24-Jun, Final:
Briggs denies home win
in LeSport final

The Final of the Le Sport Open brought in a record breaking crowd by club standards, member and non-members from the local area gathered to watch two players of top quality battle in out.

The main sponsor for the tournament Paul Fitzpatrick of ‘Paul Fitzpatrick and sons ltd’ was kind enough to attend, getting fully involved in the game to follow, and also agreeing to present the players with their prize money at the end of the game.

The first serve by Lauren Briggs immediately brought on a tight rally, both players returning tight length after length, the crowd stunned by the speed and intensity from the word ‘go’.

Neither player was willing to make the first mistake, however first blood went to Briggs as she forced Whitlock to hit the tin. The rallies neither slowed down nor shortened as the players went blow for blow, exchanging point and serve alike.

Eventually Briggs began to edge out in front after going 7-6 up, although Whitlock refused to lie down and be beaten, Briggs took the game 11-9.

The second saw Emily Whitlock come out stronger and more confident as she took the game to Briggs, throwing the entire textbook of shots at her. As the game went on Emily however began to make a few mistakes as Briggs soaked up her tirade of pressure.

The shots grew tighter and the tension in the crowd grew as they saw a few drop shots from the local girl hit the tin, this seemed to help Briggs grow with confidence, her drop shots getting tighter. Eventually Emily lost her 3-1 lead and Briggs began to pull out in front, forcing mistakes and playing a range of shots, displacing Emily enough for an effective winner.

Emily came through in an even more aggressive manner, surprising Briggs, who due to previous experience had expected Whitlock, a younger player, to “roll over”, she couldn’t have been more wrong. Emily chased every ball, and dug everything out of the back corners with a touch of class, showing some extremely impressive speed and agility.

This game was closer, a determined Emily going 9-7 up after a controversial “no let” decision. The focus in her eyes showed, but was dimmed by the following “stroke” decision, which renewed Briggs hopes of a win. Once again a ballsy Whitlock pulled it back though, taking the game to 10 all. Then, despite her “never say die” attitude, Briggs kept a cool head and took the third 12-10.

And the crowd could breathe, although a long disappointed breath for their local starlet, a breath all the same.

“It was a tough game against a young player who has impressed me hugely," said the winner. "It was also nice to see such a large home crowd, although it meant I had to beat two opponents, Emily and her supporters.

"I had to soak up the pressure, Emily threw everything at me tonight, and I had to soak up the pressure, if she’d taken that third game, I’m not so confident I would have won.

"My intentions now are to get back in to the world top 20, although time isn’t on my side these days, It’s a target I take very seriously.”
 

11/6, 11/3, 11/6 (32m)

[5] Milja Dorenbos

11/9, 11/5, 12/10

[2] Lauren Briggs

11/5, 10/12, 11/9, 11/8 (40m)

[2] Lauren Briggs

Le Sport bar staff ... at your service

(1) Emily Whitlock (ENG) bt (5) Milja Dorenbos (NED) 11/6 11/3 11/6 (32mins)

The first semi-final saw local girl Emily take on a on form Milja, and started with some very tense, yet fast paced rallies. Both players looked set on playing a tight length game to start the match, trying to get a feel for the style each girl plays. The game was close as the players traded point to point to begin with until Emily began to pull away, forcing mistakes from Milja.

The second game saw the match open up slightly as Whitlock began to take control and show us the form that won her the British Open in January.

The drop shots that won her the game yesterday began to help her pull away as her accuracy increased. Whitlock treated us to a game littered with a full array of shots as her style became harder to anticipate for Milja. This was shown in the score line, Emily gaining a 9-0 lead, before leaving the court 11-3 up.

The third started as the second finished, but Milja managed to stay close to Emily, proving she would not go down without a fight, her tight lengths returned, meaning Whitlock would have to work to move her out of position before punishing her, as Milja brought more of an all round game style to the court, however Emily seemed to handle it well, keeping her cool, she maintained her focus and continued to play with fluency and accuracy, her movement and finishing proving the difference between the two players.

"I was more relaxed today, but I knew Milja was playing well and had accepted it would be a tough match.

"I knew what I had to do and stuck to my game plan. Overall I’m very happy with my performance."

(2) Lauren Briggs (ENG) bt (6) Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) 11/5 10/12 11/9 11/8 (40mins)

The second semi-final of the Le Sport open saw Lauren Briggs take on SJ Perry, this was experience versus power, both players looking to gain a place in the final.

SJ began to push immediately looking to take control of the game, but Briggs just seemed to be able to retrieve everything, eventually putting her opponent, who had approached the game in an aggressive manner, out of position. However Briggs managed to come out of the first game on top.

