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Pepsi glory for
Kippax in Enschede
Sarah Kippax has stretched
her unbeaten record in Enschede to eight matches after clinching the Pepsi
Max Enschede Squash Open 2008 title with a straight games victory over
compatriot Laura Hill. Kippax, who also won the WISPA event in 2006, didn’t
enter the final as a favourite, despite being ranked sixteen places above
Hill on the World Rankings.
Over the last two years the 25-year old English girl lost numerous times to
her seven year older countrywomen, which included a loss to the ‘fire
fighting’ Hill in the first qualifying round of the Forexx Dutch Open Squash
2008 earlier this month.
However, from the outset it
was clear that the world number 31 was in her element in Enschede, moving
and hitting freely against a tired looking Hill. The number four seed took
the opening game with relative ease (11-8), after racing away to an early
8-3 lead, and managed to pull back an 8-2 deficit in the second game to
effectively kill the match.
Even though Hill kept trying hard and never gave in, it wasn’t enough to
upset the rhythm of the Hi-Tec World Squash Championships 2008 ambassador,
who played an outstanding match. After 33 minutes the match was over with
Kippax being able to lift the Pepsi trophy for the second time in three
years: 11-8, 11-9 and 11-5. Enschede must now surely be her favourite stop
on the WISPA circuit!
English final in Pepsi Max
Enschede Open
Sarah Kippax and Laura Hill
will contest the final of the Pepsi Max Enschede Open Squash 2008 tomorrow
afternoon at 2pm.
The 25-year old Kippax surprisingly defeated Malaysia’s top seed Sharon Wee
with relative ease. The world’s number 31, seeded fourth in Enschede,
dominated play from the word go and never relinquished the initiative
against her higher ranked opponent.
After 27 minutes the match was over with Kippax a deserved winner: 11-8,
11-8 and 11-5.
The 2006 champion will now
face her compatriot Laura Hill in the event’s climax after the eight seeded
English girl knocked out Latasha Khan in four tense games.
It was the 35-year old American who took first blood winning the opening
game 11-6, but Hill fought back to take the second game to level the match.
The third and fourth game were nip and tuck as both players delighted the
crowd with high quality squash, but in the end it was 32-year old Hill who
kept her calm at the crucial points as she clinched both games on
tie-breaks: 6-11, 11-7, 12-10, 15-13.
Favourites through to final
in Enschede
Sharon Wee was the first
player to reach the semi finals of the Pepsi Max Enschede Open Squash 2008.
The tournament favourite came out on top in an Asian battle against Hong
Kong’s Elise Ng.
The world number 22 from Malaysia had to fight hard to hold off a stern
challenge from seventh seeded Ng, before running away to a straight games
victory in 26 minutes: 13-11, 11-7, 11-1. In tonight’s semi final Wee will
now face England’s Sarah Kippax after the 2006 champion, seeded fourth in
the WISPA Tour 8 championship in the city of Enschede, overcame the talented
Joshna Chinappa from India in a ‘up and down going’ match: 9-11, 14-12,
11-3, 4-11, 11-3.
The second semi final will be a contest between America’s Latasha Khan and
Laura Hill. Second seeded Khan, 26th on the latest World Ranking,
had too much firepower in her armoury for Deon Saffery, scoring a 11-8,
11-7, 13-11 win over the Welsh girl, who last night stunned the home crowd
by beating last year’s runner-up Orla Noom.
Eight seeded Hill scraped through a nail biting fifth game to upset Italy’s
Manuela Manetta: 11-1, 5-11, 6-11, 11-3, 12-10
Saffery Shocks Noom in Pepsi
Tournament
Deon Saffery scored a big
and significant upset win in the first round of the Pepsi Max Enschede Open
Squash 2008 as she defeated last year’s runner-up Orla Noom in a marathon
match. The pair split the first two games evenly, before engaging in a
monstrous third game.
Whilst Noom looked to have the game wrapped up several times during an
exciting 20 minutes, it was the determined Welsh girl who eventually
clinched the vital game 18-16. Although the Dutch girl clawed her way back
in the match in game four, Saffery ran away to a 6-0 lead in the fifth. A
lead to which she held on until the finish line to secure a well earned spot
in tomorrow’s quarter finals, where she will face America’s Latasha Khan
after the number two seed beat qualifier Emma Chorley in straight games.
All other seeds moved
through to the last eight, although it wasn’t plain sailing for all of them.
Elise Ng (Hkg) had to save several match balls in her match against New
Zealand’s Kylie Lindsay, before booking an Asian match-up with top seed
Sharon Wee.
