Point by Point Play – Day 4
Wednesday 28th November – World Open Second Round
Matthew vs Mosaad
Mosaad serving. He takes the first two points. 2-0. He plays the next ball out at the back right. 1-2. Then the next ball is played down. 2-2. Another ball down. 3-2 to Matthew. The players trade points. 4-3. The Egyptian then plays another ball down. A quick point from Matthew – 6-3. Matthew then tins an overhead volley to the front right. 4-6 Mosaad. A long rally ends with Mosaad playing a ball into the back nick. The Egyptian serves at 5-6. He then plays the ball out. 7-5 to Matthew. The Englishman then plays a great drop front left. 8-5. Another point to Matthew – 9-5. The crowd applauds a great shot from Mosaad – 6-9. Matthew then plays another drop winner to the front left. 10-6 game ball. The Egyptian plays the next boast into the tin. Matthew wins the first game 11-6 in 11 minutes.
The second game begins with Mosaad starting strongly and speeding to a 3-1 lead. Matthew then sends him the wrong way with a drive. 2-3 to the Englishman. Two balls played down by the Egyptian in quick succession and it is 4-3 to Matthew. Mosaad then tins an attempted drop front left – 5-3. More points traded before Matthew wins a stroke and moves to 6-5. The Englishman then cannot reach a Mosaad shot and the game is tied at 6-6. Mosaad then plays the ball down – too many mistakes – and Matthew leads again 7-6. The Egyptian then plays a great backhand cross-court left to right which Matthew cannot reach. 7-7. Matthew plays a great next shot to move to 8-7.He then wins a stroke. 9-7. The Egyptian then plays a great overhead volley into the front left. 8-9. Matthew plays a drop to the left – Mosaad can only lob out of court. 10-8 game ball. But the Englishman plays the next ball down. and it is 9-10. He seals the game with a winner in the next rally – 11-9. That was better play from the qualifier.
The third game begins with Matthew winning a drop front left. 1-0. But that is countered with an even better drop from Mosaad to the same spot in the next rally. 1-1. Another great shot from the Englishman takes him to 2-1. Mosaad then wins a stroke on the next play – Matthew is not happy with the decision, and wins the next. 3-2. He then plays the next ball out and the game is tied 3-3. In the next rally the Egyptian cannot get hold of a backhand and tins the ball. 4-3 to Matthew. Points are traded before Matthew plays a drive just above the tin. 6-4. He then drives a ball into Mosaad’s body. 7-4. Another winning drive from Matthew takes him to 8-4 when the Egyptian fails to retrieve from the back wall. Then two quick points and Matthew is at 10-4 match ball. He fails to convert a drop and Mosaad serves at 5-10, then plays a winning cross-court. 6-10, but still match ball to Matthew. A great drop into the nick at the front right from the Egyptian. 7-10. Matthew wins the next as Mosaad is denied a let. 11-7 for the Englishman.
Robert Edwards asks Matthew how it feels to be a contender. Matthew: “I am delighted to put myself in contention.” When asked about the British Open Matthew says “Winning the British open was huge.” Edwards asks “To win this would be the pinnacle of your career?”. “Absolutely – it is any player’s dream”. Matthew hopes to be playing his compatriot James Willstrop in the next round.
Willstrop vs Abbas
The first game begins with a stroke to Willstrop. The Egyptian then plays the ball down – 2-0. A great hard-driven winner from Abbas into the right nick. 1-2. Several let plays. Then the Egyptian plays a volley into the front right corner – a winner. 2-2. Abbas then plays a drive down the left after a Willstrop boast to move to 3-2. Another great shot and he leads 4-2. Abbas then wins a stroke. 5-2 to the man from Cairo, who then drops to the front right – fantastic touch shot. 6-2. Then he plays an overhand backhand drop to the front left which lands in the nick. 7-2. Right now he is beating Willstrop with some superbly accurate play. Willstrop is then very sporting – is awarded a let but was only asking if the ball was good. 8-3 to Abbas. A quick point for the Egyptian moves him to 9-3. A series of drops front left from both players – but Abbas fools the Englishman and moves to 10-3 game ball. Willstrop then wins two quick points in succession, and is serving 5-10. Abbas takes the next point and the first game 11-5.
