Gaultier Admits Stress of Life at the Top
ISS Canary Wharf Squash Classic First Round, East Wintergarden, Canary Wharf, London:
(7) Alister Walker (England) beat Tom Richards (England) 11-3, 6-11, 12-10, 11-4 (47 mins)
(4) Peter Barker (England) v Adrian Waller (England) 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 (37 mins)
(2) Gregory Gaultier (France) v (Q) Nicolas Mueller (Switzerland) 11-7, 11-3, 11-2 (30 mins)
(5) David Palmer (Australia) v (Q) Davide Bianchetti (Italy) 11-2, 7-11, 12-10, 11-5 (61 mins)
French squash star Gregory Gaultier reached the quarter-finals of the ISS Canary Wharf Classic last night and revealed that he had to take a break from the game to cope with the enormous emotional stress he suffered after reaching the world No.1 spot last year.
Number two seed Gaultier eased past Swiss qualifier Nicolas Mueller, winning 11-7, 11-3, 11-7 in just 30 minutes.
He then admitted that he had taken a rest from the game to deal with the psychological impact on his life after taking over at the top of the rankings in November.
He said: “It all got to me and I needed to take a break. I was No.2 for so long and it was hard work doing all that chasing. The pressure just built up.
“But I have been training hard for three weeks and I am now very happy with my life. I travel the world and play in different countries all the time. I am 27 now and want to continue playing for many years to come, and I want to enjoy it.”
Gaultier faces David Palmer in the quarter-finals after the Australian overcame fellow veteran Davide Bianchetti in a tempestuous battle.
With the match poised at one game all, the crucial third game was a tempestuous affair, with constant physical contact resulting in explosive verbal confrontations with referee John Massarella. Bianchetti twice opened the court door to rant at the official after decisions had gone against him.
It was pure theatre and the sell-out crowd at Canary Wharf’s East Wintergarden venue loved it.
Palmer won the game 12-10 and encountered little resistance as he powered home in the fourth, clinching victory with a spectacular volley kill into the front right corner.
The Australian’s triumph sets up a repeat of last year’s semi-final with Gaultier, which Palmer won with a magnificent fightback from two games down before going on to win the tournament.
World No.12 Alister Walker booked a place in the quarter-finals by beating English rival Tom Richards.
Walker, the No.7 seed, won a hard-fought first round first round encounter 11-3, 6-11, 12-10, 11-4 in 47 minutes.
Walker, a shock semi-finalist at Canary Wharf two years ago, finished as strongly as he started, playing tight, aggressive squash.
Richards had a purple patch in the middle of the match, winning the second game with some deft drop shots and battling all the way through the third until Walker won the tiebreak on a hotly disputed penalty stroke.
No.4 seed Peter Barker meets Walker in the quarter-finals after subduing Adrian Waller in an all-London derby clash.
Barker was in control throughout the match, winning 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 in 37 minutes.
The Islington-based Barker, who has struggled to hit peak form this year despite his rise up the rankings, is determined to do well in front of his home crowd this week.
He said: “I had an injury in training at the start of the year and that put me back. But maybe that disappointment helped me to refocus on my game.
“There are so many good young English players coming through that I feel like an old man at 26.”
Quarter-final schedule:
5.30pm: (3) James Willstrop (Eng) v (8) Daryl Selby (Eng)
6.30pm: (1) Nick Matthew (Eng) v (6)Thierry Lincou (Fra)
8.00pm: (2) Gregory Gaultier (Fra) v (5) David Palmer (Aus)
9.00pm: (4) Peter Barker (Eng) v (7) Alister Walker (Eng)
By ALAN THATCHER
Tournament website: www.canarywharfsquash.com