USA & MEXICO

Equinox Orange County Open 2014, California
September (Tour10)

Quarter Final: Won 3-1 vs Victoria Temple-Murray (England), 13/11 9/11 11/7 11/8

Semi Final: Won 3-1 vs Amanda Landers-Murphy (New Zealand), 11/9 3/11 11/8 11/8

Finals: Lost 3-0 vs Emily Whitlock (England), 11/2 11/7 11/9

Emily vs Siyoli

Abierto Mexicano De Raquetas 2014

September (Tour 15)

Olivia vis Siyoli

1^st Round: Won 3-2 vs Diana Garcia (Mexico), 11/8 5/11 11/6 5/11 11/8

Quarter Final: Won 3-2 vs Tamika Saxby (Australia), 11/4 11/3 9/11 11/13 11/5

Semi Final: Won 3-2 vs Samatha Cornette (Canada), 11/8 11/9 2/11 6/11 11/6

Finals: Lost 3-0 to Olivia Blatchford (USA), 11/9 11/9 12/10

Tecnifibre players ROCK: Olivia Blatchford, Mohammed El Shorbagy, Siyoli Waters

OCTOBER-DECEMBER TOUR 2013

Abieto Mexicano De Raquetas 2013
September (Tour 15)

1st Round: Won 3-0 vs Diana Garcia (Mexico), 11/8 11/8 11/6
Quarter Finals: Lost 3-2 vs Victoria Lust (England), 4/11 6/11 13/11 11/4 11/9

Diana Garcia

Penang’s Women’s Open 2013, Malaysia
October (Tour 10)

1st Round: Disappointing loss 3-0 vs Mariam Metwally (Egypt), 11/6 11/5 11/2

Macau Open 2013

October (Tour 35)

1st Round: Lost vs Joshana Chinnapa (India), 12/10 11/3 11/4

Joshana Chinappa

Cathay Pacific Sun Hun Kai Financial Hong Kong Open 2013
December (World Series Gold)

1st Round: Lost to Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egypt) 16/14 11/4 11/6 11/6

DELAWARE OPEN USA

 

1st round, Tuesday 5th February

Opponent: Sabrina Sobhy

Country: USA

Seed: Unseeded

World Ranking:  71 

Result: Lost 3-0

 

This match didn’t quite go the way i had hoped it would go. I was the seeded player, and she was the young up-and-coming junior with nothing to lose. I had suffered an ankle injury 3 weeks exactly before this match, which caused me to pull out of the Canadian tournament the week before, but had hoped (and really believed) that i was really on the mend. I guess sometimes you need a little pressure to really bring the cracks to surface. My ankle was surely stable, but I had lost some power and balance on the rest of the leg, and could not push off the leg very well…or break easily either. She did very well to take advantage by playing into areas which exposed my less than smooth movement pattern.

I wish i could have held it together better, but this is one match I need to forget very quickly.

Sobhy sisters

WORLD TEAM CHAMPS DAY 4

RSA VS USA
(9th – 16th Playoff)

Siyoli Waters lost to Natalie Grainger: 0-3; 3-11 7-11 5-11
Diana Haynes beat Olivia Fiechter: 3-1; 8-11 11-7 18-116 11-9
Milnay Louw bt Maria Ubina: 3-1; 11-6 11-13 11-5 11-7

MEXICAN OPEN RESULTS

Mexicano de Raquetas 2012

1st Round, 3rd November

Opponent: Graciela Lopez

Nationality: Mexico

Seed: Qualifier

World Ranking: 139

Highest World Ranking: 111 (Oct 2011)

RESULT: Won 3-1  8/11, 11/7, 11/8, 11/4

 

Quater-Final

Opponent: Nicolette Fernandes

Nationality: Guyana

Seed: Unseeded

World Ranking: 60

Highest World Ranking: 27 (May 2007)

Result: LOST 3-1 10/12,  11/7, 11/3, 11/4

 

Due to Hurrican Sandy, the tournament delayed the starting date to a day later. This  change allowed for players stranded in New York to have an opportunity to find flights to Mexico. Toluca is a city at high altitude. 2700m above sea level. So this may have an effect on our bodies. During the days of training, i felt the usual effects of altitude, which are shortness of breath quite early in the training session. But soon after 20min or so, regained some sort of comfort.

