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03-Dec, the Final:

Although Rachael Grinham started the match as clear favourite it was Vanessa Atkinson with her easy racket skills who began the better, quickly leading 5/1, with the aid of some well-executed backhand drops. Although Grinham fought back to 4/7 Atkinson held together to win the game 9/4 in twelve minutes.

Grinham began the better in the second, leading 5/2 before the smooth-striking Dutch girl recovered to lead 7/6 and then 8/7. On the third game ball she won the rally to go 2-0 up after almost half an hour’s play.

Grinham seemed content to play from deep in the court, playing too many angles for her own good and Atkinson was never behind in the third game, which reached six-all before she drew away to win the game, the match and the Qatar Classic Championship 3/0.

Atkinson is a gifted racket player, easy to watch and moving better than I have sometimes seen her. She has the scope and ability to become even better if that is her inclination. Grinham will be disappointed with her final showing which seemed a little subdued.

"I was very aware that I lost to Rachael from a good lead in the British Open semi-finals and I needed to wipe that off the record. I panicked a bit at the possibility of winning in the British Open, so I just concentrated on staying calm in this match." "Now I head for the World Open in Malaysia next week with a lot of confidence. I think my ranking will also improve because I have won a quite a few tournaments this year. I'm confident I will do well at the World Open. But first, I will celebrate this win of mine with family and friends." Vanessa Atkinson to the Peninsula

"This loss won’t hurt me at all. I think I will remain the No.1 till the end of the World Open. However, I would have still loved to win today. I shouldn’t have made so many mistakes like I did. Vanessa did not make that many mistakes and won deservingly. "I don’t think today’s result could be termed as shock loss for me. I played okay. It wasn’t as if I lost 9-0 in any of the sets. I think I had a good run this week." Rachael Grinham to The Peninsula

• Reports

• Semis

• Quarters

• Round Two

• First Round

• Qualifying

9/0, 9/6, 4/9, 9/2 (47m)

Vicky Botwright

9/5, 9/3, 9/4 (48m)
 

Natalie Grinham

9/4, 9/7, 9/6 (41m)

Vanessa Atkinson

Nicol David

9/0, 9/4, w/o (16m)

Vanessa Atkinson

Vanessa Atkinson

9/10, 10/9, 9/6 rtd (51m)

Cassie Jackman

9/1, 10/8, 9/0 (36m)

Cassie Jackman

Qualifying Finals (28-Nov):

Alison Waters (Eng) bt  Ellen Petersen (Den)  9/2, 9/4, 9/1 (33m)
Amelia Pittock (Aus)  bt Runa Reta (Can)   9/3, 9/4, 4/9, 7/9, 9/5 (70m)
Tamsyn Leevey (Nzl) bt Becky Botwright (Eng)  10/9, 9/0, 4/9, 9/2 (48m)
Melissa Martin (Aus) bt  Eman el Amir (Egy)  7/9, 9/2, 7/9, 9/4, 9/3 (40m)

Sharon Wee (Mas) bt Heidi Mather (Aus)  9/4, 6/9, 9/2, 9/5 (45m)
Engy Kheirallah (Egy) bt Dianne Desira (Aus)  9/6, 9/0, 7/9, 10/8 (50m)
Dominique Lloyd-Walter (Eng) bt Line Hansen (Den)  9/7, 9/0, 9/2 (36m)
Tegwen Malik (Wal) bt Katie Patrick (Can)  9/3, 9/2, 9/5 (27m)

First round (27-Nov):

Alison Waters (Eng) bye
Ellen Petersen (Den) bt Kasey Brown (Aus) 9/1, 5/9, 9/0, 9/0 (58m)
Amelia Pittock (Aus)  bye
Runa Reta (Can) bt Suzie Pierrepont (Eng)  8/10, 9/4, 9/5, 9/0 (42m)

Tamsyn Leevey (Nzl)  bye
Becky Botwright (Eng) bt Manuela Manetta (Ita)  9/1, 9/1, 9/7 (30m)
Melissa Martin (Aus)  bye
Eman el Amir (Egy) bt Hend Osama (Egy)  3/9, 9/10, 9/4, 9/4, 9/4 (52m)

Heidi Mather (Aus) bt Jenna Gates (Eng)  9/2, 9/4, 9/3 (35m)
Sharon Wee (Mas)  bye
Dianne Desira (Aus) bt Dagmar Vermuelen (Ned)  9/0,9/0, 9/2
Engy Kheirallah (Egy)  bye

Line Hansen (Den) bt Karen Kronemeyer (Ned)  10/9, 9/7, 4/9, 1/9, 9/4 (55m)
Dominique Lloyd-Walter (Eng)  bye
Katie Patrick (Can) bt Olga Puidgemont-Sola (Esp) 9/5, 9/2, 2/9, 9/4 (52m)
Tegwen Malik (Wal)  bye

A Grinham in the final,
Guaranteed ...

There will be Grinham in the Qatar Classic final, that is the guaranteed outcome after today's quarter-finals in Doha.

Top seed Rachael proved just too much to handle for England's improving Vicky Botwright, while fourth-seeded younger sister Natalie survived a tense opening against Malaysia's Nicol David before reeling off the last two games to love to set up the Toowoomba twosome's meeting tomorrow.

