Top-seeded American Olivia Blatchford denied Cyrielle
Peltier title success in her maiden appearance in a WSA World
Tour final when she beat the second seed from France in four
games in the climax of the Women's Paderborn Open, the WSA
Challenger 5 squash event in its second year at Ahorn-Squash
in the German town of Paderborn.
After honours were shared over the first two games, world No.73
Peltier started well in the third - but unforced errors let New
Yorker Blatchford, ranked more than 30 places higher, back into the
game. The French underdog tried to slow the pace down, but
Blatchford kept speeding it up - forcing a growing error factor from
Peltier which led to the US favourite moving 2/1 ahead.
"At 11/7 in the fourth it was over - but both players gave a
magnificent display of high quality squash,"
explained Tournament Promoter Norman Farthing.
"Furious attacking play dashed with deadly slow-play
tactics, to brilliant shot-making from both girls!"
22-year-old Blatchford (pictured above, right, with Peltier) was
full of praise for her opponent after her 11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 11-7
victory: "Cyrielle has played an excellent match and kept trying to
break my game. I do not like to play slowly, so I had to attack.
Luckily I managed to do what I set out to do."
Le
Mans-born Peltier added: "I was being
stretched too much with the pace in the first game and had to change
my tactics to counteract her fierce play. It worked well but sadly
not long enough. Olivia has more than earned the victory, she played
fantastically."
The Paderborn City marketing manager Bernd Schaefers-Maiwald
commented in his speech that he had witnessed the World Men's Team
Championships in 2011 and thought the physical effort shown by the
men was outstanding - but what he had seen at the women's final "was
simply amazing".
The Paderborn title triumph brings up the fifth WSA Tour title of
Blatchford's career - but her first in Europe.
