Predictions for Bermuda
Obviously, with the first round being finished and the scond one in process, naimg the potential winner has become somewhat easier. The fact that one of the big favourites, Anthony Ricketts, just lost to Ong Beng Hee of Malysia, gives more food for thought however and makes the draw somewhat more interesting.
In my opinion LJ Anjema is one of the strongest players still outside the top twenty and Ricketts having beaten him as clearly as he did made him red-hot favourite in my eyes. Which makes Ong Beng Hee's task of having beaten Ricketts three zip even harder to understand. It seems that once in a while good old Ong is able to pull one out of the bag and beat one of the big guys, although his last big win, as far as I can remember, was against David Palmer in the British Open 2006.
I think Gaultier is going to be the big benefactor of this, after he beat Beachill in what looks a convincing win. I cannot see him losing to Beng Hee right now and he will give Palmer or Nicol, whoever makes their way through to the semis, a very hard time and certainly will not enter the court as underdog.
The top half however is a little more open in my eyes and it will be interesting to see how Willstrop will fare against the man of the moment, Amr Shabana himself. I think that if someone can beat Shabana in the top half it is going to be Wilstrop, as he is one of the few players who has both the physique and precision to keep up with him. With Shabana having realised that he is more successful with a slightly more basic game of squash, he seems to really have moved away from losing to the likes of Lincou, Mathew or Nicol. I think if someone is going to beat him, it will be someone who plays a more attacking squash and not just let himself be dominated by Shabana, which is why John White did so well against him. Obviously White does well against anyone if he is playing well, but I hope you get my point.
So I am going to be precise: in my opinion Gaultier is going to win the tournament, as he is again, someone who can do well against Shabana. He hasn't lost to Wilstrop throughout his entire career (not that they have played since juniors I think), he beat Lincou and Nicol the last times but lost to Mathew the last few times. As I can't see Mathew going through again, I think chances for the Frenchman are good. Let's see! Comments welcome...
In my opinion LJ Anjema is one of the strongest players still outside the top twenty and Ricketts having beaten him as clearly as he did made him red-hot favourite in my eyes. Which makes Ong Beng Hee's task of having beaten Ricketts three zip even harder to understand. It seems that once in a while good old Ong is able to pull one out of the bag and beat one of the big guys, although his last big win, as far as I can remember, was against David Palmer in the British Open 2006.
I think Gaultier is going to be the big benefactor of this, after he beat Beachill in what looks a convincing win. I cannot see him losing to Beng Hee right now and he will give Palmer or Nicol, whoever makes their way through to the semis, a very hard time and certainly will not enter the court as underdog.
The top half however is a little more open in my eyes and it will be interesting to see how Willstrop will fare against the man of the moment, Amr Shabana himself. I think that if someone can beat Shabana in the top half it is going to be Wilstrop, as he is one of the few players who has both the physique and precision to keep up with him. With Shabana having realised that he is more successful with a slightly more basic game of squash, he seems to really have moved away from losing to the likes of Lincou, Mathew or Nicol. I think if someone is going to beat him, it will be someone who plays a more attacking squash and not just let himself be dominated by Shabana, which is why John White did so well against him. Obviously White does well against anyone if he is playing well, but I hope you get my point.
So I am going to be precise: in my opinion Gaultier is going to win the tournament, as he is again, someone who can do well against Shabana. He hasn't lost to Wilstrop throughout his entire career (not that they have played since juniors I think), he beat Lincou and Nicol the last times but lost to Mathew the last few times. As I can't see Mathew going through again, I think chances for the Frenchman are good. Let's see! Comments welcome...
posted by Dan Zilic at
7:03:00 pm
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