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 CSC Delaware Open 2012
01-05 Feb, Wilmington, Usa, $10k |
05-Feb, Final:
Arnold prevails in Delaware!
Ramon Chan-a-Sue reports
Delia Arnold of Malaysia is the 2012 CSC Delaware State Open
champion after prevailing in four tough games against Aisling Blake
of Ireland.
Coming into the match , both players had not lost a game, although
Arnold’s semi final encounter was a lot more physical than was
Blake’s.
Both players started out the first game being very cautious, just
feeling each other out, which led to some long rallies, with the
occasional short shot to bring the player forward. At 5-3 in the
first is where Arnold went on a run, using the long rallies to great
effect, using her hold and touch shots to keep Blake off balanced,
which got her to game ball at 10-3 eventually closing the game out
on a beautiful back hand drop shot.
In the second game , Arnold began to just the front court more,
pushing Blake up and then back mixing in with some cross courts
which had Blake doing most of the work. However, Blake was not to be
out done and her tight length gained enough loose balls to keep the
game score close only to hit a back hand error at 9-9 all which
Arnold used to close out the game at 11-9.
 While
it looked like it would be another 3-0 win for Arnold, Blake was not
about to give up, as she changed her strategy and started to play
more attacking squash, taking a page out of Arnold’s book and
gaining some unforced errors in the process. She jumped out to an
8-4 lead and then closed out the game on a couple of Arnold errors.
At two games to one , it looked evenly balanced but that was short
lived as Arnold came right out and started to extend the rallies
moving Blake to all four corners of the court, using her drops from
the back and a working boast that even some of the audience will be
feeling tomorrow, she jumped out to a 5-2 lead. Then a twenty shot
rally at 5-2 ending with a forehand volley drop winner, seem to
spell the end of the Blake resistance.
Another long rally on match ball with both players scrambling to get
back into the point was a fitting way to end the 2012 edition of the
Delaware State Open at the Vicmead Hunt Club.
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 CSC Delaware
Open 2012
01-05 Feb, Wilmington, Usa, $10k |
Round One
02 Feb |
Quarters
03 Feb |
Semis
04 Feb |
Final
05 Feb |
[1] Delia Arnold (Mas)
11-6, 11-2, 11-1)
[Q] Ileana Novelo (Mex) |
[1] Delia Arnold
11-3, 11-4, 11-4
Thaisa Serafini |
[1] Delia Arnold
11-7, 12-10, 11-7
[3] Latasha Khan |
[1] Delia Arnold
11/4, 11/9, 7/11, 11/2
[2] Aisling Blake |
[8] Olivia Blatchford (Usa)
11-8,9-11,15-13,11-4
Thaisa Serafini (Bra) |
[3] Latasha Khan (Usa)
11-9, 11-9, 2-11, 11-9
[Q] Maria Toor Pakay (Pak) |
[3] Latasha Khan
11-6, 11-5, 11-4
[5] Miranda Ranieri |
[5] Miranda Ranieri (Can)
11-7, 11-9, 11-4
Adel Nunan (Rsa) |
[Q] Sabrina Sobhy (Usa)
11-5 , 7-11, 11-9, 11-5
[6] Lauren Selby (Eng) |
[6] Lauren Selby
13-11,7-11,11-7,9-11,11-7
[4] Sina Wall |
[6] Lauren Selby
11-4, 11-7, 11-7
[2] Aisling Blake |
Ahn Eun Chan (Kor)
(11-7, 3-11,11-5, 8-11,11-4
[4] Sina Wall (Ger) |
Milou Van Der Heijden (Ned)
(11-9, 13-11, 11-6
[7] Olga Ertlova |
[7] Olga Ertlova
11-2,11-4,11-9
[2] Aisling Blake |
[Q] Salma Nasser (Egy)
11-6, 11-2, 11-3
[2] Aisling Blake (Irl) |
02-Feb, Qualifying Finals:
Salma Nassar (Egy) bt Pamela Anckerman (Gua)
11-6,11-9,3-11,11-5
Sabrina Sobhy (Usa) bt Majd Alkhateeb (Jor)
11-9, 11-7,11-6
Maria Toor Pakay (Pak) bt Georgina Stoker (Eng)
11-5, 11-7, 11-5
Ileana Novelo (Mex) bt Katja Amir (GER)
14-12, 7-11, 11-7, 11-3
Round One:
Maria Toor Pakay (Pak) bt Jennifer Davis (Usa)
11/3, 11/3, 11/4
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04-Feb, Semis:
Arnold and Blake into
Super Sunday Final!
Ramon Chan-a-Sue reports
It is going to be the top two seeds contesting the 2012 CSC Delaware
State Open Final, on what is known here in the US as SUPER SUNDAY.
While both of these players are yet to drop a single game in the
tournament, their paths to the final were not similar as the 3-0
scores would indicate.
