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Dunlop British
Open Squash Championships, Manchester, England
Men's final:
[3] Gregory
Gaultier (FRA) bt [4] Thierry Lincou (FRA) 11-4, 10-11
(0-2), 11-6, 11-3 (63m)
Women's final:
[3] Rachael
Grinham (AUS) bt [1] Nicol David (MAS) 7-9, 4-9,
9-3, 10-8, 9-1 (87m)
Gaultier & Grinham Win Dunlop British Open Titles
In a dramatic
conclusion to the Dunlop British Open Squash
Championships - Manchester 2007, Gregory Gaultier beat
compatriot Thierry Lincou to become the first Frenchman
to win the men's title - and Australia's Rachael
Grinham saved a match-ball to defeat overwhelming
favourite Nicol David in the longest women's final on
record.
After upsetting
higher-ranked opponents in the semi-finals at the National
Squash Centre at Sportcity in Manchester,
Gaultier and Lincou met in the first ever all-French final in
the 77-year history of the world-renowned championship.
And it was
perhaps no surprise when third seed Gaultier, the 24-year-old
world No4 from Aix-en-Provence, took the opening game.
 But
31-year-old Lincou, the former world number one from Marseille
who has built up a reputation as a slow starter, fought back
in a dramatic second game to draw level.
Despite spending
most of his career as the country's number two, behind Lincou,
Gaultier truly came of age after 63 minutes in Manchester when
he triumphed 11-4, 10-11 (0-2), 11-6, 11-3 to claim his maiden
British Open title.
"Winning the
British was, with the World Open title, a dream of mine - it’s
my biggest win ever," said an emotional Gaultier to the
official website
www.britishopensquash.com.
"This summer I’ve trained with Thierry, Wael (El Hindi), Renan
(Lavigne), and it paid off.
"I’m also happy
that Thierry is back at his best, although you need a winner
and a loser, and tonight I was the winner!
"Thierry was a
big boost for my career, throughout my whole career, and I’m
grateful for what he brought into my life. I’m very happy."
The victory -
surprisingly, his first Tour win of the year - brings
Gaultier's career PSA Tour tally to 11 titles.
The earlier
women's final proved to be one of the most dramatic of
all-time - in which Malaysia's world number one Nicol David
opened up a two-game lead en-route to an anticipated third
successive title.
But third seed
Grinham, the 2003 and 2004 champion who had upset her
higher-ranked younger sister Natalie Grinham in the
semi-finals, refused to bow to the dominant Malaysian who had
won their previous 14 meetings since April 2005.
The 30-year-old
former world number one from Toowoomba in Queensland reduced
the deficit by winning the third, then saw the fourth go to
eight-all - before David served for championship ball at 9-8.
But the
Australian recovered to force the match into a fifth game
decider - and immediately raced to 8-0, and her own first
match-ball. David took a further point - but the rampant
Queenslander was not to be denied her shock victory as she
clinched the title after 87 minutes in a 7-9, 4-9, 9-3, 10-8,
9-1 scoreline.
 "It’s
the best win I ever had. I already won two titles, but that
was a couple of years ago, and I haven’t won any major
tournaments since - and it was looking less and less likely
that I would ever win another one," conceded world No3
Grinham.
"I felt quite
focused, but I was a little slow in the beginning, not as good
as yesterday. Then I thought, come on, the pressure is on
her, make her work for it, and I tried to make sure I didn't
give anything away when she was serving.
"Winning the
third gave me a lot of confidence, and she was not as quick as
she was at the start.
"I lost a bit of
motivation over the last couple of years. I gradually started
losing finals, then semis, then quarters – this year I had a
couple of first round losses. I thought 'c'mon, what are you
doing?'
"I know it's a
long time since I beat her, I knew I could beat her, but the
way my career was going I knew it had to be soon! But really,
today, it was just unbelievable, it must be my most satisfying
win ever."
The victory marks
a notable milestone for Grinham who now boasts 25 WISPA
World Tour titles. The success also extends Grinham's
lead over Nicol David as the current WISPA player with the
most Tour titles.
