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Montreal Open 2012
27-Feb to 02-Mar, Canada, $5k |
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02-Mar, Final
Cornett claims Montreal crown
Yvon Provencal reports
 The
players travelled to a new venue for the final match to join 40
women who were participating in one of Montreal’s famous Ladies
Squash Nights. This was one of the rare occasion where there were
more women spectators then men at a squash final.
With only a few ranking spots between the two top seeds, Sam Cornett
at #42 and Miranda Ranieri at #46, there a strong chance that this
match would be a close one. Not only was it extremely close but it
was also the longest of the week clocking at 60 minutes.
The first game was strange; it was mostly wide open squash with many
angles and short shots coming off both racquets. Miranda hit many
tins to give Sam commanding 7-2 and 10-5 leads. But all of a sudden,
the table turned and Miranda started running every shot that Sam hit
and won 8 of the next 9 rallies to win the game! What a turnaround.
 Game
two was similar with Sam building 9-3 and 10-5 leads. But this time,
she maintained her composure and closed the game out. So even though
the score was tied at one game all, it seemed like the match was in
Sam’s hands to win or lose.
But Miranda stormed back and played her best squash in the third,
hitting better length, moving the ball around the court and cutting
down errors. She had stolen the driver’s seat and looked in control.
The see saw match was not over yet, this time it was Sam’s turn to
play her best squash and putting together strings of points. At 9-4,
never quit Miranda putt her down and started another comeback and
Sam needed two winners to take the match to a decider.
 This
one was close all the way with never more than two points separating
the two. But Sam was always ahead and the last few rallies showed
how athletic, agile and determined the two top Canadian players are.
The crowd had seen two girls battle it out at a furious pace and
playing an all out attacking style form the start.
For the 21-year-old Cornett the win marked a third WSA title
following wins in Guatemala and Tasmania last year.
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 Montreal
Open 2012
27-Feb to 02-Mar, Canada, $5k |
Round One
28-Feb |
Quarters
29-Feb |
Semis
01- Mar |
Final
02-Mar |
[1] Sam Cornett (Can)
11-1, 11-7, 11-0
Maia Kirk (Can) |
[1] Sam Cornett
11-2, 11-7, 11-2
Hollie Naughton |
[1] Sam Cornett
11-8, 9-11, 11-3, 11-4
[6] Kristen Lange |
[1] Sam Cornett
11-13, 11-6, 6-11, 11-8, 11-9
[2] Miranda Ranieri |
[7] Genevieve Lessard (Can)
11-4, 10-12, 11-3, 11-9
Hollie Naughton (Can) |
[3] Alexandra Norman (Can)
11-5, 11-8, 11-3
Runa Reta (Can) |
[3] Alexandra Norman
13-11, 11-9, 11-6
[6] Kristen Lange |
[6] Kristen Lange (Usa)
11-9, 11-5, 11-5
Maria Fernanda (Mex) |
[Q] Olgo Puidgemont (Esp)
11-9, 6-11, 11-5, 11-5)
[8] Leonie Holt (Eng) |
[8] Leonie Holt
12-10, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7
[4] Stephanie Edmison |
[4] Stephanie Edmison
11-8, 11-6, 11-7
[2] Miranda Ranieri |
Diana Garcia (Mex)
10-12, 11-3, 12-10, 11-7
[4] Stephanie Edmison (Can) |
Erin Roberts (Can)
11-3, 11-4, 11-8
[5] Nayelly Hernandez (Mex) |
[5] Nayelly Hernandez
12-10, 11-7, 11-7
[2] Miranda Ranieri |
[Q] Michelle Craig (Can)
11-3, 11-3, 11-6
[2] Miranda Ranieri (Can) |
Qualifying:
Olga
Puigdemont Sola (Esp)
bt Lindsay Bovaird (Can)
Michelle Craig (Can)
bt Anne-Christine Lajoie (Can)
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01-Mar, Semis
It's an all-Canadian final in Montreal
Yvon Provencal reports
Top seeds Sam Cornett and Miranda Ranieri both
advanced to the final of the WSA $5k Montreal Open to set up an
all-Canadian final at the Club Sportif MAA.
Cornett, up against sixth-seeded
American Kristen Lange, started nervously with unforced
errors but was then able to hit a few more winners than Kristen in a
wide open first game. She then changed to a much straighter game in
the second but was punished when hitting cross court drops that
Kristen was able to advantage of.
But the sustained straight length in the third by Samantha did not
give Kristen many options and started to pay off. With less open
space to hit the ball to, Kristen tried to force the play a bit too
much and her error/winner count turned negative.
The fourth was a copy of the third and Samantha earned the first
spot in the final.
