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TODAY at the ISS
Canary Wharf Squash Classic |
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WHITE & WILLSTROP IN CANARY WHARF FINAL
Roundup from Alan Thatcher
 SCOTLAND’S
John White produced a stunning display of power hitting and
incredible physical determination to beat top seed Thierry Lincou in
the semi-finals of the ISS Canary Wharf Squash Classic tonight. No.5
seed White, who is based in Philadelphia, won after 95 minutes of
breathtaking squash.
He meets James Willstrop in a rematch of their recent National
Championships final in Manchester, when the Pontefract-based
Willstrop claimed his first national title.
 Willstrop
was able to end a long losing run against England team-mate Nick
Matthew as the Sheffield based British Open champion struggled with
his movement in his second tournament back after a long lay-off
caused by ankle injury.
He admitted: “I was able to compete for the first two games but
James was playing superbly and able to expose my lack of movement in
the third. No excuses, he was far better on the night.
"I know I have suffered from an injury but when I was winning my
British Open title James was in hospital suffering from an illness,
so these things go round."
Willstrop said: "Nick is going through the same sort of tough time I
experienced earlier in the season with illness and injury. But he is
a top quality player and I was fortunate to catch him on a night
when he wasn't quite 100 per cent and his movement was restricted.
"I am looking forward to the final and I just hope that John is
totally exhausted! Nick and I were watching the other semi-final on
the TV while we were waiting and the squash was just unbelievable."
 White’s
victory against Lincou was an astonishing performance of grit and
power. White, the hardest hitter in the history of squash, raced
into a 5-0 lead in the first game as he registered speeds of 144mph
with his racket.
Lincou led 8-2 in the second game but White staged an incredible
fightback to draw level and then win the tiebreak. He actually
dropped his racket on the shot that took him level at 10-10, but the
ball somehow hit the front wall and wrong-footed his opponent.
White advanced to 8-6 in the third game but was denied a crucial
point as he moved in for the kill, hoping to clinch victory in
straight games. However, Lincou successfully appealed for a let as
he struggled to reach a White drop shot in the front left corner.
White angrily lost concentration and was warned for hitting himself
with the racket as Lincou hit back to take game 11-9.
The Frenchman led 5-2 in the fourth game but White once again turned
on the firepower to lead 6-5. A series of errors allowed Lincou to
regain the lead but once again White drew level to force a tiebreak
at 10-10. This time Lincou closed out the game to take the match the
full distance, White’s third consecutive five-setter in the
tournament.
 Lincou
looked the fitter player as he advanced to a 5-1 lead, but White
somehow found the physical resources to begin clawing points back.
Lincou still led 7-4 and 8-6 but the crowd roared as White fired
home some incredible winners to reach match ball at 10-8. Lincou won
the next point but White buried a fierce volley kill into the nick
to reach the final.
White admitted: "That's three tough matches in a row but I will try
to get a good night's sleep, have a massage and try to do it all
again tomorrow and come out firing just as strongly in the final."
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[5]
John White (Sco) bt [1] Thierry Lincou
(Fra)
11/8, 12/10, 9/11, 10/12, 11/9 (95m)
John likes his five-setters ...
It was a meeting of the 2005 and 2006 champions, and for a while it
looked as though it could be over quickly.
John White, winner two years ago, had struggled through two 3/2 wins
to reach this stage, but as his first round opponent Davide
Bianchetti had said, "if John's on his game he can blast you off
court in 20 minutes".
 Well,
it was just over 30 minutes by the time John reached 2/0 and 6/1
against defending champion Thierry Lincou, and it looked as though
it might not last much longer - maybe after last night's four
marathons we were due a short one.
John had reached this point with virtually flawless attacking
squash.
Thierry wasn't doing anything wrong, wasn't making mistakes, but in
this mood nobody can handle John, who raced into a 5/0 lead in the
first which was decisive. The rallies lengthened in the second, as
they would, with Thierry digging in, as he does.
In fact, the Frenchman led 6/2 and 8/5 with the aid of the first
errors from his opponent's racket, and earned three game balls
before John set off on a run of five successive points - all winners
- that saw him take the game and he carried that momentum into the
third to establish that seemingly-winning 6/1 lead.
He finished it off an hour later, but what drama in between.
Thierry fought back again as more and more errors started to creep
into John's game, leveling at 9-all and taking it 11/9. John wasn't
done though, and the fourth was close all the way, but you just knew
it would be the determined Frenchman's, and it was, 12/10.
At 5/1 in the fifth it looked as though Thierry was going to
complete another comeback from the dead, no-one would have put much
money on John's chances. But this time it was John's turn to dig in
and fight back. He hit some screaming winners, particularly at 7/5
down when after scrambling desperately he picked off Thierry's drive
into an open court - the whole crowd stood and the roof almost came
off with the roar.
It wasn't long before the whole process was repeated - a thrilling
finale culminated in a trademark crashing volley into the nick to
give John the game and the match, and a likely-looking quick win had
been transformed into an unlikely-looking marathon one. Phew.
