Netsuite Semis Set In San Francisco
by Jay Prince
October 21, 2012
Matthew and Barker Dominate Second Quarterfinals
Despite falling behind Daryl Selby in the second game of this evening’s first quarterfinal match at the NetSuite Open Squash Championships, 10-7, World No. 2 Nick Matthew never looked to be out of control of the match. Matthew simply did what he does best—play error-free squash with commanding court presence by driving the ball deep to both corners to force his opponent into scramble mode. In that second game, Matthew ran the table with five consecutive points to erase the deficit built by his English countryman and good friend, taking the game 12-10.
The opening game was Matthew’s from the start. With long rallies, neither player appeared to be eager to take the ball short. The cold conditions suit Matthew’s reach across the mid-court, and he ran out to a comfortable 5-3 lead before extending it to 8-4. Midway through the game, Matthew started taking the ball short on the backhand side, and Selby couldn’t answer.
The third and final game was never in doubt. Matthew needed just nine minutes to finish Selby off, 11-4.
The nightcap showed off Peter Barker’s short game and total court control in dispatching Laurens Jan Anjema, a methodical 11-7, 11-4, 11-4 47-minute encounter.
Afterwards, when asked about the cold San Francisco evening air, Barker acknowledged that the conditions are more suited to his game than Anjema’s. “Obviously with the court playing more dead, I like to attack the front of the court,” commented Barker.
Jessica Winstanley, interviewing Barker, noted that steam was rising off his warm body. The bundled capacity crowd got a good laugh watching the steamy man his friends call Spider Man.
Anjema, spent the majority of the match trying to solve the puzzle of how to get Barker out of the middle of the court. When successful, Anjema capitalized by taking the ball early with sharp drops. Barker, however, was moving fluidly and reaching virtually every length Anjema placed without much difficulty.
$70K NetSuite Open Squash Championships, Quarterfinal Day 2 Results:
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [7] Daryl Selby (ENG) 11-6, 12-10, 11-4 53min
[4] Peter Barker (ENG) v [6] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 11-7, 11-4, 11-4 47min
Semifinal Pairings for Monday, 22 Oct 2012:
[5] Amr Shabana (EGY) v [3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 6:00pm
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [4] Peter Barker (ENG) 7:15pm
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