03-Feb, Day Two:
A PIECE OF HISTORY
Richard Eaton

It was the one final which was desired more than any other. Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms will play Anthony Clark and Donna Kellogg, their friends, rivals, sparring partners, travel companions and regular room mates - and the four of them will make history for the second time in five months.

When they met in the Palacio de Deportes in Madrid, it was the first time there had ever been an all-English world final; when they meet in the Manchester Velodrome it will be the first time that there has ever been a re-run of a world final in an English national championships.

There was rarely much doubt that it would happen, but there was a certain fascination in seeing whether any advantage could be achieved by either pair by the way in which they got there. There wasn't - though that made the post-match chat a little more intriguing.

Richard's Full Day Two report

SEMI-FINALS:

XD: [1] Robertson bt Emms bt Tonks & Munt      
               21/15, 21/13 (26m)
      [2]  Clark & Kellogg bt Lindley & Rayappan 
                21/13, 21/14 (29m)

WS: [1] Jill Pittard bt Caroline Westley              
             21/17, 21/13 (27m)
       Elizabeth Cann bt [4] Rebeccah Pantanay  
             21/17, 21/11 (32m)
 
MS: [3] Nathan Rice bt [1] Rajiv O(37m)useph   
              14/21, 21/12, 21/19 (53m)
       [2] Nick Kidd bt [4] Toby Honey        
              21/15, 21/16

WD: [1] Emms & Kellogg bt [4] Bok & Parker    
                21/13, 21/17 (29m)
       [2] Munt & Nicholas bt [3] Rayappan & Wallwork
                21/18, 20/22, 21/14 (60m)

MD: [1] Blair & Clark bt Adcock & Honey          
                21/10, 21/7
       [2] Langridge & Lindley bt Hunt & Archer    
                23/21, 21/14

Cann & Rice upset the seedings
Quick summary from Steve Cubbins

If the semi-final started off with three relatively predictable mixed wins, it didn't stay that way for long.

Women's top seed Jill Pittard eased away after an even start against a Caroline Westley clearly hampered by her injured leg, and the top two mixed doubles pairings set up the expected world championship final rematch with remarkably similar scorelines.

Men's defending champion Nick Kidd reached his allotted place in the final with an assured display against Toby Honey, but will face unexpected opposition in the final after Nathan Rice got the better of top seed Rajiv Ouseph in a tremendous battle that had the packed Velodrome crowd enthralled.

Pittard's opponent in the women's final is also unexpected - according to the seedings at least. 2005 champion Elizabeth Cann appeared to be injured in the break after taking the first game against the returning Rebecca Pantanay, but after a shaky start to the second she started to pull clear and eventually eased to victory.

The doubles events saw both top seeds through to the finals, and in the the last match of the evening men's second seeds Langridge & Lindley inflict the first-ever Nationals defeat on six-time champions Hunt & Archer to end their unlikely attempt to win a seventh title, eight years after their last victory.

Richard Eaton's Day Two report
 

"I felt more confident out there tonight, I was more relaxed and just let it come, I was more comfortable at the front."

"I was trying to get to the net early and make him play from there, I think my net shots are better than his. t When I couldn't do that I was trying to extend the rallies, just stick in there.

"I lost to him three times before and in the first if felt like that was going to happen again, but in the second and third I felt much better, picked it up and started to gain confidence.

"In the third I tried to mix it up more, but it was tight at the end, he had a good lead, 18/15, but I kept coming back and I was so relieved on the last point."

"David and Suzanne played superbly, they've improved a lot and we're the ones they're aiming for, trying to knock us off, so we had to play well and work hard to win that one.

"It should be a good battle tomorrow. I hope we do better than last year, they played a phenomenal match then, they can't play like that again, can they ..."

"You can see from what they did out there they're still a quality pair, they've got great character and they're so competitive, still very tough to beat.

"We had a good lead in the first set, but they used their experience to break up the game and we struggled to hold on in the end.

"In the second it was us who broke their game up, we managed to stick to our game plan."

PHOTO GALLERIES

[1] Rajiv Ouseph v Ben Beckman    21/6, 21/18 (25m)
[3] Nathan Rice bt [5] Andrew Ellis  21/11, 21/16 (40m)
[4] Toby Honey bt Mark Sellwood    21/16, 21/7 (33m)
[2] Nick Kidd bt [6] Aamir Ghaffar   27/25, 15/21, 21/16 (73m)

Nick leaves it late

The top four seeds will contest this evening's semi-finals, but defending champion Nick Kidd left it late in his repeat of last year's final against Aamir Ghaffar.

