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13-Aug,
Final:
[1]
Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt [2] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned)
11/5, 11/2, 20/18 (37m)
It's Rachael again in Alex
Australia's world champion Rachael Grinham retained her
Alexandria Open title with a straight-game victory over Vanessa
Atkinson, clinching the win 20-18 in an extended third game, the
longest in the short history of WISPA's "Pro Scoring".
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Rachael Retains Alexandria Title
After surviving a marathon third game tie-break, Australia's world
champion Rachael Grinham beat former world champion Vanessa Atkinson
in the final of the Women's Alexandria Sporting Club Open to retain
her title in the $25,000 WISPA World Tour squash event at the
Alexandria Sporting Club in Alexandria, Egypt.
Grinham, the Cairo-based world number three, disappointed the local
crowd when she beat Alexandria star Raneem El Weleily, the No4 seed,
in the semi-finals to reach the 48th Tour final of her career.
Atkinson, the second seed from the Netherlands, claimed her 34th
final appearance after ending the brave run of Annie Au in the other
semi - beating her unseeded Hong Kong opponent in straight games.
After dominating the first two games in the final and romping to
match-ball at 10-7 in the third, it seemed likely that the title was
back in Grinham's hands. But Atkinson was not about to concede so
easily and levelled the game before proceeding to three game-balls
of her own.
But, at 18-18 - with the game already achieving the record as the
highest 'tie-break' score since WISPA introduced its Pro-Scoring
last month - Grinham held her nerve to win the next two points to
claim her historic 11-5, 11-2, 20-18 victory after 37 minutes.
Asked about the marathon tie-break, the runner-up told the media: "I
was too tired to think. I was just trying to hang in there and get
some balls back. I felt I played better and better as I got the
match practice and to get used to PAR. That was the whole point of
playing the event."
As for the winner, Grinham explained about the endgame. "She thought
it was over and so became relaxed. I didn't panic though. In fact I
was relaxed today and for the first time I was confident going
short. I was having a really good day until she picked it up at the
end, but I always felt I would get through it even if it took
another game," said Grinham, after winning her first title of the
year, but the 28th of her career.
"Mind you, I always enjoy playing Vanessa as it is a fair game."
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12-Aug, Semis:
[1] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt
[4] Raneem El Weleily (Egy)
11/6, 11/5, 11/4 (27m)
[2] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned) bt Annie Au (Hkg)
11/9, 11/3, 11/8 (28m)
Top two in Alex final
Normal order was restored in Alexandria as the top two seeds won
through to the semis, both in straight games. Defending champion
Rachael Grinham eased past Raneem El Weleily in a senior v
junior world champion matchup, while Vanessa Atkinson found
her best form of the week to end the run of unseeded youngster Annie
Au.
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Rachael's Experience tells
WISPA reports from Alexandria
Although the squash enthusiasts of the Alexandria Sporting Club had
lost their big hope when Engy Kheirallah was on the wrong end of an
upset in the quarter finals, it was not held against Raneem El
Weleily that she had moved to Cairo to study. So it was standing
room only when the fourth seed took on world champion Rachael
Grinham.
Their styles gel and the Egyptian tends to play well against the
'half Egyptian'. And when El Weleily raced into a 6/1 lead in the
first against the Cairo resident of some seven years it looked like
she would do so again. But she could only muster one more point as
Grinham ducked and dived with more patience to take the first.
Mistakes from the prodigiously talented but inconsistent Egyptian
were awaited, and enough materialised for the second game to be
secured too, and while it was never a procession - El Weleily is far
too good for that - amidst the welter of creative shot making and
use of angles it was Grinham who was adding both a planning element
and points to her total, with the third game going much the same way
as the first two.
As far as Grinham was concerned it was a no let decision when she
expected a stroke that turned the match. At the 6/1 in the first
game she was convinced that her opponent was in her line of fire.
"I was too casual and defensive. I had not intended to give her easy
shots, but when I got that call I got really fired up and put some
power on the ball and started to play better. Once I upped the pace
she couldn't do so much," she commented.
For El Weleily "It was a huge disappointment but on the other hand
maybe I wasn't quite ready. I love playing Rachael but tonight it
didn't quite work out tonight," she said. Two former world junior
champions, a gap of ten years, and maturity told.
Vanessa finds some form
The second semi final posed the question of whether the tremendous
run of Hong Kong junior Annie Au could continue. Opponent
Vanessa Atkinson has looked fit, sharp but at times fragile of
late.
Certainly the first game was tight, with Au maintaining her
repertoire of solid defence coupled with astute movement towards the
ball, volleying with alacrity and employing an aggravating boast. At
nine all it turned on two loose short shots from Au that Atkinson
was able to pounce on and slot into the nick.
