Kanzy Canters To Nash Cup Success by Howard Harding September 27, 2014
- Egypt's Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy justified her top billing in the
Women's NASH Cup in Canada by defeating surprise opponent Hollie
Naughton in the final of the WSA Tour 5 squash event at London Squash
& Fitness in London, Ontario, to claim her maiden WSA World Tour
title.
The 20-year-old from
Cairo, who is currently studying at Trinity College in the USA, reached
the final after overcoming unexpected semi-finalist Nikki Todd, the No7
seed from Canada.
Todd, originally from
Regina in Saskatchewan but now based in Toronto, made her breakthrough
in the previous round where she upset third-seeded Brazilian Thaisa
Serafini.
Naughton, the fourth seed from Canada, raised home hopes by upsetting USA's No2 seed Cecelia Cortes in the other semi-final.
The shock win took the 19-year-old from Oakville, Ontario, into the first Tour final of her career.
Both finalists were looking for their first Tour titles - and favourite El-Defrawy took the opening game.
"In the second game,
Kanzy raced into a 9-0 lead through a mixture of pressured play and
wonderful shot-making," explained event spokesman Kárlis Zauers. "This
is the Egyptian brand of squash people have come to love - hitting dead
nick winners when the opportunity presents itself.
"After finishing the
second game 11-5 Kanzy again charged into an 7-1 lead in the third
game. Hollie managed to claw some points back but Kanzy ran out the
game 11-5 and took the match three games to love."
The 11-7, 11-5, 11-5
victory in 23 minutes made it fifth time lucky for El-Defrawy (pictured
above, right, with runner-up Naughton and tournament founder Jay Nash)
who finished as runner-up in her previous four finals on the WSA World
Tour since September 2009.
