Craig Claims Second Title After Tasmanian Open Win
by Matt Wagg
July 16, 2012 - Megan Craig claimed her second WSA World Tour title after beating a number of higher seeds in the $5K Tasmanian Open in Australia.
The No6 seed beat Brazilian Thaisa Serafini in the quarter finals, followed by second seed and home-hope Sarah Cardwell in the semi’s. In the final she faced the No4 seed Deon Saffrey of Wales, who herself had beaten Carmen Lee of Hong Kong, followed by tournament favourite Liu Tsz-Ling on the way to her second WSA final in three months.
It was the New Zealand international who kept the most momentum from her previous matches, and quickly took the first game against the Welshwoman. A tighter second game followed, but Craig was able to hold the advantage, before closing out the contest in 27-minutes.
The 19-year-old reached the semi-finals of the South Australian Open and the quarters in Melbourne last week, losing to the eventual champion both times, Song Sun-Mi in Melbourne and fellow New Zealander Amanda Landers-Murphy in Adelaide.
“I’ve had a pretty good few months but have had a bit of bad luck with the draws -- and I kept choking when I had to play Amanda,” she laughed.
“Today I felt good from the start and I did what I had to do. I didn’t get much sleep last night because I was so nervous,” she added.
“I went and watched Deon play yesterday and she played really well. I’ve never beaten the girl she beat yesterday (Hong Kong’s Liu Tsz-Ling) and she won quite that quite comfortably.
“I had to block out her good shots and stick to my game plan. I always have a game plan but normally I don’t stick to it – today I did.”
Both players will be back on court to contest the New South Wales Open next week.
Final:
[6] Megan Craig (NZL) bt [4] Deon Saffery (WAL) 11-3, 11-9, 11-3 (27m)
Semi-finals:
[4] Deon Saffery (WAL) bt [1] Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG) 11-4, 11-5, 14-12 (27m)
[6] Megan Craig (NZL) bt [2] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) 11-5, 11-7, 11-9 (33m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG) bt [9] Tong Tsz-Wing (HKG) 11-7, 7-11, 11-7, 12-10 (37m)
[4] Deon Saffery (WAL) bt [5] Carmen Lee (HKG) 11-6, 11-9, 11-8 (27m)
[6] Megan Craig (NZL) bt [3] Thaisa Serafini (BRA) 12-10, 11-7, 11-3 (30m)
[2] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) bt [7] Christine Nunn (AUS) 11-8, 11-4, 11-5 (30m)
2nd round:
[1] Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG) bt Antonella Falcione (ARG) 11-9, 11-8, 11-6 (30m)
[9] Tong Tsz-Wing (HKG) bt [8] Vanessa Pickerd (AUS) 8-11, 11-2, 11-3, 11-3 (20m)
[4] Deon Saffery (WAL) bt [11] Genevieve Lessard (CAN) 11-4, 11-5, 11-4 (20m)
[5] Carmen Lee (HKG) bt [15] Song Sun-Mi (KOR) 2-11, 11-6, 15-13, 11-6 (42m)
[6] Megan Craig (NZL) bt [14] Larissa Huffer (AUS) 11-9, 11-6, 6-11, 11-8 (27m)
[3] Thaisa Serafini (BRA) bt [12] Alix Younger (CAN) 11-8, 12-10, 11-8 (45m)
[7] Christine Nunn (AUS) bt [10] Karman Siu (HKG) 12-14, 8-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-4 (49m)
[2] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) bt [16] Hollie Naughton (CAN) 11-4, 11-8, 11-5 (23m)
1st round:
[1] Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG) bye
Antonella Falcione (ARG) bt [13] Selena Shaikh (AUS) 11-2, 11-5, 11-4 (19m)
[8] Vanessa Pickerd (AUS) bt Heather Pilley (AUS) 11-3, 11-8, 11-3
[9] Tong Tsz-Wing (HKG) bt Helen Rackham (AUS) 11-2, 11-0, 11-3
[4] Deon Saffery (WAL) bt Yu Ra Choi (KOR) 12-10, 11-6, 11-8
[11] Genevieve Lessard (CAN) bt Taylor Flavell (NZL) 11-8, 11-6, 8-11, 11-4 (28m)
[5] Carmen Lee (HKG) bt Victoria Leow (AUS) 11-7, 11-1, 11-5 (14m)
[15] Song Sun-Mi (KOR) bt Nicole Stoneham (AUS) 11-4, 11-5, 11-8
[14] Larissa Huffer (AUS) bt Catherine Finlayson (ENG) 11-4, 11-9, 11-3 (16m)
[6] Megan Craig (NZL) bt Melanie Dunn (AUS) 11-3, 11-1, 11-1
[12] Alix Younger (CAN) bt Kate Lindsay (AUS) w/o
[3] Thaisa Serafini (BRA) bye
[10] Karman Siu (HKG) bt Claire Ward (AUS) 11-2, 11-2, 11-2 (13m)
[7] Christine Nunn (AUS) bt Kristen Nightingale (AUS) 11-6, 11-3, 11-3
[16] Hollie Naughton (CAN) bt Nathalie Sutter (AUS) 11-2, 11-2, 11-4 (15m)
[2] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) bye
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