Liu Kwai Chi (Mac)
11-3, 11-2 ,11-1 [2] Dipika Pallikal (Ind)
King Claims
Title In Macau
Joelle King clinches
her sixth WSA World Tour title after beating Omneya Abdel Kawy in the Macau
Open 2012 final.
The New Zealand international surprised
audiences in Philadelphia last week by nearly scalping Nicol David in the
Delaware Investments U.S Open semi-finals, but was seeded first for the
competition in Taipa, Macau.
The 24-year-old made a strong case to justify
her top seeding and was yet to drop a game heading into the final. She
dispatched Siti Munirah Jusoh, Delia Arnold and unexpected
semi-finalist, qualifierJoshna Chinappa on the way to her 13th WSA tour
final.
King’s final opponent, former world No.4 Omneya
Abdel Kawy of Egypt, had a tougher route as she dispatched second seed Dipika
Pallikal in five games after beating qualifier Tong Tsz-Wing in round
one. She cemented her Macau Open final slot after beating No.7 seed Aisling
Blake in straight games.
Third,
fourth, fifth seeds all faced exits in the early stages of the event, as Samantha
Teran, Donna Urquhart and Joey Chan all succumbed to shock
first round defeats.
King dominated the early exchanges of the final,
looking comfortable after her forays in last week’s World Series event, and
quickly established a two game lead. The experienced Egyptian fought back
however, much like her opponent’s U.S. Open tie against David last week, and
levelled the contest in the fourth to force the deciding game.
King, world No.12, was able to regain her
composure for the final game, rebuffing the Kawy’s comeback attempt and closing
out the win. She will now head to Shanghai, China where she is seeded 7th in
the Lujiazui Finance City China Open later this week.
King On Course In Macau
A host of upsets have surprised
audiences in Macau as just three seeds make it through to the WSA World Tour
2012 Macau Open semi-finals.
Top seed Joelle King remains the favourite to reach the final of the WSA
Silver event, after wins against Siti Munriah Jusoh and Delia Arnold
make her the only remaining top four seed. Third and fourth seeds Samantha
Teran and Donna Urquhart crashed out in round one of the event, to
Joshna Chinappa and Siyoli Waters respectively. Misaki Kobayashi
also upset the seedings as she beat No.5 seed Joey Chan in straight games
to progress to the quarter-finals.
Of these first round upsets, only 26-year-old Indian Joshna Cinappa remains in
the event, as the qualifier battled to a five-game victory over Kobayashi and
sets up a semi-final fixture against King.
Irishwoman Aisling Blake took three games to dispatch Siyoli Waters
of South Africa to book her semi-final place. She will now face Egyptian
Omneya Abdel Kawy, after the former world No.4 surprised onlookers by
defeating No.2 seed Dipika Palikal in a tight five-game contest.
