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10-May, Finals:
Lee and Urquhart celebrate
Darwin success
Andrew Dent reports
Hong Kong’s Max Lee and New South Wales player Donna
Urquhart have taken the honours at the Top End Open squash
tournament in Darwin, the first event on the 2009 Australian
professional tour.
Urquhart claimed the fourth title of her career when she
downed Victoria’s Amelia Pittock in a classic women’s final
9-11, 11-8, 8-11 11-4, 13-11.
The 22-year-old from Yamba in northern New South Wales has
been suffering from the flu all week and was still not
feeling 100 per cent heading into Sunday’s final.
But she recovered enough to withstand everything Pittock
threw at her, clinching a hard fought match to claim her
second title of the year following her success in the
Australia Day Challenge in Brisbane in January.
Urquhart looked down and out when she faced two match balls
in the fifth game, but she hung in and saved both before
claiming the narrowest of victories.
“I don’t know how I won that,” she said later. “There was
one match ball when I just threw my racket out and closed my
eyes and I thought I was gone. I couldn’t believe it when I
saw the ball coming back and the rally was still going.”
Urquhart rated the tournament win as one of the best of her
careers considering she was bedridden with illness two days
before it began.
“It’s definitely up there because I’ve been feeling so bad
all week and I didn’t think I’d be able to get through it.
Then today I thought I’d blown it when I opened up a lead in
the fifth game but blew it, and then I was two match balls
down, but I hung in there and didn’t give in.”
“She just wouldn’t die,” a frustrated Pittock said
afterwards.
Urquhart now has three weeks off before heading to Korea for
the Seoul Open.
In the men’s final, 21-year-old Lee ended the run of New
Zealand-based South Australian Mike Corren with a four-game
victory.
Lee recovered from losing the first game to a player 14
years his senior to win the biggest title of his career,
taking the match 8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8.
The win was the culmination of a highly successful week for
the sixth seed. He beat second seeded compatriot Dick Lau in
the quarter-finals then downed fourth seed Zac Alexander in
the semis.
“After I played Dick I was very, very tired, and it was the
same after I played Zac,” Lee said. “Today I tried to slow
the game down, but I was still very tired. “I think the hot
conditions suited me – the ball was very bouncy in the back
court and I could keep the points going.”
Lee said he had being trying hard to improve his consistency
and said he had been able to maintain his good form
throughout the week.
Corren, on the other hand, said he had peaked in his
quarter-final win over top seed Scott Arnold and had slipped
in the semi-finals and the final.
“I think with all the training behind me I should have risen
to the challenge,” he said. “It’s really a matter of keeping
the form going for the whole tournament -- you’ve got to be
able to play four good matches in a row.”
Lee now heads back to Hong Kong, while Corren moves on to
Western Australia for three tournaments, including the City
of Perth International and the Golden Open in Kalgoorlie.
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 Top
End Open 2009
07-10 May, Darwin, $7k |
Round One
08 May |
Quarters
08 May |
Semis
09 May |
Final
10 May |
[1] Scott Arnold (Aus)
11/7, 11/5, 11/4
[Q] Rex Kendrick (Aus) |
[1] Scott Arnold
11/7, 11/4, 5/11, 11/8
[7] Mike Corren |
[7] Mike Corren
7/11, 11/9, 11/7, 11/8
[3] Matthew Karwalski |
[7] Mike Corren
8/11, 11/9, 11/6, 11/8
[6] Max Lee |
[7] Mike Corren (Aus)
11/5, 11/5, 11/8
[Q] Peter Taylor (Aus) |
[3] Matthew Karwalski (Aus)
8/11, 11/4, 10/12, 11/3, 11/6
Steven Robinson (Aus) |
[3] Matthew Karwalski
11/13, 11/9, 11/7, 11/8
[5] Steve Finitsis |
[5] Steve Finitsis (Aus)
12/10, 11/6, 11/9
Jacob Alexander (Aus) |
Nathan Stevenson (Aus)
11/5, 11/4, 11/3
[8] Justin Beard (Aus) |
Nathan Stevenson
11/1, 11/9, 11/1
[4] Zac Alexander |
[4] Zac Alexander
7/11, 11/8, 14/16, 11/5, 11/4
[6] Max Lee |
Nathan Turnbull (Aus)
11/4, 16/14, 11/5
[4] Zac Alexander (Aus) |
[Q] Luke Forster (Aus)
12/14, 11/6, 11/3, 11/7
[6] Max Lee (Hkg) |
[6] Max Lee
10/12, 11/6, 9/11, 11/3, 11/8
[2] Dick Lau |
[Q] Sam Miller (Eng)
11/9, 11/3, 2/11, 11/4
[2] Dick Lau (Hkg) |
Qualifying finals:
Sam Miller (Eng) bt Josh
Cardwell (Aus)
11/7, 11/8, 11/5
Luke Forster (Aus) bt Dave White (Aus)
3/11, 13/11, 11/3, 11/8
Peter Taylor (Aus) bt Alex Grayson (Nzl)
11/7, 4/11, 11/2, 11/8
Rex Hendrick (Aus) bt Ben Werchon (Aus)
11/3, 11/5, 11/2
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 Top
End Open 2009
07-10 May, Darwin $6k |
Round One
08 May |
Quarters
08 May |
Semis
09 May |
Final
10 May |
[1] Donna Urquhart (Aus)
Bye |
[1] Donna Urquhart
11/7, 10/12, 11/4, 11/2
[5] Amanda Cranston |
[1] Donna Urquhart
11/5, 10/12, 11/1, 11/8
[3] Melody Francis |
[1] Donna Urquhart
9/11, 11/8, 8/11, 11/4, 13/11
[2] Amelia Pittock |
[5] Amanda Cranston (Nzl)
11/2, 11/1, 11/2
Selena Shaikh (Aus) |
[3] Melody Francis (Aus)
11/3, 11/6, 11/5
Josefa Bertilsson (Swe) |
[3] Melody Francis
11/4, 11/4, 10/12, 13/11
[8] Maggy Marshall |
[8] Maggy Marshall (Aus)
7/11, 14/2, 11/8, 11/6
Tamika Saxby (Aus) |
Alma Kushartanti (Aus)
11/5, 11/2, 11/3
[8] Misaki Kobayashi (Jpn) |
[8] Misaki Kobayashi
11/9, 11/7, 11/2
[4] Zoe Petranovsky |
[8] Misaki Kobayashi
11/2, 6/11, 13/11, 11/9
[2] Amelia Pittock |
Christine Nunn (Aus)
11/7, 15/13, 6/11, 11/1
[4] Zoe Petranovsky (Aus) |
Samantha Davies (Aus)
11/6, 11/9, 13/11
[7] Sarah Cardwell (Aus) |
Samantha Davies
11/9, 14/12, 11/5
[2] Amelia Pittock |
Bye
[2] Amelia Pittock (Aus) |
09-May, Semis:
Corren discovers the elixir of youth
Andrew Dent reports
South Australia’s Mike Corren said he was playing as well as
he ever had after recording his second consecutive upset in
the semi-finals of the Top End Open squash tournament in
Darwin on Saturday.
