Jacqueline Barnes
11-2, 11-1, 11-5 Milou Van Der Heijden
bye [2] Milou Van Der Heijden (Ned)
Cornett Retains Local Montreal Open Title
Local prospect Samantha Cornett was good value for her top seeding after
winning the WSA Tour 5 Montreal Open at the weekend, her first title of
2013.
The 22-year-old, winner of the WSA 2012
Sportsmanship Award in January, was heavy favourite going into the event, ranked
27 places ahead of nearest competitor, second seed Milou van der Heijden.
A bye through the first round saw Cornett, van
der Heijden and No.3 seed Alexandra Norman into the quarter-finals, where
all three players dispatched their opponents in straight games. No.4 seed Hollie
Naughton was a surprise casualty of the round however, as the Canadian lost
out in five games to Cecelia Cortes of the USA.
Cortes continued to put up a fight against the
Dutch van der Heijden, but two narrow 13-11 games gave the world No.60 the
advantage, before closing out a deceptively narrow tie. Cornett had an easier
semi-final contest with fellow Canadian Alexandra Norman, against whom she
claimed her first ever win, to propel herself into the final.
Looking to retain the Montreal Open title she
claimed last year, Cornett was put on the back-foot by a bright start from her
Dutch opponent. Van der Heijden claimed a close first game, but the local
favourite responded well, closing the gap quickly with a storming second game,
before extending a lead with an even faster third. Her opponent tried to
refocus and accumulate points in the fourth game, but despite a closer margin
she was unable to prevent Cornett from retaining the Montreal Open, the fourth
WSA title of her career.
