|
21st World Men's Team Championship
Chennai, India - December 6-12, 2007
Blog | Photo Gallery | Player's List | Results | Live Results
US Men’s Trials Chin and Crombie make World Team
by Martin Heath
The playoff to determine the final order for the US Men’s Team was played this past weekend at the beautiful and austere Cincinatti Country Club.
With the number one and two spots already filled by Julian Illingworth and Chris Gordon respectively, four participants had distinguished themselves through a successful season of trials to justify their opportunity of qualifying. These four were Jamie Crombie (Cincinatti), Richard Chin (New York), Beau River (Chicago) and Rob McFadzean(). Using a Round Robin format, the top two players at the end of the weekend went forward to represent their country at the World Men’s Team Championships held in Chennai, India from 6-12th December.
The first match played on the Friday evening was Richard Chin versus Rob McFadzean. Rob came out to a flyer, playing a very fast pace, trying to rush his opponent, and for the first game and a half he was successful. Rob has a tight technique that produces consistent shots, and possesses a wonderfully languid lunge that seemingly allows him to pick up any ball. Richard Chin is an experienced and wily competitor that has played some of the best players in the world throughout his career. He possesses a deadly lob/drop combo and consistently tight rails game that is frustrating for any opponent. There were crucial moments in the second game where Rob could have run away to a 2-0 lead, though some forehand drop errors at crucial times from Rob allowed Richard to find his form and take the lead and with it the second game. While the next two games were intensely competitive, the sense was that Richard had found his game, and with Rob continuing to make errors in the front forehand corner, Richard seized his opportunity to take a worthy 3-1 win.
The next match up was Jamie Crombie against Beau River. While Jamie is the Head Pro at the CCC, he was scarcely seen up until his match time, such was his concentrated preparation. This focus, combined with an athleticism and pace that harkens back to his early 20’s, would be Jamie’s calling card throughout the weekend. It was up to the other players to break him down, which was Beau River’s task in his first match.
At 6’4” and built like as if his best game might be rugby or football, Beau is a veritable giant on court. He uses his reach to dominate the middle of the court and send his opponents around him and into the corners.
In the first game Beau started playing with Jamie’s pace in an open, fast running game with lots of cross-courts, boasts and reaction volleys. This tactic was only ever going to favor Jamie, which he proved by a convincing 1st game win. Beau tried again in the second and yet again in the third game to match Jamie’s pace, though in the end he was left with nothing in the tank, and let Jamie put a 3-0 win on his card on the first day.
Saturday was crunch time for all participants. If Jamie and Richard could both win they would guarantee themselves a place in the team, otherwise the pivotal matches would go to the Sunday. Richard Chin was on first against Beau River, who needed to win to keep his chances alive. Beau started better than in his previous match, playing straight more often and looking to cut off the volley with his reach. The problem was that Richard is also an expert in this type of tighter, straighter game, and even a killer volley drop from Beau was countered by a crosscourt lob by Richard that seemingly had ice on it when it came down. It was the relentless retrieving and ability to hit into the corners by Richard that would prove to be the difference. Beau slowed down slightly, unable to shift himself to all 4 corners, most rallies eventually being won by Richard from cunning backhand drop-shots after out-maneuvering Beau at the back. While Beau battled for a while, Richard came through as victor and clinched his place in the US Team, posting a 3-0 victory. In a post-match interview Richard explained to the CCC spectators how much it meant to him, since for the first time he was going to be on the same team as his protégé from the Harvard Club in NY, Chris Gordon, 16 years his junior.
This touching moment was the precursor for a battling encounter between Jamie and Rob. For the second day in a row, Rob came out at a blistering pace, playing right into the hands of Jamie, who has over 30 years experience and a previous world ranking of 30 playing precisely to this style. Rob’s game was nullified, and Jamie came out on top in a relatively comfortable 3-0 victory, clinching a spot in the team to the delight of his friends and home fans.
The next day would be a battle for 3rd and 5th place, with the team members of Julian Illingworth, Chris Gordon, Jamie Crombie and Richard Chin now decided in what surely must be one of Team USA’s top teams in quite a number of years.
On Sunday there was no deflation as Jamie took the court against Richard Chin. With a combined age of 80 and 50-60 years of squash experience, they performed admirably, perhaps Richard’s two 4-game matches showing towards the end of each game. This was a great clash of styles, with Jamie trying to rush the pace and Richard trying to slow it down with precise shot placement. Both had some success at imposing their styles, though it was Jamie that ran away the winner in 4 tight games to clinch 1st place for the weekend and 3rd place in the team.
The 3rd/4th playoff would now determine the 1st and 2nd reserve for the team. Beau River had qualified for the US Team in the previous World Championships held in Islamabad in 2005, and while disappointed with his showing this time around, Beau can now think about qualifying for the 2009 World Teams and concentrate on his PhD in Clinical Psychology.
The match between Rob and Beau was a tense encounter, both wanting to redeem their weekend and clinch the 5th spot as non-traveling reserve. It looked as though Rob was moving Beau around enough to tire his heavier opponent, and at one-love and leading in the second, looked to have the edge. Beau has trained in the UK with some of the top PSA pros in his career, and this may have proven to be the big difference in his comeback. He slowly chipped away at his deficit, snatching the second game on a tie-break much to the frustration of Rob. He proceeded to win the first 6 points of both the next two games with a dominating style of play, Rob managing to fight back each time, though in both games it was a case of too little too late. Beau walked off after a tough hour long encounter as the victor and having secured his place as non-traveling reserve. Rob definitely had his chances against both Richard and Beau, and with some slight adjustments will definitely be in the running for the top 4 over the next two years.
The CCC and its members provided some wonderful hospitality to the many junior players, senior players and officials over the course of the weekend, and it was totally appropriate for a club with such a rich heritage in squash to be the host for such an event.
Good luck to Team USA in India December 6-12th 2007!
|
|
