Abdel Kawy
Hits The Jackpot At Monte Carlo
Omneya Abdel
Kawy
became the first Egyptian to win the Women's Monte Carlo Classic title
after beating former champion Vanessa Atkinson in the final of the
$25,300 WISPA World Tour squash event in its 15th year at Stade Louis
II in Monaco.
Atkinson, the
third seed from the Netherlands who was champion in 2005, was celebrating her
40th appearance in a WISPA World Tour final.
But it was
Abdel Kawy's day as the 25-year-old top seed from Cairo fought for 33 minutes to
beat Atkinson 11-5, 11-7, 4-11, 11-9 to celebrate her maiden title-winning
triumph.
It was the
latest success in a fine run of form for Abdel Kawy who reached the final of the
World Open in her home country for the first time only last month.
The Monte
Carlo Classic success marks the eighth Tour title of Abdel Kawy's career.
The runner-up
also had her share of the limelight, however, when a special presentation was
made to Vanessa Atkinson by The Monégasque Fédération to mark her
tenth appearance in the Monte Carlo Squash Classic since the first edition in
1996 - in which she reached the final four times and won it in 2005.
Serme Surprise
Takes Atkinson Into Fourth Monte Carlo Final
A rejuvenated
34-year-old Vanessa Atkinson pulled off a notable upset over France's
second seed Camille Serme in the Women's Monte Carlo Classic
to earn a fourth appearance in the final of the $25,300 WISPA World Tour
squash event in its 15th year at Stade Louis II in Monaco.
The
third-seeded Dutch star, taking time away from her English Literature studies at
Leeds Metropolitan University in the UK, recovered from a game down to beat
21-year-old Serme, the world No7, 9-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-9 -
and reach the 40th World Tour final of her career!
Atkinson made
the Monte Carlo final in her first appearance in the event in 1999 as a
qualifier, then won the title in 2005 before finishing as runner-up the
following year.
The former
world number one and world champion from The Hague, who currently sits in 11th
place in the WISPA world list, now faces Egyptian favourite Omneya Abdel Kawy.
The
25-year-old from Cairo ended giant-killer Annelize Naude's run, beating
the unseeded 33-year-old from Amsterdam 11-7, 11-8, 11-8.
Abdel Kawy,
currently boasting a career-high world No4 ranking, is aiming to become the
first Egyptian to win the established Monte Carlo title - but it is Atkinson who
has the edge on their head-to-head record, after winning seven of the eight Tour
meetings since 2002.
Naude Stuns
Stoehr In Classic Upset
Unseeded
Annelize Naude continued her giant-killing run in the Women's Monte Carlo
Classic when she upset fourth-seeded French opponent Isabelle Stoehr
in the quarter-finals of the $25,300 WISPA World Tour squash event in its
15th year at Stade Louis II in Monaco.
Only 24 hours
after despatching England's fifth seed Sarah Kippax, the world No41 from
the Netherlands ousted Stoehr, ranked 23 places higher, 5-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-5
in 29 minutes.
The
33-year-old from Amsterdam will now face favourite Omneya Abdel Kawy, the
world No4 from Egypt who defeated Orla Noom, the No7 seed from the
Netherlands, 11-5, 11-5, 11-2.
Two of the top
European players, who have faced each other four times in regional tournaments
on the continent over the past two years, meet for the first time on the
WISPA World Tour in the Monte Carlo semi-finals.
Camille Serme,
the second seed from Paris who is hoping to become the first ever French winner
of the title, beat Guyana's unseeded Nicolette Fernandes 11-2, 11-8,
11-2.
The
21-year-old world No7 will face Vanessa Atkinson, the third seed from the
Netherlands who reached the final as a qualifier in her first appearance in the
event in 1999, then won the title in 2005.
Atkinson, a
former world number one, removed Ireland's sixth seed Aisling Blake 11-7,
12-10, 5-11, 11-7.
Nicolette &
Naude Net Upsets In Monte Carlo
Unseeded
Annelize Naude and Nicolette Fernandes secured unexpected places in
the quarter-finals of the Women's Monte Carlo Classic after
surprise first round wins in the $25,300 WISPA World Tour squash event in
its 15th year at Stade Louis II in Monte Carlo in Monaco.
Naude, the
world No41 from the Netherlands, scored the biggest scalp - battling for 70
minutes to overcome fifth seed Sarah Kippax, the world No22 from England,
11-6, 11-9, 4-11, 12-14, 13-11.
The
33-year-old from Amsterdam will now line up against France's Isabelle Stoehr
after the fourth seed despatched compatriot Laura Pomportes, a qualifier,
11-2, 11-3, 11-4.
Nicolette
Fernandes,
a former world No27 from Guyana still fighting to regain her former form after a
major knee injury, also needed five games to get the better of Italy's eighth
seed Manuela Manetta 11-1, 12-10, 10-12, 3-11, 11-3.
The
London-based 27-year-old, currently ranked 52 in the world, will now face local
favourite Camille Serme - the No2 seed from France seeking to become her
country's first Monte Carlo Classic champion.
But the
21-year-old world No7 from Paris was given a stern test by Egypt teenager
Heba El Torky before finally beating the 19-year-old from Alexandria 3-11,
11-6, 11-8, 4-11, 11-5 in exactly one hour.
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