20/08/2012
AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2012 (Women)
David Retains Australian Open Title
 Australian Open 2012
13-19 August, Canberra, $50k |
Round One
15th Aug |
Round Two
16th Aug |
Quarters
17 Aug |
Semis
18 Aug |
Final
19 Aug |
[1] Nicol David (Mas)
11/3, 8/11, 11/4, 11/8 (40m)
[Q] Tesni Evans (Wal) |
Nicol David
11-4, 11-1, 11-6 (32m)
Low Wee Wern |
Nicol David
10-12, 11-1, 11-7, 15-13 (68min)
Alison Waters |
Nicol David
11-7, 11-4, 11-5
Madeline Perry |
Nicol David
17-15, 11-2, 11-6 (44mins)
Laura Massaro |
[10] Low Wee Wern (Mas)
11/3, 11/2, 11/8 (19m)
Liu Tsz-Ling
(Hkg) |
[5] Annie Au (Hkg)
11/5, 11/2, 11/2 (19m)
[Q] Lisa Aitken (Sco) |
Annie Au
11-7, 11-6, 11-8 (32m)
Alison Waters |
[15] Delia Arnold (Mas)
11/8, 11/6, 11/3 (30m)
Alison Waters
(Eng) |
[4] Madeline Perry (Irl)
11/3, 11/9, 11/1 (21m)
Siti Munirah
Jusoh (Mas) |
Madeline Perry
11-8, 13-11, 11-2 (37m)
Emma Beddoes |
Madeline Perry
11-4, 11-5, 11-6 (33mins)
Kasey Brown |
[16] Emma Beddoes (Eng)
8/11, 11/2, 8/11, 11/4, 11/3 (61m)
[Q] Sarah Cardwell (Aus) |
[8] Kasey Brown (Aus )
11/6, 11/4, 11/2 (28m)
Line Hansen
(Den) |
Kasey Brown
7-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-9 (50m)
Joelle King |
[9] Joelle King (Nzl)
11/7, 11/7, 3/11, 11/6 (40m)
[Q] Olga Ertlova (Cze) |
[Q] Kylie Lindsay (Nzl)
11/7, 11/3, 11/6 (23m)
[12] Donna Urquhart (Aus) |
Donna Urquhart
11-5, 11-7, 6-11, 11-4 (34m)
Rachael Grinham |
Donna Urquhart
w/o
Laura Massaro |
Laura Massaro
11-7, 7-11, 13-11, 3-11, 11-9
Dipika Pallikal |
Siyoli
Waters (Rsa)
11/8, 13/11, 11/9 (31)
[7] Rachael Grinham (Aus) |
Emily
Whitlock (Eng)
9/11, 11/6, 4/11, 11/9, 11/9 (53m)
[13] Jaclyn Hawkes (Nzl) |
Emily
Whitlock
14-12, 11-8, 11-9 (35m)
Laura Massaro |
[Q] Thaisa Serafini (Bra)
11/1, 11/5, 11/8 (25m)
[3] Laura Massaro (Eng) |
Christine Nunn
(Aus)
11/5, 11/2, 11/5 (28m)
[11] Dipika Pallikal (Ind) |
Dipika Pallikal
3-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-6 (43m)
Camille Serme |
Dipika Pallikal
11-5, 11-7, 12-10 (32mins)
Amanda Sobhy |
[Q] Amanda Landers-Murphy (Nzl)
11/4, 11/7, 11/6 (20m)
[6] Camille Serme (Fra) |
Amanda Sobhy
(Usa)
11/4, 11/6, 11/3 (22m)
[14] Joey Chan (Hkg) |
Amanda Sobhy
11-7, 10-12, 11-7, 11-6
Jenny Duncalf |
[Q] Joshna Chinappa (Ind)
11/7, 11/7, 13/11 (35m)
[2] Jenny Duncalf (Eng) |
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David Retains Australian Open Title
Nicol David
wins her 62nd WSA World Tour title after retaining the Hi-Tec
Australian Open in Canberra, Australia.
The world No.1 took 44-minutes to see
off the challenge of Englishwoman Laura Massaro, who forced the
Malaysian to a gruelling 17-15 tiebreak in the first game.
Massaro, the only player to have
defeated David in a WSA World Tour final since 2009, was looking to
repeat her 2011 Cleveland Classic result where she stunned David in a
four-game defeat.
