Nikki Todd (Can)
12-10, 11-3, 11-9 [2] Sarah Kippax (Eng)
Perry 2013 Title Leader After Granite Open Win
Sarah-Jane Perry
becomes the first player on the WSA World Tour to reach three titles in
2013 after claiming the WSA Tour 15 Granite Club Open in Toronto,
Canada.
The 22-year-old Englishwoman from Birmingham won the Mayfair Open
last week as third seed, and continued her excellent form to repeat the
success a week later at the Granite Club.
Perry completes her seventh WSA title having worked her way through the
event without dropping a single game. She was complimentary of her
first round opponent, qualifier Sabrina Sobhy saying it was a
“high quality match” and that marking the sixteen-year-old as “one to
watch for the future” despite her three game win.
Her quarter-final opponent Amanda Landers-Murphy of New Zealand
was also dealt with efficiently, which put her through to the
semi-finals to face No.2 seed and national compatriot Sarah Kippax for
the second time in a fortnight.
Last week, Perry had dropped a game to Kippax on the way to the final,
but she had her game-plan perfected on this occasion, and booked her
third WSA final place of the year with a straight games win.
In the final, Perry faced unseeded fellow-Englishwoman Victoria Lust.
The former world No.29 had taken out a host of seeds on the way to her
sixteenth WSA final. In round one she defeated local hope, fifth seed
Samantha Cornett in straight games, before moving on to beat last
week’s Mayfair Open finalist Heba El Torky of Egypt in four
games.
At the same time, Japanese seventh seed Misaki Kobayashi provided
another surprise result for the quarters by beating top seeded
Samantha Teran in a straight games victory, setting up a clash with
Lust in the semi-final. The non-seed brushed Kobayashi to one side to
ensure her final placing, but was unable to halt the dominance of Perry
who is clearly seeing some of her best form to date.
The Granite Club Open win means that Perry, one of a few modern players
to now boast back-to-back titles in successive years, now has seven WSA
titles to her name from just nine final appearances. This latest win
also puts her in contention to break into the world's Top20 in the new
WSA rankings, due out next week.
