Wales Dent England's World Championship Bid At White Oaks, Day One Report by Howard Harding December 1, 2014
- Wales denied former champions England maximum points on day one in
the SHOP.CA WSF Women's World Team Squash Championship when Tesni Evans
sensationally beat world No.2 Laura Massaro in four games in the
opening tie in Pool B of the biennial World Squash Federation
championship in Canada.
20 nations are represented in the 19th staging of the women's world
team championship at White Oaks Conference Resort & Spa in
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.
Six-time champions England are seeded to reach the final for the 11th
time in a row since 1994 - and duly took the lead against the 10th
seeds when world No.5 Alison Waters beat Welsh number two Deon Saffery
11-8, 11-9, 11-8.
Evans, who last met Massaro in the 2012 championship in France - where
she went down in straight games - ignored the script in the second
match between the two top strings when she took the first game.
Massaro, the reigning world individual champion, regrouped to draw
level - and led in the third. But the plucky Evans, the 22-year-old
world No.28 from Rhyl, reclaimed the initiative to take the third game
and maintained the upper hand in the fourth to close out the match
11-6, 7-11, 12-10, 11-6 after 40 minutes.
"That's definitely my biggest win," said the delighted Welsh underdog
later. "I was totally relaxed - there was no pressure on me at all.
It's amazing when you think what she's achieved.
"After I won the first game, I thought I'd get chopped. It was only at
9-5 in the fourth that I thought 'I could win this'! It's definitely
given me loads of confidence.
"It's nice to do it for Wales - I'm quite a team player. We've got the hardest one out of the way now."
National coach David Evans was full of praise for his number one:
"Tesni (pictured above, second left, with team-mates (L to R) Deon
Saffery, Elin Harlow & Jennifer Haley) played really well, and was
successful in trying to break Laura's rhythm.
"That was really good for her confidence and shows that she's on the
right path. Laura never makes things easy for her opponents.
"In the past, the Welsh men have been the stronger side, but now our
girls are leading the way," added the former world No.3. "Our main goal
now is to win the other three matches in our pool."
England went on to win the tie 2/1 after Emma Beddoes beat Elin Harlow
11-5, 11-3, 11-3. Later in the day, England maintained their winning
ways by despatching Germany 3/0, while Wales recorded their first win
by beating Spain 3/0.
Hosts Canada also had a tough opener in Pool C, against third seeds
Malaysia. In the first battle on the venue's spectacular all-glass
showcourt, world No.7 Low Wee Wern put the Malaysians ahead by beating
Canada's championship debutante Danielle Letourneau 11-6, 11-2, 11-5.
Seasoned Canadian Samantha Cornett dug deep in her battle against
Malaysia's world number one Nicol David - unbeaten in the event for ten
years - and forced a fourth game after taking the third.
David stopped the rot and clinched an 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 11-3 victory in
50 minutes before team-mate Delia Arnold overcame Canada's second event
first-timer Nikki Todd 11-6, 12-10, 11-5 to record the predicted 3/0
win.
Later in the day, Canada notched up their first win by beating event newcomers Guatemala 3/0.
Cornett, the world No.31 from Ottawa (pictured above, right, in action
with David) who is making her third successive appearance in the
championship, was overjoyed to be competing on home soil.
"It's the biggest event I've ever played in in Canada," said the
23-year-old. "When I first saw the glass court here I thought it was
just so cool. It's really exciting to be playing in front of friends
and family.
"It was great to play the number one in the world in my opening match -
and even better to take a game. The next two days are going to be
really big."
Team coach Melanie Jans, the former world No25 and one of Canada's
greatest female players, was pleased with her team's performances.
"It's so special to be involved in this event here in Canada -
particularly playing here at this great venue which is without doubt
the best facility anywhere in the world for a championship like this.
Not only can we walk from the rooms to the courts - but we can also
walk across the road to this amazing shopping mall.
"I'm really excited by our young squad, in which Sam is a 'veteran' at
23! And even two years down the line, we'll still have a really young
team.
"Sam is playing really well - she really worked Nicol well today. I
think she's looking like a top ten player - and has a good chance of
beating Amanda (Sobhy) in our big match against rivals USA tomorrow."
Favourites and defending champions Egypt - all of whose players are in
the world's top 10 - maintained a clean sheet on day one by beating 9th
seeds New Zealand 3/0.
RESULTS: SHOP.CA WSF Women's World Team Championship, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada
1st qualifying rounds - Pool A:
[1] EGYPT bt [9] NEW ZEALAND 3/0
Nour El Sherbini bt Megan Craig 11-6, 11-1, 11-6 (17m)
Raneem El Welily bt Amanda Landers-Murphy 11-4, 11-4, 11-2
Nour El Tayeb bt Kylie Lindsay 11-7, 11-6, 11-8
[8] IRELAND bt [17/20] CHINA 3/0
Aisling Blake bt Gu Jinyue 11-4, 11-4, 11-6 (23m)
Madeline Perry bt Li Dongjin 11-1, 11-2, 11-2 (20m)
Laura Mylotte bt Duan Siyu 11-8, 11-2, 11-1 (18m)
Pool B:
[2] ENGLAND bt [10] WALES 2/1
Alison Waters bt Deon Saffery 11-8, 11-9, 11-8 (31m)
Laura Massaro lost to Tesni Evans 6-11, 11-7, 10-12, 6-11 (40m)
Emma Beddoes bt Elin Harlow 11-5, 11-3, 11-3 (19m)
[7] AUSTRALIA bt [17/20] SPAIN 3/0
Lisa Camilleri bt Cristina Gomez 11-2, 11-5, 11-6 (20m)
Rachael Grinham bt Xisela Aranda Nunez 11-6, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7 (34m)
Christine Nunn bt Marina de Juan Gallach 11-7, 9-11, 11-2, 11-7 (33m)
[2] ENGLAND bt [13/16] GERMANY 3/0
Alison Waters bt Franziska Hennes 11-4, 11-2, 11-2 (18m)
Laura Massaro bt Sina Wall 11-6, 11-3, 11-3 (21m)
Sarah-Jane Perry bt Annika Wiese 11-4, 11-4, 11-5 (17m)
[10] WALES bt [17/20] SPAIN 3/0
Deon Saffery bt Cristina Gomez 11-7, 11-6, 11-3 (20m)
Tesni Evans bt Xisela Aranda Nunez 11-9, 11-6, 11-6 (35m)
Jennifer Haley bt Marina de Juan Gallach 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-9 (49m)
