Bright Lights Open 2003
20-23 Mar, Las Vegas, USA, $13k

Final:
[3] Cassie Jackman bt [1] Linda Charman  9/1, 9/5, 10/9 (46m)

JACKMAN RECLAIMS
LAS VEGAS CROWN
England's Cassie Jackman hit the jackpot for the second time in Las Vegas when she upset top-seeded compatriot Linda Charman in straight games in the final in Nevada, USA.

Jackman, the third seed and Las Vegas champion in 2000, was in sparkling form and hardly made an unforced error until the third game, with her opponent getting very little change despite playing well herself.

World No6 Jackman was finding nicks and driving the ball hard throughout the match. In the third game, Charman began to use more width and float the ball - a tactic which led to a comeback from 3/6 down. The world No3 from Eastbourne saved a match ball at 7/8, then had two game balls of her own at 9/8 before Jackman moved to 9-all and clinched the match 9-1, 9-5, 10-9 when Charman was left flapping at air as a fierce straight drive was too wide.

"I just wasn't penetrating enough early on and putting Cassie under pressure," said a dejected Charman later.  "Once I started to step forward and volley more, I took it closer to the wire." 

The new champion, celebrating her 22nd WISPA World Tour title, was overjoyed with her performance - her second win over Charman in just over three weeks: "I moved well today and felt quite sharp. Winning sets me up well for the Texas Open this coming week," said Jackman after her 46-minute victory.

Jackman's Las Vegas success comes at the end of a remarkable three months for the 30-year-old former world champion and world No1 from Norfolk who underwent career-threatening back surgery - for the second time - last September. 

On her return to the WISPA Tour in January, Jackman won the Edinburgh Open in Scotland, and then the following month claimed the British National trophy for the fourth time. Despite a punishing New Year schedule, Jackman has only been beaten once - by world No2 Natalie Pohrer in the Tournament of Champions in New York in February.

• Semis: Jackman & Charman in all-English final

• Quarters: David takes Atkinson the distance

• Round 1: Nicol David back in action

• Qualifying results

• Draw & Results

• Reports   

• 2002 Event 

• Hall of Fame
   

• Official site from
  Las Vegas

Finalists with organisers
Natarsha McElhinny and Ken Sarnecky

• Bright Lights Gallery
  from SquashEspanol

Lara Petera

9/1, 9/5, 10/9 (46m)

Cassie Jackman

10/8, 9/6, 7/9, 9/4

Vanessa Atkinson

Qualifying finals (Wed 19th):
Dominique Lloyd-Walter (Eng) bt Melissa Martin (Aus)  9/5, 9/2, 9/1
Melanie Jans (Can) bt Katie Patrick (Can)  9/2, 9/1, 10/9
Olga Sola (Esp) bt Helen Easton (Eng)  7/9, 9/7, 9/0, 5/9, 9/2
Samantha Teran (Mex) bt Kelly Wellings (Eng)  9/3, 9/0, 9/2

Qualifying first round (Tue 18th):
Dominique Lloyd-Walter (Eng)  bye
Melissa Martin (Aus)  bye
Melanie Jans (Can)  bye)
Katie Patrick (Can) bt Hope Procock (Usa)  10/9, 7/9, 9/5, 9/4
Olga Sola (Esp) bt Diana Huerta (Mex)  10/8, 9/6, 8/10, 7/9, 9/2
Helen Easton (Eng)  bye
Kelly Wellings (Eng) bt Louise Lefebvre (Can)  9/6, 3/9, 9/3, 7/9, 9/5
Samantha Teran (Mex) bye

 

[3] Cassie Jackman (Eng) bt [1] Linda Charman (Eng)   9/1, 9/5, 10/9 (46m)

JACKMAN CLAIMS
LAS VEGAS JACKPOT
England's Cassie Jackman hit the jackpot for the second time in Las Vegas when she upset top-seeded compatriot Linda Charman in straight games in the final in Nevada, USA.

Jackman, the third seed and Las Vegas champion in 2000, was in sparkling form and hardly made an unforced error until the third game, with her opponent getting very little change despite playing well herself.

