WSA Washington DC Qualifying Finals Report
by Aisling Blake
August 15, 2012
Nicolette Fernandes vs. Yvonne Diaz
Today the court seemed to suit the Guyanese player who started well and took an early lead in the first game. Her early dominance set the tone for the rest of the match as she eased into the main draw with a 3-0 win over the Mexican Yvonne Diaz. 'I like these courts, it's a good start to the tournament and now I'm looking forwards to seeing who I have in the main draw' said the no. 1 Caribbean player after her match.
Lily Lorentzen vs. Sabrina Sohby
Lorentzen, patriotic in her red white and blue outfit put up a spirited fight against the young Sohby in the second of today's qualifying matches. The appreciative audience witnessed a closely fought first game with Sohby looking more comfortable around the T as the game progressed winning the game 11-8. Lorentzen started better in the second game with deep length but it wasn't enough to combat the clever tactical play of the younger American and Sohby stretched her lead to 2-0. Courtside, as his daughter had a lead of 2-0 and 8-1 up in the 3rd game, her father Khaled Sohby certainly felt the pressure ease off as he conceded, 'Ah, she's relaxed now' .
Salma Hany vs. Salma Hatem Youssef
From the outset it was clear that these two young Egyptians had played each other many times in the past as they knew each other's game very well, each anticipating where the ball was going before her opponent had struck the ball. It was a close contest with no clear winner in sight for most of the first game however after winning the first, Hany managed to come back from a 6-1 deficit in the 2nd game to lead 2-0. She managed to get in front of Hatem Youssef more consistently and used the front of the court well. Hany now plays Kippax in the main draw tomorrow.
Celia Allamargot vs. Alex Clark
Moving efficiently around the court, Allamargot kept Clark digging balls out of the back left corner with hard crosscourts until she could cut off some loose shots to the right front, stretching her taller opponent many times along a long diagonal line. The first game came easily for the Frenchwoman but Clark found her stride and pushed back with solid retrievals and crisp drives in the second set. A few too many errors from Allamargot kept Clark in the lead 9-7, then 10-8, but Clark did not convert and Allamargot squeezed by 12-10. The third game was tight until 6-4 Clark and then Allamargot ran up five straight points to take the lead 9-6. Again the score seesawed to 10-9 with Allamargot firing a low, sliding drive beyond Clark’s exceptional reach to win in three.
Results:
Fernandes 3-0: 1, 3, 4 (plays Blake in Rd 1)
Sobhy 3-0: 8, 7, 4 (plays Fialova)
Hany 3-0: 7, 11, 5 (plays Kippax)
Allamargot: 3-0: 4, 10, 9 (plays Teran)
DRAW
Back To Main
