01/12/2007
WEYMULLER OPEN
Grainger Captures Carol Weymuller Crown
Carol
Weymuller Open 2007
27 Nov - 02 Dec $42k |
Round One
29 Nov |
Quarters
30 Nov |
Semis
01 Dec |
Final
02 Dec |
[1] Natalie Grainger (Usa)
9/4, 9/2, 9/1
Samantha Teran (Mex) |
Natalie Grainger
5-9, 9-5, 9-3, 1-9, 9-2
Alison Waters |
Natalie Grainger
9-4,
9-1, 9-3
Shelley Kitchen |
Natalie Grainger
9-3, 9-4, 9-6
Jenny Duncalf |
[7] Alison Waters
(Eng)
10/8, 9/5, 9/4
Isabelle Stoehr (Fra) |
[4] Shelley Kitchen (Nzl)
9/1, 9/2, 9/6
[Q] Annelize Naude (Ned) |
Shelley Kitchen
9-7, 9-10, 9-1, 9-6
Kasey Brown |
[8] Kasey Brown (Aus)
9/1, 9/2, 9/4 (48m)
[Q] Manuela Manetta (Ita) |
Jaclyn Hawkes (Nzl)
1/9, 7/7, 9/6, 9/7, 9/6 (92m)
[6] Laura Lengthorn-Massaro (Eng) |
Laura Lengthorn-Massaro
9-1, 9-5, 9-1 (29m)
Vanessa Atkinson |
Vanessa Atkinson
2-9, 9-3, 2-9, 9-7, 9-7
Jenny Duncalf |
[Q] Raneem El Weleily (Egy)
911, 5/9, 9/4, 9/6 (40m)
[3] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned) |
[Q] Lauren Briggs (Eng)
9/1, 9/4, 9/0
[5] Jenny Duncalf (Eng) |
Jenny Duncalf
9-4, 7-9, 9-3, 8-10, 9-2
Vicky Botwright |
Dominique Lloyd-Walter
(Eng)
9/6, 9/5, 9/5 (48m)
[2] Vicky Botwright (Eng) |
27-Nov, Qualifying First Round:
Raneem El Weleily bt Stephanie Edmison 9-2 9-3 9-5
Annelize Naude bt Victoria Chishimba 9-3 9-0 9-2
Alana Miller bt Neha Kumar 9-3 9-0 9-2 (16m)
Carolyn Russell bt Larissa Stephenson 9-3 9-0 9-5
Manuela Manetta bt Julie Cerullo 9-6 9-2 9-5 (28m)
Lauren Briggs bt Nayelly Hernandez 9-0 9-2 9-1
Amelia Pittock bt Samantha Cornett 9-2 9-0-9-4
Tara Mullins bt Tina Rix 9-0 9-1 9-4 (32m) |
Grainger Captures Carol Weymuller Crown
Top seed Natalie Grainger beat England's Jenny Duncalf
in the final of the Women's Carol Weymuller US Open Squash
Championship to win the WISPA Gold event at Heights
Casino in Brooklyn, New York.
The 30-year-old from Washington DC not only
becomes the first US winner of the Carol Weymuller title since the inaugural
event in 1993, but - since the event was also merged with the US Open
this year - she has also reclaimed her country's national open title since
winning it for the first time two years ago.
Grainger continued where she left off in the
semi-finals - delivering another scintillating performance. The Pan American
Games champion began the match at an incredible pace, with early volleys
which took Duncalf by surprise, culminating in a 9-3 first game.
From the beginning of the second game, fifth seed
Duncalf started to challenge the favourite by using a mixture of pace and better
movement - and also constructed rallies with more patience.
In the third game, Duncalf clawed her way back
into the game from 3-6 down to six-all. "All of a sudden it looked as if she
was going to make another one of her amazing come backs that we witnessed the
night before against Vanessa (Atkinson)," said tournament organiser Fiona
Geaves.
"But, once again, Natalie remained calm and
totally focused and took the game."
The 9-3, 9-4, 9-6 victory earns Grainger her
fifth WISPA World Tour title this year on home soil - and the 16th
Tour trophy of her career.
Duncalf Digs Deep To Vanquish Vanessa
England's Jenny Duncalf extended her giant-killing run in the
Women's Carol Weymuller US Open Squash Championship to reach
the final of the WISPA Gold event at Heights Casino in
Brooklyn, New York.
After overcoming her second-seeded England team-mate Vicky
Botwright in the quarter-finals, the fifth seed from Harrogate in
Yorkshire twice came from behind in the semi-final to upset Dutch
opponent Vanessa Atkinson, the third seed, 2-9, 9-3, 2-9, 9-7,
9-7.
Duncalf, now in her fifth WISPA World Tour final, will face top
seed Natalie Grainger, the Pan American Games champion
from the USA who is aiming for her fifth WISPA World Tour title
this year on home soil.
Grainger, from Washington DC, denied Shelley Kitchen the best
28th birthday present she could have hoped for when she
beat the New Zealander 9-4, 9-1, 9-3.
The win takes the US champion through to her 34th Tour
final since 1996.
Grainger and Duncalf's WISPA head-to-head record is 2-2, but whilst
the US favourite prevailed in their two most recent meetings, it was
Duncalf that triumphed in their previous clash in the US Open,
in October 2003.
Duncalf Despatches Botwright In
Brooklyn Upset
Fifth seed Jenny Duncalf claimed an unexpected place in the
semi-finals of the Women's Carol Weymuller US Open Squash
Championship after overcoming her second-seeded England team-mate
Vicky Botwright in five games in the quarter-finals of the
WISPA Gold event at Heights Casino in Brooklyn, New York.
"I'm glad I won in the end - I felt like I was in control of most
rallies but Vicky chases everything down which made the rallies
tough," said the 25-year-old from Harrogate in Yorkshire after her
9-4, 7-9, 9-3, 8-10, 9-2 victory.
"I couldn't convert any of match balls in the fourth - but was happy
to get a good lead in the fifth which gave me more confidence as the
game went on."
Duncalf will face Dutch star Vanessa Atkinson, the third seed
who crushed England's No6 seed Laura Lengthorn-Massaro 9-1,
9-5, 9-1.
"I'm really happy to be in the semis, as I have lost in the quarters
in the last few events," said the former world champion from The
Hague. "I am happy with the way I am playing."
The other semi-final will feature US favourite Natalie Grainger
and New Zealand's No4 seed Shelley Kitchen. Grainger, the
US champion who is aiming for her fifth WISPA World Tour
title this year on home soil, recovered from a game down to survive a
five-game battle with England's No7 seed Alison Waters, winning
5-9, 9-5, 9-3, 1-9, 9-2.
Kitchen came through a four-game encounter with Australian Kasey
Brown, beating the eighth seed 9-7, 9-10, 9-1, 9-6.
"I got the ball behind her better as the match went on and I took her
into the front," said the winning Aucklander. "I'm happy with my game
- we play and practice together all the time so we know each others
game and what to expect."
Seeds Safely Through In New York
The top eight seeds successfully
negotiated their way past first round opponents in the Women's
Carol Weymuller Squash Open at the Heights Casino in New
York, USA.
Top seed
Natalie Grainger, the US champion who is aiming for her fifth
WISPA World Tour title this year on home soil, cruised to a
9-4, 9-2, 9-1 win over Mexican Samantha
Teran.
"I felt really comfortable and tried to
work the rallies," said the world No4 from Washington DC. "She
struggles a bit with my game. I varied the pace and put the ball into
the spaces."
Grainger, runner-up in the WISPA Gold event last year, is expected to
meet England's Vicky Botwright in the final: The second seed
battled for 48 minutes to overcome compatriot Dominique
Lloyd-Walter 9-6, 9-5, 9-5.
"Dom played really well, I knew it was going to be tough," said the
30-year-old from Manchester. "I played her game to start with - but
once I stepped forward it was better."
But Botwright will first have to face England team-mate Jenny
Duncalf in the quarter-finals. Fifth seed Duncalf, winner of
their last meeting in the World Open in Madrid, removed English
qualifier Lauren Briggs 9-1, 9-4, 9-0.
"I'm glad to have started the tournament with a 3/0 win," said the
25-year-old from Harrogate in Yorkshire. "I played quite well - she's
a pretty steady player. I felt that I mixed it up quite well. I like
the tournament and it's great to be back here in Brooklyn."
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