World No6 Jackman was finding nicks and driving the ball hard throughout the match.  In the third game, Charman began to use more width and float the ball - a tactic which led to a comeback from 3/6 down.  The world No3 from Eastbourne saved a match ball at 7/8, then had two game balls of her own at 9/8 before Jackman moved to 9-all and clinched the match 9-1 9-5 10-9 when Charman was left flapping at air as a fierce straight drive was too wide.

"I just wasn't penetrating enough early on and putting Cassie under pressure," said a dejected Charman later.  "Once I started to step forward and volley more, I took it closer to the wire." 

The new champion, celebrating her 22nd WISPA World Tour title, was overjoyed with her performance - her second win over Charman in just over three weeks: "I moved well today and felt quite sharp.  Winning sets me up well for the Texas Open this coming week," said Jackman after her 46-minute victory.

Jackman's Las Vegas success comes at the end of a remarkable three months for the 30-year-old former world champion and world No1 from Norfolk who underwent career-threatening back surgery - for the second time - last September.  On her return to the WISPA Tour in January, Jackman won the Edinburgh Open in Scotland, and then the following month claimed the British National trophy for the fourth time.  Despite a punishing New Year schedule, Jackman has only been beaten once - by world No2 Natalie Pohrer in the Tournament of Champions in New York in February.

Jackman & Charman set up all-English final

[1] Linda Charman (Eng) bt Lara Petera (Nzl)  9/2, 9/4, 6/9, 9/0
[3] Cassie Jackman (Eng) bt [2] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned)  10/8, 9/6, 7/9, 9/4

Top seed Linda Charman and third-seeded Cassie Jackman will meet in an all-English final in Nevada. Charman, the world No3 from Eastbourne in Sussex, ended unseeded Lara Petera's giant-killing run in 42 minutes, though the plucky New Zealander picked up a game. Despite being in control for most of the match, the favourite had a lapse in concentration at 6-3 up in the fourth and lost the game without gaining another point.

Charman went on to wrap up the match 9-2 9-4 6-9 9-0 to earn her second appearance in the Las Vegas final since 1999. Petera said afterwards: "This week has been really rewarding. I didn't expect to make the quarters so making the semis was a real bonus."

The other semi-final was a lengthy battle in which Jackman, the 2000 Las Vegas Open champion, claimed a theoretical upset over second seed Vanessa Atkinson to endorse the March world rankings which has the British National champion ahead of the Dutch No1.

In a see-saw first half of the match, Atkinson was 7-0 up in the opening game which Jackman fought back to win - then Atkinson reversed the roles by coming back from 7-1 down in the second game to draw level. After 71 minutes, Jackman clinched her 10-8 9-6 7-9 9-4 win to reach her third Las Vegas final.

For Atkinson, the match followed an even longer quarter-final the previous day, and an earlier illness in New York. "I'm knackered," said the 2002 runner-up afterwards. "I just hope that I will have recovered by next Thursday's first round match in the Texas Open in Dallas."

Wee Peters Out To Petera
New Zealand's unseeded Lara Petera maintained her good form when she despatched seventh-seeded Malaysian Sharon Wee in a four-game quarter-final at ClubSport Green Valley in Nevada.

The 24-year-old from Auckland, who knocked out fourth seed Annelize Naude in the opening round, beat Wee 3-9 9-7 9-4 9-4 and now meets England's top seed Linda Charman in the semi-finals. Charman, the world No3 from Eastbourne in Sussex, defeated Hong Kong's Asian Games champion Rebecca Chiu 9-4 9-0 9-6.

It was a bad day for Malaysia as twice world junior champion Nicol David also made her exit from the WISPA World Tour event, but not before taking her second-seeded opponent Vanessa Atkinson the full distance.

David is playing in her first WISPA event since May last year - only two weeks after beginning a new training regime in the Netherlands with Australia's former world No2 Liz Irving, the Dutch national coach. 

The 19-year-old from Penang twice pegged back the Dutch No1 in a closely-contested tussle in Las Vegas, but Atkinson ultimately prevailed 9-6 8-10 9-1 8-10 9-2 to take her anticipated place in the last four.

Her semi-final opponent will be England's British champion Cassie Jackman, the third seed from Norfolk who ended the run of Canadian qualifier Melanie Jans in a 9-2 9-7 9-6 scoreline. Whilst Jackman is seeded below Atkinson, the Englishwoman and former world champion has since risen above her opponent to six in the latest world rankings.

