Fernandes And Lust Set Up Granite Open Final
Meeting
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Guyana’s Nicolette Fernandes and England’s Victoria Lust will
compete for their first PSA World Tour titles of 2016 in the final
of the Slaight Music and Roundtable Capital Granite Open, PSA W25
event after they managed victories over Dipika Pallikal and Fiona
Moverley, respectively.
Fernandes went behind early on in the opening game of her fixture
with last year’s runner-up Pallikal and found herself a game ball
down. Some fantastic counter drops and cross court winners soon saw
the World No.28 overturn Pallikal’s lead though to seize a one-game
advantage.
A brief blood break disrupted play in the second but the battle soon
resumed with some frantic attacking play from both players.
Fernandes eventually got the better of the Indian No.2 with an
extremely hard-fought 12-10, 11-9, 11-9 victory to move through to
the final, where she will fight for a first PSA World Tour title
since 2012.
“I just thought that was a beautiful, clean game of squash,” said
Fernandes.
“We train so hard to play games like that. Squash prevailed, you
know. I was just happy that I played well.
“Now I need to regroup and start again tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, Lust halted the fine form of compatriot Moverley who had
already caused a storm early on in the event when she eliminated
former World No.2 Jenny Duncalf and seventh seed Samantha Teran.
Moverley took the opener and seemed poised to continue her
spectacular run but an assured display from Lust saw the World No.21
up the consistency of her shots to take the win in four games.
Moverley
Continues Fine Run In Granite Open
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England’s Fiona Moverley kept up her superb start to the Slaight
Music and Roundtable Capital Open, PSA W25 event after coming
through a brutal five-game thriller against experienced Mexican
Samantha Teran in the quarter-final.
Moverley was out for revenge after her last encounter with Teran
resulted in the 28-year-old bowing out of the prestigious J.P.
Morgan Tournament of Champions at the final qualifying round stage.
“I’m delighted to be in the semi finals,” said Moverley.
“I knew tonight’s match was going to be tough and long because of
her athleticism. It’s not easy to win a rally when the ball keeps
coming back. But I stuck to my game plan and mentally stayed strong
throughout the match to finally see out the fifth.
“I can’t wait to play again tomorrow.”
There is guaranteed to be an English finalist after Moverley’s
compatriot, Victoria Lust, stormed to victory against United States
player Olivia Blatchford. Lust dominated the 31-minute encounter and
has set up a semi-final meeting with Moverley as she looks to reach
her first PSA World Tour final since August.
Second seed Dipika Pallikal is also through to the last four thanks
to a straightforward win against Salma Hany Ibrahim and will go
head-to-head with Nicolette Fernandes, who came back from two games
down to defeat Welsh qualifier Deon Saffery, for a place in the
final.
Moverley
Moves Past Duncalf In Shock Granite Open Result
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World No.42 Fiona Moverley managed one of the biggest scalps of her
career in the opening round of the Slaight Music and Roundtable
Capital Granite Open, PSA W25 event after a stunning 3-1 victory
over title favourite and former World No.2 Jenny Duncalf.
Top seed Duncalf edged the early stages of the game and rose into a
one-game lead after moving Moverley into all four corners of the
court and attacking with vigour whenever her fellow Englishwoman hit
a loose shot. However, in a flurry of high-quality efforts from both
players, Moverley fought back to take three games without reply and
complete a superb win for the Hull-based 29-year-old.
“I’m over the moon to have won that match,” said Moverley.
“Even though I believed I could win and went on feeling positive,
it’s always hard to convert that into a win. She punished anything
loose and I had to fight in some of the big points, especially when
I was down in a couple of the games, so I’m pleased with the way I
stuck in until the end. I can’t wait for the next match tomorrow
against Sam.
“We only played recently and I’m looking for my revenge.”
Elsewhere, former World Champion Rachael Grinham also fell to a
lower-ranked opponent, succumbing to a 3-1 defeat against Welsh
qualifier Deon Saffery. The Australian No.1 made a number of errors
early on in the match which allowed Saffery to build up an
unassailable lead. Saffery is set to face Nicolette Fernandes in the
next round thanks to the sixth seed’s win over New Zealand’s Amanda
Landers-Murphy.
Last year’s runner-up Dipika Pallikal remains on course to reach a
second successive final after seeing off Egypt’s Nouran El Torky in
a confident four-game salvo. Salma Hany Ibrahim awaits the Indian
No.2 in the quarter-final after edging Canadian wildcard Nikki Todd
in a 3-2 triumph.
Victoria Lust and Olivia Blatchford, meanwhile, will contest the
event’s other quarter-final fixture after they claimed victories
over Misaki Kobayashi and Millie Tomlinson, respectively.
Colossal
Battles Grace The Granite Open Final Qualifying Round
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The final round of qualifying for the Slaight Music and Roundtable
Capital Granite Open, PSA W25 event produced some mesmerising
clashes for gathered spectators in Toronto, Canada.
In a terrific match of immense quality, Belgian No.1 Nele Gilis came
up against World No.48 Maria Toorpakai Wazir. Gilis started strongly
and marched to a commanding 2-0 lead, however, under the stewardship
of former World No.1 Jonathan Power, Wazir bounced back
magnificently to level the score at 2-2, forcing the match into a
decider. In a closely fought fifth game, Gilis ultimately prevailed
11-8 and progresses to the main draw where she will face Mexico’s
Samantha Teran.