It’s always difficult to play a friend and a teammate, Ranieri and
Steph Edmison are best friends off court, but they both know
the game is on when they step on court!
Steph has had a good run hitting winners and running down balls in
her first two matches. Miranda, who competes very well, adjusted her
tactics by moving the ball around the court smartly and getting
Steph to cover a lot of ground. She succeeded in hitting good
attacking length and then playing the ball in the open space on a
regular basis and was able to dominate every second half of every
game.
Very promising final tomorrow!
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29-Feb, Quarters
Three out of four for Canada in Montreal
Yvon Provencal reports
Hollie Naughton was put under lots of pressure from
the start with top seed Sam Cornett's pace and short
game. Everything that she did, Sam did better. Hollie has
improved a lot over the last year, mainly her short game,
but Sam’s court coverage was just too good. In the last
game, the first seed all of a sudden started hitting
excellent dying length and took the game quickly.
The first two games between Kristen Lange and
Alexandra Norman were very close and could have gone
either way. As Joey says, Kristen was better in the business
end of the games and was able to take a 2-0 lead. Even
though Alex was controlling play, Kristen was able to slot
in enough winners to get ahead. In the third Kristen
finished up with some great low kills.
It is known that Stephanie Edmison likes to play at a
high pace and she did just that. Leonie Holt
struggled a bit with the flurry of hard shots and made
costly mistakes at the end of both games. But she changed
her game plan in the third and was very patient while moving
the ball to all four corners. The match was definitely on
and the fourth was neck and neck, but at 7 all after a few
close calls, Leonie lost her focus for a few rallies. That
opened the door for Steph who hit a few winners to earn a
place in the semis.
A close first game between Miranda Ranieri and
Nayelly Hernandez, and high intensity throughout the
match. Miranda stayed in control, although suffered from too
many unforced errors. She lost her focus for pockets of the
match, but was always able to pull it back.
It’ll be a Canadian showdown tomorrow night with Steph vs
Miranda, a rematch from Canadian Nationals last May.
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28-Feb, Round One:
Five Canadians progress in
Round One in Montreal
Yvon Provencal reports
Fifteen year old Maria Fernanda is a very talented player and
in some rallies we were able to see flashes of excellent play. But
experienced player Kristen Lange was able to play way more
consistent squash and take the match comfortably. We will be seeing
more of the young Mexican in the future.
The bouncy ball made Nayelly Hernandez feel at home in cold
Montreal. She dominated the first two games with a mix of good pace
and good short shots. With the whole Canadian team helping her
between games, Erin Roberts was able to play a much better
3rd game and came close to pushing the Mexican to a fourth game.
Unfortunately it was too little too late but Erin will have taken
some good experience out of that match.
Miranda Ranieri against Michelle Craig was a match
between two players that grew up 20 minutes apart in Ontario so they
knew each other from the junior years. Miranda has moved to the WSA
Tour while Michelle plays A level squash in Montreal. Michelle put
up a good fight every game until the half way point and then the
pace at which Miranda plays caught up with her.
The first game of Stephanie Edmison v Diana Garcia was
a battle, neck-and-neck up until 10-10 and with lots of action for
the refs. Diana took the first game 12-10 with both players looking
very quick and moving each other up and back. Steph took control in
the second game and won 11-3, but the third was close again. At
10-10, Steph pulled out the third with a couple good lengths. The
fourth was a long affair, but after a few lets, the experienced
Canadian finished the up-and-comer off on her first match ball.
Olga Puidgemont is now a lawyer in Montreal but was once
ranked in the top 40 on Tour and gave Leonie Holt a run for
her money. Fitness became a factor as the match went on. Leonie also
capitalized with her short game that eventually was a bit much for
the lawyer. In the end, many good rallies, long ones, short ones,
lots of different paces and a good fight from both players.
Maia Kirk is new on tour and faced a good challenge against
the most improved Canadian player in 2011, top seed Sam Cornett.
The pace was just too quick and Sam controlled rallies on a constant
basis. Maia railed off a few points with some great drops, but it
wasn’t enough and the absolutely delightful first seed Cornett took
the match 3-0.
Hollie Naughton and Genevieve Lessard had played a
tight match in last May at the Nationals so a close match was
expected. Hollie got off to a flying start hitting good length and
using a deadly backhand straight drop. Gen adjusted well in the
second hitting better length and giving Hollie fewer opportunities.
But another good attacking game put Hollie in the driver’s seat. Gen
had a good start in the 4th but unfortunately could not close it
out.
It was an unfortunate match up as both Alexandra Norman and
Runa Reta train and work at the same club. They have had good
battles in the past but Runa work endeavours have kept her away from
the court a lot lately. Alex played solid squash pressuring Runa
with a good mix of solid lengths and subtle holds.
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