From that point Atkinson seemed to up the pace, stopped Au from
taking the front and generally imposed her own game.
Progress was serene and devoid of a destructive wobble until mid way
through the third when a few errors crept in. It then became a
battle of wills, and it was the vastly experienced Dutch number one
who played the better end game.
The resurgent star seemed at ease, as was borne out by her comments
after the match. "I was really nervous in the first rounds but I am
now more relaxed and enjoying it. But Annie is a really clever
player. She has a great forehand, is good going forward and mature
beyond her years."
Looking forward to the battle of the world champions in the final
she wryly added, "I will be running and running, doing court
sprints, trying to run everything down and hoping for the best!"
Should be something special to enjoy.
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 Alexandria
Sporting Club Open 2008
Alexandria, Egypt, 09-13 Aug, $25k |
Round One
10
Aug |
Quarters
11 Aug |
Semis
12
Aug |
Final
13 Aug |
[1] Rachael Grinham
(Aus)
11/8, 11/3, 11/8
Laura Mylotte (Irl) |
[1] Rachael Grinham
11/4, 12/14, 11/8, 11/3 (45m)
[Q] Laura Hill |
[1] Rachael Grinham
11/6, 11/5, 11/4 (27m)
[4] Raneem El Weleily |
[1] Rachael Grinham
19.00
[2] Vanessa Atkinson |
[5] Sarah Kippax (Eng)
11/8, 11/9, 11/13, 14/12
[Q] Laura Hill (Eng) |
[4] Raneem El Weleily
(Egy)
11/3, 11/4, 10/12, 11/9
[Q] Heba El Torky (Egy) |
[4] Raneem El Weleily
11/9, 11/3, 11/3 (23m)
[7] Orla Noom |
[7] Orla Noom (Ned)
11/5, 11/5, 11/7
Elise Ng (Hkg) |
Annie Au (Hkg)
11/6, 11/7, 11/5
[6] Christina Mak (Hkg) |
Annie Au
3/11, 11/7, 11/7, 8/11, 11/8 (68m)
[3] Engy Kheirallah |
Annie Au
11/9, 11/3, 11/8 (28m)
[2] Vanessa Atkinson |
[Q] Eman El Amir (Egy)
11/3, 11/8, 11/4
[3] Engy Kheirallah (Egy) |
Lauren Siddall (Eng)
10/12, 11/5, 11/7, 11/8
[8] Alana Miller (Can) |
Lauren Siddall
11/1, 12/10, 4/11, 8/11, 11/8 (47m)
[2] Vanessa Atkinson |
[Q] Nour El Tayeb
(Egy)
7/11, 11/9, 11/5, 8/11, 11/5
[2] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned) |
09-Aug, Qualifying (two rounds, 11.00 & 18.30):
Finals:
Laura Hill (Eng) bt
Olga Ertlova (Cze)
11/5, 11/4, 11/5
Heba El Torky (Egy) bt Salma Hany (Egy)
11/0, 11/5, 5/11, 13/11
Eman El Amir (Egy) bt
Fiona Moverley (Eng)
11/4, 11/3, 11/9
Nour El Tayeb (Egy) bt
Nouran El Torky (Egy)
11/13, 6/11, 11/9, 11/7, 11/9
Round One:
Laura Hill (Eng) bt Farida El Dahab (Egy)
11/1, 11/7, 11/5
Olga Ertlova (Cze) bt Amanda Sobhy (Usa)
11/3, 6/11, 11/1, 12/10
Salma Hany (Egy) bt
Lucie Fialova (Cze)
11/8, 6/11, 5/11, 11/9, 12/10
Heba El Torky (Egy) bt Sara El Noamany (Egy)
7/11, 11/6, 11/9, 11/4
Eman El Amir (Egy) bt Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy (Egy) 13/11, 11/9,
11/4
Fiona Moverley (Eng) bt Farah Abdel Meguid (Egy)
13/11, 11/9, 11/4
Nouran El Torky (Egy) bt Salma Nasser (Egy)
11/9, 11/6, 11/9
Nour El Tayeb (Egy) bt Eliza Kargioti (Gre)
11/2, 11/2, 11/2
2007 Event
2006 Event
2005 Event
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11-Aug, Quarters:
Au
ousts Engy in Alex
 Hong
Kong's Annie Au, the 2007 Asian Junior Champion, continued
the fantastic run of form that saw her beat world number 13 Kasey
Browe to claim the Australian Open last week as she beat third seed
Engy Kheirallah in five games to reach the semi-finals in
Alexandria.
