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Burning River Classic
2007
05-10 Mar, Cleveland Racket Club, Ohio, $20k |
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10-Mar, Final:
[1] Natalie Grainger (Usa) bt [5] Isabelle Stoehr (Fra)
9/7, 10/8, 9/1 (43m) |
Grainger Collects in Cleveland
Nathan Dugan reports, photos by
Holly Smedira
 Natalie Grainger and Isabelle Stoehr
Produced an outstanding final for the inaugural Color Matrix
Burning River Classic. Over 120 Clevelanders squeezed behind the
court and witnessed stoke making of the highest calibre.
Grainger showed she meant business in the first, taking a
commanding 5/1 lead. Stoehr didn’t crumble to the early onslaught
though, fighting her way back to tie the game at 7-all. A
determined Grainger was not going to let the game slip as she had
in the semis and closed it out with a tight backhand drop shot.
 Both players exchanged nick volley winners and tight drop shots
all the way through the second game. Stoehr fought to a 5-2 lead
only to see Grainger hit two outright winners to tie the game at
5-all. Stoehr upped the pace again and found two wrong footing
volley winners to go 7-5 before Grainger once again shut down the
lead, reaching her first game ball at 8-7. She would need five
more game balls to eventually win the game with a flick down the
wall sending Stoehr the wrong way; game 10/8.
Stoehr really needed to win that second game as the mental fatigue
showed at the start of the third. Grainger controlled the third,
despite some crisp winners coming from Stoehr's racquet, but it
wasn’t long before the American citizen was celebrating and
holding the trophy.
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 "Isabelle
seems to have got her passion back for the game; she played great
today, showing her great racquet work.
"I had to really concentrate and play my own game."
 "It
was really important for me to win that second game, as I came out
mentally low in the third and maybe gave her too much respect.
"But I am happy with the way I played today and this week."
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09-Mar,
Semi-Finals:
[1] Natalie Grainger (Usa) bt [3] Dom Lloyd-Walter
(Eng) 3/9, 9/0, 9/2, 9/1
[5] Isabelle Stoehr (Fra) bt Manuela Manetta (Ita)
9/4, 9/3, 9/3 |
09-Mar, Semis:
Grainger &
Stoehr
in Ohio Final
Nathan Dugan reports, photos by Holly Smedira
A packed crowed at the Cleveland Racquet Club watched new US
citizen Natalie Grainger fulfil her top seeding as she recovered
from a game down against Dominigue Lloyd-Walter, followed by an
impressive display from Isabelle Stoehr to end the run on Manuela
Manetta as she moved a step closer to her third consecutive WISPA
title.
Grainger rallies to final
Grainger started slowly as Lloyd-Walter raced to a five love lead
in the first at the Color Matrix Burning River Classic.
Grainger put her first point on the board when Lloyd-Walter tinned
boast and Grainger followed it with her own winner. Despite
Grainger scoring a couple more points Lloyd-Walter held her nerve
to protect the early lead winning the first game in six minutes.
Grainger woke up from her initial shell shock winning the second
without a loss of serve in four minutes. 9/0. Keeping her
attacking ways, Grainger kept Dominique stretching taking the
third 9/2 to go two games to one up. In the fourth and final game
it was more of the same from Grainger.
Lloyd-Walter tried to rally to stay
in the match but Grainger just proved too strong.
Stoehr stops Manetta
 Isabelle
Stoehr jumped ahead to an 8 one lead with Manuela Manetta
Struggling to impose herself on the French national champ.
Stoehr finished the game though in a slightly nervy fashion,
making an assortment of errors before eventually taking it 9/4. A
higher quality second game ensued; neither player making many
unforced errors early on both displaying incredible shot making to
the front of the court. Stoehr edged into a 6/3 lead and then
produced two top spin backhand drop shots to give her the game.