But the six-time World Champion held
firm after chasing down the first game tie-break and settled in to
retain her title in straight games.
David began the event with a surprising
four-game win over young Welsh player Tesni Evans, before
comfortably seeing off fellow Malaysian Low Wee Wern in round
two. She was again tested in four games as Alison Waters
attempted to throw out the reigning champion, and led after the first
game but David proved too strong after a 15-13 fourth game.
It was the wake-up call David needed
however, and she breezed past Madeline Perry in the semi’s and
into todays final.
David recounted the first game after the
match: “It was hard to get Laura off my back today. I had to really get
stuck in there, it was mentally and physically tough,”
“In the second I started to get in front
and was able to start serving and gaining control. I just knew I wasn’t
letting that first game go, it was close, I’m just so glad to win it
three-love.”
Earlier in the week, Dipika Pallikal
made history as the first Indian player to reach the semi-final of a WSA
World Tour Gold event, whilst Amanda Sobhy also upset the odds
with a quarter-final appearance after downing seeds Joey Chan and
Jenny Duncalf.
Pallikal Falls At Semi
Hurdle And David Makes It Final 78
Reigning champion Nicol David moved a step closer to retaining
her title at the Hi-Tec Australian Open as she eased past
Madeline Perry to make the 2012 final.
The world No.1 was forced to her longest match in over a year by
quarter-finalist Alison Waters yesterday, but beat her Irish
opponent in straight games to progress to the 78th WSA World Tour title
of her career.
Afterwards, David explained that Waters’ quarter-final had sharpened her
ahead of todays tie. She said: “The match yesterday gave me a real
motivation to stay focused and stay solid.”
“A match like yesterday makes you sharper and makes you more aware of
what your opponent’s trying to do to you. So today I was a bit more
prepared for what was coming.”
She will face No.3 seed Laura Massaro who faced gruelling
opposition in her semi-final match against Dipika Pallikal.
Pallikal, who yesterday made history by becoming the first Indian player
to make a WSA Gold event semi-final, showed no signs of being affected
by her milestone and fully matched her opponent in a five-game thriller.
Despite starting the tie well, Massaro struggled with the Indian’s array
of attacking shots from the front of the court. A tie-break third could
have gone either way, and Pallikal again stormed back to level the match
in a dominant fourth game. The experienced Massaro came from behind in
the deciding game, and six consecutive points were enough to see the
Englishwoman progress to her third WSA Gold final against David
Pallikal Makes History
By Reaching Australian Open Semi's
Dipika Pallikal
made history after becoming the first Indian player to reach the
semi-final of a WSA Gold event at the Hi-Tec Australian Open in
Canberra.
Having already seen off the challenge of higher seed Camille Serme
in round two, the 20-year-old ended the giant-killing run of Harvard
student Amanda Sobhy, who yesterday beat No.2 seed Jenny
Duncalf in her own most successful tournament to date. Pallikal
will now face a rested Laura Massaro, who didn’t feature in
today’s play as her opponent Donna Urquhart was forced to concede
a walkover due to injury.
Australia’s hopes of a home title winner were dealt a final blow as
Urquhart’s fellow Aussie Kasey Brown was also eliminated from the
event in straight games at the racket of experienced professional and
world No.5 Madeline Perry.
The most highly anticipated game of the day came as the six-time World
Champion and world No.1 Nicol David squared up to the rejuvenated
Alison Waters for the first time since the Englishwoman returned
from a year-long absence with an Achilles injury.
Waters, who has won 4 out of 5 WSA World Tour titles so far this year,
got off to a great start against the Malaysian favourite, taking the
first game 12-10 on the tie-break. David hit back with a resounding
11-1 second game and gained the advantage in the third, taking it 11-7.
A marathon fourth game ensued, with Waters displaying exactly why she
is still a force to be reckoned with a the very highest level of the
game.
Just falling short of pushing a fifth game, the former world No.3
succumbed to defeat at 15-13, but will take comfort from the fact that
she pushed David to her longest match in over a year, registering at
68-minutes. David will progress to play Madeline Perry of Ireland in
tomorrow's semi-final.
