Cornett Rallies To Richmond Success by Howard Harding April 19, 2015 -
Canada's Samantha Cornett survived a dramatic five-game battle in the
final of the Women's Richmond Open, beating Japanese rival Misaki
Kobayashi to win the WSA Challenger 10 squash event in its second year
at The Country Club of Virginia in Richmond, USA
It was a clash between two national champions - second seed Cornett,
the world No.32 from Ottawa who is a two-time Canadian champion, and
third seed Kobayashi, the world No.36 from Tokyo who won a record sixth
Japanese national title last year.
It was 25-year-old Kobayashi who denied Welsh favourite Tesni Evans a
place in the final, recording a five-game upset over the world No.31 in
the semi-finals.
The WSA World Tour head-to-head record between the finalists was poised
at two-all as the pair lined up for the title. It was a see-saw contest
in which Kobayashi took the opening honours, then drew level to force a
decider after Cornett led 2/1.
But in the pair's third clash which went the full distance - and their
second 3/2 battle this year - it was Cornett who prevailed 7-11, 16-14,
11-7, 9-11, 11-6 to win the sixth Tour title of her career.
"I think it's quite a skill to be able to spend a whole day with a
friend, and then compete against her in the evening," said the Deep
River-born 24-year-old (pictured above with Kobayashi at the
presentation ceremony) after her second US Tour title triumph of 2015.
"We had a great day today and the match ended up being great too. So
many five-gamers between us that next time we may just flip a coin!
"I'm so happy to have won and I look forward to the last bit of this season! Hopefully I can play just as well!
"I watched Misaki yesterday and she was putting in some great shots. I
know what she is capable of since the last time we played in a final
she chopped me up. I knew I was going to have to play tight and
offensive squash. Right from the start it was tough. The only thing
that saved me was that she went short a bit too soon in patches
throughout the match. I probably was doing the same if I'm honest, and
it made it for such an even match.
I'm so happy to have played some of my best, smartest, and grittiest squash today all at the same time.
"The crowd was awesome and excited about the matches all week long, and
it was a great group out to watch today. Misaki and I stayed with the
Urbans and they were nervously sitting on the fence, cheering for both
of us!
"We have been so well taken care of here in Richmond, playing at a
beautiful club, staying with lovely families, and enjoying great
weather.
"Thanks so much to Patrick and Winston and Janet and everyone who put so much effort into the week. It's been an awesome one!"
Kobayashi, who was celebrating her 10th final appearance on the WSA
Tour, added: "Sam and I have played each other many times and today Sam
played really well and forced me to make a lot of errors."
RESULTS: Women's Richmond Open, Richmond, Virginia, USA