 Stoehr
maintained her shot making through the third game producing
deceptive drives amazing backhand volley drop shots. Manetta
slowed, showing signs of her five set quarter final as Stoehr
continued to heavily cut the ball into the front of the court.
Fittingly she won the match with a high backhand crosscourt volley
nick to set up a final with Grainger - Stoehr's 12th, Grainger's
28th.
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DRAW & RESULTS
 She
destroyed me in the first game. She attacked first and she got me
going the wrong way a few times. In the second I lifted my focus a
lot and made sure that every ball had a purpose, tried to hit the
ball crisper with more cut.
 I
was pretty happy with winning the first, then lost my way in the
second.
She kept putting in tight shots, putting the ball away and I kept
giving her loose balls to attack. She’s just so much better at her
shots than everyone else at the moment.
 Isabelle
played awesome today, she hits great shots! I normally move well
and retrieve well but I felt slow and her shots were just too
good.
 Well
I’m training hard and hopefully I get into the top ten. I’m trying
to build up my fitness and my game.
I play with pace and play at the front when I get the opportunity.
I am shorter than most other players so I need to be faster!
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08-Mar, Quarters:
[1] Natalie Grainger (Usa) bt [8] Becky Botwright (Eng)
9/0, 9/0, 9/6
[3] Dom Lloyd-Walter (Eng) bt [6] Jaclyn Hawkes (Nzl)
9/6, 9/1, 9/3
Manuela Manetta (Ita) bt [7] Latasha Khan (Usa)
10/9, 8/10, 1/9, 9/5, 9/4
[5] Isabelle Stoehr (Fra) bt [2] Kasey Brown (Aus)
6/9, 10/8, 9/6, 9/3 |
08-Mar, Quarters:
Manuela
Marches on
Nathan Dugan reports, photos by Holly Smedira
 Quarter
Finals night got under way at the Cleveland Racquet Club with a
classic encounter between Manuela Manetta and Latasha
Khan. Manetta, who upset fourth seed Tegwen Malik in the first
round, continued to defy the rankings beating the seventh seeded
Khan in a long five games.
Khan had her chances though; after splitting the first two games
10-8, Khan dominated the third 9-1, Manetta reduced the error
count in the fourth and once they were into the fifth it was Khan
looking a little frustrated with herself and the young Italian
looked as if she could sense the victory, Manetta went on to close
out the match 9-4.
The second match was expected to be another rollercoaster of a
game between Dominique Lloyd-Walter and Jaclyn Hawkes.
With only four places between them on the rankings and a tight 5
gamer between the two last month the result that followed came as
a bit of a surprise. Lloyd-Walter came out all systems blazing
with perfectly timed attacking shots as she opened the court with
an array of fading boasts and crosscourt drives.
Despite never giving up the chase the tall kiwi found the
continuous turning and good width of shot that Lloyd-Walter was
throwing at her too much, surrendering 9-6, 9-1, 9-3.
Isabelle Stoehr had beaten Kasey Brown 3-0 in Canada
two weeks ago in the final of a WISPA event, this time it was to
be a little more challenging; it took 74 minutes of high paced
squash before Stoehr once again proved a thorn in Browns side.
The match started at an incredible pace with Brown keeping Stoehr
out of the front of the court. Long rallies up and down the back
hand wall set the tone of the match with Stoehr jumping on any
loose chance she could using her tremendous deception. The chances
didn't come that frequently though at Brown took the first 9-6
with a very patient display.
At 8-7 game ball in the second it appeared Brown was on the verge
of avenging her previous loss but Stoehr had other ideas. The
longer the match lasted the more Stoehr worked her opportunities
at the front of the court and her deception did the rest. The last
two games went to the French champion 9-6, 9-3, to win 3-1 in the
longest match of the tournament.
Natalie Grainger proved tonight why she is the number one
seed when dismantling Rebecca Botwright in three quick
games. A display of crisp ball striking didn't allow Botwright to
settle into the match until late in the third game but by then the
outcome was inevitable.
