04/09/2012
CROCODILE CHALLENGE CUP 2012 (WOMEN)
Urquhart Wins Title Number Seven
Crocodile
Challenge Cup 2012
28-Aug to 02-Sep, Hong Kong $15k |
Round One
30 Aug |
Quarters
31 Aug |
Semis
01 Sep |
Final
02 Sep |
[1] Donna Urquhart (Aus)
11/3, 12/10, 11/8
Tong Tsz-Wing (Hkg) |
Donna Urquhart
11/4, 11/4, 11/9
Olga Ertlova |
Donna Urquhart
12/10, 9/11, 11/6, 11/5
Liu Tsz-Ling |
Donna Urquhart
11/6, 11/8, 11/6
Line Hansen |
[6] Olga Ertlova (Cze)
9/11, 11/4, 11/3, 11/6
Chu Ka Hei |
[4] Liu Tsz-Ling (Hkg)
11/8, 11/6, 11/2
Song Sun-Mi (Kor) |
Liu Tsz-Ling
11/5, 11/7, 8/11, 7/11, 11/6
Kylie Lindsay |
[5] Kylie Lindsay (Nzl)
11/8, 11/5, 11/4
[Q] Ho Ka-Po (Hkg) |
[Q] Lee Ka-Yi (Hkg)
8/11, 10/12, 11/3, 11/7, 11/5
[8] Sarah Cardwell (Aus) |
Lee Ka-Yi
11/7, 11/1, 11/8
Line Hansen |
Line Hansen
11/0, 11/8, 11/8
Lisa Aitken |
Carmen Lee (Hkg)
11/5, 11/7, 11/4
[3] Line Hansen (Den) |
Karman Siu (Hkg)
11/1, 11/4, 11/5
[7] Lisa Aitken (Sco) |
11/4, 14/12, 9/11, 11/8
Joey Chan |
[Q] Ho Tze-Kok (Hkg)
11/3, 11/4, 11/2
[2] Joey Chan (Hkg) |
Urquhart Wins Title Number Seven At The Crocodile Challenge Cup
Australia’s Donna Urquhart won her seventh WSA title yesterday at
the Tour 15 Crocodile Challenge Cup in Hong Kong.
Urquhart, the top seed and world number 17, seemed to show no
obvious signs of the ankle injury that forced her to retire from her
quarter final match at the Australian Open last month.
She
opened the tournament with a straight game win over Hong Kong’s Tong
Tsz-Wing and followed this up in the quarter finals with a further
straight game win over the sixth seed Olga Ertlova of the Czech
Republic. The semi finals saw Urquhart face Hong Kong fourth seed
Liu Tsz-Ling. Tsz-Ling went toe to toe with Urquhart for the first
two games and the match was level at one game all. Tsz-Ling, who’s
ranking has risen dramatically in 2012 to a current high of no.44,
continued to push the Aussie in the third and fourth games but
Urquhart managed to use her experience to pull clear towards the end
of each game and move into the final.
Urquhart’s expected final opponent was local star and world number
18 Joey Chan. Chan had ended Urquhart’s run in the event in 2011 and
looked to be on course again this year with a comfortable first
round win against local qualifier Ho Tze Lok. Chan’s tournament
however ended in the quarter finals at the hands of Scottish number
one Lisa Aitken. Aitken, the seventh seed, stormed through the first
game 11/4 and crucially recovered from 9-3 down in the second to
take it on the tie break. Aitken closed out the match in the fourth,
recording the biggest win of her career.
In
the semi final Aitken faced Danish number one Line Hansen. Hansen
reached the semi finals with two comfortable wins against Hong Kong
players Carmen Lee and the dangerous qualifier Lee Ka Yi. Hansen and
Aitken played as recently as July at the Tournament of Pyramids in
Paris where Hansen won in straight games. It was the same storyline
again as Hansen started in ruthless fashion taking the first game
11-0. Aitken raised her level after this and pushed the Dane in the
second and third games but didn’t have enough to turn things around.
Urquhart owned a 2-0 head to head record against Hansen going into
the final, with both matches incidentally being played in Hong Kong.
Hansen had just won two titles back to back at the start of August,
showing she was coming into this event in good form. However, the
head to head record proved to be crucial and Urquhart got a grip on
the match from the outset and never allowed Hansen to step forward
and attack, closing it out in three games.
It
was Urquhart’s second title in Hong Kong and seventh overall. Hansen
was appearing in her 18th WSA final.
Both
finalists along with many of the other players will now head to
Malaysia for the CIMB Malaysian Open which begins next week.
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