Women's Grand Prix Finals 2000
Hurghada, Egypt, 04~08 Apr, $41k

  • Final - Owens doubles up
    Carol Owens repeated her opening day win over Cassie Campion to take the final 3-2 in 63 minutes
     

  • Semi-Finals - Revenge is sweet
    Cassie Campion gained revenge for her British Open defeat by Leilani Joyce, winning through to the final to face a rematch against Carol Owens.
     

  • Day Three - Humidity plays Havoc
    Owens, Joyce, Campion and Charman made their way into the semi-finals in a day where the muggy conditions played havoc with the schedule.
     

  • Day Two - Campion recovers, Joyce's scare
    Cassie Campion kept her hopes alive with an emphatic 3-0 win over Natalie Grainger, while Leilani Joyce secured her semi-final place, but was pushed all the way by Sabine Schoene.
     

  • Day One - Owens upsets Campion
    World champion Cassie Campion suffered a rare defeat, at the hands of Carol Owens, while rival Leilani Joyce completed a comfortable first match victory. 


Group A
Cassie Campion - 2nd
Natalie Grainger - 3rd
Carol Owens - 1st
Suzanne Horner - 4th

Group B
Leilani Joyce -1st
Linda Charman - 2nd
Fiona Geaves - 4th
Sabine Schoene - 3rd

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.

 

Group A
Seed Player CC NG CO SH Psn
1 Cassie Campion (Eng)   3-0  1-3 3-0   2nd
4 Natalie Grainger (Eng)  0-3    2-3 3-1  3rd
5 Carol Owens (Aus) 3-1  3-2   3-0   1st
8 Suzanne Horner (Eng) 0-3  1-3  0-3    4th

 

Group B
Seed Player LJ LC FG SS Psn
2 Leilani Joyce (Nzl)    3-1 3-0 3-2  1st 
3 Linda Charman (Eng)  1-3   3-0  3-1  2nd
6 Fiona Geaves (Eng) 0-3 0-3     0-3  4th
7 Sabine Schoene (Ger) 2-3  1-3  3-0    3rd

 

Semi-Finals - Fri 7th Final - Sat 8th


Carol Owens
9-0 9-2 9-5
Linda Charman

Carol Owens

9-1 5-9 5-9 9-2 9-2

Cassie Campion


Cassie Campion
10-9 8-10 9-5 3-9 9-0
Leilani Joyce

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