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DRAW & RESULTS
THE QUOTE BOX:
 Manuela:
I'm really happy! Coaching in Greenwich will have to wait,
I will change my flight. I was putting too much pressure on myself
to win, then told myself to relax, enjoy and it worked.
 Latasha:
It made a difference not having a first round match to get into
the tournament. I hit a dead spot in the first after being up 7-2,
and in the fourth and fifth she just played better.
 Isabelle:
Kasey made me work really hard; she played a lot better against me
than she did in Canada two weeks ago.
 Kasey:
Not too many of the girls can play like Isabelle, she is
pretty tough to read when you give her a loose ball.
 Dominique:
I was nervous before I went on but I was hitting the ball well. I
just tried to keep it out of the middle because I know Jaclyn
would put the ball away if I gave her the chance.
 Jaclyn:
Dom moved me from the start. I tried to find a better length to
stop her from putting the pressure on and I got a little impatient
on the attack.
 Natalie:
I like to stay relaxed before matches, and then I have a switch
that I just turn on. I felt good tonight!
 Becky:
I didn't feel that I played that well, its tough playing Natalie
cause she doesn't give you time to think out there. As soon as you
hit the ball she's always up looking for the volley. |
07-Mar, Round One:
Top two through but
Manetta stops Malik
Nathan Dugan reports, photos by Holly Smedira
As the main draw started at the Cleveland Racquet Club it was
clear that the top two seeds were not going to have any problems
progressing into the quarter finals.
 Natalie
Grainger proved just too strong for Alana Miller in the first
match of the evening and then Kasey Brown put in a very
dominant physical display against Aisling Blake. Although Blake
seemed to be matching her opponent's intensity the scoreline
showed the difference and proved the control over the T that Kasey
Brown was enforcing; moving well and getting onto the ball really
early when the opportunity arose, she was just too good.
Dominique Lloyd-Walter didn’t have it quite so easy against
a less experienced opponent in Donna Urquhart. The second was a
close 9-7 game to Dominique, Donna looked tired as the game closed
and she didn’t have much left to trouble the number 3 seed from
then on.
 Isabelle
Stoehr’s deception and attacking holds was the difference in
defeating Peta Hughes in three straight. Isabelle went over on her
ankle early in the second game stepping on Peta’s foot and seemed
a bit hesitant in the following few points; however she regained
her composure and won the game but not without the Aussie digging
deep making Isabelle work hard to win 10/8. The third was also
tough with French champ closing out the match 9-7.
 Eighth
seed Becky Botwright produced a solid performance against
Lisa Camilleri winning comfortably in three. Lisa was not looking
her best after being up most of the night nursing fellow Aussie
player Amelia Pittock who came down with a virus. Botwright moved
well and produced a number of attacking volley winners to set up a
quarter final clash with top seed Natalie Grainger. Amelia
unfortunately was unable to recover in time for her match with
Latasha Khan so Khan progressed into the quarter finals without
hitting a ball.
 Jaclyn
Hawkes progressed into the quarters with a surprisingly easy
victory against Orla Noom. Hawkes looked in complete control of
her game and was extremely decisive with her back hand volley
drops. Noom tried to extend the rallies to allow her fitness to
come into play; but the array of winners that flowed from the New
Zealander's racket didn’t allow that to happen.
The only seeded player to fall in the first round and indeed the
first upset of the tournament came at the hands of Manuela
Manetta. Tegwen Malik was the victim of a graceful display of
holds and angles that flowed from the young Italian. Manetta raced
to an early lead using a lot of variations to her game leaving the
usually very nimble Malik not looking comfortable when any
explosive speed was called upon.
After taking a lead in the third, Manetta started looking a little
shaky when the victory was in site. A string of errors from
Manetta gave Malik a 7-5 lead and it looked as if the number 4
seed might survive after all, but a few nice holds and cross court
flicks gave Manetta the game 9-7 and her best victory to date.
