|
|
 PMI
Women's Open
2005
Pro Sports Club, Bellevue, 06-11 Sep,
$31k |
 |
11-Sep, Final:
[1] Rachael Grinham bt [2]
Vanessa Atkinson
9-2, 9-2, 9-4 (40m) |
"I had a really good day today. Everything was going in and it
seemed like I could do no wrong. I am really happy with my result
and I love this tournament."
Rachael Grinham |
|
Grinham's PMI Double
Top seed Rachael Grinham claimed the inaugural PMI Open title at
the Pro Club in Bellevue, beating Vanessa Atkinson to also retain her
world number one ranking - today's winner would be number one come the
October rankings.
Rachael came out attacking in the first game. She was really sharp, very
aggressive and focused. In the beginning there were some breathtakingly
long rallies, amazing the crowd with the level of play.
 Unfortunately
for Vanessa she was on the losing end of most of those rallies. Rachael
raced to a 7-1 lead and never looked back, taking the first 9-2.
In the second Rachael kept her attack up, racing to a 5-0 lead in one
hand. Vanessa then seemed to settle down and grabbed a couple of points,
but Rachael kept the up the pressure and her attack and took the game 9-2.
Rachael was showing no signs of fatigue from her marathon semi-final with
Tania Bailey. Vanessa, on the other hand, seemed to be tiring under the
onslaught from Grinham.
In the third, Rachael was dominant. She went 8-0 up and Vanessa looked
like she was done.
The crowd didn't give up on her ... they had witnessed her great comeback
against Jenny Duncalf and knew she had the ability to dodge defeat.
Vanessa started to mount a comeback, recovering to 4-8 in one hand, but it
was not enough.
Grinham was in flawless form. On her second match ball she took the maiden
Pacific Market International women's championship title, her 20th major
title, and ensured her world number one status.
|
|
|
|
10-Sep, Semi-Finals:
Top
two in PMI Final
The top two seeds, numbers one and two in the world, won through to the
final at the Pro Club in Bellevue, as Rachael Grinham performed an
Atkinson-like recovery to battle past Tania Bailey and Vanessa Atkinson
overcame Nicol David after dropping the first game.
Rachael battles past Bailey
First game was close, going back and forth between the two, with Tania
leading in the early stages. Rachael came back to 6-6 all and took the
game by hitting some good rallying ending with tight drop shots.
Rachael continued in that vein in the second, taking a 6-2 lead. She was
playing smart squash and was executing well, but then a few errors crept
in and Tania gained some confidence.
 At
7-6 for Grinham, during the rally, she stopped still and started hopping.
The crowd thought she was injured, but in fact she had scraped her knee on
the floor and was trying to prevent blood from dropping onto the floor
(Tournament Director Azam Khan was very appreciative of Grinham not
ruining his recently sanded floors!)
After a 15 minute delay, play resumed. Grinham, sporting a very stylish
knee support, came back on court very tentative and less than a minute
later it was game to Bailey.
 In
the third Rachael regained her composure and demonstrated to the crowd why
she is world number one as she regained the lead.
The match turned again as Bailey played the fourth like she had nothing to
lose. She was volleying really well and hitting excellent length. Tania
carried over that form into the fifth as she took a commanding 5-0 lead.
At this point it looked as though she had taken out a second Grinham.
But Rachael was not down and out like it seemed. She made an impressive
comeback, taking Bailey on a tour of the four corners of the court and
then would play the drop to finish the off the rally. Rachael tied the
score at 5-5 in one hand and Bailey was starting to look lost.
Rachael closed out the match 9-6 and the crowd was held nothing back in
expressing their appreciation of the pair's performances.
Atkinson neutralises David
Nicol David was very aggressive in the first
game, taking the ball early and looking very sharp as she took the lead.
 In
the second Atkinson changed her tactics, starting to dictate the rallies
by using a pace she was comfortable with.
Nicol's game did not suit the slower court, which gives your opponent more
time than usual, and Vanessa was keeping Nicol in the back court with some
great length.
With Nicol's options limited, Atkinson prevented Malaysia's
'Duracell Bunny' from doing what she does best, running around and wearing
her opponent down.
Atkinson levelled, took the lead and took the fourth 9/1 to book a date
with Rachael in Sunday's final. |
Semis:
[1] Rachael
Grinham (Aus) bt
Tania Bailey (Eng)
9-6, 7-9, 9-2, 3-9, 9-6
[2] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned) bt
[3] Nicol David (Mas)
7-9, 9-3, 9-6, 9-1
More than the Money
Sunday's final has more at stake than
just the prize money, as the victor will be the world number one
come the October world rankings ... |
Rachael's Scrape ...
|
 |
09-Sep, Quarter-Finals:
TOP THREE TESTED
AT BELLEVUE ...
