First
Round - evening
Martin
Bronstein, Squashtalk reporter on the scene at Grand Central Terminal
by
Martin Bronstein, Live at Grand Central Terminal, New York, 21 Feb 2004
All
content © 2004
Squashtalk, photos: © 2004 Debra Tessier
[view the main draw/results] [view the qualifying draw/results]
KNEIPP BEDAZZLES
|
| Patrick Chifunda
(front)
stood toe to toe with David Palmer in the first game © 2004 Debra Tessier |
That was really the end of Chifunda's challenge as Palmer's greater experience saw him take the next two games 15-8 and 15-6 with relative ease. There was no doubting the Zambians athleticism and ability with the racket. As his coach said, all he needs is a lot of tournaments to gain confidence.
|
| Lee Beachill(front)
and Simon Parke played attritional squash © 2004 Debra Tessier |
NOSTALGIA NEVER WAS
WHAT IT USED TO BE
Sad to say Lee Beachill and
Simon Parke regressed - or to put it nicely, took a stroll down memory
lane and played some of the most boring squash of the day as 95 percent
of their shots were sent to the back of the court. Had the boast been
outlawed? Had the drop shot gone out of fashion? Did both these players
felt they needed a good run? Gawd help us. We are not talking about a
couple of hackers here, but top ten players, two of the finished produced
in the UK (not counting John White or Liam Kenny). I've seen Parke play
exhilarating stuff - remember not so long ago he put Nicol and Power on
successive days to win the US Open. And twice I have seen Beachill wipe
Nicol off the court. But maybe it was two Yorkshiremen trying to prove
who was tougher; whatever it was, by the time the first game had finished
15-6 in Beachill's favour after 18 minutes, I was beginning to contemplate
switching to crocquet or, even golf. Arrrgggh.
Beachill won the next two games by which I was past caring although I
did wonder what possessed him to revert to attritional squash when he
could have such a tough four days ahead of him.
TWO MINDS BECOME ONE
|
| Joe
Kneipp(r) and Liam Kenny finished off the evening at Grand Central
for the capacity crowd © 2004 Debra Tessier |
"I don't like first rounds," Kneipp explained. "So I revert to the old habit of never making up my mind what to do with the ball. I decide on one shot, change my mind and then make a complete hash of it. This is the first time I've worked with Rodney Martin (who is now based in the US) and he told me to play my shots. So in the second game I did just that, played the right shot without thinking about it and when I do that I hit a lot of winners."
He certainly did; he took control of the game, anticipated Kenny's shots,
jumped on them like lightning and soon had Kenny scampering all over the
court. Although Kneipp does not have a reputation as a shotmaker, that
racket becomes part of him and tonight he did some wondrous things. On
one shot, Kenny had caught him going the wrong way, the ball still high
in the air. Kneipp was running in a northwesterly direction, the ball
was heading on a bearing of SSE while Kneipp's racket, starting in front
of him, arced over his head going due west to meet the ball at 63 degrees
centigrade [I'm not very scientific] and senT it to the front wall. And
he won the rally. He won the third game 15-4 and Kenny was totally run
out. A good end to an evening which can only be kindly described as 'real
first round" performances.
