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Tub o' Towels Cleveland Classic 2016
28 Jan - 02 Feb, Cleveland, Usa, $50k |
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02-Feb, Final:
[1] Camille Serme (Fra) 3-1
[2] Alison Waters (Eng)
7-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-5
Camille captures Cleveland crown
Top seed Camille Serme claimed her first Cleveland Classic
title as she came from a game down to beat Alison Waters in the
final in Ohio.
 "So
happy with this victory! It was a great match against Alison Waters
in the final: hard battle but good athmosphere. It was very tactical
and im glad i managed to stay in this battle to win 3/1 at the end.
"Thank you so much to everyone for the support! My coach, my family
and some friends stayed up late to watch it from France so Thank
you! Thank you to all my sponsors. Thank you to the great Lennon's
family for everything they've done this week to make me feel like
home!
"See you next year Cleveland!"
01-Feb,
Semis:
Serme and Waters win
contrasting semis in Cleveland
 Top
seeds Camille Serme and Alison Waters will contest the
final in Clevland after contrasting semi-final wins.
Serme got past Sarah-Jane Perry in straight games, although the
English fifth seed pushed Serme close in the second game.
"I try to focus on every ball in every point," said Serme. "Sarah is
such a nightmare to play because she is so talented and hits the
ball well. It was a good tough battle."
 Waters
won a see-saw five-setter against US number one Amanda Sobhy, who
led twice before Waters took the final two games to move into the
final.
"I had to get deeper length, that was the key," said Waters. "I lost
my discipline and Amanda can hit nick from anywhere as you saw."
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Photos by
Andrea Dawson and Michael Weil
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  Cleveland
Classic 2016
28 Jan - 02 Feb, Cleveland, Usa, $50k |
Round One
30 Jan |
Quarters
31 Jan |
Semis
01 Feb |
Final
02 Feb |
[1] Camille Serme (Fra)
11-8, 11-2, 11-4
Delia Arnold (Mas) |
[1] Camille Serme
11-4, 5-11, 11-8, 11-2
[6] Joshana Chinappa |
[1] Camille Serme
11-7, 12-10, 11-5
[5] Sarah-Jane Perry |
10th PSA title for
Camille [1] Camille Serme
7-11, 11-6,
11-9, 11-5
[2] Alison Waters
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[6] Joshana Chinappa (Ind)
3-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-9
[Q] Georgina Stoker (Eng) |
[5] Sarah-Jane Perry (Eng)
8-11, 12-10, 3-11, 11-3, 11-7
[Q] Tesni Evans (Wal) |
[5] Sarah-Jane Perry
11-8, 11-4, 3-11, 11-7
[3] Annie Au |
[3] Annie Au (Hkg)
11-6, 11-6, 11-7
Rachael Grinham (Aus) |
Vicky Lust (Eng)
9-11, 11-4, 11-13, 12-10, 11-4
[4] Amanda Sobhy (Usa) |
[4] Amanda Sobhy
11-6, 11-7, 11-8
Dipika Pallikal |
[4] Amanda Sobhy
5-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-3, 12-10
[2] Alison Waters |
Dipika Pallikal (Ind)
11-2, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9
[7] Low Wee Wern (Mas) |
[Q] Olivia Blatchford (Usa)
5-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-6
[8] Jenny Duncalf (Eng) |
[Q] Olivia Blatchford
12-10, 11-3, 12-10
[2] Alison Waters |
[Q] Samantha Teran (Mex)
11-3, 11-7, 11-6
[2] Alison Waters (Eng) |
29-Jan,
Qualifying Finals:
[5] Samantha Teran (Mex) 3-2
[1] Heba El Torky (Egy) 11-3, 5-11,
12-14, 11-9, 11-7
[3] Tesni Evans (Wal) 3-0 [7] Amanda Landers-Murphy (Nzl)
11-2, 11-9, 11-9
Georgina Stoker (Eng) 3-2
[4] Salma Hany Ibrahim (Egy) 3-11, 5-11, 13-11, 11-9, 11-8
[6] Olivia Blatchford (Usa) 3-2 [2] Donna Urquhart (Aus)
13-11, 11-8, 5-11, 8-11, 11-7
28-Jan, Qualifying Round One:
[7] Amanda Landers-Murphy (Nzl) 3-0 Reyna Pacheco (Usa)
11-2, 11-4, 11-3
Georgina Stoker (Eng) 3-1
[8] Thaisa Serafini (Bra)
11-3, 15-13, 5-11, 11-9
[6] Olivia Blatchford (Usa) 3-0 Colette Sultana (Mlt)
11-0, 11-4, 11-2
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31-Jan, Quarters:
Sobhy carries home hopes into Cleveland Semis
 Amanda
Sobhy is the last remaining American in the draw after the
semi-finals in Ohio.
