Open de la Cite 2003
16-18 May, Carcasonne, France, $4k

Final:
STOEHR STORMS TO
CARCASSONNE TITLE AT LAST

Finalist in 2000 and 2002, France's Isabelle Stoehr finally won the Open de la Cite in Carcassonne, with a 9-7, 9-5, 9-2 victory over Denmark's Ellen Petersen in the final.

John Catlow reports
It was very hot at Carcassonne at 5pm when Isabelle and Ellen entered the court.

It was clear from the start that Isabelle wanted Ellen to work hard and her powerful drives and volleys certainly kept the ball flying around. Her short game however, whilst keeping Ellen on the go, included too many faults which cut short the rallies.

Ellen was fighting hard, but Isabelle took a 7/1 lead but a series of mistakes brought Ellen back to 6/7 then 7/7 before Isabelle eventually took the first game 9/7 after 20 minutes.

The second game saw Ellen leading 3/2 after 10 minutes play, but Isabelle took a 6/3 lead and the situation was becoming difficult for Ellen. She fought back to 5/6 but Isabelle, despite further errors up front, took the second 9/5.

Isabelle took an early 5/1 lead in the third and the match seemed over. But Ellen was still hanging in there and Isabelle seemed anxious to finish. She eventually did, after 55 minutes, by 9/2 in the third.

The win marked Stoehr's second career title, the first coming when she defeated Petersen in the final of the Himmerland Open in Denmark in 2001.
 

• Draws & Results

• Reports

Carla Khan

9-7, 9-5, 9-2
 

Ellen Petersen

Qualifying:
Round 1
Sonia Pasteris (Ita) (1) bye
Daniela Schumann (Ger) (7) bt Natalie Suhas (Fra) 9/5, 9/2, 1/9, 9/3
Lauren Briggs (Eng) bye
Nicolette Fernandes (Guy) (8) bt Mylene De Muylder (Fra) 9/6, 9/4, 9/0
Manuela Manetta (Ita) (6) bt Julie Ruet (Fra) 9/6, 9/4, 9/0
Dagmar Vermeulen (Ned) (4) bye
Aisling Blake (Irl) (5) bt Catherine Bignotti (Fra) 9/2, 4/9, 9/3, 9/6
Elise Ng (Hkg) (2) bye

Round 2
Pasteris bt Schumann   9/4, 9/0, 9/3
Briggs bt Fernandes   9/6, 1/9, 9/2, 9/6
Manetta bt Vermeulen   9/3, 6/9, 9/5, 9/7
Blake bt Ng   9/4, 9/0, 9/7

Stoehr & Petersen To Clash
In Carcassone Final
French national champion Isabelle Stoehr, the top seed, and Denmark's Ellen Petersen, the No2 seed, will meet in the final of the Women's Open de la Cite in Carcassone in France.

Stoehr cruised to her third Carcassone final appearance in four years with a 9-3 9-1 9-6 victory over Pakistan's Carla Khan, the fourth seed.

In the other semi-final, Ellen Petersen had a tougher battle on her hands. The Danish No1 was forced to fight back from a game down to beat Egypt's third seed Engy Kheirallah 6-9 9-3 9-0 9-1.

The final will be a repeat of the clash on Danish soil in September 2001 when Stoehr overcame local hero Petersen in the final of the Himmerland Open to claim her first and only WISPA World Tour title.