Official website:
britishopensquash.com
Men's Semi-Finals:
[3] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt [1] Amr Shabana (Egy)
11/9, 5/11, 11/5, 11/9 (62m)
[4] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt [2] David Palmer (Aus)
5/11, 11/8, 11/4, 11/7 (64m)
Women's Semi-Finals:
[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt [4] Tania Bailey (Eng)
9/1, 10/8, 9/3 (41m)
[3] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt [2] Natalie Grinham (Aus)
9/3, 10/9, 10/8 (54m)
Dunlop British Open To Climax
In First All-French Final
For the first
time in the event's 77-year history, the British Open
Squash Championships will climax in an all-French men's
final, after Gregory Gaultier and Thierry Lincou
both upset higher-ranked opponents in the semi-finals of the
Dunlop-sponsored event at the National Squash Centre
at Sportcity in Manchester.
Malaysia's
defending champion Nicol David will contest the women's
final for the third successive year - and will face
Australia's Rachael Grinham in a repeat of the 2006
climax.
Gregory Gaultier,
the third seed from Aix-en-Provence, celebrated his maiden
appearance in a British Open final after defeating Egypt's
world number one Amr Shabana, the top seed, 11-9, 5-11,
11-5, 11-9 in 61 minutes.
"It's always been
a kind of a dream of mine, getting to the final of the British
- well, winning the British Open I mean," the delighted
Frenchman told the official website
britishopensquash.com
. "I'm very happy with my game, I'm happy to be
back after a bad injury - and tomorrow, I'm not going to give
100%, not 500%, but 1,000%," added the 24-year world number
four.
 "Amr
and I have a lot of respect for each other, he is really a
great guy, he is such a fair player. I have learnt so much
from him over the years, he is such an example for me and for
the sport."
The later men's
semi-final produced the dream outcome for French squash when
fourth seed Thierry Lincou repeated his victory over
Australian David Palmer at the same stage of the event
last year - beating the reigning world champion 5-11, 11-8,
11-4, 11-7, also in 61 minutes.
World number
three Palmer was clearly struggling with his movement and took
a three-minute injury break midway through the third game.
"At 8-7 in the
second, I pulled a muscle, and the match was over," explained
31-year-old Palmer, a three-time winner of the title. "There
was nothing I could do on my right leg, my dominating leg. We
put a cold spray on it, but it didn't make any difference."
Lincou, who is
celebrating his second successive appearance in the final,
sympathised with his opponent: "I'm happy to win of course,
but I'm unhappy for David, I've just come out of a long
injury, I know what it is and what you feel. We are both 31,
and I know that the road doesn't stop there, for either of us
- there's still plenty of time left.
"I find I'm
playing better as the tournament is unfolding, because I'm
getting more and more relaxed as the match goes on," added the
former world number one from Marseille.
"When I heard the
result on Greg's match, I sent him a text to tell him how
happy I was, how this victory confirmed his ascendancy over
Shabana, and how delighted I was that he was in the final. As
for tomorrow, we'll see. The moment is magic, and one must
appreciate it as such.
"With two
Frenchmen in the final of the British, France is already a
winner!"
Home interest in
the 2007 British Open evaporated when England number one
Tania Bailey went down 9-1, 10-8, 9-3 in 41 minutes to
Nicol David - the dominant Malaysian who is now in her 17th
WISPA World Tour final in a row since November 2005!
"A three-nil
scoreline doesn't show what a good game we played," agreed
David, who this month celebrated her 17th month at
the top of the world rankings - thus becoming the fourth
longest standing women's world number one of all-time!
 "From
our last few matches she got the hang of what to do, and I had
to work hard in every rally. It was a tough match, and I'm
glad I pulled through.
"It was a great
experience winning my first British Open title in Manchester
two years ago on this court. I hope I can do it again
tomorrow and I hope everyone that's been giving me such great
support comes back too!"
The other women's
semi-final produced the 16th international meeting
between Australian sisters Rachael Grinham and
Natalie Grinham - and the second successive win for older
sibling Rachael after three losses already this year.
But Natalie, the
record three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist who
is based in the Netherlands, was clearly still suffering with
the Achilles injury which has minimised her preparation for
the event.
"It was crucial
to win the second, from 8/5 up," said third seed Rachael after
her 9-3, 10-9, 10-8 upset over her second-seeded sister. "I
knew it would be a boost for me, and for her it would have
meant she had to come back and win three games. I know she's
still not fully fit, just like when we played in Holland.