The second game saw SJ continue to approach the game aggressively, while Briggs returned shot after shot, waiting for an opportunity to kill the ball. However SJ’s game plan began to play off as she stayed level throughout the game, using her attacking skills to get points on the board. As Briggs kept a cool head it was hard to call between the two players, but at 10 all SJ got the serve and used it to her advantage, winning the game 12-10.

It was obvious that the second game showed SJ’s game plan was working as she stuck to it again in the third. Briggs began to volley more however, managing to pick off the cross-court shots thrown at her. The game sped up again as Briggs struggled to counter SJ’s powerful forehand shots, but her experience shone through as she sent SJ to the back again and again, the tightness of her shots eventually won her the game as she just about took it 11-9.

The fourth and final game did show signs of fatigue from SJ’s corner, Briggs moved her around the court without hesitation looking for her opportunity to seal the win, however a determined SJ, who had spent the previous evening and this morning with the physio, as well as several hours at a local hospital nursing injuries, refused to go down without a fight. She returned shots, and put Briggs under pressure with some clever boasts, however Brigg’s experience and accuracy got the better of SJ, winning her the game11-8.
 

(1) Emily Whitlock (ENG) bt (7) Victoria Bell (ENG) 11/7 11/7 11/5 (35mins)

The last WISPA tournament Emily Whitlock played in at her own club [2008] ended after the first rally in the first match [retiring injured to eventual winner Emma Beddoes].

This one however, started a little better. Emily quickly went 4-2 up, but hard hitting Victoria managed to keep herself in the game. With some long, well executed rallies towards the end of the game, Emily managed to win it 11-7.

The second game saw some extremely quick squash, lots of movement and some impressive racket skill from both players. Emily went 3-1 down early on, but managed to keep her focus and take a 6-3 lead with some patience and ever increasing accurate back hand drops. The rallies became more and more fast and furious, with the scored even at 7-all, Emily seemed to pull away after a no let decision in her favour.

Emily took control in the third game, as her confidence grew on court she began to lob more and use her risky yet effective drop shot against her opponent. This combination worked well, and with a very impressive level of fitness on display from both players, the under 17 British Open winner took the match.

I was very happy with my performance and tried to focus on some of the things I had been working on in training, like my short game. It was nice to play in front of my home crowd and receive some very good support; I am now looking forward to the semis tomorrow."

(2) Lauren Briggs (ENG) bt (8) Selina Sinclair (ENG) 11-6 11-1 11-5 (25mins)

Lauren Briggs' first match of the tournament saw her against the number 8 seed, feeling confident after a convincing win in the first round.

It didn’t take Lauren Briggs long in her first match to show her class. Although the opening serve saw her making the first mistake, she quickly rectified this by playing a patient and accurate length game, both players rallied, favouring the backhand side, until Briggs began to force mistakes from Selina. Briggs’ short game wasn’t as accurate, which she seemed to notice early, preferring to beat Selina at the back of the court.

The second game saw Briggs begin to take control, moving her opponent around the court, until she saw the opportunity to finish the point, by now her drop shots and boasts (which had failed her several times in the first game) improving drastically. Selina was doing very well to move around the court and looked fit, however signs of fatigue did begin to creep through towards the end of this game.

The third game started very much as the second ended, Briggs using her experience to move Selina around the court until she saw an opening to end the rally, her drop shorts becoming tighter and more accurate. Glimpses of light shone through as Selina forced several mistakes and produced some quality shots to win points of Briggs, however she quickly recovered and re-gained her dominance in the match. The game came to an end after an experienced Briggs wore down Selina, forcing some loose shots, allowing her a strong finish to the game.

"I was a little nervous to begin with, it being my first match in the tournament. I played pretty well once I got settled and was happy to get the win."

(6) Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt Rachel Willmott (ENG) 7-11 11-7 6-11 11-5 12-10 (1 hour)

Two players with a very impressive history as juniors went head to head in a 5 setter in the second game of the quarter finals.

The first game saw both players exchanging serves and points evenly, it was very hared to call it between the two, as they used their accurate backhand lengths to force mistakes from each other, Rachel eventually getting the upper hand.

The second game showed that Rachel had realised she was going to have to use accuracy to counter SJ’s power, while SJ used her experience from years of squash to try and move Rachel around the court, succeeding with a string of boasts caching Rachel out of position.

Rachel showed more patience in this game, waiting for SJ to lose her positioning before attempting her winning shots. The tight length’s become more accurate and both girls using their cross court accuracy to move their opponent out of position. Eventually the error count got the better of SJ with Rachel winning the game with her patience in the rally.