A day after downing top seed Scott Arnold, the 35-year-old
Corren ousted third seed Matthew Karwalski 7-11, 11-9, 11-7,
11-8 to reach his 29th final on the main Professional Squash
Association tour.
If he beats Hong Kong’s Max Lee in Sunday’s final, Corren
will take his tally to 19 titles since he claimed his first
trophy back in 2000 in Barcelona.
Corren, originally from Adelaide but now based in the New
Zealand city of Hamilton, is playing his first PSA
tournament of the year after deciding to scale down his
commitments at the end of 2008.
However, he has kept up his match fitness by playing
challenger and closed satellite tournaments in New Zealand
and Sydney.
“I was living in Kuala Lumpur and I was sick and tired of
being unfit and overweight, so I went to New Zealand and put
in months of solid hard work,” Corren said.
“I only played squash once a week and I did a lot of track
work – I lost a lot of weight and got over all my injuries.
“I think I am stronger than when I was 26 and supposedly at
my peak, and over the past six weeks I have been playing the
best squash of my career.”
Lee, 21, is at the other end of his career and he too
reached the final with two upsets.
After beating second seeded countryman Dick Lau on Friday,
Lee downed fourth seeded Queenslander Zac Alexander 7-11,
11-8, 14-16, 11-5, 11-4 to set up the showdown with Corren.
It is only Lee’s third final – he won in Hong Kong in early
2008 and then reached the final in Shanghai last October.
The women’s draw has gone as expected with the two top seeds
reaching the final, but both Donna Urquhart and Amelia
Pittock were made to work hard for their wins.
Urquhart, who has been suffering from the flu this week,
beat 20-year-old Victorian Melody Francis 11-5, 10-12, 11-1,
11-8 before Pittock ended the challenge of Japan’s Misaki
Kobayashi 11-2, 6-11, 13-11, 11-9.
Urquhart and Pittock were teammates at the last Women’s
World Teams Championships and although Urquhart has a higher
world ranking, Pittock has a 5-1 winning record on the
professional tour.
Pittock, from Dromana in Victoria but now based in New York,
will be aiming for her sixth title while Urquhart will be
shooting for title number four.
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08-May, Quarters:
Urquhart beats both flu
and Kiwi opponent
Andrew Dent reports
Top seed Donna Urquhart conquered both a bad case of the flu
and New Zealand opponent Amanda Cranston to move into the
semi-finals of the Top End Open squash tournament in Darwin
on Friday.
Urquhart, who found it hard to breathe during the match,
battled to an 11-7, 10-12, 11-4, 11-2 win over fifth seeded
Cranston.
“I’ve been in bed all week and I’m feeling pretty terrible,”
the 22-year-old from Yamba in New South Wales said.
“My energy wasn’t too bad around the court, but I struggled
to breathe and I ached all over, which didn’t help.”
Urquhart next plays third seed Melody Francis, an 11-4,
11-4, 10-12, 13-11 winner over Tasmania’s Maggy Marshall.
“It’s going to be difficult,” Urquhart admitted.
“Melody is a good young player so I’ll have to play well to
beat her.”
There was a major upset in the men’s draw when veteran South
Australian Mike Corren ousted top seed Scott Arnold of
Sydney.
Corren, who has scaled down his tournament commitments this
year, used the experience gained from over 10 years on the
professional tour to overcome Arnold in four games 11-7,
11-4, 5-11, 11-8.
He will take on New South Welshman Matthew Karwalski in the
semi-finals after Karwalski earlier ended Steve Finitsis’s
title defence.
Finitsis looked on track for the last four when he took the
first game but Karwalski stormed back to take the next three
and the match 11-13, 11-9, 11-7, 11-8.
The tournament also lost its second seed when Hong Kong’s
Dick Lau was bundled out by fellow countryman Max Lee 10-12,
11-6, 9-11, 11-3, 11-8,
Lee will play fourth seed Zac Alexander of Brisbane, who
downed surprise quarter-finalist Nathan Stevenson in
straight games 11-1, 11-9, 11-1. |
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