"It would be
awesome to get a third title, it's one of the most important
in the game and having two is already a great achievement for
me. I haven't had a good couple of years, haven't won many
tournaments lately, so it would be great to do it now," added
Rachael, the British Open champion in 2003 and 2004.
Official website:
britishopensquash.com
Men's quarter-finals:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY)
bt [6] Nick Matthew (ENG) 6-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-7
(69m)
[3] Gregory
Gaultier (FRA) bt [12] Peter Barker (ENG) 11-7, 11-8, 11-3
(48m)
[4] Thierry
Lincou (FRA) bt [16] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 11-8, 11-2, 11-10
(2-0) (61m)
[2] David Palmer
(AUS) bt [5] James Willstrop (ENG) 11-10 (2-0), 6-11,
11-10 (2-0), 6-11, 11-5 (100m)
Women's quarter-finals:
[1] Nicol David
(MAS) bt [5] Natalie Grainger (USA)
9-3, 9-3, 7-9, 2-9, 9-0 (53m)
[4] Tania Bailey
(ENG) bt [6] Vicky Botwright (ENG)
6-9, 10-8, 9-4, 2-9, 9-0 (69m)
[3] Rachael
Grinham (AUS) bt [8] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) 7-9, 9-7,
9-6, 9-0 (75m)
[2] Natalie
Grinham (AUS) bt [7] Madeline Perry (IRL)
9-3, 9-6, 9-7 (54m)
Champion Dethroned As Bailey Leads
Lone Home British Open Challenge
England's
defending champion Nick Matthew crashed out of the
Dunlop British Open Squash Championships - Manchester 2007,
leaving Tania Bailey to lead a sole English
challenge into the semi-finals of the world-renowned event at
the National Squash Centre at Sportcity in
Manchester.
It was a
quarter-final day of high drama on the all-glass court which
staged the Commonwealth Games action five years ago.
All the top four seeds in both events survived - but only
after lengthy battles, the last of which took 100 minutes and
finished well after midnight!
Matthew, the
sixth seed from Sheffield, faced top seed Amr Shabana -
the Egyptian who has topped the world rankings for 18 months
since April last year. The 27-year-old Yorkshireman, who last
year became the first Englishman for 67 years to win the
sport's longest-established trophy, took the opening game -
but Shabana fought back to take the match 6-11, 11-8, 11-9,
11-7 in 69 minutes.
"From when I won
my British Open title, I'm definitely a better player,"
Matthew told the official website
britishopensquash.com
. "The third game was crucial - but at nine-all I put
a lob out of court, and I can't say that I missed my chance,
that I lost the match there, but it was such an opportunity,
and after that, coming back from 2/1 was a different story.
"I just need to
get better at what I'm good at, and add new dimensions to my
game, to be able to challenge consistently for the titles."
 Shabana,
now in his second British Open semi-final, was full of praise
for his opponent: "Nick is an incredible player - I just beat
him only 3/2 here in the Super Series Finals, so I knew that
it was going to be so close. He has improved a lot, there is
much more variation in his game, and having won the British
Open gave him a lot of confidence.
"It's so
different to have the crowd by you, and the English players,
you can feel, they really love and are ready to play when they
have the crowd by their side."
The 28-year-old
from Cairo will now face Gregory Gaultier, the
third-seeded Frenchman who beat England's surprise
quarter-finalist Peter Barker, the No12 seed, 11-7,
11-8, 11-3 in 48 minutes.
There is also
French interest in the other men's semi-final where fourth
seed Thierry Lincou takes on Australia's three-time
champion David Palmer, the No2 seed.
Lincou, runner-up
last year, took out another surprise quarter-finalist -
Malaysia's 16th seed Ong Beng Hee who upset
eighth-seeded Australian Stewart Boswell in the
previous round. The Frenchman won 11-8, 11-2, 11-10 (2-0) in
61 minutes.
But the clash
which kept the audience in their seats till after midnight was
the longest of the tournament - in which Palmer avenged his
loss to James Willstrop in the Prince English Grand
Prix final earlier this month to beat the England number
one 11-10 (2-0), 6-11, 11-10 (2-0), 6-11, 11-5 in 100 minutes.
