English teenager falls to Natalie Grinham in French final
By Squash Mad Reporter
Georgina Kennedy achieved a career milestone when she reached her first major international final during one of her first outings on the PSA World Tour.
The 18-year-old European junior champion, who is coached at Bexley by Ben Ford, reached the final of the Tournoi International du Val de Marne, a PSA W5 event. After a great run she fell to top seed Nathalie Grinham.
Kennedy had dispatched number two seed Cyrielle Peltier in the quarter-finals before moving on to down compatriot Alison Thomson in straight games to book her place in the final.
The appearance of former World No.2 Grinham in a $5k event may have surprised some onlookers as she reached the final without dropping a game.
The 37-year-old took the first game 11-4. Kennedy didn’t give up though and played some outstanding squash to win the second 11-5.
The third game was a tough battle, and, after some lengthy rallies, Grinham took it 11-8. She won the fourth 11-6 to complete victory in 41 minutes.
Kennedy, who has been accepted to Harvard along with Kent and England team-mate Amelia Henley, showed how much she is developing as a threat to more experienced players, which is a major boost for England’s future prospects.
Grinham has now lifted two PSA World Tour titles this year in addition to reaching the final of the Tournament of Pyramides four months ago.
$5,000 Women’s Val de Marne Open 2015, Centre Marie Therese Eyquem, Creteil, France:
Final:
[1] Natalie Grinham (NED) bt [5] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) 11-4, 5-11, 11-8, 11-6 (41m)
Semi-finals:
[1] Natalie Grinham (NED) bt [4] Chloe Mesic (FRA) 11-7, 11-7, 11-7
[5] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bt [7] Alison Thomson (ENG) 11-7, 11-6, 13-11
Quarter-finals:
[1] Natalie Grinham (NED) bt Nada Abbas (EGY) 11-5, 12-10, 11-9
[4] Chloe Mesic (FRA) bt [8] Anna Klimundova (CZE) 7-11, 11-9, 11-5, 7-11, 11-5
[7] Alison Thomson (ENG) bt [3] Birgit Coufal (AUT) 11-5, 7-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-5
[5] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bt [2] Cyrielle Peltier (FRA) 10-12, 13-11, 11-6, 4-1 ret.
1st round:
[1] Natalie Grinham (NED) bt [Q] Danielle Letourneau (CAN) 11-7, 11-1, 11-5
Nada Abbas (EGY) bt [6] Milnay Louw (RSA) 7-11, 11-7, 13-11, 11-7
[8] Anna Klimundova (CZE) bt [Q] Nada Elkalaawy (ENG) 11-8, 9-3 ret.
[4] Chloe Mesic (FRA) bt [WC] Laura Gamblin (FRA) 11-2, 11-5, 11-1
[3] Birgit Coufal (AUT) bt [Q] Marina de Juan Gallach (ESP) 11-8, 11-7, 11-2
[7] Alison Thomson (ENG) bt [Q] Jasmin Ballmann (SUI) 11-4, 11-4, 11-3
[5] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bt Enora Villard (FRA) 11-6, 11-9, 11-3
[2] Cyrielle Peltier (FRA) bt Anastasiia Fesenko (UKR) 11-1, 11-0, 11-4
Qualifying finals:
Marina de Juan Gallach (ESP) bt Jennifer Haley (WAL) 9-11, 11-7, 16-14, 11-9
Nada Elkalaawy (ENG) bt Laura Tovar (COL) 11-5, 11-4, 11-5
Jasmin Ballmann (SUI) bt Nadia Pfister (SUI) 7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-5
Danielle Letourneau (CAN) bt Elise Romba (FRA) 11-1, 11-4, 11-4
1st qualifying round:
Marina de Juan Gallach (ESP) bye
Jennifer Haley (WAL) bt Eliza Kargioti (GRE) 11-6, 11-3, 11-6
Nada Elkalaawy (ENG) bt Ester Cappellini (ITA) 11-3, 11-4, 11-3
Laura Tovar (COL) bt Nia Davies (WAL) 11-5, 11-4, 11-3
Nadia Pfister (SUI) bt Katrina Burrows (ENG) 4-11, 11-7, 11-5, 13-15, 11-4
Jasmin Ballmann (SUI) bt Lowri Roberts (WAL) 11-7, 6-11, 1-11, 11-7, 11-6
Elise Romba (FRA) bt Marta Latorre Ramírez (ESP) 9-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-6
Danielle Letourneau (CAN) bt Xisela Aranda (ESP) 11-7, 11-8, 11-1