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DRAW & RESULTS
THE
QUOTE BOX:
 Natalie:
I feel I’m getting back to my best; the top three in the world are
in great physical shape so with a little more conditioning I’ll be
right in there.
 Alana:
I just aspire to be half as good as she is with the racket, she’s
in a different class right now, but I’ll go away and work hard.
 Becky:
As the seeded player it’s always nice to get through the first
round, now the pressure is off for tomorrow, I just hope to play
well.
 Lisa:
I felt flat today and couldn’t get my legs moving, Becky played
well and didn’t really let me get into it.
 Jaclyn:
My game plan was to be aggressive on the volley and I know she’s
fit so I wanted to end the points.
 Dom:
It was really important to win the second game; the legs always
feel stronger in the third when you are up, when it’s a tough
match.
 Donna:
In the third I was just concentrating on standing up, I was
exhausted out there.
 Tegwen:
Manuela played very well today and kept me moving around the
court. I didn’t think I hit the ball that badly, she just played
well.
 Manuela:
I’m very happy with that win, it is my best to date. I’ve been
trying to add more attack to my game, I guess it works!
 Kasey:
I knew if I left it short Aisling would put it away, so I really
focused on getting a good length. I’ve had a lot of energy all
week and felt I was moving really well.
 Isabelle:
It was really tough, I was quite tense and I like to play relaxed.
I kept trying to use my deception as I felt it was working against
Peta.
 Aisling:
She just kept getting everything back ... sometimes you lose your
will to live on the long points.
 Peta:
I would have been happy to get the second game. I felt I played
better than last night, qualifying can be good for a bit of a warm
up if you make it into the main draw. |
CLEVELAND GALLERY ...
by Holly Smedira
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06-Mar:
Qualifying Finals
Nathan Dugan reports
It was a good day for the Aussies in Cleveland as Lisa
Camilleri, Donna Urquhart and Peta Hughes joined qualifying
top seed Alana Miller in the main draw ....
In the first match of the day two Canadians battled for a place in
the main draw. Alana Miller took control of the match right from
the first point dominating the T and playing some aggressive
volley’s. Katie Patrick tried to rally in the first game but after
losing it 9-6 she never looked to have the legs to threaten
Miller.
In the Second match of the night, Lisa Camilleri gave Lauren
Siddall the same treatment. Siddall had no answer to Camilleri’s
pace and accuracy on length combined with the sharpness of her
attacking dropshots.
The third match promised to be closer than the first two with
Laura Mylotte taking on Donna Urquhart only ranked nine places
above her. After a disappointing first game for Mylotte, she upped
her tempo to take a 6-3 lead in the second. That was as far as the
comeback would take her as Urquhart in one hand went to 8-6 game
ball as the frustrated Mylotte put two more points on the board
before succumbing to the tall Australian 9-2.
In the last match of the Qualifiers, spectators saw Peta Hughes
take on Tara Mullins.
Hughes looked very sharp in the first taking a lead of 7-1 before
hitting a dead spot letting Mullins back in the game and giving
over the lead 8-7 before Hughes found her form again and squeezed
in to win the first 10-8. Mullins desperately needed to take the
first as Hughes gained in confidence and momentum taking the
second and third in quick succession.
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DRAW & RESULTS
THE
QUOTE BOX:
 Alana:
My goal was to get up on the T and be as aggressive as I could,
the faster the pace the better.
 Katie:
I saw a lot of the back of Alana’s shirt today, I kept trying to
move her off the T but nothing seemed to work.
Lauren: I struggled to keep up with the pace
tonight, even if I had been fully healthy I think I still would
have found it tough, she played well tonight
 Lisa:
I was expecting it to go to five so I am really happy with
the result. I think Lauren is still recovering from a bug but I’m
happy to have qualified. I am looking forward to going home; this
cold is getting to me!
