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The Marsh Apawamis Open
2007
03-08 Jan, Apawamis Club, Rye, New York, USA, $48k |
08-Jan, Final:
[3] Natalie Grinham (Aus) bt
[6] Vicky Botwright (Eng) 9/3, 9/3, 9/3,
(47m) |
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Natalie nabs Marsh Title
WISPA reports from Apawamis
She may have been third seed but Natalie Grinham had been
the form favourite at the Apawamis Club north of New York this
week. She lived up to the tag by winning The Marsh sponsored event
in style.
However, losing finalist Vicky Botwright was also a happy
bunny too. She had talked of changing her game after a poor run,
the need becoming a pressing priority after her last 16 World Open
exit last November.
However the 29 year old from Manchester did enter the fray buoyed
by the memory of her recent Cathay Pacific Swiss Privilege Hong
Kong Open quarter final win over Grinham, a surprise victory at
the time.
For the Netherlands based Australian the prospect over overtaking
Vanessa Atkinson's third place in the next WISPA rankings awaits;
for her opponent, the possibility of moving back towards the fifth
ranking place she occupied for most of 2006.
The match was a demonstration of all court play and racketwork of
the highest order. The loser may have only managed a uniform three
points per game but the 47 minute duration of the encounter speaks
eloquently of the rallying.
Grinham, elfin-like & sporting a shorter go-faster haircut - not
that she needs one - covered the court blisteringly as ever; but
Botwright, loftier and more angular, had clearly focussed upon her
speed to the front and general durability recently. Going forward
and backtracking, she generally gave as good as she got.
After early exchanges the players settled in and the error rates
became low. Botwright, keeping the ball tight as she knew she
must, only tried to force some rallies a mite too much in the
second half of the games as Grinham started to mix up the flow a
little more. It was then that a loose shot would cost her a point.
Each of the three games followed this pattern of being tight until
Grinham eventually broke away, winning more of the many rallies
that had a real wow factor for the sardined spectators.
The Englishwoman was being regularly wrongfooted, but regularly
changing direction in time to retrieve.....certainly more capably
than she may have done in the past.
Grinham, wearing a sweatband on her forearm rather than wrist for
convenience rather than to alleviate tennis elbow, was certainly
being extended enough to need to wipe her brow. But she was close
to finishing off the match after three quarters of an hour. At 7/3
down in the third Botwright castigated herself. 'Push,' she said -
but hardly appropriate as she genuinely hadn't stopped doing so.
Her opponent was relentless though, continuing the rich vein of
form that had taken her so close to the World Open title less than
two months ago.
As Grinham rounded off affairs with another audacious drop from
the back, the capacity crowd rose to applaud the winner. She had
taken the title for the second time, her first win in 2003
actually being her first title on the WISPA Tour.
There had been 20 years of Marsh sponsorship at Apawamis according
to organiser Peter Briggs, and not many or indeed any better
matches perhaps. And he was able to add even more icing to the
Australian's happy day when he presented Grinham with the winner's
Breitling watch, since she had contrived to lose her own only this
morning!
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Finalists with tournament
promoter Peter Briggs
 "I
was happy with that. The match was hard, but as she beat me last
year I was pleased to get one back.
"I felt I was playing better when I played to the back as the
court is lively and she was getting a lot back. It has been a good
start for the year."
Natalie Grinham
 "I
knew Natalie was the in form player so I prepared myself mentally
for a tough match. But to be honest I think I played better than I
have for a long while so I am really pleased.
"To get to a Gold final and play well in the very first event of
the year is a great start to my campaign to get higher than my
best ranking of five."
Vicky Botwright |
07-Jan, Semis:
[3] Natalie Grinham (Aus) bt
[1] Rachael Grinham (Aus) 9/10, 9/1, 9/1, 10/8
(57m)
[6] Vicky Botwright (Eng) bt Laura Lengthorn (Eng)
9/5, 9/5, 10/8 (56m) |
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It's Natalie Again
WISPA reports from Apawamis
In the latest of the sisterly battles, and in a match that
showcased every shot under the sun, and then some, the
younger Grinham sister triumphed again.
The
first game was characterised by Rachael driving more and
holding shots less. Natalie reached game ball at 8/6 this
was saved, as was a further one at 8/7. Rachael saved a
third game ball at 9/8 with an overhead kill, then snatched
the game with Natalie slashing into the tin as she drove at
the front.