"I gave it
everything I had - when I play a match like that, I can't
complain. I thought it was a very good game of squash,"
explained a dejected Willstrop afterwards. "Of course I'm
extremely disappointed; I wanted to win that tournament
desperately.
"To his credit,
he played a top fifth game, and made it hard for me. I just
couldn't keep it up with it really. He had a great 3-0
kick-start, and that's not a big help to find yourself down
after all the work I had done for the whole of the match,"
added the 24-year-old Yorkshireman.
The victorious
Palmer explained his determination to win: "I said recently
that there was one more British Open Championship in me, and I
hope this is the one: that's why I tried so hard tonight."
In the women's
event, fourth seed Tania Bailey faced England team-mate
Vicky Botwright - the sixth seed from Manchester who
views the NSC as her 'home club'. Bailey came back from a
game down to win 6-9, 10-8, 9-4, 2-9, 9-0 in 69 minutes.
"We were both
hitting the ball well and it was really hot on there, we were
both picking stuff up really well," said Bailey. "It was nip
and tuck all the way in the first three, then Vicky played
really well in the fourth – I don't think I did anything
wrong, she just played better than me.
"I never really
felt in control, but I really wanted to win - winning this
title would be the best thing I can do, so I came out in the
fifth determined to play my game and fortunately it all went
well for me," added the 27-year-old from Stamford in
Lincolnshire who was runner-up in 2002.
Bailey will face
top seed Nicol David - but the world number one from
Malaysia who is bidding for a third successive title was taken
the full distance by Natalie Grainger, the fifth seed
from Washington DC who is making the first appearance in the
city of her birth since becoming a US citizen earlier this
year.
David took the
first two games, but Grainger struck back to draw level before
the favourite upped her game to win 9-3, 9-3, 7-9, 2-9, 9-0 in
53 minutes.
"I felt good in
the first two games and went for it right from the start, but
then she started going for her shots and hit some really good
winners," said the 24-year-old from Penang.
"This event on
its own is the highlight of the year, along with the worlds;
you just have to give it your all however you feel and
whatever's happening."
Grainger made no
secret of her disappointment at losing - especially to 9-0 in
the fifth game: "But I'm glad I finally managed to impose
myself on her. In the fourth I could feel it, the aura had
gone!"
The other women's
semi-final will provide the latest chapter in the sibling
rivalry between Australian sisters Natalie Grinham, the
No2 seed, and Rachael Grinham, the third seed.
Natalie, the
younger, and runner-up in 2005, defeated Ireland's No7 seed
Madeline Perry 9-3, 9-6, 9-7 in 54 minutes, while Rachael,
runner-up last year, outlasted Dutch number one Vanessa
Atkinson, the eighth seed, 7-9, 9-7, 9-6, 9-0 in 75
minutes.
At 8-3 to Grinham
in the third game, an accidental clash resulted in Atkinson
taking more than an hour-long break to treat an injury to her
racket hand.
"I was just
panicking in the break," admitted Grinham senior afterwards.
"Vanessa is playing very well at the moment; your best chance
is to wear her down, which I'd started to do in the third. The
last thing you want is a break where she can come back out
fresh again.
"I totally
expected her to come out attacking when we started again; she
had nothing to lose and knew it would be mentally devastating
for me if I'd lost that game from 8-3 up."
