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CSC Delaware Open
2019
24-27 Jan, Vicmead Hunt Club,
Wilmington, Usa, $10k |
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Final:
Aitken comeback secures
Wimlington title
Ray Chan-a-Sue reports
The curtain came down on the 2019 CSC Delaware Open at the
Vicmead Hunt Club today, in front of a pack crowd, with a very
entertaining match and an even more deserving winner.
Lisa Aitken of Scotland landed her biggest PSA title to date
with a gutsy three games to two come from behind win. For the
first half of the match it looked like Tsz-Ling would walk away
with her twelfth title as she controlled the T with measured
length and a deceptive short game.
However, as with the semi-finals Aiken is one determined
individual and playing some of her best squash. Tsz-Ling had one
an opportunity in the third game to close it out, but some
unforced errors at the business end of that game allowed Aitken
to get back into the match.
From that point she never looked back as she dominated the “T”
from that point from which TSZ-Ling had no answer. Aitken wins
her sixth PSA title [a third in three months!] and with her
current form she should add to that haul in the future.
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  CSC
Delaware Open 2019
24-27 Jan, Wilmington, Usa, $10k |
Round One
24 Jan |
Quarters
25 Jan |
Semis
26 Jan |
Final
27 Jan |
[1] Sam Cornett (Can)
11/4, 11/6, 11/9
Catalina Pelaez (Col) |
[1] Sam Cornett
10/12, 11/7, 12/10, 11/0
[7] Olivia Fiechter |
[1] Sam Cornett
12/10, 11/9, 7/11, 12/10
[3] Lisa Aitken |
[3] Lisa Aitken
8/11, 6/11, 11/9, 11/3, 11/5
[2] Liu Tsz-Ling |
[7] Olivia Fiechter (Usa)
11/6, 5/11, 11/7, 11/4
Milnay Louw (Rsa) |
[5] Menna Hamed (Egy)
11/8, 5/11, 13/11, 11/3
Lucy Beecroft (Eng) |
Lucy Beecroft
11/7, 11/5, 11/3
[3] Lisa Aitken |
[3] Lisa Aitken (Sco)
11/4, 11/6, 11/9
Nadia Pfister (Sui) |
Cindy Merlo (Sui)
6/11, 11/9, 13/11, 8/11, 11/3
[4] Enora Villard (Fra) |
Cindy Merlo
11/13, 11/6, 7/11, 11/8, 11/9
[8] Hana Moataz |
[8] Hana Moataz
11/5, 11/7, 11/1)
[2] Liu Tsz-Ling |
Sunayna Kuruvilla (Ind)
15/13, 6/11, 11/8, 3/11, 11/7
[8] Hana Moataz (Egy) |
Emilia Soini (Fin)
7/11, 11/6, 13/11, 11/6
[6] Sarah Cardwell (Aus) |
Emilia Soini
11/2, 15/13, 11/7
[2] Liu Tsz-Ling |
[wc] Mary Fung-A-Fat (Guy)
11/3, 11/1, 11/4
[2] Liu Tsz-Ling (Hkg) |
Semis:
Aitken and Lui through to
final
Ray Chan-a-Sue reports
Semi-final night at the CSC Delaware Open was the
tale of two matches.
With both top seeds advancing to the semi-finals in fairly
comfortable fashion, it was expected that the trend would
continue. However, Lisa Aitken of Scotland had other ideas. She
came out very determined and cut every ball off not allowing
Cornett to get to the “T”, and putting away any loose lenth that
came her way.
However, you can never count Cornett out,and she was going to go
down easy, even when she could not find her length. The rallies
got longer and the court coverage got more audacious. However,
just when you thought Cornett was about to pull ahead, Aitken
would dig in and play the business end of the game much
stronger. Cornett managed to win the third game and was up in
the fourth game before an unforced error in the front right
corner stalled her progress.
Even saving a match point at 9-10 in the fourth with a gutsy
drop off the back wall, Aitken was not to be deterred as she
rolled to her first Delaware Open final.
Aitken will take on Liu Tsz-Ling who deposed of Hana Moataz of
Egypt in straight games. Tsz-Ling of Hong Kong, has had a
relatively easy path to the finals but this is because she is
very deceptive player, and tonight she sliced and diced her way
to the final, using Moataz pace against her.
Tomorrow’s match up will see her try to hold back the determined
challenge of Aitken, in a match up that again see contrasting
styles. Should provide an entertaining match for the squash fans
of Delaware.
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Quarters:
Normal servcice restored in
Wilmington
Ray Chan-a-Sue reports
Quarter Finals night at the CSC Delaware Open, provided another
entertaining display of squash. It also saw a return to normalcy
after the storm of upsets in the first round, with all the
higher seeds moving forward.
However, this was not to be without some testing matches, none
more than the match between #1 seed Samantha Cornett of
Canada and American Olivia Fiechter, who play identical games
and covered every square inch of court #1 at the Vicmead Hunt
Club. The first three games were all very evenly matched before
Fiechter ran out of answers for Cornett’s short game in the
fourth.
The last match of the night also provided a very entertaining
battle with upset winner from Thursday night, Cindy Merlo seemly
in control of the fifth game before some lose play at the end
allowed her opponent Hana Moataz of Egypt to squeak out a
five-set win to earn a trip to the semifinals.
There she will face Liu Tsz-ling of Hong Kong, whe
advanced with a straight game win over Emilia Soini of Finland,
using a deceptive short game and good length.
The semi-finals are set for the Saturday with Cornett taking on
Lisa Aitken, who beat Eangland's Lucy Beecroft in
straight games, and Tsz-ling taking on Moataz in what
will be battle of contrasting styles in both matches.
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Round One:
Top seeds through amid trio of upsets
Ray Chan-a-Sue reports
The 2019 CSC Delaware Women’s Open hosted by the Vicmead Hunt
Club, got off to a rollicking start tonight with eight first
round matches. This is the eight year that Vicmead has hosted a
WISPA/PSA event and this year’s field is one of the most
diverse, with fourteen different countries represented in the
sixteen person draw.
However, the one common trademark from previous years, is that
you don’t want to be a seeded player at this tournament, as
there is usually a ton of upsets. Thursday night did not
disappoint in this regard, and it saw three seeds going down to
their unseeded opponents.
The #4, #5 and #6 seeds all fell in their first-round matches,
on a very lively Vicmead court tonight. This made for some very
entertaining squash, and along with the pure athleticism of some
of the athletes, made it very entertaining for the appreciative
crowd.
Among the upsets Lucy Beecroft of England who is
currently studying at YALE, upset Menna Hamed of Egypt in four
hard fought games. She will now have the challenge of facing the
#3 seed from Scotland Lisa Aitken in the quarter finals and
somehow make her two college matches this weekend.
The top two seeds Sam Cornett and Liu Tsz-Ling
comfortably advanced to the quarter finals and look set to keep
going until Sunday, however it will be interesting to see if the
Vicmead jinx will set in. Stay tuned!
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