Thursday’s Matches:

Given all that has gone on the past 18 months it felt a little strange on Tuesday hosting the NASH Cup again. Crowded spaces; live sports. Now it feels like nothing ever changed. Masks and reduced crowds aside, this event feels like the 12 NASH Cup’s that came before. Members of London Squash are witnessing some incredible matches and are surrounded by an absolutely wonderful group of athletes. While we are limited in our capacity, those who are attending are loud enough to feel like the place is full. Truly grateful to have this opportunity.

Some players have already departed from London. We hope they enjoyed their time here and look forward to seeing them back in 2022. Others are preparing for two more nights of matches. None of the remaining pairings will be easy, and we hope every player is able to bring their best.

Results: The evening started with 16 players from 7 countries, and ended with 8 players from 7 countries. Canada; Czech Republic; England; France; Hong Kong; Poland; and the USA continue to be represented as we move into the semi-finals.

3pm     Lucy Beecroft (ENG; 124) bt Hannah Blatt (CAN; 302) – 11-3, 11-3, 11-3 (18m)
4pm     [1] Auguste Dussourd (FRA; 57) bt Simon Herbert (ENG;319)  – 8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-7 (41m)
5pm     [6] Marina Stefanoni (USA; 71) bt [3] Nikki Todd (CAN; 62) – 12-14, 11-6, 11-5, 11-4 (29m)
6pm     [4] Daniel Mekbib (CZE; 83)  bt. [5] Mike McCue (CAN; 85) – 11-8, 11-4, 9-11, 7-11, 11-6 (70m)
7pm     [4] Karina Tyma (POL; 65) bt Amal Izhar (CAN; 376) – 11-5, 11-3, 11-2 (18m)
8pm     [3] Shawn Delierre (CAN; 82) bt Tang Ming Hong (HKG;266) – 11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 9-11, 11-7 (62m)
9pm     Vanessa Chu (HKG; 58) bt [5] Marie Stephan (FRA; 69) – 12-10, 11-6, 6-11, 9-11, 13-11 (48m)
10pm   Timothy Brownell (USA; 117) bt. [6] Chi Him Wong (HKG; 89) – 11-4, 11-6, 11-6 (30m)

Friday Preview

5pm     Lucy Beecroft (ENG; 124) vs [6] Marina Stefanoni (USA; 71)
6pm     [1] Auguste Dussourd (FRA; 57) vs [4] Daniel Mekbib (CZE; 83) 
7pm     [4] Karina Tyma (POL; 65) vs Vanessa Chu (HKG; 58)
8pm     [3] Shawn Delierre (CAN; 82) vs Timothy Brownell (USA; 117)

Match Notes

3pm Lucy Beecroft (ENG; 124) vs Hannah Blatt (CAN; 302)

Lucy Beecroft (ENG) coming off a strong win over number 1 seed Hana Moataz from Egypt took an early 5-1 lead in game one. Beecroft, with exceptional drop shots both forehand and back hand, ended up closing out game 1 handily 11-3.

Game 2, Beecroft with a roll out nick of the back wall, followed by a fantastic back hand drop from deep in the court gave her the early lead, 3-0 with blatt responding with a roll-out, sidewall nick. Beecroft controlled much of game 2 by pushing Blatt deep into the court and following up with extremely low, tight drop shots, which proved to be too much for Blatt, hitting tin more than 3 times in game 2. Beecroft took game 2, 11-3

Up and comer Hannah Blatt from Canada coming off a great comeback win over Lea Barbeau after being down 2 games to love, had herself in a similar position starting Game 3. With her Nash Cup 2021 bid on the line, Blatt began the game with strong back hand lengths in an attempt to take control of the T, but was again stifled with Beecroft s consistently tight short game and an early lead 5-0. Beecroft couldn’t miss, continuing to dominate from the back court, including multiple side wall boasts and deep court drop shots that were unretrievable by Blatt. With determination, Blatt began to serve at 8-2 but Beecroft’s drop shots were just too much and took game 3, 11-3.

Final: Beecroft 3, 3, 3.

4pm [1] Auguste Dussourd (FRA; 57) vs Simon Herbert (ENG;319)

Dussourd, the 2019 Nash Cup Champ has previously never faced Herbert in PSA competition.

Game 1: Herbert to serve. With the first rally underway and lasting more than a few back and forth, the fans were excited to watch this, likely length match. Herbert had some fantastic gets, and some side wall nicks to keep the game close. Each rally lasting a on average of 10 hits, down 7-4 to Dussourd, Herbert tied it up 7-7.  Dussourd with a fantastic back hand hold drop to tie up 8-8, but a stroke awarded to Herbert put him up 9-8. A low forehand drive put him up 10-8 and followed it up with a low forehand wall boast winner taking game 1, 11-8.

Game 2: Herbert retrieved a seeming winner and battled back to take the first point. Both very strong front court players, an ensuing drop-re-drop-drop-re-drop-off took place making for a very entertaining start to game 2. 3-3 Dussourd serving, Herbert played back-to-back nicking forehand drop to take the lead 5-3, but Dussourd came back and tied it up 6-6. Very strong backhands from both players made for several exciting left wall rally with each shot seemingly tighter to the wall than the last. With a wall scrapping drop shot winner, Herbert tied it up 9-9, but two errors led to his game 2 demise, with Dussourd taking the game, 11-9.

Game 3: With a few early mistakes from both pros, the game was give and take, exchanging points until Dussourd took a 4 point lead 8-4. 5-8 Herbert, Dussourd made a great backhand-to-forehand drop followed by a backhand volley nick by Herbert making it 6-9.  Long rallys and many asks made for a very long game, which Dussourd took 11-6.

Game 4: With 3 missed drops by Herbert giving Dussourd a 3-0, but Herbert battled back to 5-5. Additional mistakes gave Dussourd control 10-5. A great drop kept Herbert in it 6-10, and followed up with a strong forehand making it 7-10, but ultimately after a very long rally Dussourd took it 11-7.

Final: Dussourd – 8-11, 9, 6, 7

5pm [6] Marina Stefanoni (USA; 71) vs. [3] Nikki Todd (CAN; 62)

Stefanoni and Todd have not met in a PSA match, but with similar styles it’s sure to be a great battle. Very evenly matched players exchanging the lead. Stefanoni made a fantastic back court drop to tie it up 3-3 and then Todd responded with her own to make it 5-4. Stefanoni, moving very well on the court, gave herself a lead 8-6, but Todd stuck with her game and took a few points up front to keep the game close 9-9. Todd with ball-in-hand at 10-9, Stefanoni made a great drop to tie it up. Error by Todd made it 11-10 but Todd made a fantastic drop to tie it up 11’s. 12-12, and with two great back-to-back rally’s Todd’s cross court winner was too much for Stefanoni, and took the game 14-12.

Game 2: Great rally at 2-0 gave Todd an early 3-0 lead. 2 back-to-back Drop shot attempts from Todd allowed Stef to take the lead 5-4. 5-5 Todd had Stefanoni on a rope, but another mistake made it 6-5. 6-6 Todd serving, a well held drop shot from Stef gave her the lead 7-6. 3 unforced errors from Todd gave Stefanoni the game 11-6.

Game 3: Started with a fantastic left hand wall rally, testing their backhands until Stef closed it out with a volley drop winner. 1-1, stoke awarded to Todd 2-1, Cross body drop from Stef tied it up 2-2., which gave her the confidence to get up 5-2. A great behind the back scramble return kept the rally alive but Stef played a rollout drop to go up 6-2. 7-3 Stef, Todd looked tired as Stef took control 8-3. 5-8 and error hitting it out gave Stef a 9-5 lead. At 10-5 Todd tinned and gave game 3 to Stefanoni 11-5.

Game 4: 5 tins by Todd Gave Stef an early 5-1 lead.  Stef appearing to run away with it at 6-1, she played a fantastic hold boast winner to go up 7-1. 2-7 Todd . 8-2 Stef, 3-8 Todd. 9-3. 10-3. 4-10. Unfortunately too many unforced errors from Todd allowed Stef to eliminate Todd more quickly than one would have hoped.

Stefanoni: 12-14, 6, 5, 4

6pm [5] Mike McCue (CAN; 85) vs. [4] Daniel Mekbib (CZE; 83)

There is a feeling that this match will live up to the ranking…..extremely close. Mike McCue is playing in his 7^th NASH Cup while Daniel is making his first appearance. They last faced in 2017 at White Oaks (St. Catherines, Ontario) and Daniel came out as the victor. Like so many matches already in this quarter final the rallies are long. The players are able to cover a massive amount of court and search for an error from their opponent. McCue drops to a 4-7 deficit as Mekbib is able to capitalize on the very limited opportunities. Mekbib makes two very rare errors and it’s 7-8. The crowd descriptor is “grind”.  An extremely difficult call leads to a “let” call which Mekbib did NOT agree with. Both players are smiling, but after 30 hits it was difficult when he thought he had hit a winner. An equally long rally and another let…..and a third….this could be a very long match. The big winner tonight may be Sleeman, a founding sponsor of the NASH Cup. The drinks are getting empty. McCue regains the serve at 8-9 looking to gain control but a nik out leads to 8-10 and then a game to Mekbib. Half the crowd goes to the bar.

The second match sees both players working on their drop shots and Mekbib jumps to a 4-2 lead. Mekbib seems to be playing a long game allowing rallies to work back and forth until an error is made. He jumps up 7-2 without adding a winner. Mike is struggling to read all the shots and ending out behind on positioning. On both sides winners are made at the front with delicate drops. Anything else and the rally extends. 10-3 Mekbib.  A beautiful overhead smash into the front right corner ends the game 11-4.

In most sports when you are in a rut it’s best to change something, and Mike returns to the court sporting a clean red shirt in an effort to shift the momentum. He falls to a deficit, but “easy come, easy go” we’re at 4-4. Mekbib lets one past that he shouldn’t have, and Mike gains a lead. Canada’s Hannah Blatt recovered from 0-2 so there is still hope. An error by Mekbib into the tin and it’s 7-5 McCue. A touch side wall bounce and beautiful hold moves things to 7-7. With no real advantage the rallies extend again going to 30+ shots. Mike catches tin and is down 7-8. 40+ shots and Mekbib gets an opportunity but catches tin 8-8. Mike pulls off an 11-9 victory and we have a match!

We’re into game 4. Matches are booked for an hour each and we may not officially fall behind. This one is 45 minutes deep. A tough stroke call and an out of court put McCue down 0-2. Neither player is slowing and every ball can be reached. Some beautiful drops from McCue and we are 3-3. The crowd is debating squash branding which may have been triggered by Sqsh Life being on site with apparel. 5-5. A back court, back handed drop from Mekbib and it’s 6-5. Connor Turk argues that a ball was down against the rest of the crowd thought it was up. The players aren’t sure and let is called. McCue moves up 9-6 and can feel things shifting to 2-2. Mekbib hits tin for 10-6. McCue goes for winners. The first catches tin, the second is clean and we are tied.

There have been a lot of let requests in this match and the ball is so tight it makes it tough at times. Daniel is good enough to call one against himself. True sportsmanship. Mekbib up 3-1. McCue has a drop called against him for a stroke and it seems to leave him questioning using the shot again in a following rally. Mekbib up 5-3 following a perfect boast by McCue across the front. An extremely long rally ends with a tin from McCue and it’s 7-4 Mekbib. Mekbib up 8-5 and something goes wrong with his leg. He drops to the ground and stretches out his leg. It looks like it might be his ankle, but he shakes it off and we eventually return to play. Movement looks good, but he hits Mike hard with a swing – very rare. It was in the backswing and a stroke on McCue which makes it worse. A long rally with a perfect drop from Mekbib and it’s match point. 11-6 Mekbib.

7pm [4] Karina Tyma (POL; 65) vs Amal Izhar (CAN; 376)

The match started with some great length. Both ladies going for drops and hitting the top of the tin within the first few points. Tyma hit a great misdirection shot at 4-4. Tyma was moving Izhar to all 4 corners of the court. The young Canadian got trapped behind her Polish counterpart to lose the game 11-5.

Second game started with great volleying from both ladies. Both of them going for shots and hitting tin. Tyma hits a great volley to go up 4-2. Izhar is having a hard time dealing with the pace. The crowd is very lively from the shots that the young Englishman (Herbert) is enjoying.

Tyma is dominating with her shot selection and pace.

Tyma won the game 11-3.

Third game started with the Canadian under pressure and opening up the court. Izhar is having a hard time dealing with the misdirection. Izhar won had a hard rally to get to 5-2. Tyma boasts and misdirection are to much for Izhar. Herbert said from the crowd that he was “sauced”.

Tyma wins the match at 11-2.

Tyma was quoted “ it was a solid match and that she is glad to be in  the semis”

8pm [3] Shawn Delierre (CAN; 82) vs Tang Ming Hong (HKG;266)

Reporter Stingray Esq. is back in action. They had a taste of me last night and couldn’t get enough. So now you’re stuck with me for another match. Will there be terrible Dad jokes? Yes. Will there be some semi-realistic quotes from Gary? Of course. Will there be a lack of actual reporting on the squash match. Obviously.

What a treat of a match we’re in for. It’s like when you walk into a poutinerie and you just know you’re in for some delicious, cheesy, gravy, goodness. Shawn, true to his heritage, represents the lean poutine. Tang (forgive me if I am using the wrong surname), seems completely unphased or completely unprepared for the match that awaits him.

The match begins with Shawn introducing Tang to the Bloc Quebecois method of squash. Tang, having come form Hong Kong, seems ready for the assault of shots that Shawn throws his way. The points go back and forth until Delierre wins the first.

This intermission is brought to you by Gary Sullivan. To be honest, he actually didn’t sponsor this match, but he’s an easy target so we’re going to take another run at him. Did we already mention that Gary is the cause of and solution to all of our problems? Well, let’s take that a step further tonight and suggest that Gary is the cause of, but rarely the solution to, all of our problems.

The second game starts with Shawn looking completely calm and ready to play. In the crowd, local un-legend Farzin Habib Pour is heard saying that he would barf if he ran as much as these players. This reporter suggests that he would barf for much, much less. In fact, this has been witnessed. But we digress, back to the match

As the match continues, Shawn starts to run away with it. He seems extremely comfortable and starts taking aggressive positions in the court in order to volley early and apply pressure. Hong seems a little unsure of how to play him. He’s not the first.

Midway through the second, Shawn hits a frame, boast roll out nick to win the point. The crowd somewhat cheers, but is mostly confused by how that shot made it to the wall. Shawn, however, isn’t, as it seems like he knew exactly how the shot would end up.

Hong doesn’t seem content to let Shawn run away with it. He digs in deep and wins the next few consecutive rallies. Shawn doesn’t seem phased. The next rally, Shawn smashes a forehand winner into the nick. Local semi-legend, Gary Sullivan, jumped out of his seat, which for him is a pretty good movement considering his feet haven’t left the ground since his last flight to Wisconsin. It was a family trip.

Back to the match, Shawn and Hong have a few exceptional rallies to finish off the second game. Shawn ends up coming on top and wins to go up 2-0.

The intermission is brought to you by Ron Henry. He was extremely insistent that this reporter mention how Relish is the best condiment of all time and mustard and ketchup (he asked for lower case) are for the plebs.

The third game sees Hong start to take a lead. He’s moving well and looking energetic, whereas Shawn appears a little tired and off the mark. As Hong runs away with the game, Shawn doesn’t appear to stop him. He seems content to let Hong take this game and use it as a recovery for the fourth.

But wait… there is hope yet for the separatist of games. Shawn battles back and starts to even out the points. In the end of the game, Shawn gets back to 9-10. But despite a great final effort, Hong wins the game 11-9

Fourth game starts with Shawn looking as if he’s ready for the first game. Hong appears ready to play as well. Neither player has shown any weaknesses so far. Word from the balcony seats is one of them is breathing really heavily. Sujai Shah asked if the defibrillator is on standby. These rallies are nuts.

The game gets down the wire and the crowd is loving every shot. Hong digs in deep and wins the game to take it to the fifth.

This intermission is brough to you by Rob Doherty. Apparently, Rob was upset that Gary kept sponsoring intermissions and demanded that he be the title sponsor if this match went into a fifth game. This report, of course, obliged. Rob’s message to the readers is, verbatim, as follows:

“Gary’s a [edit], but he’s our [edit]… wait, that came out wrong!”

Gary tried to delete that last message, but thanks to the magical aspects of technology, the words re-appeared on the screen. Hello, Gary.

Well, said Rob. Well, said.

Fifth game gets wild, as both Shawn and Hong are giving it everything. The crowd is going wild with the  atmosphere and the  players are feeling the feeling.

I guess this reporter should report on the game. We’re pretty sure that Shawn pulled away, and also pretty sure that he won the match. He did look happy and cheered. Not sure if he would do that if he lost the match. Although, he is French, so they have strange ways of celebrating. Regardless, Shawn won in a fantastic five game battle.

9pm Vanessa Chu (HKG; 58) vs [5] Marie Stephan (FRA; 69)

The second of three matches featuring a player form Hong Kong features Vanessa Chu, Augusts PSA player of the month, taking on Marie Stephan of France. There ranks are close and so are their styles. Chu manages to take the opening game. Both players are quick to seek input from coaches and teammates.

Both players are comfortable running the rally up and down the same wall, but this is a similar style to what we say the Hong Kong men play and Chu seems to have an advantage if Marie doesn’t make a change. Chu jumps to a 5-2 lead. Marie is intense. She has nearly a 6 inch advantage in height and uses it. This can also work against her as she draws a stroke to go down 6-7. Chu wins a series of rallies and takes the second game. The crowd, which includes well known LSFC members and crowd favourite professionals, begins to practice swearing in French.

Marie makes an equipment change between games and comes out strong. They fight to 3-3. Vanessa has to do a lot more running when the ball gets crossed. Marie realizes this, changes her game and jumps to 7-4 lead. If Chu drives, Marie crossed; if Chu crosses Marie drops. It’s working. Marie is up 9-6. Marie takes the 3^rd game. Somewhere in that game the front camera was hit…..we now pick up a great view of the inside of a box. 2 camera system now….

Game 4 starts and one has to wonder what Chu will change to bring the trend back in her favour. She looks to get aggressive with straight drops, but hits tin and goes down 0-4. The change starts to work as she holds and drives leaving Marie moving in the wrong direction 5-6. Vanessa may have things back in control. She’s holding the T and hitting her winning smashes. 8-7. Marie goes back to moving the ball and regains the lead before taking a stroke 9-9. Marie takes the game, and we are going to 5 for the 3^rd time tonight. Any hope of starting the final match of the night on time is gone.

Stephan is onto her 3^rd shirt for the night. Nikki Todd this was a very relevant piece of information. Vanessa is on with her court control. She has accepted Stephan’s cross courts and is countering with mixed paced drops which give her a 6-3 lead. Tin is her enemy, but she’s hitting over 50% and buries a serve in the corner to gain a 7-5 lead. Stephan gains choice of shot in the next rally but finds tin. Another two drops and the second one sticks for Chu. 9-6. Two tins and a row and it’s 9-8. The approach is right. The percentage has fallen. Stephan sees the next attempt coming and cuts it off to make it 9-9. Chu sends it high and Stephan is going for the win. We’re 10-10!! Extra points in the 5^th. Chu hits tin. She had every opportunity to close the point and caught the line. Then Stephan does the same with a drive. 11-11. Long rally with tin for Stephan. A drive down the wall and it doesn’t come off the back. Chu wins 13-11 and takes the match.

10pm [6] Chi Him Wong (HKG; 89) vs Timothy Brownell (USA; 117)

The final match of the night. It’s late, but worth it to allow everyone to see every match tonight. Wong is the tournaments 6^th seed and favoured on paper, but the crowd continues to believe Brownell may be better than his rank suggests. Brownell jumps to a 5-1 lead. They both play with patience, but Wong is put on the defensive and it leads to errors. Brownell appears to have more shots at his disposal, and it moves the play quickly. 7-2. The points for Wong are coming more often from a Brownell error than and actual winner. He’s going to need to find a way to correct this. Brownell takes game one.

Wong find an approach that works in game 2 moving the ball all over the place. Brownell gets to everything and the plan seems to be to keep him running. 3-3. Brownell seems to able to hit the ball on any angle. He makes hitting off the back wall look effortless…..but he’s not immune to missing drops. 6-6. He wins a rally and then misses a drop. It isn’t working, so Brownell shift to low hard length and keeps Wong behind him. Three in a row and then an exceptional boast break game 2 open and it ends 11-6.

Like the last game this one is close in the early points as they go with long rallies and go to 5-5. Too much focus is on the game, so Gary spills his second drink of the night. It doesn’t work. Everyone is still watching squash. Brownell has gained control and goes up 8-5. With a lack of emotion Brownell finishes things in 3. The crowd deems him “The Terminator” and looks forward to seeing him play Shawn Delierre in under 24 hours.

(Photos by Rael Wienburg)