team Nick Matthew,
James Willstrop
and Peter Barker will surely get a
heroes' welcome when they appear in Sheffield today to
compete in the
Mamut English Open
Squash Championship.
The 2007
Mamut English Open - the final
PSA Tour
squash event of the
year, which is hosted by Sheffield City Council - will
get underway at the city's
English Institute of Sport on Saturday, leading to the final on
Tuesday (18 December).
Just three days
earlier, in the Indian city of Chennai (formerly
Madras), the courageous trio fought back from a match down to
beat major rivals Australia 2/1 in the final of the
biennial Men's World Team Championship - successfully
defending the title that Willstrop and Matthew helped to wrest
back from Australia in 2005.
"Winning the
title again was incredibly special - you realise that you
might not achieve anything as good as that ever again in your
career," said Yorkshireman James Willstrop, the world No6 and
England No2 from Pontefract who levelled the tie after beating
Australian Stewart Boswell in the second rubber.
Earlier,
Sheffield's own Nick Matthew, ranked 5 in the world, had
fought back from two games down against Australian No1
David Palmer before going down to the world No4 in an
82-minute five-game marathon.
"David's a class
act," said Matthew. "I played a great match and put him under
pressure. Losing was no disgrace - but it put the pressure on
my team-mates!
"I would say that we won the title because we wanted it more than
anybody else!"
It was England's
world championship debutant Peter Barker that was the hero of
the hour. With the tie poised at one-all against eight-time
champions Australia, the 24-year-old from Essex calmly held
off the challenge of Cameron Pilley, beating the world
No23 in straight games to clinch the title for England.
"It was better
than last time," explained Willstrop when asked if the team
was able to celebrate, with the English Open only days away.
"We had a beer or two after the final, and then on the long
flight back, we celebrated with champagne, kindly donated by
BA!
"It hasn't been
the ideal preparation for the English Open, but I'm just going
to try and relax and enjoy it. I've got a tough first round,
against the Italian number one Davide Bianchetti - but I'll
try and give him the respect he deserves.
"Having been with
Nick and Peter in a team for the past week, it'll be weird if
we have to play against each other in Sheffield - especially
after one of the best experiences we could ever wish to have,"
added Willstrop.
Matthew, the reigning US Open champion
who was runner-up in Sheffield two years ago, is the event's
second seed and will face qualifier Alex Stait in the opening
round. If the draw goes according to the seedings, top seed
Willstrop will face fourth seed Barker in the semi-finals.
1st round draw:
[1] James
Willstrop (ENG) v Davide Bianchetti (ITA)
[7] Renan Lavigne
(FRA) v [Q] Scott Handley (Eng)
[4] Peter Barker
(ENG) v Daryl Selby (ENG)
[5] Alex Gough (WAL)
v [Q] Chris Ryder (Eng)
[6] Shahier Razik
(CAN) v Chris Simpson (ENG)
[3] John White (SCO)
v [Q] Jan Koukal (Cze)
[8] Bradley Ball
(ENG) v Jonathan Kemp (ENG)
[2] Nick Matthew
(ENG) v [Q] Alex Stait (Eng)
Qualifying Finals:
Scott Handley (Eng) bt Tom Richards (Eng)
11/9, 11/8, 11/13, 11/13, 11/3 (59m)
Jan Koukal (Cze) bt Stacey Ross (Eng)
14/12, 10/12, 11/7, 11/3 (53m)
Alex Stait (Eng) bt Aaron Frankcomb (Aus)
11/8, 11/5, 9/11, 11/7 (70m)
Chris Ryder (Eng) bt Ryan Cuskelly (Aus)
11/5, 11/4, 11/8 (52m)
Tickets, priced
from £12.50 - £25.00, are now available only from the venue.
For further information, please check the official website
www.englishopensquash.co.uk
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