Sobhy, the fourth seed, beat Dipika Pallikal in straight games to
set up a meeting with second seed Alison Waters, who ended
the run of US qualifier Olivia Blatchford.
"Game plan was to keep it on her backhand and get good length,"
said Sobhy, "she is as hard hitter and I had to keep it away from
her forehand."
 "Experience
played a big role tonight," admitted Waters, "I didn’t want to drop
a game because mentally that would have made Olivia better."
In the top half of the draw top seeded Frenchwoman Camille Serme
ended Indian interest as she beat Joshna Chinappa i four games, and
she'll meet England's Sarah-Jane Perry, who ousted third seed
Annie Au in four games, for a place in the final.
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Live Streaming
Photos by Andrea Dawson and Michael Weil |
30-Jan, Round One:
Blatchford comeback stops Duncalf in Cleveland
The top six seeds
made
it through to the quarters in Cleveland, but there were a couple of
struggles and a couple of upsets.
The top three seeds Camille Serme, Alison Waters and
Annie Au won in straight games, but fourth and fifth seeds Amanda
Sobhy and Sarah-Jane Perry were taken to five.
Joshana Chinappa rounded off the top six with a 3-1 win over local
favourite Georgina Stoker, fellow Indian Dipika Pallikal produced
the first upset as she beat seventh seed Low wee Wern in four games,
and US qualifier Olivia Blatchford stunned eigthe seed Jenny
Duncalf, coming back from two games down.
29-Jan, Qualifying Finals:
Seeds stumble in Cleveland
qualifying finals
Qualifying finals saw a trio of five-game upsets as Samantha Teran,
Olivia Blatchford and Georgina Stoker took out seeded players to
reach the main draw of the $50k event in Ohio.
Jermaine Xaba reports
Samantha Teran 3-2 Heba EL Torky
Game #1 EL Torky could not settle with the power and speed from
Teran. Teran dominated the midcourt and made very few errors (11-3
Teran).
Game #2 Second game swung the other way in favor of El Torky who
shot and shot and couldn’t miss. Teran tried to play in the long
points but the Egyptian brought her in short and hard to kill the
rallies (11-5 El Torky).
Game #3 Both players found their groove and played a more
conservative game, allowing the ball to the back court more to set
up the points. El Torky had more variation which unsettled Teran
just enough to force one too many errors. Game EL Torky (14-12)
Game#4 Teran kept to her blistering pace and hard hitting, forcing
El Torky to make errors early in the game. The length of the third
game took its toll on EL Torky who needed till midway through the
fourth to steady the ship. A little too late, game Teran (11-9).
Game#5 Fitness was the major factor here. Teran was able to maintain
a high tempo with hard ground stokes that moved the Egyptian all
over the court. EL Torky did her best to shoot herself out of
trouble but only succeed in hitting the wrong part of the front
wall. Game Teran (11-7).
Tesni Evans 3-0 Amanda Landers-Murphy
Game#1 Evans dominated the game with very basic strategy taking the
ball early to put pressure on Murphy who totally struggled to keep
up. Game Evans (11-2).
Game#2 Evans started off strong again moving Murphy well around the
court. One too many cross courts to the forehand of Murphy landed
the Welshman in a lot of trouble. The Kiwi put away every forehand
opportunity she was given. Evans held on though to clinch the game
(11-9).
Game#3 Taking from the 2nd game Murphy forced Evans to the left side
of the court where Murphy put in a lot of points from her powerful
forehand with straight kills down the wall. Evans shoed enough
variation slowing the ball down and boasting sharply against the
tall New Zealander who struggled with sudden change of direction.
Evans yet again did just enough to hold off the powerful Kiwi. Game
Evans (11-9).
Georgina Stoker 3-2 Salma Hany Ibrahim
Game #1 Stoker could not seem to get into the match quickly down 7-1
then 11-3 to Salma.
