Simpson and Marche Set Up Nantes Open Final Clash by Sean Reuthe
photos Philippe Rochais
September 10, 2016
- England’s Chris Simpson and Frenchman Gregoire Marche will go
head-to-head in the final of the Men’s Open International de Squash de
Nantes, PSA M25 tournament after they rose to respective wins against
Tom Richards and Daryl Selby at the Cité Internationale des Congrès.
Simpson, the number two seed, faced off with Richards in a thrilling
spectacle that saw both players bring a vocal crowd to their feet. With
the scores level at 1-1 after the first two games, Simpson eventually
managed to gain momentum and he took the third and fourth games without
reply to wrap up an 11-4, 7-11, 11-9, 11-4 victory.
"Tom and I have been playing since we were nine or 10 years old. He’s
one of my best mates, and when we play each other it’s always very
close and very enjoyable," said Simpson.
"I thought that match was no exception, it was a very high standard,
very fair and very, very tough. He was on top, not just in the second
game, but for most of the third as well.
"I got back on top by just fighting and trying to force myself to be
positive at the end of the third because I knew he controlled the start
of the second until two thirds of the way through the third game, so I
had to change something."
Defending champion Marche, meanwhile, managed a superb victory against
top seed Daryl Selby after a scintillating performance from the World
No.29 saw him win in straight games.
Marche capitalised on a slow start from the Englishman to go a game to
the good, and put in a sensational display in the second to double his
advantage, coming out on top of a series of exciting rallies.
The 26-year-old’s onslaught continued into the third as the man known
as ‘The Acrobat’ dictated the tempo of the match and he made very few
errors to blitz to the win by an 11-7, 11-6, 11-5 margin - claiming his
first win over Selby in the process.
"That was maybe one of my best matches," said Marche.
"I think I played pretty well from the beginning to the end. I don’t
know if he was 100 per cent today, but I did the job and I think I
played my game. I was really focused and I had my game plan from
[coach] Thierry Lincou.
"He gave me a lot of advice today and I’m really happy to win 3-0 like
this because it means my level is improving. I have never beaten Daryl
before, so it’s a great win."
Elsewhere, the Women’s final will see 18-year-old Egyptian Hana Ramadan
take on England’s World No.98 Rachael Chadwick after they achieved
respective wins over Laura Pomportes and Julianne Courtice.
Ramadan overcame a nervy start against Pomportes, who was cheered on by
a raft of home supporters, to record an 11-9, 11-9, 11-9 victory in 33
minutes.
“I tried to focus more on my game plan and my shots,” Ramadan said.
“They weren’t that deep at the beginning, so I had to regain focus, try
to work things out and concentrate on court because I wasn’t at the
beginning. Laura is a very good player, wining 3-0 against her is a
great achievement, and all credit to her for making the game so
challenging."
Chadwick was pushed to four by Courtice in a highly entertaining battle
that saw both players take two games apiece to set up a tense fifth
game showdown.
Chadwick stormed into an early lead in the decider and fended off a
late fightback from Courtice to move through to a second successive
final after reaching the same stage at last month’s Legacy Wealth
Belfast Open.
“It’s been a fantastic week, in front of a fantastic crowd,” said Chadwick.
“As ever, it was a huge 3-2 battle against Julianne. I know how hard
she’s been training, I was expecting it to be tough, and it was. I
think she played extremely well, hitting very hard and very solid. As
for me, I was retrieving well, and I dug in well."
2016 Open International de Squash de Nantes - Men’s Semi-Final Results
[4] Gregoire Marche (FRA) bt [1] Daryl Selby (ENG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-5 (48m)
[2] Chris Simpson (ENG) bt [3] Tom Richards (ENG) 3-1: 11-4, 7-11, 11-9, 11-4 (51m)
2016 Open International de Squash de Nantes - Men’s Final Draw
[4] Gregoire Marche (FRA) v [2] Chris Simpson (ENG)
2016 Open International de Squash de Nantes - Women’s Semi-Final Results
[3] Hana Ramadan (EGY) bt [8] Laura Pomportes (FRA) 3-0: 11-9, 11-9, 11-9 (33m)
[6] Rachael Chadwick (ENG) bt [Q] Julianne Courtice (ENG) 3-2: 10-12, 13-11, 14-12, 8-11, 11-8 (61m)
2016 Open International de Squash de Nantes - Women’s Final Draw
[3] Hana Ramadan (EGY) v [6] Rachael Chadwick (ENG)