Official website:
britishopensquash.com
Men's 2nd round:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY)
bt [10] Lee Beachill (ENG) 11-5, 2-11, 11-10
(4-2), 11-3 (56m)
[6] Nick Matthew
(ENG) bt [14] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) 11-9, 11-5, 11-4
(48m)
[3] Gregory
Gaultier (FRA) bt [13] Adrian Grant (ENG) 11-5,
11-9, 4-11, 11-8 (69m)
[12] Peter Barker
(ENG) bt [7] Wael El Hindi (EGY) 9-11, 3-11,
11-9, 11-8, 11-4 (72m)
[16] Ong Beng Hee
(MAS) bt [8] Stewart Boswell (AUS) 11-6, 11-7, 9-11,
11-9 (58m)
[4] Thierry
Lincou (FRA) bt [11] Mohammed Abbas (EGY) 3-11, 11-3,
11-9, 8-11, 11-9 (60m)
[5] James
Willstrop (ENG) bt [9] Karim Darwish (EGY) 11-5,
11-7, 9-11, 11-9 (65m)
[2] David Palmer
(AUS) bt [15] Olli Tuominen (FIN) 11-10 (2-0),
11-5, 11-9 (43m)
Women's 1st round:
[1] Nicol David
(MAS) bt Laura Lengthorn-Massaro (ENG) 9-5, 9-6, 9-4
(42m)
[5] Natalie
Grainger (USA) bt [Q] Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) 9-5, 9-1,
9-1 (28m)
[4] Tania Bailey
(ENG) bt Annelize Naude (NED) 9-4, 3-9,
9-1, 9-2 (50m)
[6] Vicky
Botwright (ENG) bt Jenny Duncalf (ENG) 9-4,
9-5, 9-5 (52m)
[8] Vanessa
Atkinson (NED) bt Alison Waters (ENG) 9-7,
9-3, 9-6 (41m)
[3] Rachael
Grinham (AUS) bt [Q] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) 9-5, 9-3,
5-9, 9-2 (51m)
[7] Madeline
Perry (IRL) bt [Q] Lauren Briggs (ENG) 9-3,
9-4, 9-5 (48m)
[2] Natalie
Grinham (AUS) bt [Q] Laura Mylotte (IRL) 9-4,
9-3, 9-4 (24m)
Barker Battles Into British Open Quarters
Essex's Peter
Barker ensured that there will be English interest in all
but one of the quarter-finals in the Dunlop British Open
Squash Championships - Manchester 2007 after pulling off
an impressive upset over No7 seed Wael El Hindi in the second round of the world-renowned event at the
National Squash Centre at Sportcity in
Manchester.
The 23-year-old
left-hander dropped the first two games against El Hindi. But
12th seed Barker, who had never before beaten the
Egyptian, fought back to take the match 9-11, 3-11, 11-9,
11-8, 11-4 in 72 minutes to earn a place in the event's last
eight for the first time.
 "I
took my time to get into each game, but I was particularly
disappointed with the second," Barker told the official
website
britishopensquash.com . "You can't give him anything
on his forehand, he just flattens it, so I started to play
everything on my forehand, his backhand, and it worked.
"It was a tough
match - but I'm absolutely delighted."
Barker will now
face Gregory Gaultier, the third seed from France who
was taken to four games by Barker's England team-mate
Adrian Grant before winning 11-5, 11-9, 4-11, 11-8 in 69
minutes.
Defending
champion Nick Matthew comfortably made it through to
his third successive quarter-final with an 11-9, 11-5, 11-4
defeat of Malaysia's 14th seed Mohd Azlan Iskandar.
"I was really
wary of Azlan, he's one of the fittest players on the tour and
he's had a few good scalps - including me - recently, so I'm
very happy to get off three-nil," said the 27-year-old from
Sheffield who last year became the first Englishman for 67
years to win the sport's longest-established trophy,
"He also beat me
3/0 the next tournament after I won the British last year, so
I was never going to take anything for granted!"
Matthew now faces
his toughest test - against top seed Amr Shabana, the
world number one from Egypt. The stylish left-hander
defeated England's former world number one Lee Beachill
11-5, 2-11, 11-10 (4-2), 11-3.
Fifth seed
James Willstrop became the last Englishman to win a place
in the quarter-finals after beating Egypt's Karim Darwish
11-5, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9.
An all-English
quarter-final clash will guarantee domestic interest in the
last four in the women's event. England number one Tania
Bailey needed four games to quash Dutch opponent
Annelize Naude 9-4, 3-9, 9-1, 9-2 - and will now face
England team-mate Vicky Botwright.
Botwright, the
sixth seed from Manchester playing in front of a home crowd,
despatched another England team-mate Jenny Duncalf 9-4,
9-5, 9-5.
Top seed Nicol
David, the defending champion from Malaysia bidding to win
her third successive crown, took 42 minutes to overcome
England's unseeded Laura Lengthorn-Massaro 9-5, 9-6,
9-4. The in-form world number one will now take on USA's
Manchester-born Natalie Grainger, the fifth seed.