 

In my match against Nicollete, i started off feeling good, and expected the usual breathing issues. We were having some tough rallies in the first two games, each of us fighting for each precious point. Then in the 3rd game, i felt like i had been punched in the stomach. I couldn’t decide if i was hungry, or needed to throw up. I was then nowhere in the third, and just couldn’t recover fast enough in the fourth to be the same threat i was in the first half. I didn’t understand what was happening to me, or how i was feeling. I guess altitude sickness can hit you in a variety of ways. For next time i have been told that i must consume 4 times as much energy foods than usual. All in all, a win is a win, and I guess a loss is a loss, and mustn’t take anything away from her victory.

 

Next up: WORLD WOMEN’S TEAM CHAMPS, in NIMES, FRANCE

 

Watch this space!!!

 

HURRICANE SANDY CHASES ME OUT OF NEW YORK

NEW YORK PYRAMIDES INTERNATIONAL 2012

 

I had long tough match against Kylie, happy with the kind of squash i had to play to win that.

Then I had to play another match 4hours later against a fresher Kanzy. I had a very slow start in the first 2 games. Only started making a positive impact in the third game, but had left too big a mountain to climb for that stage of the match with “unfresh” legs.

 

Good news is, I was able to change my flight to leave USA on Sunday, since Hurrican Sandy was going to cause airports to shut down on Monday and Tuesday.

 

Quater Final, 27th Oct Saturday AM

Opponent: Kylie Lindsay

Nationality: New Zealand

Seed: 5

World Ranking: 36

Result: WON 3-2  6/11 12/10 7/11 11/7 11/9

 

 

Semi Final, 27th Oct Saturday PM

Opponent: Kanzy El Dafrawy

Nationality: Egypt

Seed: 2

Current World Ranking: 42

Highest World Ranking: 29 (Dec ’11)

Result: LOST 3-0   11/8 11/2 11/8

Draw Info: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/2009/pyramid2012.htm

 

NEXT UP:

 

Mexicano de Raquetas 2012

1st Round, 1st November

Opponent: Nayelly Hernandez

Nationality:Mexico

Seed: Unseeded

World Ranking: 106

Highest World Ranking: 57 (Oct 2011)

MACAU OPEN 2012

1st ROUND  (18th October)

Opponent: Donna Urquhart

Nationality: Australia

Seed: 4

World Ranking: 17

RESULT: WON 3/2 9/11 8/11 11/5 11/7 11/9

 

A tough match in many ways, and super thrilled to have followed through and taken in in the end. I caused an upset by beating the World No.17, tournament 4th seed. I remember looking at the clock when i was 2-0 down, and seeing that we had only been playing for 20min, and i knew that i just wanted to make this match longer. Earlier, i had watched two player friends cause upsets themselves, and that reminded me that we have all trained hard to be here, and gotta grab our opportunities when they present themselves.

 

QUARTER FINALS

Opponent: Aisling Blake

Nationality: Ireland

Seed: 7

World Ranking: 26

Lost: 11/3 12/10 11/6

 

 

 I wish i could have backed up the next match with the same tenacious performance, but was too tentative and not as patient. I played like I was the one under pressure, but she was still the higher seed, with more to prove. This is something i must learn fast, to relax and continue to play my game fearlessly!

Slowly the puzzle pieces are falling into place:)

 

Draw info: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/2009/macauopen2012.htm

 

NEXT UP . . .

 

Pyramides International New York Open

(26th – 28th October)

 

CALIFORNIA TOURNAMENT

ORANGE COUNTY OPEN (7TH – 11TH SEPTEMBER 2011)

California is a beautiful place. We were situated in Irvine, which has been voted to be the safest area in the state. The sports clubs are massive, cars are huge, and not too far from here is an area with the highest ownership of Ferrari’s per capita. I had a great host family, with a tremendous hospitality gift and big hearts, and really made me feel at home.

