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11-Dec, Final:
[1] Laura Massaro (Eng) bt
[2] Madeline Perry (Irl)
11/5, 11/9, 11/13, 2/11, 11/6 (73m)
Same again for Massaro in
Monaco
A year ago Laura Massaro won
the Monte Carlo Classic, beating Rachael Grinham 11/9 in the deciding game of a superb final……having
squeezed by France’s Camille Serme in five in the first round saving
a match ball. This time round Serme was again beaten in five games,
with three match balls saved, in the semis (experience only comes
with experience!). Deja vu? Could she win 3/2 in the final again?
Surely not.
Madeline Perry had repelled the other half of the French challenge,
beating Isabelle Stoehr in ten fewer minutes and one less game. So,
the visitors had taken the last day berths and all seats were taken
to see who would prevail.
Each player had one supporter in their corner. Massaro literally, as
husband Danny was with her between games. And while Perry’s mother
Audrey could only helplessly go through all the agonies that
parent’s suffer as their offspring compete, there was somebody there
for each.
The match started as might have been expected. Perry keeping the
momentum high, Massaro intent on taking the centre. Both looking to
maintain their trademark low error ratio and accurate shotmaking.
Massaro was the fastest starter, keeping a very good length,
attacking judiciously and inducing enough problems for her to take
the lead.
Again in the second there was little to choose between them with
long and well managed rallies being shared. The applause was
prolonged too.
Massaro reached 9/7, was pulled back when Perry engineered two
openings, but got to game ball when a shoulder high forehand drop
volley found its’ mark. A traffic stroke in mid court when the Irish
number one went central made it two zero to the holder.
The third game was another helping of the same high quality fare.
Balls pushed to the back, dug in short and all well covered. The
difference this time was that the British Open runner up edged ahead
and eventually reached game ball at 10/8. But a rasping backhand
drive from Massaro and a nailed drop brought her level. A stroke to
Perry and it was game ball again, but a ‘shouldered’ drop was not
timely from her. Regrouping however she stole ahead on a snatched
backhard from Massaro and closed out the game with a poor Massaro
return towards herself.
Perry was back in business, and even more so as a welter of winners
coupled with what appeared some uncharacteristic Massaro lunges
speedily took Perry to two games all in five minutes under one hour.
The English girl still had no answers as the fifth unfolded. When
Perry reached 6/1 she had won nineteen of the preceding twenty two
points. But there was still some fight left as her ‘gets’ were still
top class and perhaps Perry would dip for the tape too early.
Now the points were coming her way and she was eating into the lead.
More dominating rallies and it was six all. Her own run of points
was beginning. A tired Perry drive was the seventh, a driven nick
the eighth and a compelling drive the ninth. A stroke then gave
Massaro match ball and a tinned drop from Perry her retained title.
Yes, with a run of ten points without response she had repeated the
win from last year in an astonishing turnaround. The winner was not
a little bewildered and the loser even more so.
After Monaco SRA President Dr Bruno Fissore had presented the
trophies the vanquished finalist was asked about the match. "‘In the
fourth I was in the zone. I seemed to come up with winners which
took her by surprise. It went through until I was 6/1 up in the
fifth. For everything after that you would need a video as I have no
idea what happened!" she explained disarmingly.
"I didn’t make a load of mistakes, it just happened, she played well
and it picked up and it was all over. Though I was very disappointed
to lose that way the level was very good for the most part."
In an interview the winner was happily loquacious.
 "I
thought I started off playing well. I came out faster and more
aggressively. But somehow I felt that I lost some of the aggression
in the third, which could have gone either way.
"In the fourth Madeline changed her tactics; it came from nowhere and
I didn’t know what to do. I tried to regroup and went 6/1 down in
the fifth. Then I got hand in and tried to keep in front of her and
stay in touch. I was aware that I had been 7/3 down yesterday and as
I slowly got back I was able to relax and play a few shots without
pressure.
"I am just so pleased that I managed to win but I was more shocked
how I survived yesterday as today I was more positive, relaxed and
enjoyed it more."
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the Semi-Finalists
A third double
The 14th staging of the Classic at Stade Louis II in the historic
and stunning Principality led to a champion defending her title,
something only achieved by Sarah Fitz-Gerald and Natalie Grinham
until now.
Time to celebrate. Like some before, would the option of the casino
to double their money tempt the finalists?
Lips are sealed!