SJ must have realised in the break that her error count was too high and cut a lot of them out, better angles were used against Rachel at the back, giving her less time and freedom to be creative, with SJ overpowering her to make it 2-2 in games.

The opening of the 5th saw Rachel begin to look tired, making more unforced errors, it seemed as though fatigue began to make the game a bit looser, with both girls lengths looking less accurate. SJ began to call the shots from the front of the court making it hard for Rachel to get a hold on the game, this being said, Rachel soon found her way back in to the game and evened things up a bit. Some important refereeing decision dictated the way in which the game swayed, leaving SJ to take the match.
  

(5) Milja Dorenbos (NED) bt (4) Chloe Mesic (FRA) 11/6 11/4 11/6 (27mins)

Milja started of by gaining herself a very good lead, at 7-2 up you could see her confidence build, she was sure to punish Chloe for any loose shots played. The rallies were long and very hard, with both players being sure not to make too many mistakes. Chloe worked hard to take her opponent out of her comfort zone, and succeeded with a minor comeback, however Milja took the game 11-6.

The second game was very similar to the first with Milja using a combination of power and accuracy to move Chloe out of position, then killing the ball in the back corners. Milja took this game after controlling for most of the game.

In the third game Milja managed to keep moving Chloe around the court, getting her out of position, but Chloe made some very impressive recovery shots, however it was not enough. Milja continued to be tighter around the court, however at 7-5 up, Chloe had made some impressively good drop shots to keep the game close. In the end, Milja managed to have the edge and took the last game, winning her the match, and helping her to move forward to the semi-finals tomorrow.
 

[5] Milja Dorenbos (NED) bt Hannah Williams (ENG) 11/5 11/6 11/3 (27mins)

First match of the tournament saw local club member Hannah Williams playing Milja Dorenbos of the Netherlands.

Milja got off to a quick 5-0 start, keeping the rallies going but putting any loose balls away. At 8-2, Hannah started to slowly get used to her opponent’s game, and won a few good points through her low kills to take her to 9-5 down. But it was too little too late for the first game as Milja got it 11-5.

Hannah got off to a better start in the second, getting a 4-1 lead, but Milja steadied her way to equalise, making the rallies longer and tougher. Hannah did rise to the challenge though, as she showed the members how practice can make perfect when she won point after point by keeping her drives stuck to the walls like glue.

It didn’t last too long though, as when she did hit one loose one, Milja point blank outplayed her. At 6-6, I guess the members were hoping for some sort of comeback in that game from Hannah, but Milja was just too good and took the next 4 points to take the second.

The third was a quick one to be fair, Hannah did play well, but Milja stood her ground and took no prisoners (even if it was against one of the home girls - brave move!)

"It felt nice to play at the club in my first WISPA tournament. I was a bit nervous early on but I enjoyed the match even though I lost.

"I didn’t really expect to win; I just wanted to play as well as I could."

 

[4] Chloe Mesic (FRA) bt Lauren Tamila (ENG) 11/7 11/6 8/11 11/3

From the word go, it was even stevens up to 5-5. But with Chloe getting the next four points it was a bit too late for Lauren to get back, even if it took Chloe two attempts to get the 1-0 lead.

The second saw Chloe get the good start, having Lauren everywhere at one point! The referee thought she ran about “20miles!!!” but 20miles weren’t enough, as Chloe won 11/6.

The third was tight all the way to 8-8, but Lauren got a sudden surge of confidence to slot in some shots as she put in a straight drop into the nick to get her game ball, then another tight drop to win the third 11-8.

The fourth was actually closer than the score makes out. The rallies were tough, but Chloe just had the edge over Lauren as errors began creeping into her opponent’s game. A comeback from the 17 year old was denied as Chloe took that game an impressive 11/3.

"I felt very nervous before and at the beginning of the match. I felt a bit of pressure as it was my first tournament as a number 4 seed.

"I think I played fairly well and hope to improve in the next round when I play Milja. When we last played I lost 3-2 so I expect a close match!"

 

[6] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt Chloe Pearson (ENG) 11/8 11/6 11/7 (22mins)

When the crowd saw these two knocking up the height difference was pointed put many times!

With SJ looking the stronger player, most people thought this would be a whitewash, but it didn’t go like that at all. In the first the points were being shared quite quickly, with SJ going for her shots to give her an 8-5 lead, but Chloe produced some great little dinks at the front to earn her points, but tins from the back lost her the more important ones to give SJ the 1-0 lead.

Considering she was winning, SJ was making quite a few errors, but I guess the sheer strength she had over Chloe gave her the edge to also win the second game.

