Nicol David claims the women’s ATCO World Series Finals title with the world watching on. 

SkySports continued their live coverage at Queens Club in London, for the final day of the event that saw the reigning world No1 contain a spirited challenge from Madeline Perry, ranked two places below her. 

Perry, who knocked out England’s home hope Jenny Duncalf in yesterday’s semi final, played a confident game from the start and took an early lead in the first game.  David wasn’t going to let her opponent build up too much of an advantage however, and was always within touching distance.   

The scores stayed tight right the way up to 9-all, with Perry stepping forward to volley early and easily matching the higher seed for width and precision.  It was only at this stage that David upped the pace, working Perry out of position and finishing off two rallies to take the first game 11/9. 

This became the pattern for the rest of the match too.  Neither player was ever more than three points away from one another, as the finalists seemed to cancel each other out with their efforts.  Similarly, at 9-all in the second game, Nicol again found an extra half-yard of pace and her lethal attacking shots saw off the second game in her favour, also 11/9. 

Just as in the previous games, the score-line showed exactly how closely fought this contest was, with every bit of ground gained by one player, the other would immediately pull level.  The standard of line and length squash on display was at it’s highest all week and easily the most closely matched contest of the week.  Again the scores were tied at 8-8 and again, Perry seemed to lack the quality finishing in the most important periods of the match.  David on the other hand, held game-ball’s in the first two games and finished each off on the first time of asking.  Match-ball was a similar story, with Perry managing to reduce the deficit by one point before David claimed the title as her own. 

The Malaysian played five matches this week and dropped just one game, coming at the hand of Laura Massaro in the semi finals.  No player deserved a game more than Perry today for a sterling effort against the world No1 but on this occasion it wasn’t to be. 

David said after winning the title: “Winning the World Series Finals title is a great start to 2012 and having the top 8 players here and contending for it makes it very special.  It’s never easy but I’ve felt good all week and very pleased to be playing well.  Hopefully there’s more to come! 

“Knowing that tonight was going to be a longer game felt weird after playing best of three all week.  It felt like a longer game today, which is strange as yesterday I played three game too, but I don’t tend to approach matches differently depending on that.   I played well during the crucial points tonight and I’m delighted to have won.” 

ATCO World Series Final

Nicol David bt Madeline Perry – 11/9, 11/9, 11/9 in 41mins

David and Perry progress to the final, as SkySports broadcast to the world

On an occasion where SkySports were broadcasting the event live, this is the kind of spectacle that most squash players are unfamiliar with these days.  That said, the WSA’s world top four players were focussed and well up for the televised semi finals day. 

Laura Massaro recorded a number of scalps throughout 2011, attributing to her sharp climb up the WSA rankings.  A similar result seemed on the cards today as her opponent Nicol David was made to work for her points in the first game.  The world No1 hadn’t been made to work too hard in the group stages of the event this week and was yet to drop a game.  But Massaro cut an imposing figure on court from the first point, maintaining a careful and patient approach but not shying away from attacking opportunities.  To an extent the Englishwoman was encouraged by some uncharacteristic errors from David, as she hit the tin on a few occasions from a comfortable volley position.  Massaro held three game balls against the Malaysian and finished off the first game, 11/8. 

David renewed her focus in the second game.  Her attacking shots early on had been prone to hitting the tin.  But after the break, her length was tighter and her drop shots rarely retrievable.  Under the added pressure, Massaro was unable to respond with the same consistency and succumbed quickly as David drew level with an 11/4 win. 

Momentum was really with David following the quick second game and she shot out of the blocks again to a 4-1 lead.  Massaro was able to show only glimpses of her first game form as David upped her game to such an extent that the English No2 was extremely limited with her attacking options.  David marched on to hold seven match balls and consummated her progression to tomorrows final with an 8/11, 11/4, 11/3 win in 33mins. 

Continuing the battle at the top of the WSA rankings, world No2 Jenny Duncalf then played No3 Madeline Perry.  Some very close early exchanges saw neither player take an advantage, until Duncalf, using front court boasts to good effect, extended the biggest gap of the game so far at 6-4.  The lead didn’t last long though, and the game continued to be neck and neck until the tiebreak at 10-all.  Neither player deserved to lose such a tightly contested first game, but Duncalf edged another game ball and was able to finish off the game, 13/11. 

Perry fought back in the second, taking a 5-1 lead early on as Duncalf struggled to exert the same pressure she had in the first game.  The Northern Irish international’s lead grew, and on the whole proved too consistent for Duncalf, who did manage a small fight back towards the end of the game but the deficit was too great and Perry took the game, 11/8. 

