David
Dominates El Sherbini in $50K Cleveland 1st Round; King, Pallikal Out by Joe Russell January 2, 2014
WSA Tub
O'Towels Cleveland Classic First Round:
Nicol David vs. Nour El
Sherbini— David def. El Sherbini 11-2,11-8,11-3 (40 min)
David was on point for
this match. She was very methodical, moving the ball on court, not
making any errors. Her game plan was to run El Sherbini around the
court, just long enough each point to wear El Sherbini out. Nicol’s
only scare was in game two, when she went down 7-2, before storming
back to take the game 11-8.
Camille Serme vs. Sarah
Kippax— Serme def. Kippax (11-9), 11-6, 11-8, 11-6 (54 min)
The second match of
the day was the longest at 54 minutes. The first game was a well fought
tense game by both players. They were clearly figuring out how to play
one another. With Kippax getting the edge in game one, the crowd was
looking for an upset. Alas, Serme had some good between game coaching
and came out with more poise and control for the next three games.
Although Kippax was able to stay in the match with Serme, it was only a
matter of time, before Serme would write her ticket to the quarter
finals.
Raneem El Weleily vs.
Kasey Brown—El Weleily def. Brown 11-8, (12-10), 11-5, 11-7 (40 min)
This match was one of
the more powerful matches of the evening, with both players matching
each other’s high pace and tempo. After losing the second game, El
Weleily took control of the match simply coming out even stronger with
a more aggressive tempo. Brown could not keep up.
Joelle King vs. Nour El
Tayeb—El Tayeb def. King 11-6,11-6,11-5 (30 min)
The first upset of the
evening! El Tayeb played a fantastic match, being aggressive and
retrieving really well. She was not making any errors and was
anticipating much of King’s shots. King did not have a great match. She
did not seem comfortable on the court making errors on easy shots.
The games were close
and the match was well contested. Neither made too many errors in the
match. Kawy was thrown off by a few of the referee decisions in game
three, but was able to overcome. Although the games were close,
Kawy was typically in control and showed to be the stronger player.
This was a well
contested match. Both players were jockeying for position and it looked
like Pallikal could pull out a few games. Ultimately, the difference
was that Alison did not make mistakes. She was always winning the
longer points, which took the wind out of Pallikal’s sail.
Annie Au vs. Jenny
Duncalf—Au def. Duncalf 11-5, 11-9, 11-3 (30 mins)
Another upset today.
Au was very good today at slowing the pace down and lobbing the ball
into the back corners. It was clearly giving Duncalf trouble. Duncalf
was down 9-5 in the second game and it looked like she was about to
gain control of the match. However, Au had enough of a cushion to take
the game 11-9. The third game was all Au as she cruised to the 3-0
victory.
Madeline Perry vs. Laura
Massaro – Massaro def. Perry (17 – 15), 11-4, (11-6), 11-5, 11-5 Laura Massaro:“I
am just happy to get through that match as It was a tough first round
for me to have. Madeline is a tough very tough competitor.” Madeline Perry:
“It is a shame because I played well all though the match but I came
off the pace a little in the last two games. Laura played a great
match.”
