Group
Matches
1st qualifying
round:
Pool A:
[5] Carol Owens (AUS) bt [1] Cassie Campion (ENG) 2-9 9-3 9-0 9-2
[4] Natalie Grainger (ENG) bt [8] Suzanne Horner (ENG) 10-8 9-0 8-10 9-1
Pool B:
[2] Leilani Joyce (NZL) bt [6] Fiona Geaves (ENG) 9-3 9-1 9-6
[3] Linda Charman (ENG) bt [7] Sabine Schoene (GER) 9-1 9-2 3-9 9-2
The first day of first major WISPA World Tour event of the year produced a
resounding upset when Australia's Carol Owens beat England's world champion
Cassie Campion in the first qualifying round.
Campion started strongly to win the opening game, but Melbourne-based Owens
came back in the second to take the initiative, forcing her opponent into a
series of unforced errors. The Norfolk-born 27-year-old served only three
times in the third game, and eventually went down 2-9 9-3 9-0 9-2 in 35 minutes.
In the other Pool A match, Natalie Grainger overcame fierce resistance in the
first and third games before defeating English compatriot Suzanne Horner, the
world over-35 champion, 10-8 9-0 8-10 9-1 in 41 minutes. Grainger now meets
Campion in Wednesday's second qualifying round - in a match which the world
champion must win in order to qualify for Friday's semi-finals.
In her first WISPA Tour outing since winning the British Open title in December, New Zealand's Leilani Joyce cruised to the only straight games win
of the day, beating England's Fiona Geaves 9-3 9-1 9-6 in 23 minutes. World
No3 Linda Charman, also from England, won the other Pool B battle, conquering
Germany's Sabine Schoene 9-1 9-2 3-9 9-2 in 28 minutes.
2nd
Qualifying Round:
Pool A:
Cassie Campion bt Natalie Grainger 9-5 9-4 9-3
Carol Owens bt Suzanne Horner 9-2 9-2 10-8
Pool B:
Leilani Joyce bt Sabine Schoene 9-4 7-9 2-9 9-5 9-6
Linda Charman bt Fiona Geaves 9-6 9-3 9-2
After her shock first-round
loss, world champion Cassie Campion pulled out the stops to stay on
course for the final stages of the event. Natalie Grainger was confident
of performing well in this event, but with Campion backed into a corner
after yesterday's loss she played much more purposefully, completing a
3-0 win in just 35 minutes.
Earlier in group A Carol Owens took top spot in the group with a 3-0 win
over Suzanne Horner. Owens took the first two games comfortably, but had
to save a game ball in the third before completing her 32 minute win.
Campion now looks likely to qualify, and Grainger will have to perform
at her best to wrest the other semi-final spot from Owens.
In pool B the semi-finalists
were decided when Leilani Joyce and Linda Charman scored their second
successive victories, leaving tomorrow's final round to decide the top
spot in the group. Joyce was made to struggle though, falling 2-1 behind
to Germany's Sabine Schoene before clinching her place, while Charman
had a comfortable 3-0 win over compatriot Fiona Geaves.
3rd
Qualifying Round:
Pool A
Carol Owens bt Natalie Grainger 9-6 10-8 5-9 8-10 9-6
Cassie Campion bt Suzanne Horner 9-7 9-2 9-7
Pool B
Leilani Joyce bt Linda Charman 10-8 8-10 9-3 9-1
Sabine Schoene bt Fiona Geaves 9-2 9-1 9-3
Carol Owens completed her
third victory to top pool A, but only after one of squash's rare weather
interruptions.. Humid conditions made the floor of the showcourt wet and
slippery, and despite several efforts to make the court playable the
match was moved indoors to the nearby sports complex towards the end of
the second game. The new venue was little better in terms of playing
conditions, and was also unacceptable to the sponsors, so the match
eventually moved back to the showcourt on the beach, where conditions
had by then improved sufficiently to enable play to continue. Owens eventually
won 3-2, confirming her as group winner and putting Grainger out of the
competition.
Cassie Campion completed her
recovery after that first day shock, beating Suzanne Horner 3-0, but
will now have to face Leilani Joyce in the semi-finals rather than the
final as anticipated.
Joyce took 50 minutes to
beat Linda Charman in a match which decided top place in pool B, while
Sabine Schoene completed a comfortable win over Fiona Geaves in what was
essentially a dead rubber.
Semi-Finals
England's world No1 Cassie Campion and Australia's world No5 Carol Owens will
meet in Saturday's final after contrasting semi-final victories.
While
Owens coasted to a 9-0 9-2 9-5 win over England's world No3 Linda Charman in just 24 minutes, it took world champion Campion 30
minutes to claim the opening game against world No2 Leilani Joyce in the
other semi-final. Incredibly, the 27-year-old from Norfolk then needed a
further 47 minutes before finally overcoming the Hamilton-based New Zealander
10-9 8-10 9-5 3-9 9-0 to avenge her defeat by Joyce in last December's British Open final in Scotland.
"It was a tough battle all the way through - and now I've got the opportunity
of revenge against Carol," said Cassie afterwards. Owens upset Campion in four games in the opening Pool qualifying round - and
will be hoping that history will not repeat itself. In last year's WISPA
Grand Prix Finals in Hurghada, Owens reached the final after surprisingly
beating the then world No1 Michelle Martin in the qualifiers. Martin, however, reversed the result in the
final.
Final
Australia's world No5 Carol Owens fought back from 2-1 down to beat England's
world No1 Cassie Campion in the final to claim the first major squash title of her career.
Owens, 28, who hails from Melbourne but is now based in Auckland, New Zealand, had already upset favourite Campion, the 27-year-old world champion
from Norfolk, in the earlier qualifying rounds. In the final in the Red Sea
resort of Hurghada, Owens made up for her loss at the same stage last year by
beating Campion 9-1 5-9 5-9 9-2 9-2 in 62 minutes.
"I just love this court in Egypt," said Owens afterwards. "I just hope it's
as warm in Munich next week."
The WISPA World Tour now moves to Germany where the first event of the 2000
Grand Prix series begins in Munich on Thursday (13 April). The new WISPA
Grand Prix champion is the fifth seed in the Com4net Munich Open and is expected to meet New Zealand's world No2 Leilani Joyce in the quarter-finals. Cassie Campion, the top seed, is in the other half of the draw.