The third game was a similar story.  Duncalf’s retrieval efforts were starting to slow, with Perry appearing to have worn down her opponent and as a result, the error count began to rise.  Perry’s length had been accurate all match and that didn’t look like wavering and her tactics were spot on for containing the Englishwoman’s attacking efforts, as she edged towards her place in tomorrow’s final.  Perry held firm as she booked her place in the final, overcoming Duncalf 11/13, 11/8, 11/5 in 42mins. 

Perry spoke afterwards of her joy at reaching the final of the event: “It was a really close first game.  It could have gone either way really and I felt I was playing well anyway.  I just kept that going really in the next game and she started to make a few errors, and I wore her down.  I was really happy with how today went. 

“It’s great to be in a World Series Final and it’s going to be tough playing the world No1 in the best of 5 tomorrow.  It’s a great occasion, all the girls were so excited this morning about being live on Sky.  Obviously we’ve done television before but Sky TV is an extra step up and it’s a really great opportunity.”

ATCO World Series Finals: Semi final

Nicol David beat Laura Massaro – 8/11, 11/4, 11/3 (33mins)
Madeline Perry bt Jenny Duncalf – 11/13, 11/8, 11/5 (42mins)

ATCO World Series Final

Nicol David vs Madeline Perry

David, Perry, Duncalf & Massaro qualify for semi's

Day three of the ATCO World Series Finals is the last day of the group stages.  Those who haven’t yet cemented a place in the semi’s have to dig in for a result, and those with no chance of qualifying play purely for pride. 

Camille Serme and Donna Urquhart were first on court, with Serme needing a win to stand a chance of progressing from from Group A.  Neither player completely dominated the first game, but Serme pulled ahead of her opponent at 7-all to gain the upper hand.  A late Urquhart surge saw the Australian pull level, but Serme held her nerve and closed the game out 11/9. 

Urquhart showed a more consistent performance in the second game, cutting out the errors, chasing relentlessly and she deservedly took a close 11/8 win.  As the game progressed, Urquhart’s confidence grew and with it her anticipation of Serme’s attacking shots also improved.  This attribute frustrated Serme, but retrieved well and there was nothing separating the pair throughout.  At 8-all it could have gone either way, but Urquhart came through to take the match, and consigning Serme to third place in the group, just missing out on the qualification spot. 

Massaro needed a win against her opponent Low Wee Wern to see her through to the semi finals, having had a day off yesterday due to Rachael Grinham’s withdrawal.  The England No2 made short work of things in the first game, with her opponent amassing just three points. 

More of the same confident squash followed, with Wee Wern struggling to establish herself at all on court.  Massaro length was tight and she pushed forward on the tee well and ran out the game 11/4. 

For the third match in a row, Nicol David started quickly against Madeline Perry, jumping to a 6-2 lead.  From here, she rode out a confident game 11/6.   The second game was a much closer affair.  Despite Nicol again winning six points on the bounce, Perry found her range and was much more dangerous hitting into the corners.  The game saw plenty of down-the-wall squash, with neither play wanting to give each other a hint of an opportunity.  David held two match balls at 10-8, but was unable to apply the finishing touch and Perry forced the tiebreak at 10-all.  A succession of three let balls in a row followed, all from backhand drives showed just how tight the game had become, and only a stroke in favour of David broke the deadlock.  From there she needed only one more opportunity to finish of the match 12/10. 

Day three WSA ATCO results:

Donna Urquhart beat Camille Serme – 9/11, 11/8, 11/8

Laura Massaro beat Low Wee Wern – 11/3, 11/4

Nicol David beat Madeline Perry – 11/6, 12/10

Day four WSA ATCO Semi final lineup:

2pm – Nicol David vs Laura Massaro

following on – Jenny Duncalf vs Madeline Perry

Day 2

Grinham out of contention as David and Duncalf maintain their focus. 

Rachael Grinham was forced to retire from the competition early this morning, due to injury.  The Australian took a fall in the final points of her match against Low Wee Wern yesterday and spent the night trying to recuperate ahead of her fixture with Laura Massaro this afternoon.  Grinham took the decision not to risk pushing her injury however, and Group B will now be comprised of just three players. 

First onto court was Madeline Perry against Camille Serme.  The cool conditions on court seemed to better suit Serme in the opening exchanges and she confidently attacked with dropshots and picked off Perry’s loose shots from the tee.  At 3-9 down, Perry began to show signs of improvement, finding a tighter length and moving her opponent around but the French international was too far ahead and Serme closed out the game 11-6. 