While the top three seeds progressed to the
semi-finals at the Pro Club in Bellevue, Rachael Grinham, Vanessa Atkinson
and Nicol David were all tested in their quarter-final matchups, none more
so than world champion Atkinson.
Bailey breaks
into Semis
First up was Tania Bailey against Shelley Kitchen, who both
defeated seeded players in the first round.
 Tania
was very steady tonight. She was hitting tight drop shots on the backhand
side, from the front of the court as well as from the back. Shelley was
retrieving the shots but could not do anything with them and Tania was
able to capitalize on that, taking the ball early and volleying well.
Shelley had a difficult time getting her off the tee as Tania maintained
control of the rallies for the best part of the match, running out a 3/0
winner.
Grinham ends US
interest
The USA's Natalie Grainger took it to top seed Rachael Grinham
right from the outset. Natalie got off to a 6-0 start in the first with a
combination of some great shot making combined with a few errors on
Rachael's part.
 Natalie
was lobbing a lot and really slowed the pace down in the first part of the
game, a different tactic on her part. Rachael adapted to Natalie's game
plan and came back to 7-7, had a chance to go up 8-7, but tinned a
forehand drop allowing Natalie to grab the next two points and won the
first game.
In the second, Natalie again went up, 4-0. Rachael then started to pick up
the pace and started to get more balls back, pulling up to 4 all. At this
point the match momentum started to shift. Rachael was putting more
pressure on Natalie, who started to make mistakes. Rachael took the second
9-6 and was in control of the next two games, keeping Grainger guessing,
making her go the wrong way and moving her around the court, which is not
Natalie's favourite thing to do.
Rachael was also getting a lot of balls back which forced Grainger to go
finer and finer until she made errors, as Grinham closed out the match.
Atkinson
snatches
victory from ...
The third match between Vanessa Atkinson and Jenny Duncalf
was an up and down affair, ended by a brilliant comeback from the world
champion.
In the first Vanessa was really dominant, hitting great dying length and
playing error free squash. In the second Jenny came out attacking, started
moving Vanessa around the court and forcing her to get down low, resulting
in Jenny being able to get balls that she could put away or catch Vanessa
wrong footed. Vanessa then started forcing shots and making errors.
In the third Vanessa made a lot of mistakes. Jenny was playing well and
was very confident.
In the fourth, Vanessa started playing steadier and Jenny, sensing that
she could win, was forcing shots and making mistakes. Two-all.
Jenny was brilliant at the start of the fifth. She was playing smart and
Vanessa looked as though she was tiring, as she made a lot of errors and
went down 8-2.
She was really frustrated and even yelled out "Terrible" when Jenny served
for the match. But that was the turning point. Vanessa saved that match
point plus four others. Drop shots that were going straight into the tin
were going up and Vanessa was not rushing to put the ball away. Jenny, now
feeling that the match was slipping away, was rushing and making mistakes.
Slowly Vanessa climbed back until she got to 8-8. Jenny was really
frustrated. Vanessa took the next two rallies and the match. It was the
reverse of the night before for Jenny. She was in one who had let the
match slip out of her hands.
Nicol sets up
semi
In the final match Malaysia's third seed Nicol David beat Alison
Waters 3/1. Nicol was attacking well, was hitting with good pace and
was getting a lot of balls back as usual, and went up 2-0.
In the third Nicol was hitting a bit loose and hitting lobs that Alison
was ready to volley, but in the fourth Nicol picked up the pace, started
hitting more winners, and closed out the match to set up a semi-final
meeting with Atkinson.
|
Quarters:
[1] Rachael
Grinham (Aus) bt
[5] Natalie Grainger (Usa)
7/9, 9/6, 9/3, 9/3
Tania Bailey (Eng) bt
Shelley Kitchen (Nzl)
9/1, 9/6, 9/4
[3] Nicol David (Mas) bt
[Q] Alison Waters (Eng)
9/4, 10/8, 7/9, 9/5
[2] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned) bt
Jenny Duncalf (Eng)
9/0, 3/9, 0/9, 9/5, 10/8
|
Who do YOU think
will win in Seattle ???