Kidd led throughout the first, but couldn't shake Ghaffar off, and it was only on his seventh game point, to Ghaffar's one, that he took the lead. Ghaffar came back strongly in the second, and at 11/6 in the decider it wasn't looking good for Kidd. But, aided by some errors from Ghaffar, he clawed his way back to parity at 12-all and from then the momentum was his.

Nursing an injured leg, the question must be how much he has left for the semis ...

"I started well, but lost my focus in the second set. I was leading 9-something, he took the lead at the interval and I struggled to get my focus back.

"I was just hitting it, not thinking about the next shot, and if I played his attacks back flat he was just stepping up and finishing it.

"I knew if I could steady up, keep it going, the rallies were mine.

"Coming into the last set my coach told me 'you're the defending champion, this is the last game, your last shot, if you don't just give it all you'll wake up in the morning regretting it'. That fired me up a bit ...

"I injured my leg on Wednesday, and coming into the event I wasn't at all sure it would hold up this long.  I asked the physio what was the worst I could do and he said 'tear it some more', which would mean three or four weeks out.

"I was prepared to risk that ..."

"I'm feeling much sharper with a couple of games under mybelt. Better length, better at the net, better defence, more confident.

"He went for a few too many shots too early, going for the winners and gave me a lot of points really.

"The next one's going to be tough, those two [Kidd & Ghaffar] always have a battle so hopefully I'll be a little fresher than whoever comes out of that one.

"It's my second time in the semis, hoping to go one better this, and I'll be underdog whoever I play, so there's less pressure on me, it's an opportunity to take a scalp ..."

[1] Jill Pittard bt Laura Cousins            21/17, 21/11 (24m)
Caroline Westley bt Panuga Riou         21/12, 21/15 (27m)
[4] Rebecca Pantenay bt Helen Ward   21/7, 21/13 (23m)
Elizabeth Cann bt [2] Michelle Cheung  21/13, 21/6 (30m)

Westley walks into the semis
as Cann dismisses Cheung

Unseeded Caroline Westley followed up yesterday's dismissal of third seed Rachel Howard with a straight sets win over 14-year-old Pangua Riou. Clearly in some trouble with a heavily bandaged leg, Westley was able to capitalise on several errors from her opponent to set up a semi-final against top seed Jill Pittard, who eased through against Laura Cousins.

2005 champion Elizabeth Cann breezed pase second seed Michelle Cheung, and meets Rebecca Pantenay, the '98 finalist making a comeback after an extended layoff, for a place in the final.

"I'm struggling with my hamstring, I injured it yesterday against Rachel, and there were a few shots there that I shouldn't have gone for.

"Fortunately I was able to keep the shuttle in play and wait for her to make the mistakes.

"I've got quite a long break now, so I'll see the physio,  get some massage and put some heavy strapping on. There's no chance of me pulling out of the Nationals ..."

"Very happy with that. I made the final in '98 but I've been out of it for years, injuries and three operations, I didn't think I'd play at this level again.

"I'm not training full time and I'm not funded, but I entered and won a few satellite tournaments and it made me wonder where I was at, if I could still cut it.

"I've not played Elizabeth for years, but I'm looking forward to it. I wasn't expecting to be seeded and I didn't expect to get this far, so I'm very pleased ..."

[1] Robertson & Emms bt Wright & Connor  21/7, 21/10 (18m)
Tonks & Munt bt Honey & Heather               21/14, 18/21, 21/12
[4] Lindley & Rayappan bt Adcock & Bok     21/15, 21/13
[2] Clark & Kellog bt Hanson & Grant          21/14, 21/15

"That was a bit tight at the end, but when I play with Simon we believe we can win.

"We might not be the fastest, we may make a few mistakes, but when you're out there it's belief that counts."

[1] Blair & Clark bt Beckman & Dunlop           21/7, 21/10 (17m)
Adcock & Honey bt Adcock & Middleton           24/22, 23/21 (38m)
Hunt & Archer bt Hanson & Wright                  21/18, 22/20 (38m)
[2] Langridge & Lindley bt Griffiths & Wrigley   21/8, 21/8 (19m)

Women's Doubles Quarters

[1] Emms & Kellogg bt Brett & Day                 21/9, 21/3 (18m)
[4] Bok & Parker bt Robertshaw & Ward          21/16, 21/11 (23m)
[3] Rayappan & Wallwork bt Howard & Olver   21/18, 21/18 (32m)
[2] Munt & Nicholas bt Agathangelou & White   21/4, 21/12 (22m)

TODAY at the Nationals: Friday 2nd, Day ONE

RICHARD EATON on Day One

Gail Emms, Charity Barnes, Caroline Westley,
Rajiv Ouseph, Anthony Clark, Aamir Ghaffar