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 Monte
Carlo Classic 2009
06-11
Dec, Monaco, $25k |
Round One
08 Dec |
Quarters
09 Dec |
Semis
10 Dec |
Final
11 Dec |
[1] Laura Massaro (Eng)
11/6, 12/10, 11/4 (35m)
Lauren Siddall (Eng) |
[1] Laura Massaro
11/7, 11/8, 11/2 (32m)
[5] Dominique Lloyd-Walter |
[1] Laura Massaro
9/11, 11/13, 11/5, 11/6, 12/10 (65m)
[4] Camille Serme |
[1] Laura Massaro
11/5, 11/9, 11/13, 2/11, 11/6 (73m)
[2] Madeline Perry |
[5] Dominique Lloyd-Walter (Eng)
15/13, 11/4, 11/6 (31m)
[Q] Fiona Moverley (Eng) |
[4] Camille Serme (Fra)
11/5, 9/11, 11/6, 11/9 (45m)
Orla Noom (Ned) |
[4] Camille Serme
11/5, 11/7, 11/7 (23m)
[6] Latasha Khan |
[6] Latasha Khan (Usa)
11/6, 12/14, 12/14, 12/10, 11/6 (78m)
[Q] Victoria Lust (Eng) |
Annelize Naudé (Ned)
7/11, 11/5, 11/8, 11/4 (41m)
[8] Line Hansen (Den) |
[8] Line Hansen
11/6 11/8, 7/11, 11/4 (,36m)
[3] Isabelle Stoehr |
[3] Isabelle Stoehr
11/5, 9/11, 11/7, 11/8 (49m)
[2] Madeline Perry |
Manuela Manetta (Ita)
11/7, 11/9, 11/8 (32m)
[3] Isabelle Stoehr (Fra) |
[Q] Linda Hruzikova (Svk)
11/1, 11/2, 11/4 (19m)
[7] Aisling Blake (Irl) |
[7] Aisling Blake
8/11, 11/5, 11/9, 11/8 (55m)
[2] Madeline Perry |
[Q] Maud Duplomb (Fra)
11/5, 11/2, 11/6 (27m)
[2] Madeline Perry (Irl) |
07-Dec, Qualifying:
Finals:
Fiona Moverley (Eng) bt Coline Aumard (Fra) 11/8 6/11
11/8 11/7 (34m) (Plays Lloyd-Walter)
Linda Hruzikova (Svk) bt Chloe Mesic (Fra) 14/12 11/9 11/8
(28m) (Plays Blake)
Maud Duplomb (Fra) bt Adel Weir (Rsa) 8/11
7/11 11/6 11/5 11/3 (50m) (Plays Perry)
Victoria Lust (Eng) bt Faustine Gilles (Fra) 11/3
11/8 11/7 (24m) (Plays Khan)
Round 1
Fiona Moverley (Eng) Bye
Coline Aumard (Fra) bt Carrie Hastings (Eng) W/O
(Achilles)
Linda Hruzikova (Svk) Bye
Chloe Mesic (Fra) Bye
Maud Duplomb (Fra) bt Luz Etchechoury (Arg) 11/4 11/6 11/7
(24m)
Adel Weir (Rsa) bt Julia Lecoq (Fra) 11/6 11/13 11/7 8/11
11/2 (44m)
Faustine Gilles (Fra) bt Laura Pomportes (Fra) (7) 12/10 11/9
4/11 4/11 11/5 (41m)
Victoria Lust (Eng) bt Belen Etchechoury (Arg) 11/3 11/4
11/3 (16m)
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10-Dec, Semis:
Irish get one over on the
French
The first Monte Carlo Classic semi final saw another Irish / French
clash – but this time without a player handballing on the way to
dubious Victory! In this instance it was not a place in the football
World Cup Finals that was at stake; a spot in the Classic final
instead.
Irish number one Madeline Perry
had reached the final before – losing to Vanessa Atkinson in 2005,
but the semis last year were as far as Isabelle Stoehr
has progressed.
Perry had been in a rich vein of form in recent months, getting to
the final of the British Open with a win against Nicol David on the
way was ample evidence of this. But in the quarters against Aisling
Blake she hadn’t looked at her sharpest.
Stoehr, meanwhile had had a mixed year, but had perversely seemed to
pick up as younger compatriot Camille Serme overtook her in the
rankings.
Perry took the first game quite comfortably, but the focus of the
French girl was clear. Pumped fist when a winner was slotted,
encouraging words to herself and purposeful movement between points.
When she utterly wrongfooted Perry to take the second the exuberant
shriek accompanying the two fist pump spoke volumes.
The third saw play continue at a high pace and with great intensity.
Stoehr slotted in some winners to die for but Perry’s clingers
created opportunities too. When Perry reached game ball Stoehr
encouraged the crowd to back her and received an enthusiastic
response, but was only able to save two before going behind again.
What turned out to be the last game was distinctly similar to the
third, but whereas Stoehr slotted before a couple of clipped tins
saw her fall behind this time before Perry closed the deal with a
deft boast.
