Illingworth Falls In Straight Games To Anjema, Lincou Upends Shabana In Halifax Bluenose Quarters
from Jon Boody
March 29, 2012 - The Quarter finals of the 2012 Bluenose Squash Classic were contested on Thursday evening at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium.
It was the first match of the evening between number one seed Amr Shabana of Egypt and Thierry Lincou of France that had the 300 spectators buzzing in the hallways before play commenced.
These two legends, have met a total of 22 times in their professional careers with Shabana holding 13-9 record. The match started out well for the "Prince of Cairo" in the first game up 1-0 in the best of five format with an 11-6 first set.
The two former world number ones and world champions traded points back and fourth to 6-6 in both the second and third games, but it was Lincou who applied the pressure from this point forward and was able to secure both games 11-8 and 11-6 respectively.
Up 2-1, the Frenchman was looking very confident with his movement on court. Again, the players were back and fourth to 6-6, but strong play from Lincou and a few unforced errors from Shabana – and Lincou found himself three points clear in the fourth game. Lincou was able to keep the pressure up and managed secure the upset victory by a score of 3-1.
The remaining matches on the evening schedule were all won by the seeded player. Third seed Hisham Ashour defeated Stephen Coppinger 3-1 in 52 minutes, Daryl Selby prevailed over Borja Golan 3-0 in 56 minutes, and the final match of the evening saw this years number two seed secure victory over American Julian Illingworth 3-0 in 38 minutes.
Semi final play begins at 6:15pm on Friday evening with Thierry Lincou up against Hisham Ashour followed by LJ Anjema and Daryl Selby. Tickets are still available for both the semi final and finals on Saturday at 2pm.
Tournament Master of Ceremonies, Neil Harvey, hinted at special "local" surprise leading up the first match tomorrow evening so encouraged fans to arrive promptly at 5:30 when the auditorium doors open.
Bluenose Squash Classic Quarter Finals – Detailed Write Ups
FM – Farley MacLeod, JC – Jeff Cullis, MD – Martin Dumas, KB – Kevin Byrne Reporting
Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [1] Amr Shabana (EGY) 6-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-9 (48 mins)
The quarter finals started with a bang on Thursday night, and many fans didn't know what was in store for them until it was already underway. The first match featured none other than Amr Shabana playing against Thierry Lincou, two former world number-one ranked players who had faced each other in 22 classic PSA matchups over the past 12 years, with the edge currently going to Shabana 13-9. The two are now ranked 6th and 12th in the world, respectively, but any thought that the height of their rivalry might have passed was forgotten as soon as the players took to the court.
The first game opened with both players using good height and tight width, and Lincou playing to the left-handed Shabana's forehand side. Lincou caught the side wall join and the ball jumped back at him for a quick stroke to Shabana. Shabana then hit a nice boast winner before Lincou found his length to get on the board, down 1-2. Both players put in some nice attacks up front and Shabana caught a tin to make the game 4-3. Lincou then popped up a loose drop and Shabana cut it into the cross-court nick. After a great dying length from Shabana followed by a nice drop to make it 8-4, Lincou put in a cross-court nick of his own to try and turn the tide. Shabana would have none of it, though, and moved on to 9-6 off a couple more excellent drops. At this point, an extremely tight rally developed along the left wall and Shabana put in a drop. Lincou ran up and pounded the ball but Shabana was all over the shot, cutting it out of mid-air and adding some pace of his own. The crowd was ecstatic. At game ball, Lincou found tin to end the game 11-6 for Shabana.
The second game began with some more nice drops from both sides. At 2-2 Lincou hit a loose shot but Shabana put it into the tin, triggering a collective groan from the crowd. Lincou then went up 5-3 on some nice boasting and drop work until Shabana killed one in the front nick and then made Lincou retrieve a few tricky shots before ending the rally to the sound of cheers at 5-5. At 6-6, Lincou found the nick and then dropped Shabana's lob from the back court to make it 8-6. Then they traded points before putting in a rally where each player attempted an entire arsenal of different shots before Shabana finally put it away. That was as close as he would come, however, with Lincou taking the next two points to tie the games at one apiece, winning 11-8.
The third started with Lincou putting the ball in short on the right side, but not short enough as Shabana came steaming in with just enough time to hit a cross-court drop winner. Players traded points until Shabana, down 4-5, clipped Lincou's hand with a shot that the refs deemed a "front-wall shot, 5-5." A longer length rally then developed until loose play resulted in a let call. At 6-6, Lincou began to pull away off of some excellent use of high lobs, particularly when targeted at Shabana's backhand side. Up 9-6 and at the end of a long rally, Lincou put in an amazing lob that hardly appeared to bounce at all in the back court, and the crowd responded with loud applause and cheers of "vas-y Thierry." Shabana then went for an ill-advised nick attempt into the tin to hand over the third game 11-6 to Lincou.
Game four started off with an attacking boast and a quick winner by Shabana to go up 2-0. After trading the next few points to make it 4-2 Shabana, Lincou then put in a longer rally making good use of height and again was rewarded for it as Shabana aimed slightly too low on a boast attempt, followed by another tin to knot it at fours. Extending the rally again benefitted Lincou as a nice finishing drop earned him applause from the crowd. At 6-6 Lincou went back to the well, employing tight high shots to frustrate Shabana before pounding a winner up the right side. Shabana then started to push for some nick attempts that were not on, and soon found himself down 6-9. Thinking better of it, Shabana then clawed back to 8-9 before hitting a loose ball that Lincou, outstretched towards the front of the court, cut off into a cross-court drop winner and loud cheers from the stands. Shabana turned aside the first match ball before finding tin on the next one to give Lincou the match 11-9. After the game Lincou confirmed that his strategy hinged on "finding the balance between pace and tightness." JC
[3] Hisham Ashour (EGY) bt Stephen Coppinger (RSA) 11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 11-6 (52 mins)
In quarterfinal play, Egypt's Hisham Ashour (14) played South African, Stephen Coppinger (26). Hisham's playful confidence and his ability to be very animated on the court quickly made him a fan favorite as well as getting several laughs from the audience. It took four games and 52 minutes for Hisham to cement a spot into the semi finals.
