Harvard Uni Boston semis

Lincou - Low Forehand down the line

Published: 07 Mar 2008 - 15:41 by rippa rit

Updated: 26 Sep 2008 - 07:10

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In the semis Darwish retires injured which puts Willstrop automatically into the finals.

Palmer defeated Lincou in four games which took 81 minutes. Report below directly from Colleen Turner in Boston:

"With the withdrawal of Karim Darwish from the semifinals due to injury, James Willstrop automatically advanced to the McWIL Courtwall Players Cup finals and is one step closer to the $25,000 pay off. Determination of his competitor during the evening's first match between David Palmer (AUS, #5) and Thierry Lincou (FRA, #7) was not quite so cut-and-dry. The 81-minute match was equal parts excitement, frustration and aggravation for players and, to some extent, spectators, too.

Palmer started the semifinal action off strong, hitting well-placed shots and matching Lincou point-for-point. At 6-all, he went on a five-point tear to easily take the first game and a 1-love lead. Game two saw Lincou scoot up 6-love in a much different contest than the first. Palmer took the serve at 1-6, and with the exception of a shot to the tin by Lincou that was pretty much it. The tall, strapping gent in white looked a lot like David Palmer, but that's where the resemblance ended. Lincou dominated with an 11-4 victory to tie things up.

"Let it Be" was the theme of the match's third game. Despite the numerous volleys, Lincou was up just 3-love a solid seven minutes into the game. At 3-all, Lincou once again kicked it into high gear, grabbing six straight points. Palmer's series of forced and unforced errors looked bleak indeed, but the tenacious tall one would not go down without a fight. Lincou took the serve back at 10-7, and appeared poised to win. Not to be denied, Palmer rallied to tie it 10-all. The next series of points were long and tense, to say the least. Palmer hit tin to give Lincou his first point; Lincou returned the favor: 11-all. At 13-all, tempers over the never-ending lets were fraying nerves. Palmer went up, but Lincou tied it up yet again: 14-all. Lincou's shot to the tin put Palmer ahead for good, ultimately earning the Aussie the win and a 2-1 lead in the match.

Game four was less contentious and more fast-paced than its predecessor. Palmer asserted his presence with authority, quickly going up 10-4, before putting Lincou's hopes of advancing to bed.

Finals action for the McWIL Courtwall Players Cup finishes tomorrow with (all matches taking place at Harvard University's Murr Center):

Watch all the McWIL Courtwall Players Cup action free via the web at www.squashlive.com. Telimage Productions is making the access to the broadcast hassle-free and can accommodate unlimited viewers simultaneously without affecting the quality of the images."