Semi-finals:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) v [4] Madeline Perry (IRL)
[11] Dipika Pallikal (IND) v [3] Laura Massaro (ENG)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt Alison Waters (ENG) 10-12, 11-1, 11-7,
15-13 (68min)
[4] Madeline Perry (IRL) bt [8] Kasey Brown (AUS) 11-4, 11-5,
11-6 (33mins)
[3] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt [12] Donna Urquhart (AUS) w/o
[11] Dipika Pallikal (IND) bt Amanda Sobhy (USA) 11-5, 11-7,
12-10 (32mins)
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Unseeded Sobhy Claims
Biggest Scalp While Urquhart Wins All-Aussie Battle
More surprise results dominate the headlines from the Hi-Tec
Australian Open in Canberra as 19-year-old Havard student Amanda
Sobhy beat another seeded player to progress to the quarter-finals
of the WSA World Tour Gold45 event.
The former World Junior Champion beat No.2 seed Jenny Duncalf in
four games, a feat that she previously attained at the Cleveland Classic
in February, when the world No.3 was forced to retire injured.
Sobhy will now face Dipika Pallikal, who also upset the seedings
by defeating No.6 Camille Serme of France in four games. The
Indian international came from a game behind to get the better of Serme
and record the biggest win of her career to date.
Two Australian hopefuls looking for a title win on home soil were drawn
to face each other in round two, the experienced Rachael Grinham
against Donna Urquhart. It was the 25-year-old from Yamba, New
South Wales who started the match quicker of the two, and Urquhart
sprang away to a 2-game lead. Grinham’s resolute and clever play saw
her claw a game back in her favour but the younger player held her nerve
and closed out the match, ending the former world No.1’s hopes of a
second Australian Open title.
Urquhart progresses to face No.3 seed Laura Massaro who, despite
being forced to an early first-game tiebreak, played a steady game to
see off young teenager and fellow Englishwoman Emily Whitlock.
Also holding hopes of a home title win, Kasey Brown came from a
game down to beat Joelle King of New Zealand. The No.8 seed will
now face the experienced Irishwoman, Madeline Perry who, after a
tie-break second game, beat Emma Beddoes in three games to book
her quarter-final place.
Alison Waters continued to make short work of her seeded
opponents as she got the better of No.5 seed Annie Au, gaining
some revenge for her defeat at the hand of the Hong Kong international
at the Allam British Open second round back in May.
Waters will face the biggest test of her injury comeback to date, as she
is faces World Open Champion and world No.1 Nicol David in the
next round. After dropping a game to Welsh youngster Tesni Evans
in the first round, David was in a clinical mood as she dispatched
fellow Malaysian Low Wee Wern in 32-minutes, dropping just 11
points in the whole match.
Whitlock
& Sobhy Take Out Seeds, David Is Tested
It was
a good day for the youngsters in the first round of the Hi-Tec
Australian Open, as Harvard Sophomore Amanda Sobhy and England's
Emily Whitlock upset the seedings. Sobhy, the 2010 World Junior
Champion made short work of 14th seed Joey Chan of Hong Kong. The
19 year old, currently ranked no.26, was at a ranking high of no.17 last
year before College commitments have stopped her playing a full season
on tour. Whitlock, the recent World Junior semi finalist, went the
distance with Jaclyn Hawkes of New Zealand, twice coming from a
game down to record her first top 20 win. Sobhy will now play second
seed Jenny Duncalf while Whitlock will play third seed Laura Massaro in
the last 16.
Elsewhere, World No 1 Nicol David didn't have it all her own way
against 19 year old Tesni Evans of Wales. David won the opening
game handily before Evans stormed back to take the second game. David
closed it out 11-8 in 4th against an inspired opponent.
“I was working
hard the whole match to win that one,” David said later.
“You can see what she can do with the
ball, she’s a real talent. Every point counted, she didn’t give up any
point easily. I just had to hang in there and stick to my game.”
On form Alison Waters took out no.15 seed Delia Arnold. On
paper this is an upset but the former World No 3 has won her last 4
tournaments and is certainly the player to avoid.
Australians Kasey Brown, Rachel Grinham and Donna
Urquhart all came through their matches in 3 games. Grinham and
Urquhart now face each other for a place in the quarter finals, while
Brown takes on
2009 Champion Kiwi Joelle King
who needed four games to beat Czech qualifier Olga Ertlova. There
was almost a fourth Australian player into the second round when
Sarah Cardwell twice led no.16 seed Emma Beddoes before
eventually succumbing to the athletic English girl in the fifth.
There were also
comfortable wins for 2010 Champion Madeline Perry, 2008 Champion
Annie Au, Low Wee Wern, Dipika Pallikal and
Camille Serme.
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