The Malaysian dropped a game against Lauren Selby in her opening match,
without ever looking out of control of the match. 2006 champion Sarah Kippax
scored a straightforward win over Celia Allamargot and will now face Joshna
Chinappa, who ‘robbed’ the event of their second home player Dagmar
Vermeulen, also in straight games. The fourth and final quarter final will
be a battle between fire-fighter Laura Hill and Italy’s Manuela Manetta.
The English girl defeated Lucie Fialova in four games, while Manetta proved
too strong for Vicky Hynes in a close ‘three setter’.
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Draw
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Reports
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Pepsi Enschede
Open 2008
Enschede, Netherlands, 26-28 Sep, $8k |
Round One
26 Sep |
Quarters
27 Sep |
Semis
Aug |
Final
24 Aug |
[1] Sharon Wee (Mas)
11-6, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7 (36m)
[Q] Lauren Selby (Eng) |
Sharon Wee
13-11, 11-7, 11-1 (26m)
Elise Ng |
Sharon Wee
11-8,
11-8, 11-5 (27m)
Sarah Kippax |
Sarah Kippax
11-8, 11-9, 11-5 (33m)
Laura Hill |
[7] Elise Ng (Hkg)
11-13, 8-11, 13-11, 11-3, 11-8 (58m)
[Q] Kylie Lindsay (Nzl) |
[4] Sarah Kippax (Eng)
11-5, 11-5, 11-2 (20m)
Celia Allamargot (Fra) |
Sarah Kippax
9-11, 14-12, 11-3, 4-11, 11-3 (42m)
Joshna Chinappa |
[5] Joshna Chinappa
(Ind)
16-14, 11-5, 11-6 (36m)
Dagmar Vermuelen (Ned) |
[Q]
Lucie Fialova (Cze)
11-5, 11-3, 10-12, 11-3 (34m)
[8] Laura Hill (Eng) |
Laura Hill
11-1, 5-11, 6-11, 11-3, 12-10 (51m)
Manuela Manetta |
Laura Hill
6-11,
11-7, 12-10, 15-13 (55m)
Latasha Khan |
Vicky Hynes (Eng)
11-8, 11-9, 18-16 (36m)
[3] Manuela Manetta (Ita) |
Deon Saffery (Eng)
11-5, 9-11, 18-16, 6-11, 11-5 (65m)
[6] Orla Noom (Ned) |
Deon Saffery
11-8,
11-7, 13-11 (31m)
Latasha Khan |
[Q]
Emma Chorley (Eng)
11-7, 11-9, 11-5 (31m)
[2] Latasha Khan (Usa) |
Qualifying:
Emma Chorley (Eng) bt. Milou van der Heijden (Ned) 11-2, 11-6, 11-7
(31m)
Lucie Fialova (Cze) bt. Melissa Meulenbelt (Ned) 11-8, 11-5,
12-10 (28m)
Lauren Selby (Eng) bt. Cigany Sierveld (Ned) 11-6, 11-1, 11-5
(21m)
Kylie Lindsay (Nzl) bt.
Lisette Eschweiler (Ned) 11-8, 11-1, 15-13 (29m)
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Reports
No
Dutch Glory in Enschede Qualifying
Main
draw action of the Pepsi Max Enschede Open Squash 2008 will commence tonight
at 6pm with the participation of ‘only’ two Dutch players. With defending
champion Margriet Huisman absent due to injury, Orla Noom and Dagmar
Vermeulen are the sole representatives of the host country. Sixth seeded
Noom faces Welsh ace Deon Saffery in the first round of the WISPA Tour 8
championship in Enschede, while compatriot Vermeulen takes on India’s Joshna
Chinappa (5) in her opening match.
Milou
van der Heijden, Melissa Meulenbelt, Cigany Sierveld and Lisette Eschweiler
failed to join their countrywomen in the main draw of the Pepsi Max Enschede
Open Squash 2008, which became part of the Women’s International Squash
Players Association (WISPA) World Tour in 2006. All ‘Dutchies’ went down in
qualifying competition earlier today, losing in straight games to
respectively Emma Chorley (Eng), Lucie Fialova (Cze), Lauren Selby (Eng) and
Kylie Lindsay (N-Zl).
Sharon
Wee heads a strong women’s field in Enschede, a major city in the east of
the Netherlands. America’s Latasha Khan is seeded second, while Manuela
Manetta (Ita) and the 2006 champion Sarah Kippax occupy the 3/4 positions.
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