Donna: I wasn’t feeling that great during the day
today so I am pleased to have gotten through to the main draw.
 Laura:
Donna was a lot sharper and match fitter than I was tonight, she
kept hitting the ball with pace and I couldn’t get in control.
 Peta:
I didn’t think I was playing that well I hit a dead spot in the
first game; Tara played a lot better against me than she did in
Canada last month and pressured me into a few tins.
 Tara:
I needed that first, that drop at 8-7 was an inch away from
winning me the game. Once I lost the first she was just too
strong. |
 Burning
River Classic 2007
05-10 March, Cleveland Racket Club, Ohio, $20k |
Round One
07 Mar |
Quarters
08 Mar |
Semis
09 Mar |
Final
10 Mar |
[1] Natalie Grainger (Usa)
9/5, 9/0, 9/5
[Q] Alana Miller (Can) |
Natalie Grainger
9/0, 9/0, 9/6
Rebecca Botwright |
Natalie Grainger
3/9, 9/0, 9/2, 9/1
Dominique
Lloyd-Walter |
Natalie Grainger
9/7, 10/8, 9/1 (43m)
Isabelle
Stoehr |
[8] Rebecca Botwright
(Eng)
9/6, 9/3, 9/6
[Q] Lisa Camilleri (Aus) |
[3] Dominique
Lloyd-Walter (Eng)
9/2, 9/7, 9/5
[Q] Donna Urquhart (Aus) |
Dominique
Lloyd-Walter
9/6, 9/1, 9/3
Jaclyn Hawkes |
[6] Jaclyn Hawkes (Nzl)
9/1, 9/2, 9/1
Orla Noom (Ned) |
Amelia Pittock (Aus)
w/o
[7] Latasha Khan (Usa) |
Latasha Khan
10/9, 8/10, 1/9, 9/5, 9/4
Manuela Manetta |
Manuela Manetta
9/4, 9/3, 9/3
Isabelle Stoehr |
Manuela Manetta (Ita)
9/2, 9/2, 9/7
[4] Tegwen Malik (Wal) |
[Q] Peta Hughes (Aus)
9/2, 10/8, 9/7
[5] Isabelle Stoehr (Fra) |
Isabelle Stoehr
6/9, 10/8, 9/6, 9/3
Kasey Brown |
Aisling Blake (Irl)
9/2, 9/0, 9/2
[2] Kasey Brown (Usa) |
Qualifying (05-06 Mar):
Finals:
Alana Miller (Can) bt Katie Patrick (Can)
9/6, 9/1, 9/2
Lisa Camilleri (Aus) bt Lauren Siddall (Eng)
9/3, 9/3, 9/1
Donna Urquhart (Aus) bt Laura Mylotte (Irl)
9/1, 9/7, 9/2
Peta Hughes (Aus) bt Tara Mullins (Can)
10/8, 9/3, 9/2
Round One:
Alana Miller (Can) bye
Katie Patrick (Can) bt Rachel Leizman (Usa)
9/0, 9/1, 9/4
Lisa Camilleri (Aus) bt Amy Smedira (Usa)
9/2, 9/1, 9/1
Lauren Siddall (Eng) bt Karen Kronemeyer (Ned) 9/5, 5/9, 9/7,
9/7
Laura Mylotte (Irl) bt Toyin Emmanuel (Ngr)
9/0, 9/3, 9/0
Donna Urquhart (Aus) v Pia Trikha (Usa)
9/1, 9/0, 9/0
Tara Mullins (Can) bt Larissa Stephenson (Nzl)
9/1, 9/1, 9/2
Peta Hughes (Aus) bye
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05-Mar:
"I
just remembered what mom and dad told me; don’t give up and give
it everything. 
"I
started thinking about the fifth, as soon as you do that in
squash your lead can go in a hurry; next thing I knew I was
tired and match ball down. I am such a head case!"
