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 QA
Challenge
ROUNDUP
From Howard Harding ... |
24-Apr, FINAL:
[1] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [6] Natalie Grainger(USA)
2-9, 10-8, 9-2, 9-2 (51m)
Grinham Wins - And Retains Number One Ranking
Australia's Rachael Grinham confirmed her status as the world's number one
squash player when she beat Natalie Grainger of the USA in four games in
the final of the Women's Qatar Airways Challenge in Doha, Qatar.
The 28-year-old from Toowoomba in Queensland overcame a first game deficit
to power to a 2-9 10-8 9-2 9-2 victory in 51 minutes to guarantee moving
into her tenth successive month at the top of the WISPA World Rankings in
May.
Though appearing in her second WISPA final this month, it was Grinham's
first tour title success since beating Grainger in the British Open final
in November.
"It's more and more difficult to win a tournament," said the delighted new
champion afterwards to www.squashsite.co.uk. "Everyone else is pretty
hungry, and it gets harder and harder. And very often, winning or losing a
tournament depends on the draw you get. And it comes down to who is
feeling the stronger on the day of the final.
"I was not that surprised by Natalie's excellent start, as it's quite
typical of her to come out firing and win the first game. Even in the
second, she seemed like she was going to win it, but then I changed my
tactics totally," explained top seed Grinham, who was within a point of
going two games down when Grainger reached 8-4 in the second game.
"I suddenly remembered that, every time I won against her, it was when I
was playing defensively. She loves the pace, she feeds on it! But today, I
was so busy trying to win that I was not thinking of what I was doing
really.
"So I just stopped to try to beat her, I just slowed down the pace, and
played as many floaters as I could. I played slow and high," added Grinham
after winning her 18th WISPA title in seven years.
Grainger admitted that she "blew it".
"After winning the first game rather easily, I just stepped off the gas,
and let her in. It's so difficult to deal with the floating shots she
throws at you," explained the sixth seed.
"But overall this year, I'm happy with my season and especially happy with
my health, after the trouble I had last year. I'm getting better and
better, and stronger and stronger," said Washington-based Grainger.
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22-Apr, SEMIS:
Grainger & Grinham In Doha Final
Doha will stage a repeat of last year's British Open final when
Australia's top seed Rachael Grinham and USA's Natalie Grainger,
the sixth seed, meet in Sunday's final of the Women's Qatar Airways Squash
Challenge.
 In
a dramatic semi-final against fourth seed Nicol David, Grinham saved a
crucial match ball at 8-7 in the fifth game decider which would otherwise
have put the Malaysian into the final and Dutch rival Vanessa Atkinson at
the top of the world rankings.
However, the plucky Queenslander maintained her focus to clinch the game
and the match 9-3 8-10 2-9 9-1 10-8 in 71 minutes to reach her 29th WISPA
World Tour final.
"I pushed myself so hard in the fifth, I thought I was going to die," said
Grinham to www.squashsite.co.uk. "I don't normally push myself that hard
and I think I would have been extremely upset if I hadn't won.
"In my head, I was praying, 'please please, let me win'! When you are so
close at the end, what else can you do? But I was lucky, because she had
some easy shots, and she tinned them, and that's all due to the pressure
of the match," added the Australian who is still seeking her first title
win of the year.
 Natalie
Grainger ended the brave run of England's Tania Bailey, the 14th seed who
reached the last four after shock victories over second seed Vanessa
Atkinson and seventh seed Vicky Botwright. Grainger needed 50 minutes to
overcome the Englishwoman 9-2 1-9 9-2 9-6 to reach her 24th WISPA final.
"After the first game, I relaxed a little bit, I wasn't as aggressive, as
concentrated, and as focused on the ball as I was during the first. Then I
lost my length, and Tania got in front of me, dictated the pace and
imposed her game," said Washington-based Grainger afterwards.
"Her backhand volleys and her backhand volley drops are really dangerous,
she holds the volley very well up there. So, if you're not in front, you
get in real trouble. So I had to get on top of her and get there first."
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21-Apr, QUARTERS:
Bailey Marches On In Doha
England's Tania Bailey continued her giant-killing run in the
Women's Qatar Airways Squash Challenge when she upset compatriot Vicky
Botwright, the seventh seed, in the quarter-finals in Doha.
The 14th seed from Lincolnshire claimed an unexpected place in the last
eight after despatching world-number-one-in-waiting Vanessa Atkinson, the
defending champion and second seed, in straight games in the second round.
"We train together day in day out when we are on a tournament. So we know
each other's game rather well," said Bailey to www.squashsite.co.uk after
her 9-5 8-10 9-5 9-0 victory in 76 minutes.
"I felt good, I was really moving well, and I was also volleying ok. I'm
really glad with my fitness, I've put a lot of work into it, but it's been
a long time since I played three games in a row and really felt fine.
That's a great feeling."