Grainger,
runner-up in 2004, is making the first appearance in the city
of her birth since becoming a US citizen in February, then
winning the Pan American Games gold medal for her new
country in July. Grainger dismissed New Zealand qualifier
Jaclyn Hawkes 9-5, 9-1, 9-1 in 28 minutes.
"I've been to the
final before, it would be great to go one better and stand on
that podium," said the former world number one from Washington
DC.
Official website:
britishopensquash.com
Men's 1st round:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY)
bt [Q] Davide Bianchetti (ITA) 11-7, 11-7, 11-8 (34m)
[10] Lee Beachill
(ENG) bt [Q] Stacey Ross (ENG) 11-6, 11-4, 11-4
(36m)
[6] Nick Matthew
(ENG) bt [Q] Daryl Selby (ENG) 11-5, 11-7, 11-8
(50m)
[14] Mohd Azlan
Iskandar (MAS) bt Borja Golan (ESP) 11-10 (2-0), 11-4,
3-11, 11-7 (80m)
[3] Gregory
Gaultier (FRA) bt [Q] Jonathan Kemp (ENG) 11-7, 11-4, 11-8
(30m)
[13] Adrian Grant
(ENG) bt Alister Walker (ENG) 10-11 (1-3), 11-7,
11-1, 11-8 (60m)
[7] Wael El Hindi
(EGY) bt Cameron Pilley (AUS) 11-7, 10-11 (0-2),
5-11, 11-7, 11-7 (81m)
[12] Peter Barker
(ENG) bt [Q] Farhan Mehboob (PAK) 11-5, 11-5, 11-6 (22m)
[16] Ong Beng Hee
(MAS) bt Alex Gough (WAL)
8-11, 11-5, 11-9, 10-11 (0-2), 11-9 (69m)
[8] Stewart
Boswell (AUS) bt [Q] Saurav Ghosal (IND) 11-8, 11-3, 11-9
(37m)
[11] Mohammed
Abbas (EGY) bt Joey Barrington (ENG) 11-4, 6-11, 7-11,
11-4, 11-8 (70m)
[4] Thierry
Lincou (FRA) bt Mansoor Zaman (PAK) 11-7, 11-4,
11-6 (26m)
[9] Karim Darwish
(EGY) bt Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) 10-11 (1-3), 11-5,
11-9, 11-8 (46m)
[5] James
Willstrop (ENG) bt [Q] John Rooney (IRL) 11-7, 11-5,
11-4 (32m)
[15] Olli
Tuominen (FIN) bt Andrew Whipp (ENG) 11-8, 11-10
(2-0), 11-5 (34m)
[2] David Palmer
(AUS) bt [Q] Julien Balbo (FRA) 11-2, 11-8, 11-4
(33m)
Women's qualifying finals:
Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL)
bt Sarah Kippax (ENG) 9-0, 9-5, 7-9, 9-6
(60m)
Laura Mylotte (IRL)
bt Joshna Chinappa (IND) 8-10, 9-5, 9-10, 9-6,
9-1 (60m)
Lauren Briggs
(ENG) bt Aisling Blake (IRL) 9-5, 10-8,
9-1 (64m)
Isabelle Stoehr (FRA)
bt Tenille Swartz (RSA) 9-10, 9-2, 9-0, 9-1
(54m)
Champion Matthew Eases Into
British Open Second Round
England's Nick
Matthew successfully began the defence of his men's title
in the Dunlop British Open Squash Championships -
Manchester 2007 with a straight games win over compatriot
Daryl Selby in the first round of the world-famous
event at the National Squash Centre at Sportcity
in Manchester.
The 27-year-old
from Sheffield, who last year became the first Englishman for
67 years to win the sport's longest-established trophy, took
50 minutes on the NSC all-glass court to quash his Essex
opponent 11-5, 11-7, 11-8.
"It's nice to get
the first one under my belt. Whatever form you're in coming
into the tournament, you feel like you're into it after that,"
the sixth-seeded title holder told the official website
www.britishopensquash.com
"If I can put it
all together, I definitely have a chance to retain the title.
I'm fitter and stronger than I was last year, but then so is
everyone else."
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