Seemingly stung by this Natalie moved to dominate and force
errors and succeeded on both counts in the second and third
games.
The fourth followed a similar pattern with Natalie up 6/2
but as she began to become a little more tentative as the
finishing line approached a series of long rallies saw
Rachael climb back to 7/6 up.
Natalie levelled but Rachael regained hand with the rally of
the match which eventually saw her sprawling in the back,
springing to her feet, surging to the front to pick up the
drop and executing a perfect lob to wild applause from the
whooping crowd.
This was the last defence as a tinned overhead took Natalie
to match ball and an off balance missed drop gave her the
win.
A smile, an embrace and they returned to separate corners
before leaving the scene together.
Vicky wins Lancastrian
Derby
The second match saw Laura starting steadily but after going
ahead Vicky began to find her length and range on the drops,
and took the first with a forehand one into the sidewall
nick on her second game ball.
 Vicky
went 6/2 ahead in the Lancastrian battle in the second
having been talked to by fellow England international Tania
Bailey between games. But Laura began forcing the pace and
closed the gap. However, she was again undone, as she was a
few times too often, with disguised drops.
In the third Laura saved two match balls at 8/7 and
levelled. However a compelling volleyed backhand cross court
drop (accompanied by the Vicky trademark arm raise like an
enthusiastic student when a question is asked) took her to
match ball, which she took with another backhand volleyed
drop, straight this time.
Vicky will need to be particularly tight tomorrow as Natalie
will reach so much at the front and return it with interest.
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 "I
don't know what happened in the middle two games. I gave it
a bit of a push in the fourth and we had some good rallies
again but Natalie held it together better in the end"
Rachael Grinham
"Even
when we try to trick each other we tend to read it. It can
get confusing! Still, I am very happy to get to the final as
it is not easy starting back after a bit of a break over
Christmas"
Natalie Grinham
 " "Last
year was good with the Commonwealth Games and World
Teams but not on an individual level. Doing badly in
Belfast was a wake up call. I tried to change some
things.....no, I won't tell you what!.... and am really
pleased to make a WISPA Gold final as my ranking is only
eight. It is also a good thing for English squash that
we had two English girls in the semi-final"
Vicky Botwright
 "Considering
I had four weeks out with my damaged ankle and have only
been back on court for two weeks, it has been a great
tournament for me. I didn't expect to make the semis but
the draw opened up nicely!
"I am a bit tired from not competing and felt a
little slow going forward, but Vicky played well and
took me to the front with real conviction".
Laura
Lengthorn
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06-Jan, Quarters:
[1] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt Natalie Grainger (Usa)
9/1, 9/3, 9/2
[3] Natalie Grinham (Aus) bt [8] Jenny Duncalf (Eng)
9/1, 9/5, 9/4
Laura Lengthorn (Eng) bt [Q] Shelley Kitchen
2/9, 9/6, 9/6, 10/8
[6] Vicky Botwright (Eng) bt Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy)
9/3, 8/10, 9/1, 9/2
Australia v England in Apawamis
After the upsets of the first round, normal order was restored
in the quarter-finals at the Apawamis Club in Rye, New York.
Australia's Grinham sisters, Rachael and Natalie, set up a
semi-final meeting as they despatched Natalie Grainger and Jenny
Duncalf in straight games, while Laura Lengthorn and Vicky
Botwright guaranteed an Australia v England final as they each
took four games to get past two of yesterday's giantkillers,
Shelley Kitchen and Omneya Abdel Kawy.
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05-Jan, Round One:
Rachel Grinham bt Alison Waters
1/9, 7/9, 9/5, 9/0, 9/1
Natalie Grainger bt Dominique Lloyd-Walter
9/4, 7/9, 9/2, 9/2
Natalie Grinham bt Sharon Wee (Mas)
9/0, 9/2, 9/5
Jenny Duncalf bt Engy Kheirallah
5/9, 1/9, 9/7, 9/7, 9/0
Shelley Kitchen bt Madeline Perry
7/9, 9/7, 9/2, 3/9, 9/4
Laura Lengthorn bt Tania Bailey
4/9, 10/8, 7/6 rtd
Vicky Botwright bt Jaclyn Hawkes
3/0
Omneya Abdel Kawy bt Vanessa Atkinson
8/10, 9/7, 1/9, 9/0, 10/8
Round One in Rye -
Three Seeds Perish ...
