Malaysia's Wee Wern Jolts Field To Capture $55K WSA China Open
by Matt Wagg
October 28, 2012 - Low Wee Wern retains her WSA Gold Lujiazui Finance City China Open title after beating Joelle King in a marathon final.
After clinching an unfancied three-game win over No.4 seed Kasey Brown in yesterday’s semi-final, the Malaysian came from behind twice in the final to defeat King 11-9 in the deciding fifth game.
Wee Wern started the event with a strong win over experienced Rachael Grinham, before taking five games to overcome Omneya Abdel Kawy, the Egyptian who had dismissed top seed Jenny Duncalf in the first round.
A strong straight games win over Brown saw the world No.9 hit her best form to propel her into her second WSA World Tour final since claiming the title against fellow Malaysian Delia Arnold last year.
King put up a strong fight in search of her seventh WSA title and has been enjoying some of the best form of her career to date after impressive campaigns in recent months. This form looked to continue as she first defeated Sarah Kippax, followed by No.3 seed Annie Au and No.5 seed Alison Waters on her way to the final.
The New Zealander claimed led after the first and third games after some quick-fire squash, but each time was pegged back by Wee Wern. A closer fifth game saw the rallies extend and the pressure mount on the competing pair. With the final game tied at 7-all, sprung a two-point lead to put her within touching distance of match ball. But she couldn’t see off the final two points and the 22-year-old came back to win three consecutive rallies to end contest and clinch title number six.
After the match, Wee Wern spoke of winning the biggest event of her career. She said: “The feeling has not sunk in yet. To be able to win a WSA Gold tournament is just amazing. It's my first time playing in the final of such a big event, and to be able to win it, even if it's 11-9 in the fifth, it's my best one so far!
"My game plan in the 5th was basically to just hang in there with her and not to give her confidence. The most important thing was to get a good start, which I did, but I didn't finish well enough. Fortunately I managed to come back at the end, which is really good for me."
Final:
[6] Low Wee Wern (MAS) v [7] Joelle King (NZL) 6-11, 11-4, 3-11, 11-3, 11-9 (71m)
Semi-finals:
[6] Low Wee Wern (MAS) bt [4] Kasey Brown (AUS) 12-10, 11-7, 11-5 (39m)
[7] Joelle King (NZL) bt [5] Alison Waters (ENG) 12-10, 11-4, 11-6 (40m)
Quarter-finals:
[6] Low Wee Wern (MAS) bt [Q] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) 8-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6, 11-9 (75m)
[4] Kasey Brown (AUS) bt [Q] Aisling Blake (IRL) 11-9, 11-7, 11-5 (49m)
[7] Joelle King (NZL) bt [3] Annie Au (HKG) 11-4, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9 (61m)
[5] Alison Waters (ENG) bt [1] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) 7-11, 11-4, 11-1, 8-11, 13-11 (78m)
1st round:
[Q] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt [2] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) 13-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6 (58m)
[6] Low Wee Wern (MAS) bt Rachael Grinham (AUS) 7-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-8 (52m)
[4] Kasey Brown (AUS) bt Li Dongjin (CHN) 9-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-3 (40m)
[Q] Aisling Blake (IRL) bt [8] Camille Serme (FRA) 9-11, 11-7, 11-7, 1-11, 12-10 (59m)
[7] Joelle King (NZL) bt [Q] Sarah Kippax (ENG) 11-7, 12-10, 11-7 (60m)
[3] Annie Au (HKG) bt Donna Urquhart (AUS) 11-4, 8-11, 2-11, 11-9, 11-7 (42m)
[5] Alison Waters (ENG) bt [Q] Joey Chan (HKG) 11-6, 8-11, 11-2, 9-11, 11-4 (53m)
[1] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) bt Samantha Teran (MEX) w/o
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