Perry settled in well after the break and shot ahead to a 6-0 lead utilising a faster pace and much improved width.  With her improved range, she closed out the second game 11-5 with Serme unable to mount any consistent challenge.  Serme handed her opponent a further lead early in the first game, with a number of errors, but  kept her nerve to stay close to her Irish opponent and took the lead at 7-6 with a renewed attacking style and saw out the match 11/7.

Nicol David continued her progression through the group stages with a controlled and precise 2-0 win over Australian Donna Urquhart.  The Malaysian played a tight and patient game from the start and was quite happy to wait for her chances to attack, and for errors from her opponent.  Urquhart was limited to only the occasional scoring chance throughout the match, and under pressure hit a number of balls out of court. David is through to the next round now after consecutive 2-0 wins, with Madeline Perry still to play tomorrow. 

Due to Grinham’s withdrawal, Jenny Duncalf versus Low Wee Wern played the final WSA match of the day.  The first game was a close affair, with Duncalf always slightly ahead of her Malaysian opponent.  After establishing a small lead early on, she did enough to stay ahead of Wee Wern throughout the game and closed out a 11/7 win.   The Englishwoman took an early lead in the second, winning five points in a row and putting herself in a good position to see out the game.  Wee Wern’s strong retrieval kept the match from being a whitewash, and she came close to a comeback in the second game after some good recovery squash forced some errors from the England No1.  Duncalf weathered the storm though and came through her second win of the group stage with an 11/7, 11/8 win. 

Day2 ATCO World Series Finals results:

Camille Serme bt Madeline Perry – 11/6, 5/11, 11/7

Nicol David bt Donna Urquhart – 11/4, 11/4

Jenny Duncalf bt Low Wee Wern – 11/7, 11/8

Rachael Grinham vs Laura Massaro – [Rachael withdraws from competition due to injury]

Day 3 fixtures:

Camille Serme vs Donna Urquhart

Laura Massaro vs Low Wee Wern

Nicol David vs Madeline Perry

WSA Women’s Groups

Day 1

Top ranked Women on Form

In its first ever competitive appearance at an ATCO World Series Final event, the newly rebranded WSA (formerly WISPA) saw eight of its top professional players battle it out in the first round of group stage matches. 

Split into two groups, the World Series Final event looks to emphasise the sport’s aggressive and dynamic qualities by enforcing the ‘best of three games’ rule in order promote a more attacking style of play on the ATCO glass show court. 

Group A pairing, Madeline Perry and Donna Urquhart were first onto court this afternoon.  World no3 Madeline Perry started well, climbing to an 8/4 lead against her Australian opponent before closing out the first game 11-7.  In a similar run of form to the first game, she led the second 8/2 with Urquhart unable to respond with a successive run of points.  The Irish international closed out the match in 18minutes, 11/7, 11/6. 

Also in Group A, World Champion Nicol David showed the kind of form that makes her the favourite to win the WSA event, as she dispatched Camille Serme of France in 17minutes.  The Malaysian never allowed Serme into the match and a comfortable scoreline of 11/6, 11/6 is evidence of David’s desire to progress through to the final stages of the event, to be broadcast live on SkySports this weekend.

The first Group B match was contested by an all-English pairing.  Jenny Duncalf and Laura Massaro clashed a number of times in 2011 with the higher seed Duncalf winning only once in four, though she did claim the last battle in the World Open quarter-finals.  Massaro started the sharper of the pair winning four points on the bounce to extend an 8/4 lead and closing out the game 11/5.  The World No2 responded well though, capitalising on some lose front-court play from Massaro to claim the second game 11/6 and force the first three-game match of the tournament.  Duncalf continued her punishing form into the third game, despite a stern effort from her opponent, and pulled ahead at 6-all to claim five points in a row and the first win in Group B. 

Experienced Aussie, Rachel Grinham then faced Low Wee Wern of Malaysia in the final WSA match of the day.  Wern came from behind to surprise Grinham in the first game, coming from 5/9 down to win 11/9.   A refocused Grinham came back to court and leapt to a 6-point lead before closing out the second game 11/8.  She then fought her way through a close third game and despite taking a nasty looking fall into the front of the court, finished the match 11/9. 

Day1 Group Results:
Madeline Perry bt Donna Urquhart – 11/7, 11/6  (18mins)
Nicol David bt Camille Serme – 11/6, 11/6  (17mins)
Jenny Duncalf bt Laura Massaro – 5/11, 11/6, 11/6  (32mins)
Rachael Grinham bt Low Wee Wern – 9/11, 11/8, 11/9  (36mins)

Day2 Fixtures:
Madeline Perry vs Camille Serme
Nicol David vs Donna Urquhart
Jenny Duncalf vs Low Wee Wern
Rachael Grinham vs Laura Massaro

WSA Women’s Groups