I visited Disneyland for the first time ever with a few squash players. I went to the Laguna Beach with my hostess, Donnella, and we got to see a movie being filmed on the beach – Savages. Apparently the main actors are John Travolta, Salma Hayek, Urma Thurman, amongst others. It will be out September 2012. One of the current biggest basketball stars (the next big thing after Michael Jordan), Kobe Bryant, used the gym we were playing at as his personal training ground. We managed to catch a glimpse of him too!

The squash was always going to be tough, with a strong draw of competitors. A 15year old Egyptian girl made it to the finals, by beating a player 23years her senior in the semi-finals. That’s great for the future of squash. Now to my results…

Orange County Open
1st Round:
Opponent: Diana Elise Garcia
Nationality: Mexico
World Ranking: 235
Tournament Seed: Qualifier
Result: Won 3-1; 11/8 11/7 8/11 11/6 (40 min)

I felt like I was in control of the match, but lost concentration in the third game.

Quater Finals:
Opponent: Dipika Pallikal
Nationality: India
World Ranking: 24
Tournament Seed: 1
Result: Lost 3-0; 11/5 11/6 11/8 (40 mins)

I started quite slowly in this match, but my opponent was not giving me any chances, and putting away every loose shot i gave her. In the second game, I got into a better rhythm, but was still going short too early and making a few unforced errors. The third game was close from the start, played longer rallies which i seemed to win. Dipika is an attacking player, and it really amazes me how well she keeps attacking even when you think she couldn’t possibly pull off a certain shot. Watching her play in the semi-finals made me even more aware that she is playing some great squash at the moment. That’s when you give her a round of applause for this win, and hope you play to your best the next time you meet.

WASHINGTON DC CHAMP

Finals vs Lauren Selby

Semi-finals vs Misaki Kobayashi

Re-grouping in between games

Prizegiving

Victory Hug

Organiser and Sponsor: Squash on Fire

Some lady Fans!!!!

VICTORY IN WASHINGTON

This was a great tournament, where the organisers treated us like royalty. All the players got the stay at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, where the squash club was also situated.

Quater-Final
Opponent: Katie Tutrone
Nationality: USA
World Ranking: 272
Result: Won 3-0; 11/3 11/3 11/7

Katie is a 16 year junior player who was playing in her first WISPA event. I will not want to play against her in a few years time. South Africa should also learn from this and expose their juniors to playing in such events.

Semi Final
Opponent: Misaki Kobayashi
Nationality: Japan
World Ranking: 53
Tournament Seed: 3
Result: Won 3-2; 1/11 8/11 11/8 12/10 11/9

This was a tough match, as you can see by the score. I started off a little slowly, and my opponent was not giving me an opportunities to settle in. The second game was a little better, bit I made too many unforced errors. Misaki is quick around the court, so rallies became long with both of us working hard. In the fourth, i was 8/10 down, match ball to Misaki, and managed to save the game after a monster rally. At 10/10 I found two cross court nicks that helped me win the game and save the match.
The 5th game was physically rough with a lot of lets and strokes, but i tried to focus on each point and fight til the end…which seemed to help. I’m just happy that match was over and in my favour. Next time, i know i’ll be starting from scratch.

Finals
Opponent: Lauren Selby
Nationality: England
World Ranking: 57
Tournament Seed: 2
Result: WON 3-1; 11/6 12/10 12/14 11/2

Lauren in a very crafty player, with delays and great touch to the front. I knew i had to play aggressively against her. I mixed up the pace too where it was needed, as she is good at taking the ball out of the air when it is loose. In the second game, i was up 6-0, but lost my head to make it 6-6. In the fourth game i was up 9-3, but again, allowed Lauren to catch up to 9-9. In the 4th game i was up 9-1, but finally got the full focus to help finish off the game without letting her back in. Giving away 6 points in a row, twice, is unacceptable at this level. I’ll need to work on that.

In the mean time…THREE CHEERS FOR MY SECOND WISPA TITLE!!!!!

Next Up
Orange County Open, California (8th – 11th September 2011)