In the first game, the score rotated between the players. It was a clean first game, keeping the lets and strokes to a minimum with Hisham taking it 11-8. Games two was much like the first with local squash fans getting the opportunity to witness Hisham's arsenal of shots. It appeared that Coppinger had Hisham running around on a few occasions but was unable to capitalize losing 11-9.
In Game three Coppinger took a quick 3-0 lead and throughout the remainder of the game Hisham was not able to sustain any momentum. A few Hisham errors into the tin and nick shots enabled Coppinger to take game three 11-6. In the beginning of the fourth game, the points were going back and forth until Hisham picked up the intensity to take a 5-4 lead. The next rally ended with a dramatic fist pump from Hisham to take a 6-4 lead to only have Coppinger tie it up after two quick tin shots. That is as close as the South African would get as Hisham won the next five points for the match. Hisham credits his win with his ability to adapt on the court and a change to using less risky shots. “My game is now 80% regular shots and 20% risky ones”. MD
[4] Daryl Selby (ENG) bt Borja Golan (ESP) 11-6, 11-7, 11-7 (56 mins)
Golan is a familiar face to the crowd at the Bluenose Classic as this is his fifth appearance in the tournament. Word is that he refers to his billets as his “Canadian parents”. Selby is no stranger either as this is his second appearance in Halifax. Both have been runner-up in the past.
These two players haven’t matched up on the pro circuit in quite some time. Golan holds a 4-0 advantage historically, but Selby has risen dramatically in the rankings since their last PSA contest in 2006.
As this match began it was apparent that these were two players of similar stature and style of play. Both were playing conservative, good length. Unfortunately, the first game was marred by a preponderance of let calls, with about as many rallies ending with a “yes let” call as a point awarded. Selby climbed to a 6-4 lead and continued on to win 11-6 with some excellent retrieving as well as a few stroke calls at the front of the court.
The second game was contentious as well, continuing to put referee Zal Davar to work. At times Golan was arguing the calls before they were made. Zal gave Golan a Conduct Warning after his comment "Come on referees, be just". At times it seemed as though both players were simply taking the same route to and from the ball, and at other times, it seemed as though they simply were not making the same efforts to play through minimal interference that we have seen in other matches. Through it all, Selby maintained his cool and crept to a 5-3 lead at the time of the Conduct Warning. Selby continued to roll, and his drop shot got more productive as the match progressed and earned him three of his last five points to win 11-7.
The third game was more straightforward, as there was much less interference. Selby's length was immaculate. Golan was forced out of position and Selby was awarded three strokes by the referee in the early going, and he quickly rose to an 8-2 lead. Golan did not go away, and fought for a few more points, but Selby put him away with a couple more drop winners.
In the postgame interview with Neil Harvey, Harvey commented that Golan has returned from his recent injury “stronger than ever”, and Golan recognized that he “has less years to keep improving, so I have to push harder”.
Selby stated that he was pleased that he “managed to stick to his game plan” by pinning Golan in the back corners and dictate the play. FM
[2] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) bt Julian Illingworth (USA) 11-4, 13-11, 11-7 (38 mins)
In last year’s Bluenose tournament, Julian Illingworth of the United States upset top seed Laurens Jan Anjema of the Netherlands. In head-to-head PSA play, Anjema holds a 5 to 1 lead with his Anjema defeating Illingworth in the most recent encounter between the players in last year’s Australian open.
Throughout the first game, Anjema played with intensity and determination as he held the lead and never let Illingworth build any momentum. Illingworth moved swiftly around the court while retrieving, but Anjema’s consistency was rewarded with an 11-4 game one win.
In the second game, Illingworth looked determined as pressure on Anjema combined with placement of winners in the front of the court quickly put him ahead 5-0. Anjema was able to counter back before Illingworth pulled further ahead for an 8-2 lead. Anjema battled back, but Illingworth kept pushing forward for a 10-9 advantage and game ball. The next point was an intense exchange with Anjema tying the game at 10-10. Both players exchanged points to advance the tie to 11-11. The next two points were dominated by Anjema as he came from being behind the entire game to steal game two 13-11.
The third game began as a see-saw battle as both players traded points as the score remained close. Midway through the game, Anjema began putting more intense pressure on his opponent by hitting tighter shots combined with increased hitting pace. Anjema rallied for four consecutive points in the second half of the game to take the third 11-7 for a 3-0 match win.
In the post-match interview Anjema said that he was very lucky to come from behind and win the crucial second game, “you can’t give any opponent the advantage”, he said. Anjema also noted that he has been training hard for the Bluenose. “Over the past three weeks I have been in Halifax training with my coach Neil Harvey (also the post match interviewer). Halifax is my home away from home.” The crowd applauded his comments regarding Halifax as he closed off the interview with an acknowledgement to the supportive local squash fans. KB
Match Results:
Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [1] Amr Shabana (EGY) 6-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-9 (48 mins)
[3] Hisham Ashour (EGY) bt Stephen Coppinger (RSA) 11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 11-6 (52 mins)
[4] Daryl Selby (ENG) bt Borja Golan (ESP) 11-6, 11-7, 11-7 (56 mins)
[2] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) bt Julian Illingworth (USA) 11-4, 13-11, 11-7 (38 mins)
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