Delia Arnold, the world #21, faced Latasha Khan of the
USA in the first semi final which lasted just over fifty minutes,
for three very high pace, high quality squash that hasn’t been seen
in these parts in years.
Arnold used a combination of long rallies and deft touch to wear
down the stubborn Khan who used her experience to try and slow down
the Malaysian.
However, in the end , Arnold was just a bit better than Khan on this
night, making the American pay for anything loose and avoiding
falling into her opponents game.
The second semi-final was a bit more anti climatic even though
Lauren Selby showed that English “stiff upper lip” after she rolled
her ankle in the first game, but then gamely went on to make a match
of it against Blake.
However, Blake was a little too consistent to allow her into the
match and in the end the Irish woman pulled through in straight
games.
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03-Feb,Quarters:
Arnold and Blake on collision course
as Selby battles past Wall ..
Ramon Chan-a-Sue reports
The quarter finals night of the 2012 CSC Delaware State Open began
with a mini upset, with Lauren Selby of England beating
Sina Wall of Germany in five tough games.
The two players are separated by four spots in the rankings so this
match up definitely was going to be the contest of the evening. In
the first game Selby playing a ball control game to gain position,
and had her opponent moving to all corners of the court, before
finishing off with a beautiful drop shots at the front.
However , Wall’s persistence paid off and aided by some of Selby’s
mistakes clawed her way back into the game forcing the game into a
tie breaker only to squander a game point on a back hand drop shot
from the back corner. Selby immediately used this to her advantage
and closed out the game 13-11.
The next game, Wall came out and played solid basic squash cutting
down her errors while forcing Selby to move more which allow Wall to
gain easy put always, and tying the match at one game apiece. In the
third, Selby picked up the pace , a tactic which seem to work for
her as she raced out to a 9-2 lead and eventually holding off a more
attacking Wall for a 11-7 game win.
Wall responded in the fourth by making sure she did not give up the
lead, and now being more aggressive, she jump out to her own lead in
the middle of the game, which led to her tying up the match at two
all. In the fifth, Selby gained a early 7-2 lead and never
relinquishing it again to advance to tomorrow’s semi-final.
Her opponent will be Aisling Blake of Ireland, who took care
of business in typical clinical fashion. While Olga Ertlova, did put
up a spirited fight in the third game, the consistency of Blake was
just too much in the end.
The other semi-final match up between the #1 seeded Delia Arnold
of Malaysia and Latasha Khan of USA, who both won fairly
easily, should provide an interesting battle, as both players play
attacking squash and are veterans of the tour.
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03-Feb, Round One:
Latasha stops Maria's run in Wilmington
Ramon Chan-a-Sue reports
The main rounds of the 2012 CSC Delaware State Open began tonight,
with some very enticing matches. While most of the seeded players
made it through the first round, it was not without some scares.
The most notable upset of the night being the win by Thaisia
Serafini of Brazil beating the #8 seed and former top ranked
world junior Olivia Blatchford of the USA in four very tight
games in just under an hour. Serafini , a semi-finalist last year,
again demonstrated her superior court movement, where she chased
down every ball on a court that was unseasonably bouncy. The see-saw
match evident in the third game as both players exchanged game
points until Serafini gutted it out on her fourth game ball.
Another competitive match was between Latasha Khan and the
in-form Maria Toor Pakay, who had already played a qualifier
earlier in the day. While her current ranking does not reflect her
play, Maria found herself quickly down to the veteran in the first
game, worked her way back up only to loose out to Khan’s
consistency.
The second followed the same pattern, with Khan building an early
lead, only to see Toor Pakay come back to narrow the gap, but
loosing the game with some errors at the end. In the third, Toor
Pakay came out and played a much tighter length and started to work
Khan around the court some more. She got out to an early lead and
never let Khan back in the game, using a variety of volley drops and
deep cross courts.
This set up an interesting battle as both players looked to gain
position which led to many “let'” calls and the entire game remained
tight until the end when Khan’s consistency was a bit too much for
Toor Pakay.
If the first round was anything to go by, the quarter finals should
add for more excitement.
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VICMEAD HUNT CLUB HOSTS
2012 CSC DELAWARE STATE OPEN
Vicmead Hunt Club will host the 2012 CSC Delaware State Open WSA
Squash tournament, February 2-5 2012.
Twenty five of the world’s best female squash players will compete
in the ten thousand ($10000) WSA event. This will be the third
annual edition of the Delaware State Open and will be staged along
with a US Squash sanctioned junior tournament.
The top seed of the tournament is Malaysian Delia Arnold, who
is currently ranked number twenty one (21) in the world. The top
seeded American is veteran Latasha Khan, of Seattle, WA who
is seeded three. There is also some local interest as Tattnall
Junior Jennifer Davis tries to qualify for the main draw.
Corporate Service Company is the title sponsor for the event
for the second consecutive year.
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