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 "I
like my five-setters, don't I!
"At 6/1 in the third, you see the finish line too early and go for
it too soon. He's one of the most consistent guys around and he'd
been there dozens of times, he doesn't let you get away, never makes
it easy.
"Then the shots started letting me down and we were at two-all.
"In the fifth you know he's going to be hurting too, so I was saying
to myself 'keep going, keep going. I wanted to make him win it, but
I still went for the shots, some went down, some went up and I'm
just glad a few went for me at the end."
That's three tough matches in a row but I will try to get a good
night's sleep, have a massage and try to do it all again tomorrow
and come out firing just as strongly in the final."
 "Losing
the second was a bit of a blow, but then I was a little lucky to win
the third so that evened it up.
"He was going for his winners, putting me under great pressure with
his low shots and kills. I was maybe going crosscourt too much, but
his shots were very good tonight.
"Even though I lost I enjoyed the match very much. I was hoping to
do another comeback from 2-0 down, but it wasn't to be tonight.
"I did my best, but he was just a bit better than me today, more
aggressive, and to win three 3/2s in a row is a great effort from
him, I wish him all the best."
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[4]
James Willstrop (Eng) bt [2] Nick
Matthew (Eng)
11/7, 12/10, 11/1 (44m)
James' Turn
Last night James Willstrop broke a twelve-game losing run against
Lee Beachill, and tonight he broke a seven-long one against Nick
Matthew.
The White/Lincou match was always going to be a hard act to follow,
but for two games the two England team-mates put on a show of
quality squash, appreciated by the big crowd.
 James
held sway for all of the first, a 4/0 lead enough to see him home in
the 13-minute game, and he led in the early part of the second, his
front-court skills earning him a good few points.
But Nick stuck in, holding his own in some long exchanges as the
score advanced to 9-all. What followed was probably the longest
rally of the tournament - no desperate retrieving, but hard, hard
work for both of them, but especially for Nick.
Nick won the rally, but had to work so hard to do so that the match
was effectively over.
Three quick points and James had a 2/0 lead after an 18-minute game.
Eight more before Nick won his first point in the third, which was
over in five minutes.
So that's two ghosts laid to rest in two days for James, and we have
a repeat of last month's British Nationals final to look forward to
tomorrow .... don't miss it.
 "After
winning the first it was so important to win the second, I knew he
wasn't fully fit yet and two-nil up was always going to be hard for
him to come back from. But the rallies in that second game was just
ridiculous, they were so hard.. That one rally at the end cooked
him, I guess.
"Nick's won a few against me, some of them when I was just coming
back from injury. I remember lying in a hospital bed when he won the
British Open, so it's funny how these things have a way of turning
round.
"We were watching John's game as we waited to go on, it was such a
brutal game, great squash. I just hope he's totally gone for
tomorrow!"
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 "James
played well, and fully deserved to be 2/0 up. That rally at the end
of the second did for me, I haven't worked that hard for months.
"James just makes the court so big, his racket-head speed does the
work, and he makes you work so hard to retrieve every ball. Last
night Wael was playing more flicks which was more comfortable for
me, but James exposed my movement tonight, which isn't quite there
yet.
"I've not got that match sharpness and mental hardness I need to win
these matches, but it can only do me good. I'll probably be giving
James a ring next week so that I can have more of the same to get me
ready for Kuwait.
"It's a pity, that plasma TV would have looked great in my lounge …"
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Semi-Finals Preview
from Alan Thatcher
England aces Nick Matthew and James Willstrop clash
tonight in the semi-finals of the ISS Canary Wharf Squash Classic.
Matthew, the British Open champion from Sheffield, starts as
favourite having won the last seven meetings between the two
Yorkshire-based rivals.
However, Willstrop is in the mood for the challenge after his first
career victory over Pontefract colleague Lee Beachill in last
night's quarter-finals at the superb East Wintergarden venue at
Canary Wharf.
Matthew had plenty to spare as he eased past Wael Hindi 11-2 in the
fourth game after weathering a ferocious early storm from the
Egyptian fashion icon.
Top seed Thierry Lincou meets Scotland's big hitter John
White, the No4 seed who is based in Philadelphia. Lincou, the
reigning Canary Wharf champion, also enjoys the psychological
advantage of having beaten his rival in their last six meetings on
the world tour.
All four players battled through a tough quarter-final programme
that contained six and a half hours of spectacular, attacking squash
that delighted a full-house crowd at the East Wintergarden venue.
Lincou's match with Adrian Grant, which lasted 77 minutes, was the
longest three-game battle since the PSA adopted point-a-rally
scoring to 11.
The match contained more than 60 refereeing decisions which fully
tested the new three-oficial system being trialled successfully this
week at Canary Wharf, and was only four minutes shorter than White's
late night 3-2 win over Alex Gough which concluded at one minute
past midnight.
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