Weymuller US Open 2002
14-17 Nov 2002, Heights Casino, New York, $37k

17-Nov, the Final:
OWENS TOPPLES TANIA
IN NEW YORK FINAL

[1] Carol Owens (Nzl) bt [7] Tania Bailey (Eng)  9/7, 9/2, 10/8

Top seed Carol Owens had to work hard to overcome the challenge of England's Tania Bailey to win the final of the US Open 9-7, 9-2, 10-8 at the Casino Heights club in New York. Bailey, who removed the third and fourth seeds, Natalie Pohrer and Linda Charman, fought hard in the first and third games, which the New Zealander won by narrow margins.

Owens, the world number one, went through the tournament without dropping a game, while Bailey scored upset wins over World Open finalist Natalie Pohrer in the quarters, and England team-mate Linda Charman in the semi-finals.

"I was more nervous than I can ever remember being in a final," said Owens as she celebrated her 20th WISPA title. "It might take a while to settle to this idea of being world number one. I have spent 12 years on the WISPA World Tour as the person who is not necessarily expected to win. I much preferred being world number two, with no pressure to win everything."

Owens will now be taking a break in New Zealand, while the WISPA circuit moves on to Europe, with Switzerland's Grasshopper Cup, and the Monte Carlo Classic.

16-Nov, Semi-Finals:
OWENS TO FACE BAILEY IN FINAL

Carol Owens bt Rachael Grinham  9/5, 9/1, 10/8
Tania Bailey bt Linda Charman  6/9, 8/10, 9/3, 5/0 rtd

Carol Owens and Tania Bailey will meet in the US Open final after the emerged victorious from tough semi-finals at the Heights Casino club.

Owens, currently world number one and tournament favourite in the absence of Sarah Fitz-Gerald, started comfortably enough against Australia's 'pocket rocket' Rachael Grinham, but found herself 8-6 down in the third game and having to stage a recovery to secure the win.

"Another game would have made all the difference," said tournament organiser Mark Devoy afterwards.

Bailey, the former world junior champion, found herself two games down against England team-mate Linda Charman, before staging a comeback to take the third game and a lead in the fourth. However, an accidental collision in the second game had left Charman with an injured calf which needed treatment during each subsequent game interval, and was getting progressively worse, hampering Charman's movement more and more. A distraught Charman was forced to concede at 5-0 down in the fourth game, handing Bailey a place in the final.

The last meetings between Owens and Bailey were both quarter-finals, in April's British Open where Bailey scored an upset win over a disinterested Owens, and in the Commonwealth Games where Owens gained a measure of revenge.

Rach reports from the Heights
Rachael Grinham presents the Players' view from New York

Semis: Ooh I was so close in the 3rd game … I really should have won that one ...

Quarters: Well this is exciting... this is the first time I've made it to the semi-final stages of a Grand Prix event ...

Round one: I played really well tonight. Jenny’s a tough player, and she will run around for hours if you let her ...

More on the Grinham Sisters' website:
www.grinhamsisters.com

15-Nov, Quarter-Finals:
BAILEY SPOILS POHRER'S US DEBUT
England's Tania Bailey, the seventh seed, pulled off one of the best wins of her career when she upset former compatriot and second-seeded Natalie Pohrer in four games to reach the semi-finals in New York.

14-Nov, Round One:
SUCCESS FOR THE SEEDS
The first round of the Weymuller US Open in New York saw all the seeded players progress to the quarter-finals.

• Rach Reports from the Heights
  Rachael Grinham with the players' view
   

• Draw & Results
   

• Reports
   

• Heights Casino site

Owens and Bailey
at the British Open

9/5, 9/1, 10/8

Rachael Grinham

9-7, 9-2, 10-8

 

Tania Bailey

6/9, 8/10, 9/3, 5/0 rtd

Tania Bailey

OWENS TO FACE BAILEY IN FINAL

[1] Carol Owens (Nzl) bt [5] Rachael Grinham (Aus)  9/5, 9/1, 10/8
[7] Tania Bailey (Eng) bt [3] Linda Charman (Eng)  6/9, 8/10, 9/3, 5/0 rtd Bailey Battles Into US Open Final

England's seventh-seeded Tania Bailey forced her way into the final of the $37,000 Weymuller Women's US Open Squash Championship in New York after coming back from a game down to beat compatriot Linda Charman, the third seed, in her second successive upset in the event. 

The former World Junior Champion from Lincolnshire will face top seed Carol Owens, the world No1 from New Zealand who defeated Australia's fifth-seeded Rachael Grinham.

Bailey pulled off one of the best wins of her career when she dismissed second-seeded Natalie Pohrer in the quarter-finals.  After losing the first game in the semi-final, the 23-year-old world No7 began to take control of the match against Charman, ranked one place higher.  However, a calf injury received in the third game slowed Charman right down in the fourth.  The 30-year-old from Sussex's movement was decidedly impaired and, after losing
the first five points, Charman conceded the match to give Bailey a 6-9, 10-8, 9-3, 5-0 victory.

