Matthew Beats Rosner in Canary Wharf Final for 3rd Straight PSA Title by Alan Thatcher March 27, 2015
- Nick Matthew bagged his fifth Canary Wharf title, beating Simon
Rosner 11-4, 11-9, 11-7 in a heavyweight battle full of ferocious
hitting and frenzied rallies.
The scoreline might suggest it was a fairly routine win against a lower-ranked opponent - it was anything but.
Rosner brought his a-game, which had already seen him beat James
Willstrop and Peter Barker this week, but Matthew had an answer for
everything the German "treechopper" could throw at him.
At times, it was like watching a prize fighter take punch after punch
on the ropes and not only recover but have enough composure to land
several haymakers of his own.
Not to say, he was merely counter-punching. In the pivotal second game,
he hit seven winners to just one error - something Rosner credited
afterwards.
Matthew said: "I've enjoyed this tonight. It's amazing to win this title for the fifth time."
"It's a great venue. This is where you want to be playing squash.
"I had one of those moments here two years ago where I was looking
around wondering why I wasn't enjoying it. Because I was thinking you
should be enjoying it.
"That makes you appreciate it even more. It was just brilliant.
"I feel a bit guilty because two years in a row I've been the only
person in the building that doesn't want it to go to a five-game match.
So apologies for that."
The Wolf flew out of the blocks, to the extent that when he made his
first error, at 7-1 up there was an audible note of alarm in the crowd,
as if god farted.
He drew gasps from the crowd with some gut-ripping retrievals. After
losing one such point Rosner, who displayed fantastic movement himself,
was looking to the skies, presumably thinking ‘What must I do to beat
this man?’
Matthew took the first game 11-4 and went three points up in the
second. The 6ft 3in Rosner fought back with some ferocious hitting, but
the Yorkshireman dealt with the onslaught and took it 11-9.
Then the intensity rose yet another level at the start of the third,
with the rallies drawing several "oohs" and "aahs" from the
packed-house crowd, before Matthew pulled away at 4-4 to make it 9-5.
Rosner fought back in some incredible rallies, to the delight of the
crowd who wanted more - but, as Rosner said, Matthew was "just too good
on the day", sealing the win 11-7.
EXTRA QUOTES
Simon Rosner
“He was just too good. Some days you just have to accept that. Nick is
such an amazing player and he’s playing so well these days. I’m pleased
with my week, pleased with the way I played tonight, I just lost to the
better player.”
“I think this is just the beginning of the year. I’ve had some
good results already in the first three months of 2015 on the Tour and
this is a good step forward again. I’m able to go into the next
tournaments with extra confidence because I know I can really challenge
those boys. I’m looking forward to the rest of the year.
“Nick just doesn’t give you any simple points. You have opponents where
you play and you feel that every once in a while they are going to give
you a free point. That’s something Nick does extremely well; he’s error
free and so mentally strong that it’s tough to get into his mind. I
think he’s a true champion and I’m glad I was able to be in the final
against him today.”
Tactically, Rosner couldn’t understand why he made such a slow start in
the opening game. He said: “It’s a mystery. I did the same against
Peter Barker last night and I need to do something about it. It’s not
like I have any distractions. I’m just slow getting into the match.”
Rosner added: “Even when I was winning points I still felt I was under
pressure the whole time. Nick is so strong across the middle of the
court. I like to hit crosscourts and he likes to volley, so it’s a
high-risk option. That’s something else I need to work on against him.
Sometimes you just don’t have enough time to shape up to play the ball
straight.”
Nick Matthew
“First thing to say is congratulations to Simon on his week; beating
James (Willstrop) and Peter (Barker) at a venue where they’ve played
some of their best squash is a tough feat and three days in a row is
tough mentally. I tried to make it really hard for him but I’m building
up notes on Simon because he’s a very dangerous players and I need to
be aware of how much he’s improving quickly. I’m sure we’ll be in
a few more finals.”
“I’ll enjoy this tonight. It’s amazing to win this title for a fifth
time in this great venue. Places like this are where you want to be
playing squash. I had my lowest moment here too years ago when I felt
like I wasn’t enjoying it so when I do enjoy it, it makes you
appreciate it even more.”
“Life can change very quickly in sport, you know I’m aware of how
quickly things can change. One minute you can feel a million dollars
and the next minute injuries or loss of form or loss of motivation can
catch up with you a little bit. I’m aware of hat and my longer term
goals are more short term than they were when I was 25. Our brilliant
sport is aiming for a place in the 2020 Olympics but my legs and back
and hips are looking forward to having a seat in the commentary box and
commentating on a Simon (vs) (Mohamed) El Shorbagy final or something.”
East Wintergarden, Canary Wharf, London.
PSA International 50: (1) Nick Matthew (England) beat (4) Simon Rosner (Germany) 11-4, 11-9, 11-7 (54 mins)