Game two begins with a great rally which ends with a stroke to Willstrop. He is then denied a let and Abbas serves 1-1. A drop from Abbas cannot be retrieved by the Englishman – 2-1. Willstrop then plays the ball down. 3-1. Abbas is playing very tight shots down the left. The next rally has both players moving to every corner and ends in a let. Willstrop wins the next to narrow the gap to 2-3. He follows it up with an unbeatable drop to the front right corner. 3-3. the Englishman then plays the ball out. 4-3 to Abbas. A reaction volley from Abbas is too quick for Willstrop and the Egyptian now leads 5-3. A boast around the walls from Willstrop on the next point is just out of reach of Abbas. 4-5. Two quick points from the Egyptian – he now leads 7-4. Time for a racquet change for Willstrop. It seems to work as he drops a winner front right. 5-7. Abbas then tins an attempted drive down the left. 6-7. Abbas wins a stroke on the next rally to take his lead back to two points – 8-6. Willstrop then plays a deceptive drive which has Abbas going the wring way. 7-8. He then tins a drop down the left. Abbas now leads 9-7. A drop from the Egyptian is almost too good – Willstrop reaches it but can only return the ball back into his own body. 10-7 game ball for Abbas. A drop from Willstrop reduces the deficit by one. 8-10. A great drop winner from Willstrop – 9-10. Abbas then plays an unbeatable drop to the front left to take the second game 11-9.
Game three and Willstrop is denied a let on the first play. 1-0 to Abbas. Willstrop then plays a great drop to the front right corner – Abbas can’t retrieve it. 1-1. The next point sees Willstrop get a stroke as the Egyptian plays the ball back to himself. 2-1 to the man from Pontefract. Another stroke to Willstrop, then a mistake from Abbas. 4-1 to the Englishman. A let play has Abbas shouting at the referees – not happy with the decision. Willstrop then cannot play a backhand. 2-4. Willstrop then cannot keep the ball up playing a boast from the front left. 3-4 for Abbas. A well-executed drop winner front left from the Englishman is too good. He leads 5-3. A stroke to Willstrop – the third this game. He leads by a three point margin. He then plays an exquisite boast from the left side. 7-3. A drop from the Egyptian to the right cannot be reached by Willstrop. A stroke to Abbas takes him to 5-7, before Willstrop takes a point back. 8-5. A cross-court winner from the front from the man from Cairo in the next rally – 6-8. A denied let for Abbas takes Willstrop to 9-6, but he plays the ball down. The Egyptian serving 7-9, but Willstrop kills the ball off the serve into the nick. 10-7 game ball. A stroke to Willstrop wins him the game 11-7.
Willstrop plays a great drop front left to win the first point in the fourth game. Abbas ten plays the ball down and Willstrop has an early 2-0 lead. A wild shot from the Egyptian hits the tin. 3-0 to Willstrop. A shot from between the legs from Willstrop saves the point in the next rally, which he then goes onto win with a drop. 4-0. Abbas gets one back to serve at 1-4. Willstrop hits the deck hard in the next rally trying to reach a shot into the back corner. Play resumes at 2-4 after the court rats have cleaned up. A deep drive to the left from the Egyptian is just too good and he now serves at 3-4. A quick point from the Englishman, who is then lucky with a let call. 5-3. The players seem to be sliding and then complain about the floor – the court rats come on to clean up. Once they resume Willstrop plays a great deceptive drive which Abbas misreads. 6-3 to the Englishman. A perfect long drop to the front left from Willstrop extends his lead to 7-3. He tins the next attempted drop. 4-7. A let play, then the court rats are back on again. Play resumes with a winning drop from Willstrop. He leads 8-4. Abbas struggles in the back and loses the next point – 9-4. More court time for the rats. Abbas then plays two aggressive volleys – the second is a winner. 5-9. A backhand drop from Willstrop is executed perfectly. 10-5 game ball. He then plays the ball down. A quick point from the Egyptian and it is 7-10. More aggressive volleying from Abbas gets him a winner. 8-10. The next rally is pretty much indescribable – some unbelievable shots – but Willstrop prevails and wins the game 11-8.
We are now into the decider. Willstrop begins with a great drop to the front left. 1-0. A short drop from Abbas takes the game to 1-1. Willstrop has Abbas all over the place in the next rally and ends it with a winning drop. 2-1. Willstrop gets a stroke in the next rally and now has a two point lead. 3-1. Another fantastic drop from the Englishman – this time to the front right. 4-1. A drop to the front right from the Egyptian is too good, and he now serves 2-4. But he then plays a ball down. 5-2. Abbas win a stroke on the next point and the match now stands at 3-5. A superb volley-drop from the tee to the left nick from Willstrop wins the next rally. Another fine drop wrong-foots Abbas – 7-3, but Willstrop cannot scrape the next shot from the Egyptian off the wall. 4-7. A drop then drive from Willstrop has the Egyptian in no-mans land. 8-4. Abbas counters with a winner. It is now 5-8. A big mistake from Abbas trying to backhand drop – Willstrop leads 9-5. Yet another fine shot from Willstrop has the Egyptian going the wrong way. 10-5. Willstrop then wins it in style 11-5.
