Teran Tumbles In Tough 1st Round $50K WSA Cleveland Qualifying
by Nathan Dugan
photos courtesy David Turben
January 27, 2012 - Samantha Teran became the first major casualty of the 2012, Tub O’ Towels Cleveland Classic, as the seeded qualifiers struggled tonight at the Cleveland Racquet Club. Teran, a World Open semi-finalist in 2011, was unable to assert any dominance in the early stages of her match with Irelands, Aisling Blake. Indeed it was Blake who took the first game, with neither player establishing substantial leads. The pattern of play was similar throughout the match, with Blake making her biggest imprint with tight straight drop shots, and avoiding Teran’s power game. In a let-ridden fifth game, Blake reeled off five winners in the last seven rallies, to secure a notable win. Blake has one more hurdle to overcome to qualify in the form of Sarah Kippax. It took Kippax, 48 minutes, to get through the challenge from Dane, Line Hansen. Hansen had spells of superb attacking prowess but then also fell foul to her own muddled mind, as she out foxed herself on numerous occasions. Kippax was the steadier of the two which reflected in the 3-1 score line.
In the earlier matches of the evening, there had already been straight forward victories for Joey Chan and Donna Urquhart, with Urquhart made to work harder of the two by Misaki Kobayashi. Kobayashi’s movement provided Urquhart some resistance, but she was unable to penetrate enough with the racquet to really test the tall Aussie. Chan on the other hand, was using her racquet work to great effect, not allowing opponent, Gaby Huber, any time to set up for her shots. The contest between Chan and Urquhart, will be an interesting contrast of styles on Saturday.
On Wednesday of this week, Jaclyn Hawkes was competing in the semi-finals at the Tournament of champions in New York. Just two days later and it is back to qualifying in Cleveland. On paper her match with Samantha Cornett looked relatively straight forward; Cornett however, had not received that memo! The two looked evenly matched in the first game with the only difference being a couple of unforced errors from the Canadian, Cornett. Hawkes appeared to have settled in the second and it looked as though she was going to run away with the match. The third game though proved to be a different story, with Cornett throwing in an onslaught of attacking drops from the back of the court. While the tactical change was working at times it was also fueling her opponent if the drop was not perfect. Cornett won the third and had four game balls in the fourth, before Hawkes closed the match out at her first opportunity of match ball.
Emma Beddoes will be next up for Hawkes, after she won a physical encounter with Lucie Fialova. Although Beddoes won the match, I am not sure she won the contest, as it was Beddoes that left the court with a black eye and a few bruises. For a game and a half Fialova had looked the better of the two, with crisp ball striking and powerful winners causing Beddoes all sorts of problems. It was midway through the second when the momentum changed, ironically after Beddoes was struck near the eye by her opponent’s racquet. The match could so easily have been 2-0 in games, had it not been for a shade of paint on the tin, but at one game apiece, Beddoes never looked like surrendering a place in the next round. Hopefully she will be able to see out of her left eye tomorrow!
The final qualification place will be decided between Delia Arnold and Joelle King. Arnold looked a little sluggish in the first two games against young American, Olivia Blatchford. Blatchford took advantage, attacking well to the front when the opportunity arose. At one game all, neither player was particularly controlling the play, with short lengths and winners to the front a common theme for both players. Arnold finished the third game stronger and took the momentum into the fourth, closing out the match 3-1. The final match of the evening, between Latasha Khan and Joelle King, gave the Cleveland crowd the climax the nights play deserved. King flew off to a 9-0 start in the first game, and it was evident to see why she was in the final of Greenwich just over a week ago. Khan warmed up though, and although losing the game finished it much the stronger of the two. This momentum carried into the second as Khan dictated the play. The third and fourth games followed the same pattern, as first King, and then Khan, took turns to each control a game. It looked as though King, the world number 11, had put the final nail in Khan’s coffin, after a brutal rally took King into a 7-2 lead. Astonishingly, it was the 39 year old Khan, who was least effected, winning the next six points. At 10-10, it was clearly anyone’s game, but sometimes you need a little luck to help you through. Unfortunately for Khan, it was not her night, as a lucky bounce off a short cross court length, gave King a second match ball; one she was able to take advantage of to progress in the draw.
Seven of the top eight qualifiers progressed tonight, but it was far from easy sailing. With five more days of squash, I am sure there will be plenty more drama to unfold.
Results:
Joelle King bt Latasha Khan 11/7, 5/11, 11/2, 7/11, 12/10
Delia Arnold bt Olivia Blatchford 7/11, 11/9, 11/7, 11/3
Emma Beddoes bt Lucie Fialova 8/11, 14/12, 11/8, 11/7
Jaclyn Hawkes bt Samantha Cornett 11/8, 11/4, 9/11, 14/12
Joey Chan bt Gaby Huber 11/4, 11/4, 11/6
Donna Urquhart bt Misaki Koayashi 11/9, 11/6, 11/8
Aisling Blake bt Samantha Teran 11/8, 9/11, 11/8, 6/11, 11/8
Sarah Kippax bt Line Hansen 11/7, 11/9, 7/11, 11/6
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