CHECK OUT
THE RESULTS
Charlie De Rycke, Henrique Nobrega and Chris
Choi lead after round one, on 70 points ...
|
|
 |
PMI
Women's Open
2005
Pro Sports Club, Bellevue, 06-11 Sep,
$31k |
Round One
Sep 08 |
Quarters
Sep 09 |
Semis
Sep 10 |
Final
Sep 11 |
[1]
Rachael Grinham (Aus)
9/1, 9/2, 9/3
[Q] Pamela Nimmo (Sco) |
Rachael Grinham
7/9, 9/6, 9/3, 9/3
Natalie Grainger |
Rachael Grinham
9-6, 7-9, 9-2, 3-9, 9-6
Tania Bailey |
Rachael Grinham
Vanessa Atkinson |
[5]
Natalie Grainger (Usa)
9/1, 10/9, 9/4
[Q] Laura Lengthorn |
[4]
Natalie Grinham (Aus)
5/9, 9/3, 3/9, 9/3 10/8
Tania Bailey (Eng) |
Tania Bailey
9/1, 9/6, 9/4
Shelley Kitchen |
[6] Linda
Elriani (Eng)
10/9, 2/9, 4/9, 8/4 rtd
Shelley Kitchen (Nzl) |
[Q] Alison
Waters (Eng)
9/4, 4/9, 9/6, 5/9, 9/0
[7] Vicky Botwright (Eng) |
Alison Waters
9/4, 10/8, 7/9, 9/5
Nicol David |
Nicol David
7-9, 9-3, 9-6, 9-1
Vanessa Atkinson |
[Q] Tegwen
Malik (Wal)
9/6, 9/5, 9/3
[3] Nicol David (Mas) |
Jenny Duncalf (Eng)
4/9, 10/8, 10/8, 9/3
[8] Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy) |
Jenny Duncalf
9/0, 3/9, 0/9, 9/5, 10/8
Vanessa Atkinson |
Latasha
Khan (Usa)
9/3, 9/3, 9/3
[2] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned) |
|
|
Qualifying finals (07-Sep):
Alison Waters (Eng) bt Melanie Jans Burke (Can)
9-2, 9-4, 9-3
Laura Lengthorn (Eng) bt Samantha Teran (Mex)
9-1, 5-9, 9-4, 9-3
Tegwen Malik (Wal) bt Shabana Khan (Usa)
9-0, 9-1, 10-8
Pamela Nimmo (Sco) bt Emma Parke (Eng)
9-0, 9-0, 9-3
Round One:
Emma Parke (Eng) bt Kirsten Lange (Usa) 9/5, 9/0,
9/0
|
08-Sep, Round One:
Seeds
Shocked
in Seattle
It was a long day at the Pro Club in Bellevue, as the first round of the PMI Open started at 3.15 and ended at 11.15pm. Even the 3/0 matches were
long, and at the end several seeds had fallen.
One Grinham through,
one Grinham out ...
 World
number one Rachael Grinham beat Pamela Nimmo 9-1, 9-2, 9-3.
Rachael played really smart and was in control of most of the rallies. She
did not allow Pam to impose her impressive hard hitting straight game,
mixing things up and keeping Pam guessing most times. Pam played well in
patches, but Rachael was hitting really well tonight, and is tough to beat
when on this form.
 The first
upset came when Rachael's sister Natalie, the fourth seed, took on
Tania Bailey. It went back and forth, at the score indicates. When
Natalie was moving Tania, getting her off balance and then would take it
short she would win the rally. But at times Natalie was going too short
too soon and when Tania was in front of her, Tania would take control of
the rally and would win the point.
In the fifth Tania was up 4-0 and Natalie started hitting really hard and
caught Tania by surprise. Natalie went up 8-4 and it seemed as if she was
going to win. Tania saved one match ball, then hit a couple of good shots
and combined with a couple of mistakes by Natalie it was eight all. There
were a couple of hand outs before Tania closed out the match, 10/8 in the
fifth.
David Tested ...
 Third
seed Nicol David went through comfortably in the end, but Tegwen
Malik posed some problems. Tegwen came out attacking, hitting some
nice drops, and combined with Nicol's mistakes, went up 5-0 in the first.
Nicol picked up the pace and started retrieving more balls and lost just
one more point that game.
The second game featured some tremendous retrieving by both players and
some really good shot making. The only difference was that Nicol was able
to pick up more balls. The third started out close, but Tegwen seemed to
tire and Nicol closed out the match.
Waters & Duncalf in
English shockers
 The
next upset came when qualifier Alison Waters edged out fellow
Englishwoman Vicky Botwright, the seventh seed. At times in the
match there were some very long rallies, combined with some excellent
shots. At other times there were lots of mistakes by both players. What it
came down to in the end was that Vicky seem to tire, and Alison sensing
this, took advantage. She made less errors and played the drops and kills
to give her the match.
