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Harrow Greenwich Open 2011
18-23 Jan, New York, Usa, $37k |
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23-Jan, Final:
Brown takes Greenwich title
Phil Barker reports
Our week long squash
extravaganza concluded yesterday with the playing of two pro finals
and three pro-am finals. The Sunday action took place at the
Greenwich Country Club where the large galleries were able to handle
the 125+ fans that jammed in behind the court to watch the intense
action.
In the Harrow Greenwich Open final Kasey Brown, the locally based
Australian, edged out New Zealand’s Joelle King who’d had an
incredible run to get to the finals including a big five game win
over America’s squash phenom Amanda Sohby in the semis. From the
first point the play was intense and action packed with strong
drives being complimented with feathery boasts that had both players
throwing themselves around the court in order to retrieve balls that
seemed to be certain winners.
In the end, Kasey’s aggressive volleying and smooth and efficient
footwork proved to be too much for the young Kiwi and she was able
to come away with a close three game victory. In her victory speech
after the match Kasey commented on the special squash community we
have in the Greenwich area and also gave special thanks to Mark
Hayden, CEO of Harrow Sports, who was the tournament’s honorary
chairman and also the main sponsor of the women’s pro event.
22-Jan, Semis:
Brown and King set up surprise final in Greenwich
Two tight semis at the Round Hill Club in Greenwich as New Zealand's
Joelle King and Australia's Kasey Brown set up a
surprise final.
King, having taken out the top-seeded Rachael Grinham in the
quarters, came from 2-1 down to beat World Junior Champion Amanda
Sobhy to dash hopes of a home finalist.
Brown, having just picked up WISPA's most improved player accolade,
overcame second seed Madeline Perry in four very close games.
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Quick Video of the final
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 Harrow Greenwich
Open 2011
18-23 Jan, New York, Usa, $37k |
Round One
20 Jan |
Quarters
21 Jan |
Semis
22 Jan |
Final
23 Jan |
[1] Rachael Grinham (Aus)
12/10, 11/9, 11/9
Aisling Blake (Irl) |
[1] Rachael Grinham
6/11, 11/7, 11/9, 14/12
Joelle King |
Joelle King
11/7, 9/11, 6/11, 11/3, 11/6
[Q] Amanda Sobhy |
Joelle King
11/7, 11/2, 11/4
[4] Kasey Brown |
[7] Jaclyn Hawkes (Nzl)
11/5, 9/11, 10/12, 11/8, 11/4
Joelle King (Nzl) |
[3] Natalie Grinham (Ned)
14/16, 11/4, 11/7, 11/9
Emma Beddoes (Eng) |
[3] Natalie Grinham
10/12, 11/8, 11/9, 11/7
[Q] Amanda Sobhy |
[8] Samantha Teran (Mex)
11/6, 9/11, 11/9, 11/1
[Q] Amanda Sobhy (Usa) |
[Q] Dipika Pallikal (Ind)
11/7, 13/15, 11/8, 3/11, 14/12
[6] Raneem El Weleily (Egy) |
[6] Raneem El Weleily
7/11, 12/10, 11/5, 5/11, 11/4
[4] Kasey Brown |
[4] Kasey Brown
9/11, 11/9, 11/8, 11/9
[2] Madeline Perry |
[Q] Manuela Manetta (Ita)
11/7, 11/4, 11/7
[4] Kasey Brown (Aus) |
Sarah Kippax (Eng)
12/10, 11/9, 11/13, 11/3
[5] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned) |
Sarah Kippax
9/11, 11/8, 11/4, 11/9
[2] Madeline Perry |
[Q] Victoria Lust (Eng)
11/6, 11/3, 7/11, 11/8
[2] Madeline Perry (Irl) |
2010 Event
19-Jan, Qualifying Finals:
Amanda Sobhy (Usa)
bt
Olivia Blatchford (Usa)
10/12, 11/4, 11/6, 11/7
Victoria Lust (Eng)
bt Latasha Khan (Usa)
9/11, 11/9, 11/3, 11/6
Dipika Pallikal (Ind) bt Joshna Chinappa (Ind)
5/11, 11/8, 11/5, 11/6
Manuela Manetta
(Ita) bt Line Hansen
(Den) 6/11, 4/11, 11/6,
11/7, 11/8
18-Jan, Qualifying Round One:
Amanda Sobhy (Usa) bt Leonie Holt (Eng)
11/9, 1/2, 11/6
Olivia Blatchford (Usa) bt Lily Lotentzen (Usa)
11/2, 11/8, 11/3
Latasha Khan (Usa) bt Miranda Ranieri (Can)
11/8, 11/4, 11/9
Victoria Lust (Eng) bt Ivonne Diaz (Mex)
11/5, 11/4, 11/7
Joshna Chinappa (Ind) bt Alexandra Norman (Can)
11/4, 11/5, 11/3
Dipika Pallikal (Ind) bt Nicolette Fernandes (Guy)
7/11, 11/4, 7/11, 11/6, 11/7
Manuela Manetta (Ita) bt Gaby Schmol (Sui)
11/3, 7/11, 11/7, 8/11, 11/7
Line Hansen (Den) bt Suzie Pierrepont (Eng)
11/8, 10/12, 7/11, 11/7, 11/6
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21-Jan, Quarters:
Sobhy strolls on in Greenwich
A surprise semi-final is in store at the Field Club of Greenwich
after Joelle King and Amanda Sobhy both scored
stunning upsets in the quarter-finals. King recovered from losing
the first game to take out top seed Rachael Grinham, a feat equalled
by young American Amanda Sobhy as she downed Rachael's sister
Natalie, the former world number two.
