Courtesy Gulf Times Sport
Charman-Smith sent packing by Campion
By Yogesh Godbole, the Gulf Times
World No 4 and third seed Linda Charman-Smith of England became the first seeded player to crash out of the Qatar Classic Squash Tournament when she went down 3-1 to former world No 1 and current No 11 Cassie Campion at the Khalifa Complex yesterday.
The other seeds breezed into the quarterfinals with only No 7 Rachael Grinham of Australia, fifth seeded Stephanie Brind of England and Vanessa Atkinson of the Netherlands dropping games on the way.
Top seeded Leilani Joyce of New Zealand, current World No 1 and second seeded Sarah Fitzgerald of Australia, fourth seeded Fiona Geaves of England and sixth seed Suzanne Horner powered their way into the quarterfinals with 3-0 wins over their respective rivals.
Charman-Smith was not expecting to see former world No 1 Campion as her first round rival. Campion, whose current ranking at 11 does not reflect her true stature, has returned to the circuit after a back problem kept her off the courts last year.
"I tore my right calf and this is my first tournament after almost two months," Charman-Smith said after she lost 9-7, 3-9, 3-9, 4-9 to Campion in just under an hour. "She is on a comeback and she just kept getting better and better after I won the first game.
"I was running around like a chicken - no head."
If Charman-Smith was the headless chicken, her rival, Campion, too was a bit disappointed. I would have expected this kind of a match in the quarterfinal or the semifinal. I need to get my ranking up ... so that this does not happen, she said after using high lobs and deft deflections off the side wall to confound Charman-Smith.
"The ball tends to cling to the side walls and I could control the game. Give any space to Linda (Charman-Smith) and she would have simply whacked it. I had to keep it tight and I did."
Charman-Smith began strongly, taking a 5-2 lead before Campion reeled her in, levelling at 5-5 and then going 7-5 ahead before Charman-Smith recovered to wrap up the game in 11 minutes.
But thereafter, Campion simply piled on the pressure and kept it up, not allowing Charman-Smith any leeway on the court and repeatedly angling her shots off the side walls to a winning effect.
The second game saw both players getting bogged down with neither managing to claim points on her serve till 3-3. Then, Campion simply left the fourth seed behind, winning the next six points to level the rubber 1-1 in a game that stretched for 16 minutes.
Thereafter, Charman-Smith became undone, repeatedly hitting the tin as Campion made her chase the ball all over the court, winning the game in just nine minutes.
Charman-Smith made a last gasp attempt to stop Campion in the deciding fourth game, the players exchanging serves a whopping eight times before Charman-Smith reduced her deficit from 2-5 down to 3-5 down.
Another serve, another point and that was all that Campion allowed her rival, racing off from 6-4 up to matchball and match in 14 minute.
Campion will next meet Vanessa Atkinson of the Netherlands, the Dutchwoman ousting Scottish qualifier Senga MacFie 9-2, 4-9, 9-1, 9-3 yesterday for a place in the quarterfinals.
Earlier, Leilani Joyce found it easier to maintain her composure in a bumpy 9-2, 9-4, 9-6 win over Englands Rebecca Macree in less than half an hour that saw the New Zealander use the high lob to great effect.
"I had to bring in variation and the high lob proved effective against Rebecca. I just concentrated on whacking the ball harder earlier on and then I just had to bring in some variation. It is different in practice and matches ... it is much more difficult in matches to introduce some kind of variation."
Joyce will next meet sixth seed Suzanne Horner of England after she defeated Pamela Nimmo of Scotland 9-5, 9-2, 9-7.
"I adjusted to the court temperature better and Pamela could not, said Horner after she had consoled her good friend Nimmo. It was hotter today on court No 2 than at practice yesterday, and I played better."
"I played Leilani in Hong Kong. Though I lost 3-0, two of the games went to 10-8 ... she made me scamper all over court," Horner said of her quarterfinal rival Joyce, a point that the New Zealander was quick to counter. "I was the one being made to run around," she said with a mischievgrin.
While the seeds were accelerating ahead, it was heartbreak time for the qualifiers. Two Egyptians, who had persevered through the qualifying matches on Wednesday and Thursday, seemed too overwhelmed and in awe of their vaunted rivals.
Omneya Abdel Kawy was blown away by Fiona Geaves, seeded third here, and could only watch as the Englishwoman sealed a quarterfinal place in just 18 minutes on court.
"I could not spot the ball against the bright overhead lights," said Kawy, who lost the first game 9-0 in just three minutes before fighting back in the second before losing 9-7 as well as in the third that she lost 9-2.
Maha Zain lost the last womens match of the day on Centre Court to Sarah Fitz-Gerald 9-0, 9-0, 9-2, but the two points that she won in the deciding third game were wildly cheered by the spectators and had the Egyptian pumping her fist in delight. "The court suited my game more that Maha's, said FitzGerald after winning the one-sided first round match."
"She (FitzGerald) is my idol ... I could hardly breathe when on court with her," said Zain, who sported a wide grin despite the big loss.