Courtesy Gulf Times Sport
Joyce, Campion storm into semis
By Yogesh Godbole, the Gulf Times
Top seed Leilani Joyce and England's Cassie Campion set up a mouth-watering semi-final in the Qatar Classic Squash Tournament with facile quarterfinal wins at the 3-0 wins at the Khalifa complex courts yesterday.
Joyce, herself the world No 1 till last month, scored an easy 9-3, 9-7, 9-5 win over Suzanne Horner in the first women's match of the day to become the first player to make the semi-finals.
Campion simply made Dutchwoman Vanessa Atkinson run all over the court later in the afternoon before clinching a 9-4, 9-5, 9-4 victory.
Second seed and world No 1 Sarah Fitz-Gerald continued her stroll towards the final with yet another crisp performance later in the evening when she overwhelmed compatriot Rachael Grinham 9-2, 9-1, 9-0.
Fitz-Gerald is unlikely to be too worried about her semi-final opponent, England's Stephanie Brind, who quelled Fiona Geaves of England 9-6, 3-9, 9-5, 2-9, 9-4 .
"If I am able to take even one game off Sarah, I shall consider that as an improvement," said Brind.
A self-confessed laid back type who uses her Walkman to shut herself off from the rest of the world, Brind was made to work for her semi-final berth by good friend Geaves.
With both players having similar styles and Geaves the stronger of the two in smashing the ball, the quarterfinal became a battle of nerves. Brind won the first game in 123 minutes, but Geaves levelled the rubber in the second eight minutes later.
Brind again took the advantage in the third game that went another 12 minutes before Geaves raced off to a commanding 8-2 lead in the fourth.
"I decided to save my energy for the final game ... when someone has such a big advantage, it is better to do that," said Brind after sealing her semi-final spot after the fifth game that saw the serve changing hands five times.
"It looks like we hate each other on court ... and this was revenge for Monte Carlo and the earlier matches that I lost to her (Geaves)," said Brind after the match.
But how much of that energy will be available against Fitz-Gerald in the semi-final today evening is a debatable issue. "I heard Stephanie (Brind) had a tough match today ... obviously, she will be tired," said Fitz-Gerald after winning her quarterfinal match in the evening.
"I will be pretty much relaxed in the final - whether it is Leilani or Cassie - but I still have to win tomorrow's semi-final, said the Australian who simply was too good against Grinham.
"She (Grinham) was trying to upset my rhythm and failed ... you don't try these things in a match," was Fitz-Gerald's assessment of the match.
The other semi-final promises to be an exciting affair when Joyce takes on Campion, the latter on the comeback trail after recovering from a major back operation.
"I am taking one match at a time, so I am not that much worried about meeting Leilani in the semi-finals," said Campion.
"I got the chance to move Vanessa (Atkinson) around and it was great game," she said of yesterday's match. "Vanessa played well, but the rallies went my way."
While Campion was generous win her praise, Atkinson herself did not mince words. "I played very badly ... Cassie was able to control the game. I could not get her behind me and she made me chase the ball all over the court."
Joyce said: "She (Horner) is the only one who can disturb my rhythm. And yes, there was a lot of running after ball for both of us, though I was able to control the game just that little bit better."
While Joyce and Campion slug it out, Fitz-Gerald has a much smoother route to the final tomorrow.
As Rachael Grinham enviously put it yesterday after losing her quarterfinal: "She is like a superstar of the circuit."