Willstrop comments after the match: “That was almost a carbon copy to the LJ game. I started very rustily, and Abbas was on his game. Thankfully I am going play tomorrow. Really thrilled to be in the next round. It was such a fair game – the crowd is really up for it – such a great atmosphere.” Willstrop is asked about his father now being here – was he shouting at you after the first two games? “No – he keeps me calm.” Willstrop finishes by saying he doesn’t want to go home yet – he is enjoying being in Bermuda.
White vs Iskandar
The next match is an interesting combination – Malaysian number one – a shooting star – Mohd Azlan Iskandar. Then we have an Australian playing for Scotland and living in America – John White.
In the first game White is serving. Let play initially. Then White plays the ball out. 1-0. He plays the ball down. 2-0 Iskandar. The Malaysian then plays the ball down. 1-2. A great winner from White – 2-2. Early on White is a bit loose. Iskandar slips and White takes the next point. White then plays the ball down and the match stands at 3-3. Stroke to White – 4-3. White tins a shot – 4-4. They trade points. 5-5. A mistake from White and the Malaysian leads 6-5. White fails to connect with a drop and hits the side wall in disgust. 7-5 for Iskandar. Another ball played down by White and the Malaysian leads 8-5. A lovely drop from White front left. 6-8, but he tins the next one hard. 9-6 Iskandar. White plays a great winner – 7-9, but Iskandar counters and it is 10-7 game ball. The Malaysian ends it with a sublime shot. 11-7.
The second game sees White with a lucky nick at the start. 1-0. A long rally ends with White slipping. “Not even a let?” he asks. 1-1. Iskandar tins the next point. 2-1 White. A great drop from White can’t be reached by Iskandar. 3-1. the Malaysian plays the next one down. 4-1. A line drive from White is too good. 5-1. He then plays a fantastic drop which Iskandar has to stretch to reach – he does not make it. 6-1 for White. He then fails to convert a drop opportunity in the next rally and Iskandar serves 2-6. A boast from White is just too good – he now leads 7-2. A hard volley back to the Malaysian from White is a winner. 8-2. Iskandar wins the next two points when White plays the ball down twice in a row. White then wins a stroke. 9-4. Another quick point for White before Iskandar plays a deceptive shot 5-10. Then Iskandar can only play a White bullet back to himself. White wins 11-5.
In the third game White plays a passing winner down the left at the start. 1-0. A deceiving drop from Iskandar makes it 1-1. They trade points. 2-2. White tins the next boast attempt – the Malaysian leads 3-2. A shot off the walls to the back left from White is too good. 3-3. He then fools Iskandar with a boast front left. 4-3. The next rally sees movement to every corner. The Malaysian wins it 4-4. A stroke against White for obscenity. 5-4 Iskandar. They trade points. Iskandar serving 6-5. The next rally sees a drop from the Malaysian forcing White to do the splits – he can’t reach the ball. 7-5 to the Malaysian. White wins the next point, but tins the following one. Iskandar serving 8-6. A ball out of court from White and his opponent leads 9-6. Iskandar then tins a boast. 7-9. Iskandar gets a nick off the serve. 10-7 game ball. White plays the ball high and out and Iskandar takes the next game 11-7.
White is not able to return the first serve of the next game. 1-0 Iskandar. A stroke to Iskandar, then White tins a ball. An early 3-0 lead for the Malaysian. Lots of great volleys from White in the next rally – it ends in a let play. Another quick point for Iskandar. 4-0. the Malaysian then tins a boast and White has a point. 1-4. He tins a drive down the left side. 5-1 Iskandar. White’s next shot is too good. 2-5. A boast from the Malaysian is just down by a centimeter. 3-5. Then he tins another. 4-5 White serving. White then kills a ball front right. 5-5. Iskandar wins a stroke, then White misses two points. Iskandar leads 8-5. Is an upset on the cards? A great drop from White front left after switching racquets. 6-8. White then plays a great drop to the front right – Iskandar goes down trying to reach it. 7-8. Iskandar tins a line drive. 8-8. Iskandar plays a great winner to the left corner to go ahead 9-8. the Malaysian then has White all over the court scrambling – more splits from the big Australian as he fails to reach a shot to the back left. 10-8 match ball for Iskandar. A drive down the right from White – Iskandar can only play the ball out. 9-10. White then plays an amazing drop front left to take the game to a tie-break at 10-10. Iskandar plays a shot which White cannot reach. 11-10 match ball to the Malaysian. Iskandar tins the next ball. 11-11. White then plays a great mini-boast. Iskandar goes down – on come the court rats. 12-11 game ball for White, and he wins it as Iskandar is denied a let scrambling to reach a White shot. White wins the game 13-11.
