$50K Carol Weymuller Open, Day 4 Report by Linda Elriani
October 21, 2016 photos Jean Ervasti
Hi Everyone,
Tonight was the second half of the 1st round of the 2016 Carol
Weymuller Main draw. The matches last night were amazing so everyone
was very excited to see what tonight’s match would bring!
First on the Championship court was 2014 Weymuller Champion and world
#14 Alison Waters against Malaysian and world #15 Delia Arnold. Alison
is 4-2 up in the head to head with Alison winning their last match in
the British Open earlier this year.
The match started out well with some long and fast paced rallies, with
both players using the court well. At 4-4 some errors started to creep
in from Delia and Alison started to quickly edge away and got to 9-4
before Delia scored one more point. Ali went through to the take the
first 11/5.
In the second game Ali completely dominated the T and was hitting her
targets perfectly. Delia’s lengths were not deep or tight enough to
make an impact on Ali’s controlled composure.
Ali cruised through to take the second game 11/2 in less than 6 minutes.
The third game followed the same pattern with Ali keeping her precise
and accurate squash going, but Delia didn’t seem to have any fight or
purpose to what she was or wasn’t doing. It’s unusual to see the pro
players not dig in when the going gets tough out there on the court. It
was almost as if someone took the will away from Delia after 4-4 in the
first and she had nothing to put into the match. Delia continued to
make unforced errors and Ali went through to take her quarter final
spot, in a much easier 20 minute match than their last encounter had
lead us to believe.
Ali said after the match “I’m pleased to win in 3. It felt like
Delia was a bit off, but I still had to play well to not let her back
in. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. It’s been nice to get started.
We’ve had about 10 days since the last match at the US Open”.
Second match on the championship court was between World # 9 Joelle
King from New Zealand against Australian’s Donna Urqrhart who is world
#21. They have played 8 times before with Joelle winning all but once,
but the matches have been closely contested with five of these matches
going past three games. This was the longest match of the night and an
entertaining one at that.
Joelle started the match well, controlling the T and soon had a 5-1
lead. Joelle then started making some errors and Donna was doing a
wonderful job of retrieving and sucking up the pressure. Donna found
her length and soon she climbed her way back to take a one point
advantage at 8-7. The last part of the game was very closely contested
with the points going back and forth, with Donna reaching game ball
first at 10-9. Joelle hung in there and managed to put in a great held
forehand drop and also a perfect backhand drop at just the right time
to take the first game 13/11.
The second game was a complete contrast to the first as it was so one
sided. Donna was on fire and couldn’t miss and Joelle was making error
after error. Donna managed to get to 8-0 before she made her first
error. A couple more errors from Joelle and a perfect forehand drive
that died in the back gave Donna the second 11/3.
We were left wondering if Joelle could cut out the errors in the third that had plagued her for most of the second.
The third started with long rallies, fantastic variation in pace and
amazing gets from both players. Joelle was making the effort to be more
patient again and use her solid deep shots. The game went through
pretty evenly with sparks of brilliance from both players but also some
errors still popping in at unexpected times. It was Joelle that managed
to sneak a lead at 9-7 and she squeezed the first game ball at 10-9.
Donna was so resilient and pushed back to 10-10 but with a perfect back
hand drop from Joelle and a boast error from Donna the second
eventually went to Joelle 12-10.
Losing the third so closely can be tough when it is 1-1. How would
Donna come out in the fourth? The match so far had been awesome and
both players had fought so hard whilst also being so fair and playing
such clean squash. It’s such a pleasure to watch squash when the
players have such great sportsmanship.
In the fourth Joelle came out and controlled the T better than Donna
and she got the lead that you would want to have when you managed to
just sneak the last game so closely. At 4-1 it looked like it was all
over for Donna, but then suddenly she gave a huge push and before you
knew it, with some wonderful court coverage and accurate lobs, lengths
and drops Donna had taken the lead again at 8-5! It was then Joelle’s
turn to put her foot on the gas and try to stop the match going to
five. She dug in and soon she was equal at 9-9. The control really did
flip back and forth between the players in this match and it really
made for an exciting experience for everyone watching. With a lucky
back wall nick, followed by a perfect forehand drop winner, Joelle came
through to win 3-1: 13/11, 3/11, 12/10, 11/9. She certainly earned her
place in the quarter finals tomorrow and even though this wasn’t her
best squash, she showed us that perseverance really is key to get
through some matches. It can’t always be your best and most attractive
squash but you do need to give it your all and both players definitely
did that tonight.
A relieved Joelle said “I feel alright. I’m lucky to get through
really. It was a kind of weird match, there were times when we both
played well and not so well. There were two tie breaks and I was lucky
to sneek away with them both.”
Third match of the night was between Annie Au the world #12 from Hong
Kong and our very own Casino prodigy, Haley Mendez, who has just
embarked on her PSA professional squash career after graduating from
Harvard and passing her MCAT exams. Haley has the wild card spot for
the Weymuller main draw this year but her ranking should shoot up in to
the world top 90 after her recent events. There were a lot of local
supporters here to cheer on Haley and the atmosphere was just what you
want it to be for your ‘home’ PSA match.