The first round of the first major WISPA event of the year saw
three significant upsets as Tania Bailey, Madeline Perry and
defending champion Vanessa Atkinson were all vanquished.
Laura Lengthorn won her all-English class with fourth seed
Tania Bailey. Tania's sinus problem was playing up and she was
struggling to breathe throughout the match, and was forced to
retire towards the end of the third game. An ambulance was
called for to ensure Tania was ok, but an unfortunate ending to
what was a tight contest.
 Jenny
Duncalf enjoyed a return to form with a five-game win over
Engy Kheirallah. The first game was tight until 5-5, when Engy
stretched away and then took the second quickly 9-1 and at 6-3
up in the third looked like she was going to get through in
three games. Jenny fought back to take the third and the fourth
by the skin of her teeth, and come the fifth Engy looked tired
as Jenny took it comfortably 9-0.
Both Natalie Gs progressed to the quarters with wins over
qualifiers - Natalie Grainger with a 3/1 win over
Dominique Lloyd-Walter while Natalie Grinham eased past
Sharon Wee in straight games.
The evening matches saw two five-game upsets as Shelley
Kitchen and Omneya Abdel Kawy both won thrillers.
With two shot makers on court together the Kawy/Vanessa
Atkinson clash was a game of great shots or mistakes. At one
point Vanessa served with Omneya hitting a perfect straight
volley drop winner... to which Vanessa replied with the same
shot to Omneya's serve ... then Omneya hits a volley cross-court
nick, Vanessa plays a winning volley boast ... at this
pointVanessa decides to serve from the left to break this rhythm
only to see Omneya hits another cross court volley nick. An
exciting match to watch, with Omneya putting out the defending
champion 10/8 in the fifth!
Shelley took on Madeline Perry in a hard-hitting workout
with both girls seemingly determined to hit the ball as early
and as hard as they could. It was Shelley's night though, with
the Kiwi qualifier playing some of her best squash to put out
the number five seed.
Alison Waters almost added to the upsets when she set off
at t blistering pace against top seed Rachael Grinham.
The English girl played unbelievable squash in the first game,
it seemed that everything she hit was perfect. Rachael started
the second game but Alison's shots seemed to be on tonight which
left Rachael on the defensive and 2-0 down. The Australian
picked up the pace and took more control in the third although
it was still close, but by the fourth game Rachael seemed to be
more comfortable and Alison started to get tired.
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Grinham through
in three
Precautions for Tania
Grainger downs Dominique
Thanks to Natalie Grinham and
Tania Bailey for the updates
Omneya wins
thriller v Vanessa
Shelley powers
past Madeline |
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 The
Marsh Apawamis Open 2007
The Apawamis Club, Rye, New York, USA,
03 - 08 Jan, $48k |
Round One
05 Jan |
Quarters
06 Jan |
Semis
07 Jan |
Final
08 Jan |
[1] Rachel Grinham
(Aus)
1/9, 7/9, 9/5, 9/0, 9/1
Alison Waters (Eng) |
Rachel Grinham
9/1, 9/3, 9/2
Natalie Grainger |
Rachel Grinham
9/5, 9/5, 10/8 (56m)
Natalie Grinham |
Natalie Grinham
9/3, 9/3, 9/3, (47m)
Vicky Botwright |
[6] Natalie Grainger (Usa)
9/4, 7/9, 9/2, 9/2
[Q] Dominique Lloyd-Walter (Eng) |
[3] Natalie Grinham
(Aus)
9/0, 9/2, 9/5
[Q] Sharon Wee (Mas) |
Natalie Grinham
9/1, 9/5, 9/4
Jenny Duncalf |
[8] Jenny Duncalf
(Eng)
5/9, 1/9, 9/7, 9/7, 9/0
Engy Kheirallah (Egy) |
[Q] Shelley Kitchen (Nzl)
7/9, 9/7, 9/2, 3/9, 9/4