It had been a better all-round performance from Perry. ‘I was
feeling sharper today and really wanted to get a good start today’
she said.
‘It is difficult to get a rhythm against Isabelle as she plays some
great shots in patches. I knew I would need to be consistent all the
way through’.
Then, in parting from the media she gave a final insight into her
intentions, ‘The way that I have been playing the last few months it
would be great to get a title. Especially to do it here in Monte
Carlo!’
While Stoehr was disappointed she was happy that she has recently
got back towards her best form. Of her opponent she commented, ‘She
was consistent and I expected her to tire but she didn’t. She is
quicker to the front than when I last played her’. Of herself, ‘I
thought I was controlling the rallies quite well but she was there
and I wasn’t quite good enough. I needed to be more precise’.
Massaro comeback foils Serme
True enough, but a very good performance all the same. However, it
was now time to see whether Camille Serme
could bring a French flavour to the final.
Top seed Laura Massaro is as
consistent a performer as they come. Meanwhile Camille Serme is a
product that is still being polished. But the shine is already
there, she is up to thirteeen in the world and only a few strong
finishes away from the top ten.
As she took on Massaro it was clear why she is rising fast.
Versatile and resilient she pressured the Classic holder from the
start, much to the delight of the spectators.
The first game was tight but Serme stayed ahead. The second should
have been taken by Massaro; indeed would have been if her game ball
drop with Serme nowhere hadn’t been drilled into the lower reaches
of the tin. Serme had a lifeline and a dying drive and better
executed drop later was two games ahead.
It was here at two down that the steadiness of Massaro came to the
fore. Twenty year old Serme as kept on the back foot and when
openings occurred they were taken by the English girl. The outcomes
of neither the third or fourth were in real doubt as Massaro rang up
the points.
But then it got interesting! The tightness of shot from the top seed
was not so obvious. She was steady but not mixing it up. Serme was
taking chances and was quickly 7/3 up in the decider. And despite
being forced all over the court as Massaro drove, Serme’s
characteristic bent forward lunge was still working and with a
couple of telling nailed drops she reached 10/7. Match ball, the
finishing line reached.
The next rally was brutal, ending with a Massaro half court winner;
a crowding stroke and a dying drive levelled the score. A flicked
backhand cross court was the fourth point in a row and now Massaro
had the line to cross. How she did so can best be described as cruel
in the extreme to Serme. A loose drive down the centre tried to
squirm under the door. Serme thought it would rear up. It didn’t and
died before she could get her racket on it.
 First
a look of complete disbelief, then head in hands against the wall.
Finally an exit in deep despair. Both players somewhat shocked, but
one very relieved, the other tearful.
While the ending was one that neither allowed the winner to
celebrate or the crowd to properly applaud, Massaro had shown a
coolness under pressure that had allowed her the opportunity to get
back into the match.
Serme had let three match balls slip and the whole gallery felt her
pain, had wanted to see her in the final, but recognised how the
winner had competed in the final stages even though the final shot
hardly deserved the dead nick.
As Serme tearfully put it, "I thought it was a terrible way to end,
for her to win like that."
The Monte Carlo Classic final will see the visitors contesting it,
but the consolation for the French duo is that one is pretty much
back to her best and the other has added another layer of experience
that takes her a step closer to whatever her best may be.
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Monte Carlo Club
Coach & Classic Organiser Patrick Rubino |
09-Dec, Quarter-Finals:
French double in Monaco
France is the neighbour of Monaco;
there is a lot that is shared, but also a great deal that is
different. There is a love / hate relationship but also an affinity
so the French get the Monagesque support.
With local backing the two French contenders successfully negotiated
the quarter finals of the Monte Carlo Classic and set up last four
matches against the top two seeds.
Camille Serme has moved ever
closer to the WISPA top ten and the audience were keen to see just
how much the Parisian has developed in the last year. She had
already developed a reputation as a fighter on court where no cause
would ever be lost, no ball not worth chasing. But now she has
demonstrably improved her game at the back of the court as well as
her mental approach.
This was a topic raised by a journalist after she dealt with the
challenge of sixth seed Latasha Khan, herself a doughty fighter.
When asked about her year of progress she offered, ‘I didn’t expect
to be in the top 15 that fast as it had been hard to get into the
top 30. First I needed to improve mentally, to believe more in
myself and that anything is possible. Now I am not worried about
whether I will be strong.
I am working on being more precise and to improve the mix of my
game’.
She has clearly done so and is likely to present a strong semi final
challenge to top seed Laura Massaro.
The holder handled the threat of Dominique Lloyd-Walter without
dropping a game; an indication of the strength of her own game as
Lloyd-Walter has been rattling the defences of all the top players
this year with some excellent performances.
