Alison Waters has won her second WSA World Tour title in as many weeks after beating top seed Latasha Khan in the $11K Granite Club Open final, a new addition to the WSA calendar.
Following a year-long injury layoff, Waters won the Atwater Cup last week as an unseeded player, her first title in over two years. This week the former world No3 doubled her 2012 title tally in Toronto, Canada without dropping a game, taking her overall WSA title count to six.
Latasha Khan, of the USA, beat English qualifier Sarah-Jane Perry in three games in the first round, followed by 3-1 wins against local favourite Samantha Cornett and last week’sHashim Khan Championship winner Misaki Kobayashi of Japan, on the way to her 19th WSA tour final.
Seeded fourth for the event, Waters played Nayelly Hernandez of Mexico in the first round, before moving past Amanda Landers-Murphy of New Zealand and No2 seed Siyoli Waters of South Africa on her way to the final.
Waters’ two consecutive WSA World Tour title wins will ensure the world No35 continues her climb back up the rankings, after her injury-forced absence made her slip 41 places.
The former British National Champion has been named as the Wildcard entry for the upcoming WSA World Series Platinum event, the Allam British Open in May. Her inclusion is sure to make her a dark horse for the event, given her recent performances and experience at the top of the women’s game.
Final:
[4] Alison Waters (ENG) bt [1] Latasha Khan (USA) 11-3, 11-8, 11-3
Semi-finals:
[1] Latasha Khan (USA) bt [3] Misaki Kobayashi (JPN) 11-4, 12-10, 6-11, 12-10 [4] Alison Waters (ENG) bt [2] Siyoli Waters (RSA) 11-5, 11-4, 11-4
Quarter-finals:
[1] Latasha Khan (USA) bt [5] Samantha Cornett (CAN) 7-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-5 [3] Misaki Kobayashi (JPN) bt [Q] Alexandra Norman (CAN) 11-8, 11-3, 10-12, 6-11, 12-10 [4] Alison Waters (ENG) bt Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZL) 11-7, 11-8, 11-7 [2] Siyoli Waters (RSA) bt Tesni Evans (WAL) 11-8, 12-10, 14-12
1st round:
[1] Latasha Khan (USA) bt [Q] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) 11-9, 14-12, 11-8 [5] Samantha Cornett (CAN) bt [Q] Maria Toor Pakay (PAK) 5-11, 11-9, 11-6, 7-11, 13-11 [3] Misaki Kobayashi (JPN) bt Stephanie Edmison (CAN) 11-9, 11-3, 11-7 [Q] Alexandra Norman (CAN) bt [8] Ahn Eun Chan (KOR) 5-11, 11-3, 11-4, 11-8Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZL) bt [7] Miranda Ranieri (CAN) 15-17, 11-7, 11-6, 8-11, 11-6
[4] Alison Waters (ENG) bt [Q] Nayelly Hernandez (MEX) 11-2, 11-5, 11-4Tesni Evans (WAL) bt [6] Olivia Blatchford (USA) 11-8, 12-10, 11-7
[2] Siyoli Waters (RSA) bt Thaisa Serafini (BRA) 11-5, 11-6, 13-11