Game #2 More of the same. 4-0 to Salma. A bit of life 5-3. But a run
takes it to 9-3, then 11-5 Salma.
Game #3 Stoker fighting, but so far Salma drops too good and out to
7-3 lead. Stoker hard work starts to pay off 6-8. 7—9. A good rally
8-9! Error by Selma 9-9. Marvelous kill by Stoker 10-9. Good length
10-10. Great boast winner Stoker up 11-10. Front wall exchange goes
to Selma 11-11. Drive kill winner by Stoker then straight kill game
to Stoker 13-11.
Game #4 Stoker comes out attacking. 2-0, 3-1, 5-3, 6-4 7-5, then 9-5
on a nice backhand overhead kill. 2 misses by Stoker 7-9. Boast
winner 8-9. Boast loser 9-9. Nick back wall drive by Stoker, then
stroke game 11-9 to Stoker
Game #5 Tension in the air. Stoker continues to attack 2-0, 3-3, 5-3
on another backhand overhead kill. Then 6-3, 7-4. Salma comes back
5-7, 6-7. Stoker scores on a nice boast 8-6. Salma counters 7-8 then
8-8 on an overhead kill. Stoker boast kill 9-8. Serve winner 10-8.
From deep Stoker hill backhand kill for the win 11-8
Olivia Blatchford 3-2 Donna Urquhart
Game #1 Both players come out firing. Good length by both. Good
court coverage. Donna using her reach and lob to great effect. Back
and forth to 6-6, 8-8 9-9. Great length shot by Olivia 10-9. Boast
winner by Donna 10-10. Long rally to Olivia 11-10. 11-11. Missed
boast point to Olivia 12-11. Winning forehead drive game to Olivia
13-11.
Game #2 Nice rallies but so far Olivia better 5-1, 7-2. But Donna
turns it around back to 7-9. Points exchanged until 11-8 game to
Olivia
Game #3 2 great points 2-0 to Donna. Dogfight again. 2-2,3-4. Donna
separates 6-3, 9-4, 11-5 game to Donna
Game#4 4 nice points 2-2, great shots by both. 7-8, 8-9, 11-8 to
Donna
Game #5 Olivia grinds it out to 3-0 lead Donna responds 3-3. Intense
points Olivia moves out to 8-4 lead. Donna’s not done back to 7-8.
Then a good drop by Olivia 9-7. Bad miss by Donna 10-7. Great
retrieving by Olivia she wins final point and match to her 11-7.
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Live Streaming
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28-Jan-16
Qualifying - Day one match
reports
Jermaine Xaba reports
Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZL) 3-0 Reyna Pacheco (USA)
Murphy’s size and power was too much for the speedy Pacheco. Murphy
held the T well, taking the ball very early and thumping it deep for
Pacheco to chase. Pacheco was out gunned’ the American struggled to
find a suitable game plan and crumbled to the ferocious pressure
exerted by the Kiwi.
Murphy
“I had to play my game and stick to my game plan.”
Georgina Stoker (ENG) 3-1 Thaisa Serfani (BRA)
Stoker did just enough to hold off the sharp shooting Brazilian in
the match. 1st game was breeze – Stoker took the ball early giving
Serfani no time to settle. Serfani went after Stoker in the second
game, attacking from all areas of the court into nick (she hit it a
lot!), amazing hands from the Brazilian. Unfortunately Serfani’s
aggressive play resulted in a higher error count in Stoker’s favor
(15-13) to Stoker.
Stoker took a beating in the second game which allowed Serfani to
dominate the 3rd through a combination of excellent midcourt
attacking play and dying length. Stoker got some rest in that 3rd
game and came back stronger in the fourth. Both players exchanged
reasonable control of the midcourt, Serfani’s aggressive game again
was the difference with too many errors.
Stoker
“I was lucky to win the second game, it would have been difficult
to win the match had I lost that game”
Olivia Blatchford (USA) 3-0 Colette Sultana (MAL)
Blatchford made quick work of the young Sultana – the deal was
sealed in less than 20 minutes. Blatchford looked like she was
having fun out on the court, very aggressive and physical. The
Americans attacking play with hard low shots forced many errors out
of Sultana who caught the ball late. Sultana had very little time to
react.
Blatchford
“It’s very out of character for me to make so few mistakes.”
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Live Streaming |
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