Joyful Joelle Takes Texas Title
New Zealand outsider Joelle King crowned a sensational
week in Texas by winning the biggest WISPA World Tour squash title of her
life - beating experienced top seed Rachael Grinham in the final of the
Champion Fiberglass Women's Texas Open, the $26,700 event at The
Downtown Club at the Met in Houston, USA.
The unseeded 21-year-old from the North Island town of Cambridge
carved her way through the WISPA Silver 20 field in magnificent style, first
beating fourth seed Tania Bailey, then fifth-seeded Australian Donna
Urquhart, before ousting sixth seed Dominique Lloyd-Walter to reach
the final.
King had beaten Grinham, the 33-year-old former world number one
and world champion, in their last meeting – but it was on home soil, in the
first round of the New Zealand Open last August.
But the rapidly-improving Kiwi, who celebrated a career-high
world No23 ranking this month, was able to reproduce the same confident form as
she battled to an 11-8, 6-11, 11-8, 11-9 victory over the world No5.
King becomes the first New Zealander to win the Texas title since
Carol Owens in the first two events in 2002 and 2003.
The triumph takes King's career WISPA Tour title total to five,
from only six final appearances!
King Crashes Into Texas Final
Unseeded New Zealander Joelle King reached the biggest
WISPA World Tour squash final of her life when she defeated England's
Dominique Lloyd-Walter in the semi-finals of the Champion Fiberglass
Women's Texas Open to record her third successive upset in the $26,700 event
at The Downtown Club at the Met in Houston, USA.
The 21-year-old outsider from the North Island town of Cambridge
took off on her 'Texas massacre' by beating fourth seed Tania Bailey –
then upended fifth-seeded Australian Donna Urquhart, again in straight
games, to reach the semi-finals.
King overwhelmed Dominique Lloyd-Walter in the first two
games before the sixth seed from England battled back in the third to reduce the
deficit.
But the Kiwi had her sights on the final – and went on to win
11-1, 11-5, 7-11, 11-7 to reach the sixth Tour final of her career.
King now has the event's biggest hurdle to overcome in top seed
Rachael Grinham. The 2004 champion from Australia had to be at her best
to fight off the challenge of Low Wee Wern, the unseeded Malaysian who
took out third seed Jaclyn Hawkes to make the last four.
The experienced Queenslander, a former world number one and world
champion, maintained her focus throughout, beating the 19-year-old from Penang
12-10, 11-8, 11-7 to reach the 55th WISPA Tour final of her career.
Joelle King's unexpected appearance in the Houston final will
lead to her withdrawal from the qualifying competition for the Cayman Islands
Open, the third WISPA Gold event of the year which gets underway today in
Grand Cayman.
But while King will continue her role as 'underdog' in the final,
the Kiwi will be comforted by the fact that she beat Grinham in their last
meeting, in the NZ Open last August – and will look forward to becoming
the first NZ winner in Texas since her illustrious compatriot Carol Owens
in the first two events in 2002 and 2003.
Upsets Continue In Texas
Former champion Rachael Grinham became the only top four
seed to make the semi-finals of the Champion Fiberglass Women's Texas Open
after another day of upsets in the $26,700 WISPA World Tour squash event
at The Downtown Club at the Met in Houston, USA.
The Australian favourite, winner of the title in 2004, brushed
aside Hong Kong's unseeded Joey Chan 11-3, 11-1, 11-8.
And former world number one Grinham will now face another
unseeded opponent after Malaysian Low Wee Wern, ranked outside the world
top 30, scored one of the most stunning wins of her career by recovering from
two games down to beat Jaclyn Hawkes, the third seed from New Zealand.
The 19-year-old from Penang's 7-11, 7-11, 11-1, 11-9, 12-10
defeat of the world No15 from Auckland followed her first round win over
England's No8 seed Lauren Briggs.
Two rapidly-rising antipodeans also produced a significant shock
in the lower half of the draw when unseeded Kiwi Joelle King defeated
fifth-seeded Australian Donna Urquhart 12-10, 11-5, 11-3.
Both players celebrated career-high world rankings this month –
21-year-old King jumping four places to reach 23, while 23-year-old Urquhart
made her top 20 debut at 20.
King will face Dominique Lloyd-Walter for a place in the
final after the sixth seed from England survived a five-game battle with
unseeded Malaysian Delia Arnold, winning 5-11, 12-10, 11-7, 4-11, 11-6.
Rising Asian Stars Lead Seeds Cull In Texas
Only half of the seeds made it through the first round of the
Champion Fiberglass Women's Texas Open after a series of upsets led by three
rising Asian stars in the $26,700 WISPA World Tour squash event at The
Downtown Club at the Met in Houston, USA.
Malaysian Delia Arnold claimed the biggest scalp on the
opening day of the popular event in its ninth year in Texas. The 24-year-old
from Selangor, making her debut in the event's main draw, battled for five games
to overcome second-seeded Mexican Samantha Teran, the world No12, 9-11,
11-6, 11-4, 9-11, 11-6.
Fellow Malaysian Low Wee Wern also claimed an unexpected
place in the quarter-finals after upsetting England's eighth seed Lauren
Briggs 11-4, 11-8, 11-5.
Hong Kong's Joey Chan put paid to expected US interest in
the next round when she beat Latasha Khan, the No7 seed from Seattle,
11-7, 11-6, 11-9.
New Zealander Joelle King also made it into the last eight
against expectations after beating England's fourth seed Tania Bailey, a
semi-finalist in the inaugural event in 2002, 13-11, 11-9, 11-0.
Top seed Rachael Grinham was also severely tested in her
opening round clash. The former world number one from Australia, champion in
2004, was taken to five games by qualifier Tenille Swartz before beating
the 22-year-old South African 11-4, 10-12, 11-5, 13-15, 11-8.
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