Throughout the match Chloe showed signs of why she was selected to go to the U19 Women’s Individual World Junior Championships with the England squad this July picking up shots you would have thought would have been winners!

But just like the first two games, errors crept in and SJ was through to the quarter finals.

"I’m happy with the win, always nice to win 3-0. It’s always difficult to play against someone you train with regularly.

"I’m hoping to cut out a lot of errors in the next round, I didn’t play badly today, but it wasn’t my best squash either. I’m looking forward to the next round."

 

[7] Victoria Bell (ENG) bt Belen Etchechoury (ARG)
11/2 11/9 11/9 (27mins)

First match on Court 1 today consisted of a feisty Argentinean and a former British Junior Champion (all age groups I think!).

Vicky was just too clinical for Belen in the first, strolling away with the first in no time at all. The second was a lot closer, with some brilliant retrieving from Belen it was even all the way to 6-6 with the points being earned through strokes and winners.

Belen started to be the tighter player as she got a 9-7 lead and needed 2 points to equalise. Although a tin and a stroke against didn’t help her get there as it helped Vicky take the game11-9.

In the third Vicky steadied to a 6-1 lead, but Belen somehow got it to 5-6 after some hard rallies. At 9-9 it was nip and tuck! But a couple more errors from Belen saw Vicky go through to the quarters.

"Very happy with the way I played, I started well in the first winning 11/2. I went 5-0 up in the second then lost my concentration a bit and she got back into it.

"The court was very warm tonight, but overall I’m happy with my performance. I’m looking forward to playing Emily in the next round!"

Rachel Willmott (ENG) bt [3] Lotte Erikson (NOR) 7/11 12/10 8/11 11/3 11/4 (60mins)

The last and closest match of the night (and the only upset!) saw another former British Junior Champion come up against a much improved Norwegian.

Lotte got the upper hand in the first taking an 8-1 lead! After some tight rallies Rachel won some well-earned points, although it wasn’t enough as Lotte kept that lead to go up in games.

Lotte started out strong again with a 5-2 lead, but Rachel had this sudden burst of energy as she picked up everything and buried everything loose to gain her first lead at 6-5. At 10-7 down the crowd thought it was all over for the Rachel, but she dug in and got won the next five points flawlessly to be 1-1 after a 15minute game.

Lotte got the good lead again in the third at 4-0, but like the second, Rachel took that from her to get a 5-4 lead. With the rallies being close between the two – with some awesome retrieving from both of them by the way – it was hard to tell whose game it was. But when Lotte got game ball, she took it in a first attempt, to get that crucial 2-1 lead.

Perhaps Lotte fell asleep, or Rachel woke up! But the crowd saw the tide turn in Rachel’s favour, as she marched on through the fourth to be 2-2 after killing anything loose and making no mistakes.

The fifth, on paper, didn’t look hard, but with the rallies these girls were having, it was! With Rachel gaining an 7-3 lead, Lotte tinned a drop shot at the front with Rachel no where near it after a brutally hard rally making the two girls cover every corner of the court.

Even though Lotte won the next point, Rachel took her chance and finished it off to celebrate her upset win with a little fist pump.
 

[8] Selina Sinclair (ENG) bt Elin Harlow (WAL) 11/2 12/10 6/11 11/4 (30mins)

If someone had told you a 13 year old was playing in a WISPA, you probably would have thought she was Egyptian!

Elin’s far from Egyptian! She’s a local girl who trains everyday at Le Sport who just didn’t want to be off court in 15mins!

The first game saw Elin trying to get rid of the nerves and dig in to the rallies, but Selina was on the ball and had no mercy, taking the game rather quickly.

The second was a lot closer, with Elin fighting to stay in the rallies and producing some wicked winners, coming back from 10-7 down to 10-10, but it wasn’t to be as Selina clinched it 12-10.

After such high hopes of winning that game, you would have thought Elin would perhaps have given up with the next game. No way, she came out all guns blazing, executing more winners to get a 6-1 lead!

A couple of great serves and a cross court nick to get her 9-2 and 10-5 up, she then slot in a low counter drop to take the game and get the crowd entertained! But this time Selina came out fighting, getting a 6-3 lead through punishing Elin for any loose balls, and with Elin trying to get the ball in the back, she may have overcooked some of those lobs..!

At match ball down, Elin ran like mad, but just couldn’t get that ball above the tin as Selina won the match 3-1.

"This was my first WISPA tournament, so I was a little nervous before the game. After I settled in I felt I played quite well. I didn’t expect to win but I enjoyed the experience of playing against professional players. I took the third game 11-6, which I’m proud of!

"I’m looking forward to my next tournament, which is the Pioneer Junior Cup in Cologne next week!”"