DAVID BACK IN ACTION IN LAS VEGAS
Malaysia's world junior champion Nicol David, who took several months off following the dismissal of her coach by the Malaysian authorities, made a successful return to the WISPA tour in the first round of the Bright Lights Open in Las Vegas when she beat Mexico's qualifier Samantha Teran in straight games.

Top seeds Linda Charman and Vanessa Atkinson both cruised into the quarter-finals, as did third seed Cassie Jackman, who beat the USA's Shabana Khan in three.

The only upset in the first round saw Shabana's sister Latasha,  who last week claimed the US National title, go out to Canada's Melanie Jans. Jans won a tight first two games before Khan was forced to retire with an ankle injury.

Photo by Robin McAlpine

2002 Event

Bright Lights Las Vegas Open, Las Vegas, USA

Final:
[1] Sarah Fitz-Gerald (AUS) bt [3] Vanessa Atkinson (NED)   9-4, 9-2, 9-0

Fitz-Gerald Hits Jackpot In Las Vegas
The indomitable Sarah Fitz-Gerald, the world No1 and four-times world champion from Australia, claimed a hat-trick of US titles in two weeks when she crushed Dutch No1 Vanessa Atkinson 9-4 9-2 9-0 in the final to extend her unbeaten run on the WISPA World Tour to 43 matches since September last year. The victory takes the 33-year-old from Melbourne to her tenth successive WISPA title - and just one win away from equalling the 57-title record of her great rival and compatriot Michelle Martin.

"Beating Vanessa 3-0 with such a comprehensive score line did not depict the difficulty of the match," said the modest Aussie after her win against the third seed. "I won today using my experience and strength in difficult conditions, as the court was a tough court to play. I rallied hard and forced the errors, using my fitness to prolong the rallies and biding my time to attack.

"Vanessa is a great player and I hope to see a lot from her in the future," added Fitz-Gerald.

Semi-finals:
[1] Sarah Fitz-Gerald (AUS) bt [4] Rebecca Macree (ENG)     9-5, 9-3, 9-6
[3] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt [2] Fiona Geaves (ENG)    9-7, 9-6, 9-4

Quarter-finals:
[1] Sarah Fitz-Gerald (AUS) bt [8] Senga Macfie (SCO)   9-0, 9-3, 9-2
[4] Rebecca Macree (ENG) bt [7] Rebecca Chiu (HKG)  9-7, 9-4, 3-9, 9-1
[3] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt [5] Nicol David (MAS) 10-9, 9-0, 9-6
[2] Fiona Geaves (ENG) bt [6] Maha Zein (EGY)   9-5, 9-2, 9-3

1st round:
[1] Sarah Fitz-Gerald (AUS) bt [Q] Lara Petera (NZL)    9-2, 9-4, 9-5
[8] Senga Macfie (SCO) bt Eman El Amir (EGY)    9-4, 9-3, 9-2
[4] Rebecca Macree (ENG) bt [Q] Ivy Pochoda (USA)   9-3, 9-3, 9-1
[7] Rebecca Chiu (HKG) bt [Q] Christina Mak (HKG)   9-1, 9-3, 9-3
[5] Nicol David (MAS) bt [Q] Karen Morrissey (AUS)  9-6, 9-7, 9-3
[3] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt Cheryl Beaumont (ENG) 9-10, 9-0, 9-1, 9-2
[6] Maha Zein (EGY) bt Engy Kheirallah (EGY)    10-8, 9-7, 7-9, 10-8
[2] Fiona Geaves (ENG) bt Latasha Khan (USA)    9-0, 9-0, 9-1

Bright Lights Open Hall of Fame

1997  Sarah Fitz-Gerald bt Liz Irving   9/3, 9/1, 9/4
1998  Sarah Fitz-Gerald bt Stephanie Brind  9/0, 9/3, 9/3
1999  Leilani Joyce bt Linda Charman  10/8, 9/7, 9/0
2000  Cassie Campion bt Leilani Joyce  9/5, 9/5, 6/9, 1/9, 9/3
2001  Fiona Geaves bt Cassie Campion  5/9, 9/4, 9/6, 9/5
2002  Sarah Fitz-Gerald bt Vanessa Atkinson  9/4, 9/2, 9/0
2003  Cassie Jackman bt Linda Charman  9/1, 9/5, 10/9
2004