Haley probably felt good about winning the very first point of the
match and she stayed close with Annie until 4-3. Annie found her steady
length and kept Haley off the T enough to expose her in the front and
she edged away to take the first game 11-4.
In the second Haley came out firing on all cylinders and she upped the
pace and started to volley more and control the T. Haley used her pace
and control to get a 4-1 lead before Annie edged back to 3-5. Haley
managed to stick to her game plan and keep Annie in the back and finish
the rallies with some lovely volley drop winners. Annie was making some
errors and looked a little unnerved and couldn’t regain her previous
control in the first. Haley went through to win the second game 11/7.
In the third game Annie managed to find her composure again and she
really slowed the pace, and the accuracy with her lengths and drops was
superb. Annie forced some errors from Haley too and she took the third
game 11/2.
In the fourth game, the rallies went back and forth and Haley managed
to find more of her purposeful, attacking squash that she had played in
the second game. There were some long, hard fought rallies and Haley
stayed with Annie until 5-3. Annie then got a run of five points taking
her to 9-3. One last push from Haley and a great forehand volley drop
winner got her up to 5-10, but Annie’s methodical and precise play
eventually got the better of the less experienced Haley Mendez, taking
her to a 3-1 win, 11/4, 7/11, 11/2, 11/5.
The home crowd gave Haley a much deserved gigantic cheer of
appreciation for her great efforts as she left the championship court,
which did put a big smile on Haley’s face.
Annie said after the match “It was a bit scary. I haven’t seen Haley
play before and I think that she played really well. I was a bit
nervous for this match and there were a lot of supporters for Haley and
there was a great atmosphere and lots of cheering. It’s going to a
tough match tomorrow playing either one, so I’m just going to relax and
see who I play!”
The last match on the championship court was between a very in form
Camille Serme who is world #7 from France and India’s Dipika Pallikal
Karthik who is ranked #19 in the world. Camille has just last week won
the 2016 US Open in Philadelphia beating the world #1, #2 and #7 to
take home the title. Camille has a 6-1 advantage in the head to heads
but Dipika took Camille to five when they last played in Hong Kong in
August this year, so it was going to be interesting to see how this
match panned out.
The match started out with a very fast pace, especially from Dipika,
and great movement from them both. Camille managed to vary the pace a
little and this played to her advantage as it broke Dipika’s fast
rhythm a little at crucial times. The points played out evenly
throughout the first game and it was even at 8-8. It was Camille who
managed to pull ahead at the important moment to take the first game
11/8. Camille looked bouncy and quick off the mark. The consistent
pressure from Camille took its toll on Dipika at the end and didn’t
give her enough time to deliver her shots with the balance that they
required.
It was Dipika that came out so sharp and in control in the second game.
Her high pace and great use of the boast really put Camille under
pressure and Camille didn’t manage to control the T the same way she
had in the first. Camille fought hard but Dipika was just too good in
the second and she won 11/7.
The third game started with some long rallies and the points were even
until 3-3. Dipika started to make some errors and Camille’s length was
tighter and deeper so she could get the T back into her possession.
Camille surged ahead and didn’t drop another point and took the third
game in a convincing 11/3.
The fourth game had real chunks of complete control for each player.
Dipika went 3-0 up in one hand, then Camille went straight from 0 to 5!
Once the points were at 6-4 to Camille, it was Dipika again that had a
run of points through to give her the lead at 9-6! Camille battled to
stay in the game and there were a few contentious refereeing decisions
which spiced things up and it was Dipika’s errors at the vital time
that caused her to loss the fourth and final game in a incredibly tight
13-11. Camille won 3-1: 11/8, 7/11, 11/3, 13/11.
A red faced Camille said after her match “I am happy to be through. I
was a bit nervous tonight. I have never had to play another tournament
so close to winning a big one before. Also I needed to get used to the
different conditions, a higher tin, a normal court from glass, hot
conditions….. I know that it’s the same for most of the girls as they
also played the US Open but it is a factor. It’s always a tough battle
with Dipika, it was 3-2 last time we played. I play Annie in the
quarters and we played last week. I guess I’ll feel a bit more relaxed
tomorrow after getting the first round out of the way!”
It was another fantastic night of squash and we all look forward to the
quarterfinals starting at 2.00pm tomorrow afternoon. After the quarter
finals we have a Weymuller@Dinner with a delicious sit down meal and
drinks.
Please also follow PSA and also the Carol Weymuller on instagram, facebook and tweeter #CW2015
To follow the streaming live please go to the Heights Casino website http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-heights-casino-live
Thanks and see you again soon!
Summary of Friday's 1st round (split first round) results….
5.30pm Alison Waters beat Delia Arnold 11/5, 11/2, 11/3.
6.15pm Joelle King beat Donna Urquhart 13/11, 3/11, 12/10, 11/9.
7.00pm Annie Au beat Haley Mendez 11/4, 7/11, 11/2, 11/5.
