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TODAY at the Nationals
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Sunday 5th Feb, THE FINALS
MEN'S DOUBLES:
[1] Blair & Clark
bt
[2] Archer & Lindley
15/7, 15/3 (42m)
WOMEN'S DOUBLES:
[1] Emms & Kellogg bt
[2] Nicholas & Tripp
walkover (Tripp ill)
MEN'S SINGLES:
[1] Nick Kidd bt [2] Aamir Ghaffar
13/15, 15/3, 15/2 (85m)
WOMEN'S SINGLES:
[1] Tracey Hallam bt [3] Jill Pittard
8/11, 11/4, 11/0 (42m)
MIXED DOUBLES:
[1] Robertson & Emms bt
[2] Clark & Kellogg
15/2, 15/3 (37m)
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THE DRAWS
Richard Eaton reports
on the Finals
Match summaries
by Steve Cubbins,
photos by Steve Cubbins and
Peter Richardson |
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Men's Singles:
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[1] Nick Kidd bt [2] Aamir Ghaffar 13/15,
15/3, 15/2 (85m) |
 KIDD OVER THE MOON
IN MANCHESTER
"Over the moon ... can't
believe it ..."
 That was Nick Kidd's reaction to winning his first English National
title in Manchester this afternoon.
After losing a tight first game to defending champion Aamir Ghaffar,
Kidd took complete control of the match, winning the final two games for
the loss of a handful of points.
 "He
came at me a bit fast to start with, but I dug my heels in and got
back into it.
"I play more aggressively than Aamir, a more physical game, and I knew
he'd had some hard matches so it was a matter of keeping the shuttle
in court, making him work harder.
"Once I got back into it I just went into automatic mode.
"I'm over the moon, I've worked so hard for this after nerves got the
better of me in last year's final. This is my major, major achievement
and a massive confidence boost for me."
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 "I
ran out of gas a bit, I started to suffer after hard matches
yesterday, and I didn't really have a good game plan - I should have
played more clears and a few less attacks.
"I'd love to win it a third time, but at least I got to the final, and
with all the pressure I put on myself that was an achievement, so
let's go forward from here.
"Nick played very well, but let's see how he handles it now ... I'll
come back stronger next year like I always do."
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Women's Singles:
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[1] Tracey Hallam bt [3] Jill Pittard 8/11, 11/4,
11/0 (42m) |
 IT'S TWO FOR TRACEY
 Tracey Hallam captured her second National title when she performed
her third comeback in consecutive matches to beat Jill Pittard in
three games.
Pittard took the first and was 4/0 up in the second, but Hallam reeled off
22 consecutive points to regain the title she won in 2004.
 "Yes,
I seem to like my comebacks this week! I made a few mistakes in the
first, and I was giving her too much time at the rear of the court.
"She can attack you from there if you give her time, so I had to push
the ball flatter to the rear, making her work from side to side.
"When I got the second I was determined to come out fighting in the
third, and it worked well.
"It's good to get the title back, after missing out last year and in a
few other finals."
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 "I
wanted to keep on playing my game like I did at the start, but she
kept me to the back and I couldn't attack any more.
"I was pleased to get to the final but I wanted to win, so it
disappointing to lose after that good start."
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Mixed Doubles:
[1] Robertson & Emms bt
[2] Clark & Kellogg
15/2, 15/3 (37m) |
NO SWEAT FOR ROBERTSON & EMMS
In the last final of the day Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms showed
just why they're world number ones. Displaying all their skills, with
lightning fast attack and defence, they beat England team-mates Anthony
Clark and Donna Kellogg for the loss of just five points to retain
their mixed doubles title.
 "We
expected it to be tougher than that, we play them all the time in
training and it's always really close. But we were really on top of
our game today, so very happy with that.
"The Commonwealths are foremost in our minds at the moment, then the
next Olympics where we want to go one better and win gold ... that's
why we're playing together."
 "We've
got a hectic schedule coming up, with the Uber Cup, the Commonwealth
Games ... we're hoping to bring back some medals."
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 "They
showed why they're world number ones today, they were onto everything
so quickly and didn't give us a chance to get into it, it's so
difficult to play them when they're playing so well. Fortunately
they're not in our half in the Commonwealth Games, so maybe we'll meet
them in the final!"
"We knew it was going to be tough, and that we would have to play well
to get close to them, but they played so well ..."
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 Anthony Clark
at 1/14 in the second game:
"We can still do this, come on ..."
He serves into the net.
At 2/14:
"Look, they're getting nervous now!"
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Men's Doubles:
| [1] Blair & Clark bt
[2] Archer & Lindley 15/7, 15/3 (42m) |
EASY WIN FOR BLAIR & CLARK
 Robert Blair & Anthony Clark won the English National titles at the
Velodrome, easing to victory over injured opposition.
Blair and Clark got the better of the early exchanges against Simon
Archer and David Lindley, leading 5-1, but a fightback saw the scores
levelled at 6-all.
At that point Archer, bidding for his tenth doubles title, pulled up
apparently injured. He carried on for another four points, then called for
the trainer who renewed strapping on his side.
The match resumed, but was never a real contest as Blair and Clark took
full advantage, winning 15/7, 15/3 in 42 minutes.
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 "It's
a strange way to play a match, but it still feels good to win another
title."
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 "I
pulled a muscle in my ribs in practice on Tuesday, which is not the
best thing to do when you're trying to win your tenth doubles title!
"It was ok as we went through the early rounds but at 6-all today I
pulled it again, and after that all they had to do was lift the ball
to me, I just couldn't hit it."
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Women's Doubles:
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[1] Emms & Kellogg bt
[2] Nicholas & Tripp walkover |
WALKOVER FOR EMMS & KELLOGG
The women's title was retained without Gail Emms and Donna
Kellogg needing to step onto court - other than to receive their
trophies - as news came through during the men's final that Ella Tripp was
too ill to compete, suffering from some sort of 'bug'.
 "It's
a disappointing way to win it, it's never nice when someone has to
concede.
"It's happened to us the other way round, so we know what it's like
and we really feel for Nicola."
Donna Kellogg |
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