Both semi-finals will be as predicted by the seedings, as second seed Cassie Jackman scored a straight games victory over her young English team-mate Jenny Duncalf, and Dutch third seed Vanessa Atkinson benefited from the earlier travails of Natalie Grainger, after the USA world number five pulled up after losing the first two games.

IN THE PAPERS:
The Peninsula 
 

Malcolm Willstrop reports from Doha   The quarters

• Reports

• Round Two

• First Round

• Qualifying

More photos, and words
from Malcolm Willstrop

30-Nov, Round TWO:

English Girls on form in Doha
 
It was a good day for England in Doha, with Cassie Jackman, Jenny Duncalf and Vicky Botwright all reaching the world quarter-finals with comfortable victories.

Jackman wasted no time in beating the only unseeded player left in the draw, the Netherlands' Annelize Naude, while Duncalf and Botwright both scored straigh game victories over their more experienced English teammates, Fiona Geaves and Linda Elriani respectively.

Botwright meets world number one Rachael Grinham in tomorrow's quarters, who recieved a walkover against Jenny tranfield, who failed to recover from an injury sustained in yesterday's bruising encounter with Carla Khan.

An English semi-finalist is guaranteed, with Jackman, the only former champion in the draw, meeting Duncalf in the quarters. The winner will meet either Vanessa Atkinson, the Dutch third seed who eased past Isabelle Stoehr, or the USA's Natalie Grainger, who struggled to a 3/2 win for the second successive day, this time against England's Rebecca Macree.

Malaysia's Nicol David is also through to the quarters after a pair of 3/2 victories. The Asian champion recovered from 2/1 down against Ireland's Madeline Perry, and meets fourth seed Natalie Grainger, who completed her second straight games victory, against Kiwi Shelley Kitchen.
 

IN THE PAPERS:
The Peninsula 

Malcolm Willstrop reports from Doha   Last sixteen

• Reports

• First Round

• Qualifying

29-Nov: Round One:  
Naude saves the best until last

With all sixteen first round matches being played, it was a hectic women's schedule at the Khalifa Squash Centre in Doha, and it wasn't until the last match of the day that a seed finally fell. The Netherlands' Annelize Naude took 68 minutes to beat world junior champion Omneya Abdel Kawy, ranked 11 places above her, winning 10/8, 7/9, 10/9, 9/3.

Proceedings opened on the glass court with top seeds Rachael Grinham and Cassie Jackman taking their respective opponents apart - Laura Lengthorn could only hold Grinham for 22 minutes, and Aussie qualifier Amelia Pittock occupied Jackman for just two more minutes.

Grinham now faces England's Jenny Tranfield, who overcame Carla Khan in a physical encounter (see Malcolm's report), while Jackman meets Naude.

But on the outside courts the seeds weren't having it all their own way. The closest call was Tania Bailey's narrow defeat by fifth seed Natalie Grainger. In a see-saw match Bailey, finding form after a long series of health problems, was leading 5-2 in the fifth but Grainger, who returned to the tour after last month an eight-month layoff, found the extra strength to recover and eventually take it 10-8.

Another seed pushed close was England's Vicky Botwright, who needed two tie-breaks in her 3/0 victory over Welsh qualifier Tegwen Malik, and France's Isabelle Stoehr was glad to take a close second game as she saw off Hong Kong's Rebecca Chiu, ranked just three places below her, in three games.

Third and fourth seeds Vanessa Atkinson and Natalie Grinham both progressed easilyto tomorrow's second round.

IN THE PAPERS:
The Peninsula 

• Different Ball Game: Madeline Perry on life as a squash pro

Malcolm Willstrop reports from Doha Women's Round One ...

• Reports

28-Nov: Qualifying Finals

Multi-National Qualifiers in Doha
Qualifying finals for the richest WISPA event of the year concluded at the Khalifa Squash Complex, with a multi-national line-up progressing to the main draw.

England's Alison Waters and Dominique Lloyd-Walter both scored 3/0 victories over Danish opposition. Lloyd-Walter faces a daunting first round match against third seed Vanessa Atkinson, while Waters meets sixteenth seed Madeline Perry.

Two Australian victories were both earned in five games, as Amelia Pittock squandered a 2-0 lead over Canada's Runa Reta before closing the match out in 70 minutes, and Melissa Martin recovered from 2-1 down to beat Egyptian Eman El Amir. Pittock's reward is a date with second seed Cassie Jackman and Martin meets Kiwi Shelley Kitchen.

The other qualifying spots were taken by Wales' Tegwen Malik, New Zealand's Tamsyn Leevey, Egypt's Engy Kheirallah and Malaysian Sharon Wee, as all the qualifying finals went with seeding.

A hectic Monday sees all sixteen first round matches take place alongside the bottom half of the men's draw.
 

---

Preview:
Women aim for richest prize
Running alongside the men's Qatar World Open, the Qatar Classic is the most valuable event on the 2004 WISPA tour, boasting a $105,000 prize fund.

Rachael Grinham, fresh from collecting a second British Open title, faces opposition from Cassie Jackman, Vanessa Atkinson, Natalie Grainger, not to mention sister Natalie, with all the top players aiming for the season's richest prize in addition to putting a marker down ready for the KL World Open later in December.