World Open Women’s: Brown Over Weleily In Five
To Set Up David Rematch
by Steve Cubbins
David-El Sherbini, photos courtesy Steve Cubbins
El Weleily-Brown
November 3, 2011 - The main drama to happen at the theatre occurred in the evening session, but the first winner at the mightily impressive Luxor Theatre was Australia's Kasey Brown who won an up and down five-setter against in-form Egyptian Raneem El Weleily. El Weleily's shots were on target in the first but then she started find the tin as Brown came back to lead 2/1. El Weleily found her range again to level, but handed Brown too a good lead in the fifth, and despite fighting back to almost parity after an hour's play Brown finally put a ball too wide and deep to advance to the quarter-finals with a 4/11, 11/7, 11/3, 6/11, 11/8 scoreline.
There she'll play defending champion Nicol David in a repeat of their meeting in Philadelphia which the Australian won. David looked in good form against young Egyptian Nour El Sherbini who, although she managed to stay within reach of her illustrious opponent's score in each of the three games, never seriously threatened the five time champion who won 11/7, 11/6, 11/7. El Sherbini had almost not started the match having sustained an ankle injury whilst warming up but some swift physio action saw her able to take centre stage and demonstrate some of the skills that had seen her upset Donna Urquhart in the previous round. However, the defending champion was always looking to up the pace and cantered home in straight games.
The first upset of the day came as Malaysia's Low Wee Wern put in an inspired performance against France's Camille Serme, the seventh seed who made the semi-finals last year. Low was always ahead in the first, and crucially saved game ball before taking a close second. Serme hit back to take the third easily but the Malaysian always had the edge in the fourth, with Serme throwing in a few errors at crucial times. Low thus makes the quarter-finals for the second year in a row, 11/4, 12/10, 2/11, 11/7.
Twelfth seed Natalie Grinham delighted the ever-growing and excited Luxor audience with a straight-game win over Irish fourth seed Madeline Perry. Irresistible in the first two games with her flicks, holds, drops and relentless running, the four-time runner-up was in charge, although Perry's frustration wasn't helped by a number of unforced errors on her part. Perry steadied in the third, established a decent lead, but couldn't stop Grinham's comeback as she picked up where she left off in the first two, eventually winning on a stroke at the end of a scrambling rally.
Women's Round Two (top half):
[6] Kasey Brown (Aus) bt [11] Raneem El Weleily (Egy) 4/11, 11/7, 11/3, 6/11, 11/8 (65m)
[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt [Q] Nour El Sherbini (Egy) 11/7, 11/6, 11/7 (32m)
[16] Wee Wern Low (Mas) bt [7] Camille Serme (Fra) 11/4, 12/10, 2/11, 11/7 (31m)
[12] Natalie Grinham (Ned) bt [4] Madeline Perry (Irl) 11/6, 11/5, 11/8 (35m)
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