Weymuller Semis Report by Linda Elriani October 5, 2014
- Semi finals day is here at the 2014 Carol Weymuller Open. Everyone
was excited to see some more action packed squash and that’s certainly
what they got!! Both semi finals were an English versus Egyptian affair
and it was going to be very interesting to see the different styles
from each country.
The first semi final
of today was between the world # 3 and previous Weymuller winner in
2011, Raneem El Welily and world #6 from England, Alison Waters. In the
head to head they are 7-2 in Alison’s favor but Raneem won 3-0 last
time they played back in February 2013.
The match started very
well for Raneem with great control, wonderful flowing movement and a
series of amazing winners all over the court taking her to 10-4 game
ball quite quickly! Alison did her best to stick in there, weather the
storm and pin Raneem in the back. Ali managed to climb back from 4 to 7
but she couldn’t stop Raneem from taking the first game 11/7.
The second was very
hard fought with long attacking rallies from both players, but Raneem
used her great holds and finishing shots and this took her 6-2 up. Ali
was hitting some wonderful shots but there didn’t seem to be much that
Raneem wasn’t getting back today! Ali gradually started plugging back
the points, keeping a constant pressure on Raneem and the errors
started to creep in. Raneem certainly seemed to favoring the front
backhand corner and she very often played either an outright winner or
an error there. Ali climbed back with some lovely drops and steady play
and took the lead at 8-4 for the first time in the match. Raneem then
dug in and retrieved so well and implemented some amazing straight
drive winners from the front when under a lot of pressure. The game
eventually evened up at 9-9 and at the end of a very long rally Ali hit
what you thought was a winning forehand boast, but Raneem managed to
not only get onto it, but also play a perfect backhand drop to go 10-9
game ball which she took on her first attempt to go 2-0 up.
Raneem took the first
3 points of the third game, but Ali was still working so hard to keep
structure to her game, trying to volley as much as possible and prevent
Raneem from having the middle to play her favorite short shots. Ali
climbed back from 0 to 7 in one hand with a combination of her own
great play and also errors from Raneem. The rallies stayed very
competitive and hard fought and with a backhand volley boast in the tin
from Raneem, Ali came through to have her first game ball of the match
at 10-7. Ali played a magnificent volley drop from Raneem’s crosscourt
to take the third game 11/7.
We all started to see
that it may be possible for Ali to comeback in this match if she could
keep this incredible pressure on Raneem and finish off the rallies with
great short shots and make no unforced errors. This is obviously easier
said than done!
Ali started the fourth
off very well and kept her previous momentum going to take a 4-1 then
6-3 lead but this didn’t last for long as Raneem was relentless with
her movement and keep defending so well and attacking the ball in short
as soon as Ali hit the ball even slightly loose! With a few winners
from Raneem, including a couple of cross court volley rolling nicks off
the serve, the game evened up at 9-9. A perfect forehand volley boast
gave Ali her chance to equalize the match at 2-2. Raneem won the next
point on a very brave backhand drop, but with a no let and forehand
volley drop winner, Ali had her second chance to make it through to the
fifth game. Raneem helped Ali on her way to win the fourth 12/10 by
playing a lazy forehand crosscourt drop in the tin on an opening!
Ali’s momentum and
confidence seemed to be growing and she started off the fifth game
exactly the way you always hope you can by taking a 3-0 lead. Raneem
hit another rolling crosscourt nick off the serve but that was one of
the last great shots from Raneem in the match. With a couple of great
dying lengths and precise drop shots from Ali and many errors from
Raneem, Ali went through to from 4 to 11 in one hand to take the match
and win herself a much deserved place in the 2014 Carol Weymuller final!
An incredibly happy
and red faced Ali said after the match “Being 2-0 down I still felt
confident because I had played well in the first two. I knew that if I
kept persevering I could get the errors from her, especially as I knew
she’d had a tough match last night, I told myself to keeping pushing
away! It’s nice to be in the final. It’s been a while so I’m really
excited and looking forward to it!”
The second semi final
match was between an on-form world # 14 Omneya Abdel Kawy and world # 2
and current world champion Laura Massaro.
The match started very
much in Omneya’s favor with her taking control of the pace and hitting
some excellent winners. Laura looked a little flat and was not getting
onto the short shots the way she had been last night and was hitting
her shots very one paced, where usually Laura has the ability to vary
the pace and control the game so well. With a series of wonderful
winners Omneya flew away with the first game 11/2.
In the second game
Laura came out looking much more upbeat, her movement was much better
and she seemed to be following a game plan now and not playing the
reactionary squash she had in the first. A few unforced errors from
Omneya too got Laura to an 8-4 lead. Omneya brought out some crazy
flicks and holds which sent Laura completely the wrong way but she
battled to find her place on the T and implement her usually steady,
smart game. Laura hit a backhand boast winner and a lovely forehand
drop from the mid court to take the second game 11/7.
The third game stayed
evenly with points but it also didn’t have that much rhythm as a lot of
Omneya’s shots were either outright winners or tins. It was as if the
whole game was decided by whatever Omneya was going to do. The score
stayed even until 6-6 where Omneya hit three perfect drops to take her
head to 9-6. A few more hard fought rallies and a perfect dying
forehand length from Omneya took her to 10-8 game ball and with a
tricky forehand boast gave Omneya the third 11/9.
In the fourth Omneya
confidence was at its highest and she hit so many great winners from
spectacular holds, forcing Laura out of position. Laura as always keep
fighting to regain her control but today it was Omneya’s day for sure
and she went through in style to win the fourth and final game 11/5.
Omneya was delighted
and said “I really was enjoying it! When I won the first I wasn’t
thinking about winning or losing . Then in the second I started to
think about this, so it messed up my game and she played really well in
the second too. But I tried to get back in the second game at 7-0 down
so that even if I lost the game, she knew I was still in the match. I’m
happy to win this one. It’s my first gold final in a long time, maybe
since 2010. So tomorrow, no pressure, just relax and enjoy it!!”
Congratulations to
both winners and we very much look forward to the final tomorrow
between Alison Waters and Omneya Abdel Kawy at 7.30pm. Everyone is so
excited to see who will be the 2014 Carol Weymuller Champion. See you
then!
