British Open – Women

Top Seeds Reach British Open Summit

The top two seeds will contest the final of the Allam British Open 2013 as Nicol David and Laura Massaromoved past their semi-final opposition at the KC Stadium in Hull.

World No.1 David played first as play returned to the Hull City venue after rain disrupted quarter-finals day on Friday.  She faced fourth seed Alison Waters, and had it all to do after the Englishwoman took the opening 4-points of the match.

Last year’s British Open champion came back strongly however, lightening quick and hitting a good length to shut her opponent out completely.  Waters began to rely on hitting outright winners to stay in the game, but under increasing pressure her error count rose to David’s advantage.

Similar scorelines in all three games saw the Malaysian through to the final, but the home crowd were given the opportunity to celebrate as second seeded Yorkshire-woman Laura Massaro defeated close rival Raneem El Weleily to set-up a mouth-watering final prospect.

Massaro took a while to get into a working rhythm as El Weleily began the contest with her typically attacking style.  Patience paid off though, having lost the opening game she controlled the following two, working line and length to deny the Egyptian the opportunity to attack.

El Weleily changed her strategy in the fourth, refusing to hunt the attacking shot and content to play Massaro’s game and wait of her chance to win points.  It resulted in a closer game, but momentum was with the home favourite who was determined to see out the contest and reach her fourth successive final of a World Series event.

 

Final:

[1] Nicol David (MAS) v [2] Laura Massaro (ENG)

 

Semi-finals:

[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [4] Alison Waters (ENG)      11-5, 11-4, 11-5 (27m)

[2] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt [3] Raneem El Weleily (EGY)        8-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-9 (48m)

David And Top Seeds Reach British Open Semi

Nicol David remains on course to retain her Allam British Open title, and her first of 2013 after beating sixth seed Joelle King in the quarter-finals.

The world No.1 from Malaysia was evenly matched in the opening game at the Hull and East Riding Squash Club, after adverse weather conditions called a halt to play at the KC Stadium.  Only a tiebreak separated the pair, but David had the edge over her opponent and maintained her narrow advantage to take the second game.  King’s counter-attacking efforts began to take their toll however, and she was unable to put up much of a fight in the third, with David closing out the win.

The seven-time world champion will now face Englishwoman Alison Waters after the fourth seed’s impressive victory over Australia’s Kasey Brown.  Brown was unable to match the efficiency displayed by the home hopeful who dominated the match and allowed the twelfth seed no chance to get into her stride.

Raneem El Weleily maintained her good form in the event by dispatching eighth seed Jenny Duncalf.  The Englishwoman took a closely fought lead against the No.3 seed, but El Weleily recovered well and launched an aggressive attacking effort to storm to victory and into the next round.

The Egyptian will face English rival Laura Massaro, following the local Yorkshire-woman’s four game defeat of Omneya Abdel Kawy.  Having defeated fifth seed Nour El Sherbini in last night’s second round, Kawy was in promising form but Massaro was clever in her deconstruction of the Egyptian’s game.  At 2-0 she looked good value for her lead, but Kawy refused to give up and managed to end the third game on her terms.  The world No.2 bounced back immediately however and ended the contest in four to reach her fourth successive World Series semi-final.

Semi-finals:

1pm – [1] Nicol David (MAS) v [4] Alison Waters (ENG)

Follow on – [2] Laura Massaro (ENG) v [3] Raneem El Weleily (EGY)

 

Quarter-finals:

[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [6] Joelle King (NZL)      13-11, 11-8, 11-1

[4] Alison Waters (ENG) bt [12] Kasey Brown (AUS)       11-4, 11-3, 11-4

[3] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) bt [8] Jenny Duncalf (ENG)           9-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-5

[2] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt [14] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY)    11-7, 11-6, 9-11, 11-8

Madeline Perry bows out of British Open

 

It was a tough day for Madeline Perry as world number 3, Raneem El Weleily, who looked in great form as she dispatched the experienced Irishwoman in straight games. The Egyptian No.3 seed wasted no time in setting about her usual attacking game, and Perry was happy to take her opportunities too as they both racked up some quick points. El Weleily’s lower error rate gave her a slight advantage to take the first game, but Perry made a real battle of game two to force a tiebreak. In the end though there was nothing she could to do as the world No.3 put the game to bed, followed by a dominant third to end the contest.