No surprises in the bottom half of the draw, although fourth seed
Kasey Brown needed all five games to fend off Raneem El Weleily,
while second seed Madeline Perry was given a tough test by
Sarah Kippax.
20-Jan, Round One:
Seeds struggle in Greenwich
The first round of the Harrow Greenwich Open, split over two venues,
saw three seeds fall and a popular home winner.
World Junior Champion Amanda Sobhy recorded one of her best wins to
date as she downed Mexico's world number 15 Samantha Teran in four
games. The young American now faces third seed Natalie Grinham.
The other pair of matches at Greenwich Country Club saw Raneem El
Weleily squeeze past qualifier Dipika allikal 14/12 in the fifth
while fourth seed Kasey Brown beat Manuela Manetta in
straight games.
Over at Roundhill Club top seeds Rachael Grinham and
Madeline Perry both came through safely enough, but both meet
unexpected opposition. Grinham won three close games against Aisling
Blake and meets Joelle King, who ousted fellow Kiwi Jaclyn
Hawkes in five, while Perry, who needed four games to get past
Victoria Lust, faces further English opposition in Sarah Kippax,
who scored an upset victory over Vanessa Atkinson.
Qualifying complete in Greenwich
As play continued on DAY 2 of the Harrow Greenwich Open, the matches
got a bit more competitive. Some were more physical than others, but
no doubt each of the 8 women were fighting to gain a spot in the
main draw.
In the all-American battle between the top 2 U.S. Juniors, Amanda
Sobhy fought off a valiant start by Olivia Blatchford to take
the match 3-1
In the second match-up, hopes of another U.S. qualifier were crushed
when Victoria Lust defeated Latasha Khan in 4 games, after
losing the first.
An identical score was achieved in the all-Indian battle between
Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa, where Dipika came back from
a game down to emerge victorious.
The match of the day would go to Manuela Manetta and Line
Hansen, both of whom went the distance in their previous qualifiers,
but still felt hungry for another 5-game match. Manetta dropped the
first two, but determined to secure a spot in the main draw, clawed
back to take the next 3.
The Chilton North American Open also continued with some great
qualifying matches. Newcomers to the doubles scene and local pros,
Liam Kenny and Ahmed Hamza, provided an entertaining upset of the #2
seeds, Eric Christiansen and Carl Baglio in a 5-game battle. They
earned a match-up against the tough duo of Tim Wyant and Josh
Schwartz who eliminated Phil Barker and Rich Wade in 3 straight
games.
The second local pair Imran Khan and Greg McArthur survived an early
scare against experienced veterans, John McAtee and Tom Clayton
winning 3-1 after the first two games both went to 15/14. They will
next meet Tom Harrity and Will Mariani who eased past the
inexperienced pair of Ned Marks with last-minute sub Ryan Abraham.
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Under way in Greenwich
The Harrow Greenwich Open kicked off
yesterday with some exciting first round qualifiers. We had 16
ladies from 9 countries competing to earn a spot in the main draw.
Some cruised into the next round with relative ease, while others
were forced to push their limits against their opponents.
Some of the highlights yesterday saw 3 of the matches go the
distance with top Indian junior Dipika Pallikal moving forward to
the next round, and Line Hansen denying GA coach, Suzie Pierrepont,
a second round spot. Manuela Manetta was also made to work hard to
earn her win. Unfortunately, former Round Hill assistant, Miranda
Ranieri, met a tough opponent in US National team member Latasha
Khan and lost 3-0.
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