The first two games went easily to Owens in the other semi-final at the Heights Casino in New York.  In the third, Grinham come from 3-6 down to 8-6 with some amazing drop shots and pick-ups, only to see Owens crawl back and win the match 9-5, 9-1, 10-8.  "Another game would have made all the difference," said tournament organiser Mark Devoy afterwards.

Owens is celebrating her 42nd appearance in a WISPA final - her last trophy being the Malaysian Open in August.  Bailey, however, in her ninth final, is hoping for her first success since lifting the San Francisco International title in May 2000.

The last meetings between Owens and Bailey were both quarter-finals, in April's British Open where Bailey scored an upset win over a disinterested Owens, and in the Commonwealth Games where Owens gained a measure of revenge.

Rach Reports from the Heights
Rachael Grinham reports on the semis
www.grinhamsisters.com

Ooh I was so close in the 3rd game … I really should have won that one, I was moving her around really well and she was literally bending over sucking in deep breaths when I was leading 8-6. I think seeing her so tired upset my focus a little because when I saw her like that I probably put a bit of pressure on myself by thinking I really shouldn’t lose this game if I have her in this position. So I became a little hesitant and defensive which let her in again. But I played really well, most of my shots were really coming off today so I can’t complain at all, I was happy with my effort.

The other semi-final before me was going pretty much as expected until Linda forfeited the match because of something to do with her calf muscle. And by expected I don’t mean scoreline-wise but LENGTH-WISE… 50 min after they started they finished the SECOND game !! It looked like I could have had a while to wait before I went on court, but the 3rd game didn’t take as long, and not long into the 4th she stopped play because she couldn’t move. It was a shame the crowd didn’t get to see the end of what could have been expected to be a close 5-setter...

[1] Carol Owens (Nzl) bt [8] Fiona Geaves (Eng)  9/6, 9/1, 9/0
[5] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt [4] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned)  9/6, 8/10, 6/9, 9/6, 9/1
[3] Linda Charman (Eng) bt [6] Stephanie Brind (Eng) 9/5, 9/4, 9/0
[7] Tania Bailey (Eng) bt [2] Natalie Pohrer (Usa)  9/4, 2/9, 9/3, 9/6

BAILEY SPOILS POHRER'S US DEBUT
Natalie Pohrer's first tournament under USA colours ended in the quarter-finals, when she was comprehensively beaten by Tania Bailey in the quarter-finals. Bailey will meet Linda Charman in an all-English semi-final after Charman comfortably disposed of Stephanie Brind.

World number one Carol Owens denied England a third semi-finalist as she beat Fiona Geaves in three games. Owens now faces Australia's Rachael Grinham, who won a 71-minute clash against Vanessa Atkinson, Grinham coming from 2-1 down to take an easy fifth game win.

Rach Reports from the Heights
Rachael Grinham reports on the quarters
www.grinhamsisters.com

Well this is exciting... this is the first time I've made it to the semi-final stages of a Grand Prix event !! I'm just so relieved that I won this match... I knew I had a really good opportunity here so I didn't wanna blow it. For this tournament and the World Open last week I was drawn against players that I had beaten before and recently even... but I haven't beaten them in the BIG tournaments before - and these are the ones that I really need to beat them in to improve my ranking. So this tournament was a good opportunity for me and I'm excited that I've finally broken thru to the semi-finals of one of these.

The other big match of the day was Tania Bailey beating Natalie Pohrer. I only saw from the 3rd game but Tania looked to be playing really well to me, the best I've ever seen her play. She was already a strong player but when I saw her playing tonight she looked even better. It was impossible to hit it past her volley, and she even looked to be moving quicker to attack also. She will come up against Linda Charman in the other semi-final tomorrow. These two are well-known for their long 5-set matches, and I hear Linda is playing well at the moment also, so I think we can be expecting another marathon match from them tomorrow !!

SUCCESS FOR THE SEEDS
The first round of the Weymuller US Open in New York saw all the seeded players progress to the quarter-finals.

Top seeds Carol Owens and Natalie Pohrer scored quick wins over junior Omneya Abdel Kawy and veteran Suzanne Horner respectively.  Pohrer, playing her first match under USA colours, now meets Tania Bailey, who overcame Natalie Grinham in three games. Owens meets Fiona Geaves, who stopped Rebecca Macree's recent run of success over English opponents, winning 3/1.

In the other all-English clash, the only match that provided a sniff of an upset, Stephanie Brind beat Vicky Botwright, with Botwright retiring towards the end of the fourth game with a re-occurrence of the ankle injury that has been plaguing her for several weeks. Brind now faces another all-English match, against Linda Charman, who ended the qualifying run of Pamela Nimmo.

The other quarter-final pitches Vanessa Atkinson against Rachael Grinham, after the fourth and fifth seeds put out Latasha Khan and Jenny Tranfield respectively.

[1] Carol Owens (Nzl) bt [Q] Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy)  9/5, 9/0, 9/0
[8] Fiona Geaves (Eng) bt Rebecca Macree (Eng)  9/1, 9/6, 2/9, 9/3
[4] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned) bt Latasha Khan (Usa)  9/7, 9/7, 9/3
[5] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt [Q] Jenny Tranfield (Eng)  9/4, 9/5, 9/5
[6] Stephanie Brind (Eng) bt [Q] Vicky Botwright (Eng)  9/7, 10/8, 2/9, 7/2 rtd
[3] Linda Charman (Eng)  bt [Q] Pamela Nimmo (Sco)  9/5, 9/2, 9/1
[7] Tania Bailey (Eng) bt Natalie Grinham (Aus)  9/4, 9/4, 9/6
[2] Natalie Pohrer (Usa) bt Suzanne Horner (Eng)  9/2, 9/2, 9/3

Rach Reports from the Heights
Rachael Grinham reports on the first round
www.grinhamsisters.com

I played really well tonight. Jenny’s a tough player, and she will run around for hours if you let her, so my game plan was to get to the ball fast and hit it early so as not to give her the time to keep running around and getting everything back. That worked well for the first 2 games but in the 3rd she started lobbing everything to the back and then that was giving her time to stand up and be ready for my short shots, so when I played short she was onto it already. I realized she was really ready for me to play short so I cut it out and played everything to the back. That was good because even as the rally went on if she gave me a shot that was easy to put short, I just held it a little and hit it back again, and she would be really moving forward to cover the short shot she was expecting so it was tiring her to run all the way back again. I enjoyed the match though, especially since I felt good and played really well !!

Nat was on at the same time as me so I didn’t really see much of her match… she thought she started playing better in the third game. In the first game she said she hit a lot of balls that were just out, as if misjudging the ball all the time… possibly because of practicing on a different court in the morning. But although she started to play better towards the end of the match, and had some really good rallies, Tania was just too strong and steady.

All of the matches went to the seeded players though today, and all 3-0 except for two. Fiona Geaves dropped the third game to Rebecca Macree, and Stephanie Brind beat Vicky Botwright after leading 2-1 when Vicky forfeited at the beginning of the fourth game. I can’t be sure what happened but I think she slipped and re-injured her ankle that she’s been having trouble with for a few months now.

Anyway, onto quarter-finals … should be some good matches.

More from the Grinham sisters on www.grinhamsisters.com

Qualifying Finals (13 Nov):
Pamela Nimmo (Sco) bt Jenny Duncalf (Eng)  9-1, 9-7, 9-3
Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy) bt Melissa Martin (Aus) 9-2, 9-1, 9-3
Jenny Tranfield (Eng) bt Madeline Perry (Irl) 9-3, 9-6, 9-6
Vicky Botwright (Eng) bt Annelize Naude (Ned) 9-3, 9-5, 9-5

Qualifying RoundOne (12 Nov):
Pamela Nimmo (Sco) bt Runa Reta (Can)  9/4, 9/5, 7/9, 9/2
Jenny Duncalf (Eng) bt Dana Betts (Usa)  9/1, 9/1, 9/2
Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy) bt Carlin Wing (Usa)  9/0, 9/2, 9/0
Melissa Martin (Aus) bt Milja Dorenbos (Ned)  9/6, 9/0, 9/4
Madeline Perry (Irl) bt Julia Beaver (Usa)  9/5, 9/1, 9/1
Jenny Tranfield (Eng) bt Meredith Quick (Usa)  9/0, 9/1, 9/0
Annelize Naude (Ned) bt Samantha Teran (Mex)  9/5, 9/4, 10/8
Vicky Botwright (Eng) bt Karen Kronemeyer (Ned)  9/3, 9/3, 9/0

WOMEN'S US OPEN RETURNS
WISPA has confirmed an agreement between the USSRA and the Heights Casino in New York which will result in the Carol Weymuller Open being elevated to the US Women's Open from November this year. Full story

One of the sport's longest-established events in the USA, the Carol Weymuller Open was first played in 1973 and joined the WISPA World Tour in 1993, staged at the Heights Casino in New York.  Winners of the event include the four most recent world number ones - Michelle Martin and Sarah Fitz-Gerald of Australia; Leilani Rorani of New Zealand; and England's Cassie Jackman.

The Heights Casino in Brooklyn Heights is a premier US Rackets club with a great squash heritage.  "Associating the title US Open with The Weymuller further underscores the popularity of squash in our community," said Edward Cerullo, member of the club's Board of Governors. "We hope to draw the best WISPA players to compete for the USA's most prestigious title and offer the community the most exciting squash possible," he added.

The 2002 US Open, to be played the Weymuller US Open to retain the link with the original event creator: "Carol Weymuller, the former club professional, was a great contributor to the promotion of squash in North America," Cerullo points out.

The championship is the last WISPA Grand Prix event for 2002 and should see several players scrambling for places in the finals which will be played next April.