WORLD SQUASH NEWS
RESULTS: Women's Texas Open Squash Championship, Dallas, USA
Semi-finals:
[1] Carol Owens (NZL) bt Natalie Grinham (AUS) 9-2, 9-2, 9-5 (34m)
[2] Natalie Pohrer (USA) bt [5] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) 9-3, 9-1, 7-9, 2-9, 9-1 (45m)
Top Seeds To Contest Texas Final
Top seeds Carol Owens, the defending champion from New Zealand, and local
star Natalie Pohrer, the US No1, will contest the final of the $45,000
Women's Texas Open Squash Championship on the all-glass court on the atrium
ice rink in the Plaza of the Americas in downtown Dallas, USA.
The first semi-final saw No1 seed Owens take on Natalie Grinham, the unseeded
Australian who pulled off the biggest quarter-final upset when she beat her
fourth-seeded sister Rachael for the first time. The 25-year-old
Queenslander was too often stretching to reach Carol Owens' volleys that were
driven to the back corners. At other times she was left flailing as her
higher balls were taken overhead and sent low over the tin.
It took Owens, the world No1 from Auckland, just 34 minutes to wrap up her
9-2 9-2 9-5 victory and earn her 45th appearance in a WISPA World Tour final.
"I left it all behind yesterday," conceded Grinham afterwards. Owens added:
"Thankfully Natalie started nervously, because she is very tough and lethal
when her drops go up."
After also earning an upset in the previous day's quarter-finals,
fifth-seeded Vanessa Atkinson couldn't initially raise herself to the
challenge in the second semi-final. After going 2-0 down against Pohrer, the
Dutch No1 climbed slowly back into the match with more fluency and fewer
errors in the third - helped by Netherlands-based Natalie Grinham who had
rushed back into the arena to offer advice between games.
Taking the ball earlier induced errors from Natalie Pohrer, who seemed to
tire having reached a 2/0 and 5/0 lead, and all but stopped running. Indeed,
once Atkinson had rescued the third and fourth games, the American seemed
down and out.
However, despite being taken to five in the quarter-finals, Pohrer recovered
her poise and began to dominate the rallies again, cutting off the Atkinson
ripostes. After 45 minutes, Pohrer secured her 9-3 9-1 7-9 2-9 9-1 win to
reach her third WISPA final of the year.
Atkinson, who was pleased to reach a semi after an early exit from the
Tournament of Champions in New York with food poisoning, was disappointed
that having begun to get into the match, she couldn't cope. "I thought I had
her and I gave it away," said the former Dutch champion.
Pohrer, 25, from St Louis, responded: "Vanessa changed the pace and I
stopped playing my game. She raised her game and didn't think the match was
over. I did, however, too early!"