[5] Madeline Perry (Irl) |
Shelley Kitchen
2/9, 9/6, 9/6, 10/8
Laura Lengthorn |
Laura Lengthorn
9/5, 9/5, 10/8 (56m)
Vicky Botwright |
Laura Lengthorn
(Eng)
4/9, 10/8, 7/6 rtd
[4] Tania Bailey (Eng) |
[Q] Jaclyn Hawkes (Nzl)
9/2, 9/5, 9/5
[6] Vicky Botwright (Eng) |
Vicky Botwright
9/3, 8/10, 9/1, 9/2
Omneya Abdel Kawy |
Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy)
8/10, 9/7, 1/9, 9/0, 10/8
[2] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned) |
Latest:
Qualifying Finals:
Dominique
Lloyd-Walter bt Latasha Khan 5/9, 9/5, 9/6 9/2
plays Grainger
Shelley Kitchen bt Amelia Pittock
9/1, 9/0, 9/5 plays
Perry
Sharon Wee bt Kirsty McPhee
9/1, 9/5, 9/4 plays
N.Grinham
Jaclyn Hawkes bt Kasey Brown
2/9, 5/9, 10/8, 9/7, 9/5 plays Botwright
First Round:
Shelley Kitchen bt Natasha Kingshott
3/0
Amelia Pittock bt Amanda Siebert
3/0
Dominique Lloyd-Walter bt Lisa Camilleri 9/10, 9/0, 9/2, 9/0
Latasha Khan bt Siu Lynn Leong
9/5, 4/9, 9/3, 9/2
Kirsty McPhee bt Larissa Stephenson
9/3, 9/1, 9/1
Sharon Wee bt Louisa Hall
3/0
Kasey Brown bt Lily Lorentzen
3/0
Jaclyn Hawkes bt Tara Mullins
3/0
Thanks to Tania Bailey for the updates ...
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04-Jan, Qualifying Finals:
Dominique Lloyd-Walter (Eng) bt Latasha Khan (Usa)
5/9, 9/5, 9/6, 9/2 plays Grainger
Shelley Kitchen (Nzl) bt Amelia Pittock (Aus)
9/1, 9/0, 9/5 plays
Perry
Sharon Wee (Mas) bt Kirsty McPhee (Eng)
9/1, 9/5, 9/4 plays
N.Grinham
Jaclyn Hawkes (Nzl) bt Kasey Brown (Aus)
2/9, 5/9, 10/8, 9/7, 9/5 plays Botwright
Qualifying in Rye ...
Thanks to Tania Bailey and Natalie Grinham
for keeping us informed
The first major WISPA event of the season in under way, with
qualifying complete at the Apawamis Club in Rye, New York.
Two Kiwis are through to the main draw, although in contrasting
styles. Qualifying top seed Shelley Kitchen looked in
control for the most part of her match with Australia's
Amelia Pittock. Amelia got into a bit of a rhythm in the
third game, but by then it was too late.
 Jaclyn
Hawkes, by contrast, was taken to the limit by her
Australian opponent, Kasey Brown.
In a marathon of almost two hours, with plenty of good squash
and plenty of decisions required of the referee, Kasey made a
great start as she took the first convincingly and the second
narrowly. Jaclyn got back into the match by taking a nail-biting
third and completed the comeback, although it was never easy.
Dominique Lloyd-Walter dashed the hopes of seven-time US
champion Latasha Khan as they shared three close games before
the Englishwoman pulled away in the fourth.
The main draw lineup is completed by Malaysia's Sharon Wee
who beat Kirsty McPhee in straight games.
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Latasha thwarted
by Dominique
2006 Event
2005 Event
2004 Event
Updates from the players are much
appreciated
...
apawamis@squashsite.co.uk |
Bigger for 2007 in Rye
Substantially upgraded for 2007, the popular Apawamis Open sees
most of the world's top women players head for Rye, New York, for
the first major WISPA event of 2007.
Defending champion Vanessa
Atkinson is seeded two behind Rachael Grinham, who
finds herself in a tough-looking quarter of the draw with Natalie
Grainger and sister Natalie Grinham as prospective quarter and
semi-final opponents - should she get past Alison Waters in the
first round.
In the bottom half of the draw Atkinson faces Egypt's Omneya Abdel
Kawy for starters, with British opposition in the form of Vicky
Botwright, Tania Bailey and Madeline Perry potentially lying in
wait in further rounds.
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