RESULTS: ISS Canary Wharf Squash Classic, East Wintergarden, London, England
Semi-finals:
[1] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) bt [7] Karim Darwish (EGY) 9-11, 11-4, 11-5, 1-11, 11-6 (78m)
[2] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [4] Peter Nicol (ENG) 11-8, 11-10 (3-1), 11-9 (54m)
Marathon Man Ricketts To Face Lincou in Canary Wharf Final
Marathon man Anthony Ricketts once again demonstrated his awesome powers of resilience to beat Egypt's Karim Darwish to reach the final of the ISS Canary Wharf Squash Classic in London Docklands. The Australian top seed will face French ace Thierry Lincou, who knocked out London’s crowd favourite Peter Nicol in straight games.
The two matches were hugely contrasting in terms of style and duration. For the third time in this tournament, Australia's Reading-based Ricketts was forced to endure a five-game battle, this time winning 9-11, 11-4, 11-5, 1-11, 11-6 in 78 minutes.
He had been on court for exactly three hours in his two previous encounters at the packed East Wintergarden venue at Canary Wharf.
After losing a tight opening game against Darwish he looked to be in a hurry to finish matters as he powered through the second and third games. He admitted that he lost concentration in the fourth and quickly surrendered it 11-1, but came out all guns blazing to open up a solid lead in the fifth before an enforced break for treatment to a cut knee.
After a long delay to stop the bleeding, world No.4 Ricketts was straight back into the groove to clinch a place in the final for a second year running.
He said: "That was another tough battle and Karim has some of the best racket skills, if not the very best, on the world tour. So any victory against him is a good win."
Lincou beat Nicol 11-8 11-10 11-9 to destroy co-promoter Nicol’s hopes of winning his own tournament. With a career head-to-head record on the PSA Tour of 11-1 in Nicol’s favour before this match, the London crowd were hoping for a home victory, but Lincou’s controlled, stylish performance silenced their cheers.
Nicol fought back from 5-2 down to lead 8-7 in the opening game, but a succession of loose rallies from the left-hander allowed Lincou to finish emphatically.
Nicol seemed to have settled in the second game and after leading 9-6 he weathered a revival by the Frenchman to hold game ball at 10-9 and 11-10. But once again his loose shots were punished ruthlessly by his opponent, who won the tiebreak 3-1.
Nicol was chasing for most of the third game, and the crowd were willing him to extend the match, but despite closing a three-point deficit three times to 4-5, 6-7, and then 9-10, he could not prevent Lincou’s accurate placement from clinching a berth in the Canary Wharf final for a second time.
After the way he dealt with Nicol’s attack and subdued a partisan home crowd, Lincou will be hoping to continue his excellent form against an opponent who could well be in line for another extended stay on the glass court.
Nicol said: "Thierry was too tight, too strong and too fast for me tonight. He played exceptionally well and thoroughly deserved to win.
"The score may have been close in the first two games but it didn't feel like it. Thierry had me under constant pressure."
Official website www.cwsquash.com
Follow the action live on www.psalive.tv