There was another English upset when Jenny Duncalf beat Omneya
Abdel Kawy - although at numbers eight and nine in the world it has to
go down as a minor one. Omneya was up 1-0 in games and 8-2. She was in
control of most rallies, she was hitting great length and was being
patient, hitting some great boasts and slicing the ball really well. Jenny
was getting frustrated and started making errors.
 Omneya
got to game ball in the second though and then proceeded to rush to finish
off the game and made errors. The tide turned and Jenny gained confidence
and started to hit better length and hit some excellent backhand kills and
drops and came back to take the second.
In the third, Jenny was much more confident and took and early 4-0 lead.
Omneya then started playing like she did in the beginning and went up 7-4.
She started to rush things again and It was 7-7. Omneya settled down and
went up 8-7 and then proceeded to make mistakes and Jenny won the third.
In the last game Jenny played well while Omneya never recovered from
losing the second and third games that were within her grasp. |
Elriani
Suffers ...
Linda Elriani
was forced to concede her match with Shelley Kitchen at the end of
the fourth game ... here's Linda's story on what happened ...
 "Hi
Fram, hope your knee's recovering, but my leg is unfortunately not
ok.
"I've been having a niggling IT band and quad recently, and had some
physio and it seemed ok to play. But yesterday it started to get
tighter as the match went on, and on one rally I did a lunge and
felt a massive pain in my quad and my leg almost gave way!
"Now I can only walk carefully on it and not put any weight on it at
all, so it's not looking good ...
I've already organised to see a physio on Monday, so I'll find out
then if I need to have a scan, etc, exactly what I've done, and how
long I'll potentially be out for. Just on the way to the airport now
to hopefully get on a flight back. The organisers were great and got
me a medical certificate to help me change my flight."
Linda Elriani |
Round One:
[1] Rachael
Grinham (Aus) bt
[Q] Pamela Nimmo (Sco)
9/1, 9/2, 9/3
[5] Natalie Grainger (Usa) bt
[Q] Laura Lengthorn
9/1, 10/9, 9/4
Tania Bailey (Eng) bt
[4] Natalie Grinham (Aus)
5/9, 9/3, 3/9, 9/3 10/8
Shelley Kitchen (Nzl) bt
[6] Linda Elriani (Eng)
10/9, 2/9, 4/9, 8/4 rtd
[Q] Alison Waters (Eng) bt
[7] Vicky Botwright (Eng)
9/4, 4/9, 9/6, 5/9, 9/0
[3] Nicol David (Mas) bt
[Q] Tegwen Malik (Wal)
9/6, 9/5, 9/3
Jenny Duncalf (Eng) bt
4/9, 10/8, 10/8, 9/3
[8] Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy)
[2] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned) bt
Latasha Khan (Usa)
9/3, 9/3, 9/3
Atkinson wins, Elriani out
Second seed Vanessa Atkinson beat Latasha Khan in
straight games, albeit featuring quite a few long rallies. The
difference in this match was that when Vanessa got a loose ball
she put it away, while Latasha tended to hesitate and play too
defensive.
The final upset, meaning that only four of the seeds progressed to
the quarters, came when Shelley Kitchen put out sixth seed
Linda Elriani. Kitchen took the first, Elriani fought back
to take the lead, but at 8/4 to Kitchen in the fourth the
Englishwoman retired due to an injury, as the Kiwi went through to
meet Bailey in the quarters.
|
|
Brits progress in Seattle Qualifying
Finals qualifying proved a fruitful hunting ground for British players, as
England, Wales and Scotland bolstered their representation in the main
draw.
 In the first match Welsh number one Tegwin Malik beat Shabana
Khan in straight games. Shabana got off to a slow start, but gained more
confidence as the match went on and had a chance to snatch the third, but
Malik closed it out 9/0, 9/1, 10/8, and now meets Malaysia's Nicol David
in the main draw.
Scotland's
Pamela Nimmo was just too consistent, and was hitting too tight for
Emma Parke, winning 9/0, 9/0, 9/3. Nimmo's reward is a match against world
number one Rachael Grinham.
Alison Waters ended Canadian interest with a 9/2, 9/4, 9/3 win over
Melanie Jans. Melanie made too many mistakes and hit too many drop shots
that Alison redropped to win the rallies. Alison's length was very good
and she was hitting very good width on her cross courts to kept Melanie
off balance. Waters faces a first round clash with compatriot Vicky
Botwright, the seventh seed.
In the final qualifying match Laura Lengthorn beat Samantha Teran
9/1, 5/9, 9/4, 9/3. Laura took the first game pretty handily and in the
second Samantha picked up the pace and starting attacking more. In the
third and fourth Laura hit much tighter and found good length which forced
Samantha to make mistakes. Lengthorn was drawn to face Natalie Grainger in
the first round.
|
|
