Classy Jonathan Makes It The Kemp Open
by Alan Thatcher
photo courtesy Kim Roberts
May 15, 2013 - Jonathan Kemp’s adventurous array of attacking shots proved the decisive factor as he overcame top seed Adrian Waller to win the final of the SE Leisure Kent Open at The Mote Squash Club in Maidstone, England.
In a battle of two left-handers, Kemp’s ability to control the front half of the court made the difference as he won 11-5, 4-11, 11-8, 11-9 in 48 minutes of fiercely-contested squash.
Against a supremely fit opponent, whose 6ft 3in height enables enormous court coverage, the 32-year-old Kemp needed to produce tight drops and good-length drives to move Waller around.
He achieved those twin objectives for long spells of the match as he clinched his second PSA title in eight days after winning the Ipswich tournament at his home club a week earlier.
Waller started strongly and built a 4-1 lead in the opening game but Kemp soon found his touch and reeled off 10 of the next 11 points.
His touch deserted him in the second as Waller dominated proceedings, adding plenty of tight drops of his own to some solid driving to the back corners.
The third and fourth games were similar to the first as Waller built early leads only for Kemp to build long runs of points.
In the third he moved to 8-3 ahead before Waller responded, but Kemp was able to close out the game 11-8.
Again Kemp trailed 3-1 in the fourth but this time powered his way towards the finishing line with a succession of superb winners, including nicks and several reverse angles, that put him 9-4 ahead.
Waller launched a solid and determined revival to draw level at 9-9, but Kemp struck a winning volley to reach match ball and clinched the title with a clinging drop shot.
Kemp said: “I played well in patches and was pleased to see Adrian looking tired at times. After a tough semi-final against Joe Lee I knew it was going to be a battle today.
“My tactics worked well for most of the time and I was pleased to catch Adrian with a couple of crosscourts when he came across to cover the straight shot.
“After organising my first tournament in Ipswich last week I now appreciate all the work that goes on behind the scenes so I would like to congratulate the team here at The Mote for running such a superb event.”
Kemp had been forced to fight back from 2-1 down to beat Surrey’s No.3 seed Joe Lee in the semi-finals, with Waller sweeping aside wild card Joel Hinds.
The 6ft 2in Hinds took out No.4 seed Henrik Mustonen in the first round and beat Yorkshire qualifier James Earles in the quarter-finals, but was clearly tired after a tough opening game against Waller.
The quality of this year’s tournament was illustrated by the fact that England’s National Coach Chris Robertson was an avid spectator for most of the event.
England’s top five players are all in the world top 20, including Kent’s Adrian Grant, but, with all of them aged between 29 and 33, Robertson is keen to help the next generation of rising stars to climb up the rankings to replace them in due course.
Ironically, it was 32-year-old Kemp whose supreme racket skills saw him past rivals almost ten years his junior.
The Mote Squash Club had installed lower tins at the front of the two tournament courts to comply with professional regulations and another player commented: “This was a quality event. There was 10,000 dollars prize money on offer but with the club providing hotel accommodation for every player, meals every day and a physio on call it felt like a 35,000-dollar tournament.”
The highlight of the week for Mote members was the performance of 17-year-old James Evans. The Invicta Grammar School student beat two full-time professionals in the qualifying competition before falling to former champion Chris Ryder in the first round.
He said: “It was great experience to play three professionals on consecutive days. I learned a lot from it.
“After playing three times for Kent the previous weekend in the senior inter-counties I was feeling pretty tired by the end.”
The Kent Open is sponsored by SE Leisure, Craft Insure, Shepherd Neame, The Mote Squash Club and Harrow Sports.
SE LEISURE KENT OPEN FINAL
PSA World Tour Challenger 10 SE Leisure Kent Open, at The Mote Squash Club, Maidstone, Kent.
Final:
(2) Jonathan Kemp (Eng) beat (1) Adrian Waller (Eng) 11-5, 4-11, 11-8, 11-9 (48 mins)
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