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Teran Back To Her Best At Sun &
Surf
Mexican star Samantha Teran scored her 14th
career title and second of the year at the BC Honda Dealers Sun & Surf in
Vancouver with a straight game victory over top seed, New Zealand’s Jaclyn
Hawkes in the final.
A popular stop on the WISPA tour, the Sun &
Surf this year upgraded its prize money to Silver level and so attracted a
host of top players from around world.
The first round saw seven out of the top
eight seeds move through to the quarter finals, with top seeds Hawkes and
Teran scoring comfortable wins over Canadian opposition. Canadian interest
in the first round was ended when former top twenty players, fourth seed
Latasha Khan and eighth seed Engy Kheirallah, eased through. Kheirallah’s
Egyptian compatriot, Heba El Torky, made light work of Mexican qualifier
Nayelly Hernandez. The English duo of third seed Emma Beddoes and sixth seed
Victoria Lust also progressed in slightly contrasting styles. Beddoes sped
past American qualifier Kirsten Lange whilst Lust had to fight back from a
game down to outlast Czech number one Lucie Fialova. Expecting to round out
the quarter final line up was Olivia Blatchford. The recent exploits of the
American at the World Junior Champs however left her looking tired and after
taking the first game on a tiebreak she fell away against the dangerous
Misaki Kobayashi.
The quarter finals saw some tough matches,
but it was the top four seeds that prevailed. Hawkes saw off Japanese number
one Kobayashi in straight games, executing her shots to perfection. Her semi
final opponent, Khan prevailed in three tight games against Lust. Khan and
Lust have had some tough battles in the past and this match was no
exception. A crucial first game went to Khan 18-16 and from then on she held
off Lust after some hard long rallies. Beddoes was the next through against
El Torky. The young Egyptian, known for her shot making, took the first game
but it was the steady and consistent play of Beddoes that saw her through in
four games after 68 minutes on court. Teran was the last to make it through,
beating Kheirallah in straight games. Kheirallah had a winning record over
Teran, but this time the Mexican played the consistency game to perfection,
forcing Kheirallah to make errors.
The semi finals saw differing wins for the
top two players. Hawkes once again played quality squash, finding perfect
length throughout the match and Khan had no answer to it. The American
veteran stepped up the pace in the third game but by then the damage had
been done. Teran took 70 minutes to join Hawkes in the final. Playing very
similar games there wasn’t much to split Teran and Beddoes throughout the
match. The first two games were shared 11-7 apiece and it could have gone
either way from there, but Teran had more in the tank and she pushed through
to the final.
The final was expected to be close.
Both players are known for their long lasting matches and they have shared
victories over one and another in the past.
Hawkes’ form this week and her straight game
victory over Teran just the other week in Singapore would have put her has
many people’s favourite before the match.
The crowd however were left stunned. After just
26 minutes on court Teran had sealed victory. Hawkes looked completely out
of sorts all match and had no answer to the relentless attacking play from
Teran, who was on top of every ball. Teran’s previous tough matches seemed
to have had no effect and it was Hawkes’ lack of hard matches that may have
proved costly.
This victory gives Teran her second title of
year, following on from the Veracruz Open in June. The Mexican seems back to
her best and will look to push back up the top 20 as the new season gets
underway.
Congratulations to the tournament organisers
for putting on another fantastic event. We look forward to seeing the Sun &
Surf back, bigger and better next year!
Final:
[2] Samantha Teran (MEX) bt [1] Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) 11/2 11/5 11/3 (26m)
Semi Finals:
[1] Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) bt [4] Latasha Khan (USA) 11/4 11/5 11/9 (28m)
[2] Samantha Teran (MEX) bt [3] Emma Beddoes (ENG) 11/7 7/11 11/7 11/5 (70m)
Quarter Finals:
[1] Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) bt Misaki Kobayashi (JPN) 11/6 11/4 11/9 (28m)
[4] Latasha Khan (USA) bt [6] Victoria Lust (ENG) 18/16 11/8 11/9 (53m)
[3] Emma Beddoes (ENG) bt [5] Heba El Torky (EGY) 8/11 11/7 11/5 11/8 (68m)
[2] Samantha Teran (MEX) bt [8] Engy Kheirallah (EGY) 11/8 11/6 11/5 (68m)
1st Round:
[1] Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) bt Miranda Ranieri (CAN) 11/4 11/8 11/8 (29m)
Misaki Kobayashi (JPN) bt [7] Olivia Blatchford (USA) 10/12 11/9 11/7 11/5
(32m)
[4] Latasha Khan (USA) bt Alexandra Norman (CAN) 11/7 11/6 11/2 (26m)
[6] Victoria Lust (ENG) bt Lucie Fialova (CZE) 11/13 11/1 11/6 11/7 (40m)
[5] Heba El Torky (EGY) bt [Q] Nayelly Hernandez (MEX) 11/8 11/5 11/4 (17m)
[3] Emma Beddoes (ENG) bt [Q] Kirsten Lange (USA) 11/6 11/2 11/3 (26m)
[8] Engy Kheirallah (EGY) bt [Q] Carolyn Russell (CAN) 11/4 11/4 11/8 (27m)
[2] Samantha Teran (MEX) bt [Q] Melanie Jans (CAN) 11/6 11/3 11/9 (32m)
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