British Open Women's: King Dethrones Grinham As Quarters Are Complete
by Steve Cubbins
Grinham-King courtesy britishopensquash
May 17, 2012 - Part two of round two of the Allam British Open at the O2 Arena in London saw the quarter-finalists decided, with one big upset on the night as Kiwi Joelle King edged out defending champion Rachael Grinham 15/13 in the fifth after saving two match balls.
Match briefs:
Serme streaks into quarters
Thre first match of the day saw France's Camille Serme consolidate on a flying start as she beat Kiwi Jaclyn Hawkes in a quickfire three games. Dominant in the first game, Serme got the better of a close second game before racing through the third to secure a quarter-final spot. "This cold court suits my game really," sais the winner, "and I think that the length is the key to this court. Today, I was able to find my length and tried to use it to win the point at my first or second drop shot attempt."
Massaro marches on
British national champion Laura Massaro also had two tough opening games, and had to save game balls in both as she took the lead against Natalie Grinham 15/13, 12/10. A 9/2 lead in the third all but sealed her passage into he quarters despite a late fightback from the Dutch former world number two. "It's brutal on there," commented Massaro on the court conditions, "if you play the right game you can get people off quickly, but it can work the other way too and against someone as quick as Natalie you have to be constantly on your toes.
King dethrones Grinham
Defending champion (although it was back in 2009) exited the British Open at the hands of Joelle King in the first upset of the day. The first four games were shared with the girls taking it in turns to paly well, setting up a nailbiting decider which saw the Kiwi take it on her third match ball, having previously saved two. "It was disappointing to lose the first so quickly," said a delighted winner, "I just told myself that this was a great opportunity in a fantastic venue and I just had to hang in there and try to grind it out."
David wants it more
It's always difficult playing a friend, especially a room-mate," said Nicol David after her 11/7, 11/7, 11/3 win over Samantha Teran. The Mexican battled, as she does, but the world number one was always in charge and by the third game was looking very comfortable as she tested out some of her repertoire of shots. "I had a good practice and watched some of the earlier matches so that I could get a feel for the conditions," she explained, "so I was into it quicker than she was and I wanted it more."
RESULTS
[10] Camille Serme (Fra) bt Jaclyn Hawkees (Nzl) 11/2, 11/9, 11/5 (35m)
[12] Joelle King (Nzl) bt [6] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt 3/11, 11/5,11/8, 5/11, 15/13 (60m)
[3] Laura Massaro (Eng) v [9] Natalie Grinham (Ned) 15/13, 12/10, 11/6 (39m)
[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt [11] Samantha Teran (Mex) 11/7, 11/7, 11/3 (28m)
Back To Main
