Just one of the top four seeds remain after a surprising quarter finals day at the WSA Greenwich Open 2012.
Top seed Madeline Perry was sent out of the $35,000 competition at the hand of last year’s finalist and No8 seed Joelle King. The New Zealand international played a precise game to counter the accuracy of her Irish opponent and claimed a strong 11-7, 11-3, 5-11, 11-7 win.
King will play Indian qualifier Dipika Pallikal, who beat unseeded Jaclyn Hawkes in a very close five-game tie. Pallikal came from a game behind and drew level at 2-2 to set up a thrilling finale. Both players gave their all as the high-paced score stayed level with a tie-break looking inevitable. Pallikal then showed just an extra bit of attacking flair to see out the game and book an surprise semi final place.
The highest seed to book their semi final slot was No4 Raneem El Weleily, whose cunning mix of attacking and defensive squash overcame experienced No6 seed Natalie Grinham. It wasn’t all one-way traffic, as Grinham made attempts to settle into the game and slow down the Egyptian’s attacking efforts, taking the third game as a result. El Weleily was able to hold her ground however and finished off the match in the fourth game.
Unseeded Mexican Samantha Teran claimed the final scalp of the round after clawing back a two-game deficit to beat No2 seed Kasey Brown. The Australian looked well in control after taking her second game 11-2, but Teran wasn’t going down without a fight and soaked up the pressure from her opponent to fuel an 80minute 5-game comeback.
Semi finals:
[8] Joelle King (NZL) vs [Q] Dipika Pallikal
[4] Raneem El Weleily vs Samantha Teran
Quarter finals:
Dipika Pallikal (IND) beat Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) 7-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-6, 13-11
Raneem El Weliely (EGY) beat Natalie Grinham (NED) 12-10, 11-3, 6-11, 11-8
Joelle King (NZL) beat Madeline Perry (NIR) 11-7, 11-3, 5-11, 11-7
Samantha Teran beat Kasey Brown 7-11, 2-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8
Madeleine Perry was pushed all the way by young Egyptian Nour El Tayeb in the first round of the competition. The match was nip and tuck all the way, though the No1 seed Perry always looked the more likely to finish on top in the fifth game.
Joelle King proved to be too strong for local wildcard entry Lilly Lorentzen. Lorentzen looked nervous from the outset and King was intent on stamping her authority on the match. Although Lorentzen looked strong on occasion, it wasn’t enough to prevent King from advancing to the next round.
Jaclyn Hawkes sprung a surprise on No5 seed Annie Au after coming from a game down to progress to the quarters. The early exchanges were close, but the third game proved crucial as Au relinquishing both a 8-5 and 10-8 lead before Hawkes snatched the game 13-11. Hawkes then came out ‘all guns blazing’ in the fourth and sealed the 3-1 victory.
Dipika Pallikal showed her dominance in a confident, controlled performance against local stand-in Line Hansen, who took her place in round one after the withdrawal of injured Rachael Grinham. Although she didn’t get the victory Hansen played some solid squash at times and was graceful in defeat.
Brown took on local hope Amanda Sobhy in the first round. Sobhy was after another upset following her 3-2 qualifying win the day before, and pushed Brown to five games but fell just short as Brown’s experience eased her progression.
Natalie Grinham played some immaculate squash against the you Egyptian, looking comfortable in the first two game, before a closer third game encounter was forced to a tie-break. The experienced Grinham held her nerve however, to see out a 3-0 win.
Samantha Teran started brightly against Low Wee Wern, putting the Malaysian on the back foot from the start, and continued to take her chances well as she dispatched her opponent in four games.
Egyptian start Raneem El Weleily looked comfortable throughout her match as she took on the athletic Donna Urquhart from Australia. El Weleily took the first two games with ease 11-3 and 11-4 demonstrating a sharp and accurate attacking game that kept Urquhart on the back foot for most of the match. In the last game the Australian showed more resolve but El Weleily knocked back her opponents advances.
Round1:
[1] Madeleine Perry (IRL) beat [Q] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) 10-12, 11-8, 11-7, 6-11, 11-9 [8] Joelle King (NZL) beat Lily Lorentzen(USA) 11-1, 11-3, 11-6 [Q] Dipika Pallikal (IND) beat [L] Line Hansen (DEN) 11-6, 11-5, 11-6
Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) beat [5] Annie Au (HKG) 8-11, 11-7, 13-11, 11-5
[6] Natalie Grinham (AUS) beat [Q] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) 11-7, 11-7, 13-11 [4] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) beat Donna Urquhart (AUS) 11-3, 11-4, 11-9Samantha Teran (MEX) beat [7] Low Wee Wern (MAS) 11-9, 4-11, 11-3, 11-8
[2] Kasey Brown (AUS) beat [Q] Amanda Sobhy (USA) 11-5, 11-6, 7-11, 9-11, 11-4