Bailey goes on to face USA's Natalie Grainger for a place in the
final. Sixth seed Grainger also claimed an upset when she triumphed 10-8
7-9 10-9 9-2 over Australia's third seed Natalie Grinham in 63 minutes.
The other semi-final will feature Grinham's older sister Rachael
Grinham and fourth seed Nicol David. Grinham senior survived a
close four-game battle with England's Linda Elriani, beating the fifth
seed 9-4 7-9 9-7 9-6 in 61 minutes, while David saw off Ireland's 11th
seed Madeline Perry 9-3 9-1 9-6 in 24 minutes.
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20-Apr, Round Two:
Bailey Beats Atkinson In
Major Qatar Challenge Upset
Vanessa Atkinson's bid to clinch the world number one ranking for the
first time next month took a dramatic knock in Doha when she crashed out
of the second round of the Women's Qatar Airways Squash Challenge. The
second seed and defending champion was beaten in straight games by 14th
seed Tania Bailey, giving the Englishwoman from Lincolnshire her best
result for more than two years.
Atkinson, the world champion from the Netherlands, arrived in Qatar's
capital city having suffered only one defeat so far this year. Her victory
earlier this month in the Texas Open took the 29-year-old from The Hague
to the top of the provisional world rankings - with a reasonable
performance in the Qatar Airways Challenge certain to seal her status.
"I think I put too much pressure on myself for this tournament," said the
Dutch star to www.squashsite.co.uk
after her shock 9-1 9-5 9-5 defeat in 43 minutes. "I went on quite
relaxed, but as soon as we started playing, I started panicking. I was not
thinking about the game enough, I was too busy panicking... I was
concentrating too much on the result, and not enough on the game.
"I'm tired, I need a rest I think, so at least, I'll be able to do that
now!" conceded the beaten champion.
It was a commendable triumph for Bailey, the 25-year-old former world
junior champion from Stamford who has been beset by a series of injuries
and illnesses over the past few years. "The pressure was all on her I
guess, and that made a big difference. I was moving well today, much
better than yesterday. She has got a great front court game, but
thankfully today, I was able to get to it much quicker than normal," said
the delighted winner.
"I'm so pleased to play at that kind of level again. Since my year off
because of my health, I've been struggling with my fitness and with my
confidence. For the past months, I've put a lot of effort into getting my
fitness back, so this victory will do my confidence a hell of a lot of
good!"
Bailey will now meet compatriot Vicky Botwright for a place in the last
four. The seventh seed from Manchester triumphed 6-9 9-6 9-2 9-7 in 52
minutes over France's 16th seed Isabelle Stoehr.
Event favourite Rachael Grinham now has the chance to rescue her world
ranking supremacy. The 28-year-old Australian cruised to a 9-1 9-4 9-4 win
in 26 minutes over Hong Kong's Asian Games champion Rebecca Chiu - and
must now beat England's fifth seed Linda Elriani to keep alive her hopes
of extending her world number one ranking into a tenth successive month.
Calculations suggest that a place in the final would achieve this for the
Queenslander, who will now hope to repeat her victory over Elriani at the
same stage of the tournament little more than twelve months ago.
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19-Apr, Round One:
Tamsyn Takes Kawy In
Qatar Airways Challenge Upset
New Zealand's unseeded Tamsyn Leevey caused a notable upset on the opening
day's play in the Women's Qatar Airways Squash Challenge when she defeated
Egypt's eighth seed Omneya Abdel Kawy in a dramatic five-game battle in
the Qatar capital Doha.
After taking the first game, Leevey fell two games behind as Kawy, the
19-year-old world junior champion fought back. But the 27-year-old from
Wellington still had her sights on victory, and clinched her unexpected
place in the second round of the WISPA Grand Prix event with a 9-3 2-9 4-9
10-8 9-5 win in 66 minutes.
Leevey now meets Ireland's Madeline Perry after the eleventh seed from
Craigavon - fresh from her victory in last week's Irish Open - brushed
aside Scotland's Pamela Nimmo 9-2 9-0 9-3 in just 24 minutes.
Second seed Vanessa Atkinson began her defence of the title in fine style,
beating Malaysia's Sharon Wee 9-7 9-3 9-2 in 28 minutes. The Dutch star
will now meet Asian Games champion Rebecca Chiu after the 15th seed from
Hong Kong survived a remarkable straight games marathon against England's
Laura-Jane Lengthorn - the scoreline being 10-9 9-6 10-8, but the time
taken 65 minutes!
Australia's third seed Natalie Grinham had the easiest ride through to the
last sixteen. The 27-year-old Queenslander was given a walkover by Carla
Khan after the Pakistan No1 was diagnosed with a viral infection that is
affecting her kidneys. Grinham, a quarter-finalist in the 2004 event, now
meets England's ninth seed Jenny Duncalf for a place in this year's last
eight.
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