Round two results:

[3] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) bt [11] Madeline Perry (IRL) 11-7, 12-10, 11-5 (25m)

 

[8] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) bt Nour El Tayeb (EGY) 14-12, 11-4, 11-4 (25m)

[14] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt [5] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) 14-12, 11-7, 11-8 (29m)

[2] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt [15] Dipika Pallikal (IND) 6-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-6 (45m)

 

Other Match Reports

Jenny Duncalf survived a worrying first game scare to confirm her place in the quarter-finals of the Allam British Open 2013.

In the second day of a split round two draw, the world No.8 needed to be alert against a quick and gutsy, who seemed to be enjoying the grand World Series stage.

El Tayeb, ranked No.23 in the WSA world rankings was able to match her opponent in the early stages, and saved three game balls to force the first game to a tiebreak.  Duncalf tightened her attacking shots to the front to combat the speed of the Egyptian, and gladly closed the game out 14-12.

The loss seemed to dishearten the 20-year-old form Cairo, who gave away five successive points in the second game to sure up Duncalf’s position.  This gave the Englishwoman the confidence to attack higher up the court and she ended the contest with a further two quick games.  “It doesn’t matter if we play in the Sahara desert or in the middle of the snow,” Duncalf told SquashSite after the match, “it’s still the British Open, and if you are a good squash player, you’ll play well on any court.”

Raneem El Weleily who beat Madeline Perry and will now play  Jenny Duncalf said “It’s the first time I played with sleeves on,” on the cold court temperature, “so definitely not my favourite conditions. But it’s a good court, and I like it, but no, it’s not as easy as it looks, plus it’s a very risky game so you need a plan B!

“Jenny and I have had some pretty nice battles, and last year, I reached the semis after beating her in the quarters, so I hope we’ll have another great battle tomorrow.”

Despite surprising last year’s British Open onlookers by reaching the final at 16-years of age, Nour El Sherbini failed to match per past form as she succumbed to a straight games loss to compatriot Omneya Abdel Kawy.  Sherbini, seeded fifth for the event, lost out narrowly in the first game as both players made their way through a far from flawless performance.  The cold court made attacking shots all the more dangerous, but the Egyptians scored points and gave them away in equal measure as little else separated them at the tiebreak.  The more experienced Kawy was able to do enough to claim the opening game however, and some more tactical play saw the former world No.4 run out 3-0 winner against the higher seed.

“I think the difference today came from the pressure she felt, because she is the highest ranked player, and that she got into the final last year,” said Kawy. “But also, maybe the way I played surprised her, I thought she was going to play a lot more shots at the front, but she didn’t.”

Kawy will face local Laura Massaro in tomorrow’s quarter-final round, following the second seeds four-game win over Dipika Pallikal.  It was the Indian player who started in better form, attacking quickly in the cool conditions, with Massaro struggling to retrieve.

The Englishwoman was able to move her opponent off the tee more in the second game and claimed a narrow tiebreak game to draw level, before taking an equally close third.  The home hopeful had more breathing room in the fourth game as Pallikal’s error count rose, and she sped to match point with a comfortable cushion.  Pallikal took a nasty slip in the final rally, colliding head-first with the side-wall but the match was Massaro’s and the world No.2, along with Duncalf and Alison Waters who progressed on Wednesday, remain on course for British success.

“It’s such tough conditions on there I just had to concentrate on each point,” said the Englishwoman. “It might have seemed a bit excessive but I needed to keep on geeing myself up and that was the only way to do it.”

The quarter-finals will be aired on SquashTVfrom midday on Friday, with the event continuing over the weekend.

 

 

Quarter-finals:

12:00 [1] Nicol David (MAS) v [6] Joelle King (NZL)

14:00 [4] Alison Waters (ENG) v [12] Kasey Brown (AUS)

18:00 [3] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) v [8] Jenny Duncalf (ENG)

19:45 [14] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) v [2] Laura Massaro (ENG)