It was a case of two players operating with great consistency, but
one able to do so on a slightly higher plane.
 In
the bottom half Isabelle Stoehr
was pitted against Danish number one Line Hansen, who try as she
did, couldn’t bring home the bacon. Hansen is not easy to play as
she tries with great intensity, but Stoehr is similar. She allies a
superb ability to finish a rally with the contract between touch and
all-out assault on the ball.
Hanson had won when they had last met in the New Zealand Open four
months ago, and started well this time too, but the revs were
increased by the French girl, and errors became more commonplace
from her opponent in return.
Perhaps losing her French number one status to Serme for the first
time in the December WISPA rankings has galvanised her, but there
can be no doubting her tenacity on court. As the defeated Dane
observed, ‘She seemed more confident with her shots as the match
went on and she didn’t let me in’.
British Open finalist Madeline Perry
awaits Stoehr in the semis as the Irish number one beat her national
number two in the quarters in Monaco, before they meet in the
projected final of the Irish Nationals just before Christmas.
Perry stuttered a little, never looked entirely comfortable and was
certainly extended. Was something amiss? Asked after their 55 minute
match Perry said that she just wasn’t quite on. ‘I didn’t feel that
sharp tonight and she was playing well, was how the winner explained
it’.
As for Blake, ‘In the fourth I thought it was coming together
though. I got to 8/5 and then it all turned. I went for a few high
risk shots when I should have been more patient.
But even though my ranking leaves a bit to be desired I have had a
few close matches with the top fifteen players which I need to
convert into wins.’
In contrast with the quarter finals, the French forces will be the
seeding underdogs in the Monte Carlo Classic. Will their Monaco
neighbours be able to cheer them to victory. Qui sait? Who knows? |
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08-Dec, Round One:
Round
One in Monaco
Lucky people the Monagesques. Indeed
anybody living on the French Riviera. Crystal clear air, bright
sunshine even when it is cool, stunning scenery and French bread
that is indeed both French and special!
Though the squash of the 14th Monte Carlo Classic takes place in the
bowels of the Stade Louis II, there is always the next venturing
outside to consider as well as the good games and warm ambience
inside.
Qualifying had been completed with four players slotting in against
seeds. Their initial battles had been won, but the main draw war was
lost.
English pair Victoria Lust and Fiona Moverley, both on an upward
trajectory were shown the door by the more experienced pair of
Latasha Khan and Dominique Lloyd-Walter
respectively. In the case of Khan, her vastly greater experience
gave her just, but only just, too much control for her frisky
opponent.
Khan saved two game balls in each of the second and third but
eventually succumbed in both to go two one down. Then at 9/10 in the
fourth she saved a match ball when Lust clipped the tin with what
would otherwise almost certainly have been a winner. This time Khan,
giving away sixteen years to her opponent, didn’t give the 20 year
old another chance and took the game. Then from six all in the fifth
snatched the next five points to fall across the finishing line in a
time of 78 minutes.
Khan felt that the ball had been unhelpful to her. ‘It was fast, too
fast, and difficult to control. So there were lots of lets. But
later on I knew I was pretty fit and could run down balls so I
started to go short a little more’.
Lust was crestfallen but philosophical. ‘I did better than last time
I played her which is a good step’ she said.
Khan’s last eight opponent will be Camille Serme,
who was recently accorded the WISPA Most Improved Player of the Year
title by her fellow members so is certainly an increasingly
dangerous opponent, even though Orla Noom did manage to take a game
in a fairly protracted encounter.
Defeats also befell French girl Maud Duplomb and Slovakian Linda
Hruzikova who got hit by an Irish one two. The blows were
comprehensively landed by Madeline Perry and Aisling Blake,
who now play each other in the quarters.
Another first round tie featured the elevated pairing of Line
Hansen and Annelize Naudé. The Dane
had been lifted into the seedings following the withdrawals of Tania
Bailey and Lauren Briggs due to injury. And the adopted Dutchie had
moved up into the main draw for the same reason.
 Looking
at the Classic photo montages of previous years that are featured on
the club walls Hansen noted that this would be her sixth time in the
event. Naudé could boast two better. But neither could match
Isabelle Stoehr who is playing her
eleventh.
 Hansen
had never been beyond the first round before but in a match where
the number of lets mounted along with the score she fought back
after losing the first to set up a quarter final with the eleven
timer who saw off the challenge of Italian number one Manuela
Manetta.
The last player through was top seed and holder Laura Massaro.
While fellow English girl Lauren Siddall played well and gave the
members a match of movement and variety, in the end the weight of
shot and sheer consistency of Massaro saw her through. |
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