The fifth and deciding game of this match begins with White dropping to the front left. 1-0. He then plays the ball down. 1-1. Another ball played down from White. 2-1 Iskandar. A great winner from White, but he plays the next ball down. 3-2 to the Malaysian. Too many mistakes from the tall Australian. Iskandar tins an attempted boast from the back left. White serving 3-3. He plays an unbeatable line drive into the back right corner. 4-3. Two quick mistakes – one from each player. 5-4 in White’s favour. A mistake from Iskandar and White leads 6-4. A great return of serve from Iskandar has White scrambling – Iskandar finishes it with a drop front right. 5-6. A tinned ball from White and the game is tied 6-6. A volley from White back at Iskandar is too good. 7-6. Iskandar then slips as White boasts deceptively. The Malaysian cries out in despair. 8-6 to White. Another volley again from White – straight back at Iskandar. 9-6. Then a rally where Iskandar barges the big Australian over. Let ball. Iskandar tins the next return of serve – match ball. 10-6. Iskandar the fails to connect with a drop and White takes the game 11-6.
When asked, White says he feels physically OK. He is comfortable with the way the court is playing. He says that Azlan is knocking on the door of the top ten – he is hitting the ball well, and Iskandar beat him in the Windy City tournament. White says “I was lucky to get the fourth game and lucky to get through.”
Gaultier vs Ashour
The first player in this last match is Number 22 in the world and the brother of the world number two – Hisham Mohd Ashour from Egypt. The next player is one of the musketeers from France – so gifted – Gregory Gaultier.
Gaultier serving in the first game. Two quick points for the Frenchman. 2-0. Then a stroke to Gaultier. 3-0. A great winner from Gaultier takes him to 4-0. In the next rally the Frenchman slips. 1-4. Another stroke to Gaultier. 5-1, then a quick point. 6-1. the Frenchman plays the ball down and it is 2-6. A great drop to the front left from Gaultier – 7-2. A backhand into the front left corner is a winner from the Frenchman. Then Ashour plays a great boast. 3-8. Then a passing shot down the left to move to 4-8. A long rally ends with a drop into the nick from Gaultier. 9-4. A sublime winner from the Frenchman 10-4, then another and the first game is over in five minutes.
A great drop from Gaultier wins the first point, but Ashour gets one back. 1-1. A mistake from Ashour. 2-1. Then one from Gaultier. 2-2. A great drop from Ashour front left is too good for the Frenchman. 3-2. Gaultier has Ashour under pressure, but the Egyptian plays a ball from the back right into the nick. 4-2. Then four quick points from the Frenchman and he leads 6-4. Two great shots ina row from the Egyptian and it is 6-6. But he shouts as he makes a mistake. 7-6 to Gaultier. This game is going really fast – no long rallies. A bad mistake on a boast from Ashour. 8-6 for the Frenchman. Then he makes a mistake on a drop front right. 7-8. Gaultier gets one back. 9-7. A beautiful low backhand cross-court from Ashour. 8-9. Then another mistake from the Egyptian. 10-8 game ball. A shot to the nick on the right is too good and the Frenchman wins 11-8. Total match time so far is only 14 minutes.
The third game begins with a let. Ashour needs to reduce the number of mistakes in his game. Gaultier takes the first point. Then Ashour plays a cross-court winner. 1-1. the Frenchman wins the next point and leads 2-1. A fast, hard rally follows, ending in a let. A mistake from the Egyptian on his backhand. 3-1. He tins the next and the Frenchman leads 4-1. They trade points – Gaultier serves at 5-2. Gaultier plays the ball down front right. 3-5. The Egyptian loses a stroke. 6-3 to Gaultier. Two cross-courts to the Egyptian’s backhand have him struggling. 7-2. Then a mistake from Ashour. He then guesses wrong and Gaultier leads 9-2. He crosses on the next rally into the left nick. 10-3 match ball. Ashour gets one back. 4-10. Gaultier is too strong on the cross-courts and wins the game 11-4. A very clinical match for the Frenchman.
Additional Information: