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Carrus Nations Cup Day Two: Player Reaction
The Carrus Nations Cup – the first tournament to be held in the new SquashFORWARD series – continues today at the Trustpower Baypark Arena in Tauranga, New Zealand with eight matches in store on the second day of pool stage action.
The SquashFORWARD series is a series of new squash events intended to trial changes to the traditional competition and scoring formats used at official tournaments, including those on the PSA Tour.
For more information on the new scoring format used this week, go here.
We’ll have reports and reaction from those in action right here, while you can watch all the action live on SQUASHTV.
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Order of Play
(All times are local GMT+13)
13.00: Scotland v Australia
Greg Lobban v Rex Hedrick
Lisa Aitken v Jessica Turnbull
14.30: Europe v New Zealand B
Sebastien Bonmalais v Lwamba Chileshe
Nele Gilis v Kaitlyn Watts
18.00: New Zealand A v Canada
Paul Coll v David Baillargeon
Joelle King v Hollie Naughton
19.30: England v USA
Mohamed ElShorbagy v Timothy Brownell
Sarah-Jane Perry v Olivia Clyne
Scotland v Australia
Lobban Overcomes Hedrick in Five Games
Men’s World No.25 Greg Lobban scored Scotland’s first win at the Carrus Nations Cup as he defeated World No.81 Rex Hedrick 4-1 to put Scotland a match up in the opening tie of the day.
After their defeat to Canada yesterday, Scotland needed a big performance and Lobban duly obliged with a 7-2, 7-6, 7-2, 3-7, 7-1 victory in 42 minutes.
The 30-year-old from Inverness dominated the start of the match, but Hedrick slowly grew into the match and was able to improve his length hitting, notably in the fourth game when he struck back to put Lobban’s victory on hold.
Lobban clearly enjoyed himself on court today – with an outrageous between the legs winner providing a highlight in the third game – and he quickly put the match to bed in the fifth game, responding to his concession of the fourth by dropping just a single point.
The win means that Scotland stay in third place in Pool A, but a win for compatriot Lisa Aitken over Jessica Turnbull means that they would leapfrog Canada and New Zealand A to move into top spot, with those two nations set to play later today.
“I’m really happy with today’s performance, it was really enjoyable,” said Lobban.
“I’ve played Rex heaps of times before down under and we’ve had a lot of good matches, it’s always enjoyable playing him. There’s no hysterics or getting in the way or anything like that.
“Obviously with the round robin group stage, it’s everything to play for now. We didn’t start the best yesterday, I think both of us really struggled to find our feet with the new format, but today is a new day and it was really important that we started strongly. Let’s see what Lisa can do in the next match.
“The quicker and the easier I win, it takes a little bit of the pressure off. To lose that game [the fourth], it could easily get away from you given that it’s only up to seven points with the Powerplay rule too. Before you know it, it could be 3-2, 3-3 and into a decider.
“It’s really fun and interesting and it’s something to get your head around. We’re [Lobban and Aitken] both pretty relaxed off court and not so much on court, I think we’re both pretty intense, but we like to keep it light off court. Anything I can do to make her smile and feel at ease, I’ll be trying to find the joke in the moment [in their chats between games].”
Result
Greg Lobban (SCO) bt Rex Hedrick (AUS) 4-1: 7-2, 7-6, 7-2, 3-7, 7-1 (42m)
Scotland Win Despite Turnbull Victory
A 4-3 victory for Australia’s World No.70 Jessica Turnbull over World No.27 Lisa Aitken wasn’t enough to prevent Scotland from winning the tie and holding onto third place in Pool A.
Aitken required just two games to win the tie for Scotland following Lobban’s 4-1 win over Rex Hedrick, and the 32-year-old managed that despite a 5-7, 7-3, 4-7, 7-6, 7-5, 5-7, 7-2 victory for Turnbull.
It’s the second match of the Nations Cup to go all the way to seven games, and the fourth game proved pivotal, with Aitken relinquishing a game ball opportunity which would have put her 3-1 up.
Turnbull played at a level beyond her PSA World Ranking and in doing so claimed her first win over Aitken following two previous losses to the Scottish player in 2017.
“I know it’s not a normal format, but that’s probably my biggest win ever, so I’m stoked,” said Turnbull.
“I had a couple of practices back home, so I feel like I’ve probably played it a bit more than everyone else just because the Aussies were like, let’s give it a go. It sounds like a bit of fun, so I think I’m adapting pretty well to it. I wouldn’t have said my game was suited to it, but I think I might disagree now.
“It’s [playing for Australia] actually been really fun. I think it puts a lot more pressure on whoever goes on first, Rex came out and said he wished he did better against Greg, he could have told me we’re going to win!
“Rex and I actually haven’t played in very many Aussie teams together, so it’s been good to properly get to know him and hang out a bit more.”
Result
Jessica Turnbull (AUS) bt Lisa Aitken (SCO) 4-3: 5-7, 7-3, 4-7, 7-6, 7-5, 5-7, 7-2 (45m)
Europe v New Zealand B
Bonmalais Recovers to Down Chileshe
Frenchman Sebastien Bonmalais recovered from a slow start against New Zealand’s Lwamba Chileshe to extend Europe’s lead at the summit of Pool B.
Europe ended day one in the driving seat in Pool B following their triumph against USA, but Bonmalais was up against it in the first game as a lightning-quick start from Chileshe saw him storm into a one-game lead, much to the delight of the home fans.
Whilst the Kiwi was able to neutralise the attacking threat of his opponent in the first game, Bonmalais responded by making the rallies longer and more physical and benefitted from some errors from Chileshe’s racket
Despite some close exchanges, Bonmalais was able to win four games without reply to keep Europe’s title challenge on track.
“It surprised me at the beginning because he was going up on the volley, which I like to do, and I had to change my tactics a bit,” said Bonmalais.
“I hit the ball straighter to the wall and found some good lengths.
“I had to keep him away from the volley, that was the most important thing. At the end of the match, I was lifting more and I should have done that maybe earlier, but I’m happy to do the job today.
“It’s quite nice [playing with Gilis]. We’re feeling okay and we’re happy to be together in the team. I know I can count on her, and she knows she can count on me, so it’s a good feeling for the team.”
Result
Sebastien Bonmalais (EUR) bt Lwamba Chileshe (NZL) 4-1: 2-7, 7-1, 7-5, 7-4, 7-5 (43m)
Gilis Beats Watts to Make it Four from Four for Europe
Team Europe made it four wins from four as Belgium’s Nele Gilis put in an immaculate performance against World No.88 Kaitlyn Watts, winning 4-0 as they became the first team to guarantee qualification from Pool B.
Europe will either reach the final or the 3/4-place playoff depending on where they finish in the pool, and Gilis helped them on their way with an 7-4, 7-2, 7-2, 7-2 victory in 28 minutes.
Watts displayed some fine shot-making in the early exchanges, but once Gilis had grown into the match, the World No.13 quickly moved through the gears in terms of her accuracy, and made no mistake in sealing the win in straight games.
“Seb inspired me to go out there and play well,” said Gilis.
“I felt good out there, it was obviously Kaitlyn’s home crowd, so I knew she would be up for it and would be fighting, which she did. I’m really glad to get away in four.
“It’s been good fun, but it’s very different mindset-wise. Normally when you’re 2-0 up, you’re more than halfway there, now it just seems like you’ve still got a long way to go.
“I’m looking forward to it [playing England’s Sarah-Jane Perry next], it’s going to be a great battle. We train together, so we know each other’s games, I’m really excited.”
Result
Nele Gilis (EUR) bt Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) 4-0: 7-4, 7-2, 7-2, 7-2 (28m)
New Zealand v Canada
Coll Overcomes Baillargeon
Paul Coll delighted the home crowd in Tauranga with a confident and attacking performance to overcome the challenge of Canadian David Baillargeon.
The World No.2 started incredibly quickly, and hit some stunning attacking shots in the early exchanges. He would go on to win the first three games, all by a 7-2 scoreline.
He then led in the fourth game as well, but the Canadian, ranked at World No.69, fought back well, and took the sudden death point to win the game 7-6. Buoyed on by the home crowd, Coll got a rapid start in the fifth game, and that saw him through to victory, continuing the perfect beginning to the competition for the New Zealand ‘A’ team.
“I’ve gone into this week with, sort of a mindset to to enjoy it, embrace the crowd. You know, it’s a sort of a one off for us for a while. So yeah, I sort of got in the mindset the whole week just to enjoy it, try and put on a show for the crowd, just, you know, entertain them,” Coll said.
“It’s been a while since they’ve seen, sort of top level squash. And we’ve got some greats here, so I hope they have a good week. And that’s sort of my main objective for the week.
“Catching up with friends and family is part of that. You know, going out for lunch, enjoying the beach and the sea. It’s nice, you know. So I’m just enjoying my time here, enjoying my squash and hopefully that that transforms into some good performances.
“Yeah it’s a very proud moment for me as soon as I see the court with the IWI logo on there, it was amazing. And hearing it being called over the microphone as a sponsor, it’s something we’re very proud of as a company. And it’s just a small milestone that we wanted to do and know it’s an amazing sight to see it on the court like that.”
Result
Paul Coll (NZL) bt David Baillargeon (CAN) 4-1: 7-2, 7-2, 7-2, 6-7, 7-2 (35m)
King Comes From Behind To Down Naughton
Joelle King continued New Zealand’s perfect run at the start of the Carrus Nations Cup, as she came from behind to defeat Canadian No.1 Hollie Naughton in a five game contest.
It was Naughton who started the stronger of the two in the first game, and she ended the Kiwi’s hopes of a late game comeback with some great attacking squash, taking the opening salvo 7-4.
From there though, King dropped just nine points, and inflicted just the second 7-0 game of the week. That came in the third, with the momentum firmly moving into her favour. She went on to win in five, to push New Zealand further clear at the top of Pool A.
“Yeah, no, I mean, Hollie started really strong. The ball was quite hot and flying around, and I was struggling to adjust to the court. But, she started really strong. And then I think in the second, I just tried to settle down a little bit more and kind of hit my targets, go back to basics, which, you know, when you’ve played squash for a long time, that’s where you should always start, but sometimes we forget,” King said.
“And the whole occasion, playing at home, there was a bit of a crowd in today, I sort of lost my way a bit in the first, but very happy with the performance today.
“[On the new scoring format] I think it’s a bit of both, to be honest. Obviously something completely different. There’s a little bit of pressure on going into the unknown. I think everyone’s probably a bit better today after trying yesterday.
“I think you always want to play well when you’re playing any kind of event like this with the caliber of players we have. So yeah, I’m just trying to sort of enjoy any pressure there is and play my best in front of the home crowd.
“I mean, today in this sort of format I would like to say if it goes to three all, an extra power play added. I think that could change a match, to be honest. But overall, I think it’s been pretty good and I think everyone’s just enjoying trying something different.”
Result
Joelle King (NZL) bt Hollie Naughton (CAN) 4-1: 4-7, 7-2, 7-0, 7-2, 7-5 (32m)
England v USA
ElShorbagy Dominates Brownell
Mohamed ElShorbagy was in red-hot form to dispatch Timothy Brownell in the penultimate match of the evening, dropping just eight points in a 4-0 rout of the American.
The World No.4, who is featuring for England for the first time this week, came firing out of the blocks and stayed in that form throughout the contest, giving the left-handed American no chance to get into the contest.
ElShorbagy completed the job in just over half an hour, winning 7-3, 7-1, 7-1, 7-3 to give England another victory in the pool stages of the Carrus Nations Cup.
“I mean, hopefully SJ [Perry] can finish the job for us now. And I wanted, I made every single point count. Sometimes if we just play a PSA tournament, you can lose focus at the beginning of the game, especially if you won the first few games playing well with intensity especially, so there was no room for that,” the Englishman said.
“Every game counts, every point counts so I wanted to start with high intensity from the first point in the fourth game too and yeah, I think I played pretty well today.
“I’m just loving my time. I’ve had a great time so far. I came here early, did a couple of exhibitions. People were so great to me from the first day I arrived here and I’ve been having such an amazing time and it’s definitely not going to be the last time I’m going to come back here.
“Well, I’ve been having like, the coffees have been unbelievable. I have not had one bad coffee since I came here so far. I’ve had a lot of stuff, a lot of amazing stuff since I came here. To be honest, the smashed avocado has been unbelievable, scrambled eggs, I’m going to just keep talking about food forever because the food is unbelievable to be honest. So I don’t want to put on weight at the same time, so I’m going to try and stay fit for the rest of the week.”
Result
Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) bt Timothy Brownell (USA) 4-0: 7-3, 7-1, 7-1, 7-3 (27m)
Perry Comes Through Seven-Game Battle
The last match of the second day in Tauranga saw England’s Sarah-Jane Perry overcome the USA’s Olivia Clyne in seven games after going 2-0 down early on.
It was a match that ebbed and flowed across every game, and the American took the first couple of games, before seeing Perry fight back. The English No.1 then won three straight games to move in front, going 3-2 up in the match.
Clyne fought back once more though, and took the sixth game without dropping a point to make it a level match once more. It went to a decider, and the Englishwoman was able to get over the line after 45 minutes of action, keeping England’s perfect record in tact.
“I think the new format we’re trialling here, I think the concentration is very different. So I think we’re all getting used to that. And it’s led to some sort of topsy-turvy matches so far, including my match just now,” Perry said.
“And I think you just got to keep trying to get your concentration, keep it and get some good squash out, which thankfully I did right at the end.
“Yeah, I think I was feeling good and I think today was a really good match leading into tomorrow, y’know having a good match always sets you up for the next one. Sometimes you don’t want to just have quick matches and things like that.
“You want to actually have some good rallies and everything. So both yesterday and today have set me up really nicely for tomorrow. I’ll be really looking forward to that.
“I think it’s the the men first, so I’ll be confident in Mo getting on there and doing the job as well. And hopefully he can get me onto the court in a good position and I’ll do my best to bring it home for England.”
Result
Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt Olivia Clyne (USA) 4-3: 6-7, 5-7, 7-3, 7-6, 7-5, 0-7, 7-4 (45m)
