RESULTS: Brit Insurance Super Series Squash Finals, Broadgate Arena, London, England
1st qualifying round:
Fleet Group
[8] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [1] David Palmer (AUS) 7-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 (61m)
[5] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [3] Thierry Lincou (FRA) 11-3, 11-4, 9-11, 9-11, 11-8 (60m)
Harrow Group
[4] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [6] Peter Nicol (ENG) 11-8, 11-4, 7-11, 11-5 (46m)
[7] Lee Beachill (ENG) bt [2] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) 11-4, 7-11, 4-11, 11-5, 11-6 (70m)
Underdogs Prevail At Super Series Finals Opener At Broadgate
All but one of the opening qualifying matches in the Brit Insurance Super Series Squash Finals went against the seedings as the packed crowd at the Broadgate Arena in London was treated to a series of dramatic and marathon upsets.
It was also a good day for domestic talent, with three of the victories going to Englishmen – but a bad one for Australians, both of whom lost to lower-seeded opponents.
England's Nick Matthew got the party started by beating Australia's top seed David Palmer in four games. Despite losing a five-game marathon Liverpool 08 Open final less than 24 hours earlier, Palmer confidently took the first game.
But Matthew, the No8 seed whose quarter-final exit on Merseyside perhaps left him fresher than his opponent, took control of the encounter to claim a 7-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 win in 61 minutes to take the first qualifying victory in the Fleet Group.
James Willstrop also got in on the act, seeing off three-times winner Peter Nicol, his England team-mate, 11-8, 11-4, 7-11, 11-5 in 46 minutes in the first Harrow Group clash.
But Willstrop, the 22-year-old No4 seed, played down the quality of his victory, insisting that his 33-year-old opponent's recent trip to America had made a big difference.
"I’m very happy to win. Peter has been in the form of his life of late so to get a win is great,” said the young Yorkshireman. "But he is only just getting back from America so I’m sure he wasn’t at his best. He said he moved well, but he was probably about an inch off his best and that makes all the difference.
"If you’ve had a six hour flight there is no way that can’t affect you, especially if you only get back a day earlier.”
And Matthew was equally respectful of his opponent, pointing to the 29-year-old's five-game defeat in Sunday’s Liverpool final - at the hands of France’s Thierry Lincou - as a reason for his below-par display.
"He was physically struggling and I just wanted to grind him down,” said the 25-year-old from Sheffield. “David looked sharp early on but I knew he’d be heavy physically and I wanted to stay in each game until about 6-6 and then I knew he would start feeling heavy.
“I was putting extra pressure on myself as I knew I had a great opportunity, and I was tense in the first game but after that I managed to relax and now I have the first win under my belt.”
There was more joy for England in the final match of the day when Lee Beachill, the No7 seed, won a five-game marathon against Australia's No2 seed Anthony Ricketts, fighting back from 1/2 down – then hitting two sensational winners to take the final game in an 11-4, 7-11, 4-11, 11-5, 11-6 scoreline.
In the second match in the Fleet Group, third seed Thierry Lincou looked as if he was going to repeat his remarkable achievement in the Liverpool final, when he came back from two games down to take the title. The Frenchman duly recovered from the two-game advantage achieved by Egypt's fifth seed Amr Shabana – but this time the world champion was able to take the deciding game to earn an 11-3, 11-4, 9-11, 9-11, 11-8 victory in 60 minutes.
World No1 Shabana admitted later that he has a poor record in the event – indeed records show that the 26-year-old from Cairo had only ever achieved one earlier victory in three years. And the opponent then was also Lincou!