Unseeded Au beat her higher-ranked compatriot Christina Mak in the
first round and today recovered from a game down to lead 2/1 then
held her nerve in the decider, going 7/1 up then seeing off
Kheirallah as she came back to 8/10. Today's victory, over the 2005
Alexandria champion and world number 18 in front of her home crowd -
and husband Karim Darwish, must go down as one of Annie's best wins
yet.
Au's next assignment is against second seed Vanessa Atkinson,
the former world number one and world champion who also won in five
games - for the second time in two days - to see off the challenge
of England's unseeded Lauren Siddall.
Atkinson saw a two-game lead disappear but regrouped to take the
decider. Siddall could hardly buy a point in the first, went 10/4 up
in the second before losing it, but held on to a big lead in the
third and stayed ahead in the fourth in an all court match which
featured great rallying peppered with impetuous errors.
The fifth was very tight, Atkinson, as she has tendency to do, was
very much on the edge. At 9/7 up the Dutchwoman stretched sideways
and slotted a volley in the nick, eventually getting home 11/8.
Top seed and defending champion Rachael Grinham had a
slightly easier passage into the semi-finals as she ended the run of
qualifier Laura Hill in four games, ending English interest. Laura
was an obdurate obstacle, steady and unflappable. The see-saw second
proved crucial as Hill was 8/4, 10/8 and 12/11 up before Grinham
eventually crawled home 14/12.
Grinham is a Cairo resident so can generally count on support in
Egypt, but in the semi-final the home crowd is sure to be behind
world junior champion Raneem El Weleily, the fourth seed who
recorded the quickest win of the day as she beat Orla Noom in
straight games. Noom got to 8/8 in the first playing solidly and
benefiting from several casual errors from El Weleily, but after
that the world junior champion settled down & it was
straightforward, finishing the job with a flamboyant overhead kill.
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Engy & Annie
"I was a bit nervous in the middle but
because I had nothing to lose I didn't worry and I played my best.
I'm a bit tired so my fitness has to get better."
Hill advises Siddall
"Towards the end she kept with it and
was too consistent. My head and body were too tired and when she
gave it a big push I started to panic.
"Then she was moving me
forward and back and side to side and kept me under too much
pressure. "
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10-Aug, Round One:
Hill & Siddall maintain
English interest in Alex
 The
first round of the Alexandria Open draw pitted several compatriots
against each other, with two All-Egyptian clashes and one each for
England and Hong Kong.
Dangerous qualifier Laura Hill - she doesn't play enough
events to get a realistic ranking - was probably the one third seed
Sarah Kippax wanted to avoid, and so it proved as Hill got the
better of four close games to reach the quarters, where she will
face world champion Rachael Grinham, the Cairo-resident
Australian looking to retain this title.
 More
English success followed when unseeded Lauren Siddall beat
eighth seed Alana Miller in four. Siddall now meets former world
champion Vanessa Atkinson, who struggled to beat young
Egyptian qualifier Nour El Tayeb, eventually prevailing in five.
There will be home interest in the other two quarter-finals though.
World junior champion Raneem El Weleily saw off the challenge
of Heba El Torky in one of the all-Egypt matches, and will meet
Orla Noom for a place in the semis.
Champion here in 2005, Engy Kheirallah is still in contention
for a second title after winning the second all-Egypt clash, against
Eman El Amir. She meets the all-Hong Kong winner Annie Au,
after the youngster who last week claimed the Australian Open title
beat her senior stablemate Christina Mak in straight games.
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09-Aug, Qualifying:
Three Egyptians through in Alex
Qualifying for the fourth Alexandria Open saw three Egyptians win
through to the main draw, taking the tally of home-grown players in
the main draw to five. Heba El Torky, Eman El Amir and
Nour El Tayeb - coming from two games down to beat Heba's
younger sister Nouran.
All three Egyptian qualifiers face tough tasks in the main draw - El
Torky was drawn to meet El Weleily, the world junior champion, while
El Amir faces Kheirallah, the 2005 champion here, and El Tayeb meets
second seed Vanessa Atkinson, the former world number one and
world champion.
Top seed is world champion and defending Alex champion Rachael
Grinham, almost an honorary Egyptian as she has been resident in
Cairo for several years now.
Also safely through qualifying was Laura Hill, who faces an
all-English clash against fifth seed Sarah Kippax. |
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Qualifying Round
One:
Nouran El Torky (Egy) bt Salma Nasser (Egy) 11/9, 11/6, 11/9
 "I
played Salma twice times before and won them both, 3-0 and 3-1. This
time was quite scary, it wasn’t easy for me and as you know Salma is
a very good player and has just won the Pioneer Junior Open in
Germany.
"My mom was my great support and whenever I got down or scared
during the match I looked at her and got all the support back. I am
very happy I won and will be looking forward to my next match with
Nour El Tayeb."
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Only one HK left out of Annie, Elise and Christina ... |
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