05-Apr, Final:
[3] Kasey Brown (Aus) bt [4] Isabelle Stoehr (Fra)   2/9, 9/6, 9/4, 9/0

Kasey claims inaugural Atwater Cup
Glen Wilson reports

This was going to be an interesting final. Stoehr, a great mover with incredible racket skills against a grafter who gives absolutely nothing away.

Well in the first you thought Brown was happy to make the final as she stayed back and allowed Stoehr to take full control of the T and dominate the early exchanges. Stoehr was pumped and a few fist clenches showed she was in the final and meaning business. There was little resistance from Brown and Stoehr won the set 9/2 in 13 minutes.

Had Brown almost conceded, was she happy with just making the final? Definitely not, a different person came out in the second game. Brown moved up on the T extending the rallies and upping the tempo, applying constant pressure to the back court. Game on, Stoehr countering and now knowing she was in a battle, cutting in her trademark backhand volley drops to try and force the pressure. This was a great game that Brown won 9/6 after the back court pressure she was applying paid dividends, forcing some crucial mistakes from a tiring Stoehr.

One game apiece and both players came out firing, trying to gain some sort of dominance. The crowd didn’t really know who had the upper hand or who they were cheering for, but both players were giving it their all. Brown pulled away to 6/1 before Stoehr found an extra bit of gas to make a push and closed it to 4/6. Brown hammered away giving nothing to her opponent, the pressure was mounting and Stoehr was hitting the ball closer to the tin to try and finish the point. A few mistakes followed and Brown took advantage and won the third 9/4 grabbing a huge confidence building game.

In the fourth Brown seemed to click into another gear. She ran faster, hit the ball harder and was taking everything earlier. A complete turnaround from the first where she looked slow and lethargic. Brown pounded away and Stoehr had no answers. Brown picked up everything that Stoehr was throwing at her. The mistakes crept into the fourth early and Brown pulled away to completely dominate the game, winning 9/0 and with it the first ever Atwater Cup Trophy.

A great game of squash by two worthy finalists and a great week had by all at Club Atwater. For Brown it was a superb confidence boosting week and some crucial world ranking points gained. She is moving closer to the top 10 and on this tournaments performance she is only a matter of months away.

Kasey Brown, the Atwater Cup Inaugural Champion 2008.

[3] Kasey Brown (Aus) bt [1] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned)         9/2, 3/9, 10/9, 9/1

Kasey toughs it out

Both players had looked in good form in their first two rounds and with only five ranking places between them this was going to be a tight game.

Brown started off the better, establishing a good length and dominating play early on, opening up a 4/1 lead. Atkinson was struggling a little with her timing and gave away a few easy points. There were a few hand out exchanges at 4/1 before Brown took control and reeled off the last five points to win the first 9/1.

Atkinson came out in the second and upped the pace, forcing her opponent to move quicker around the court, and it was working. There were some tough exchanges at the start of the game but Atkinson was too good and ran off with it, winning 9/3.

In the third Atkinson started off well again and won the better of the early exchanges to go up 6/1 with some nice drops and backhand boasts. Brown's Aussie spirit dug deep and she had her own run of points bringing it back to 6/6 with some great retrieving, helped by a couple of mistakes from her opponent. The match was evenly poised with nothing separating these two. Brown had the first game ball at 8/7 but it wasn’t until after 11 more rallies the game was won 10/9 by Brown. A couple of dubious refereeing decisions seemed to frustrate the players towards the end of the game that slightly tainted what was the best of the match so far.

In the fourth Brown came out the stronger, hitting the ball hard, cutting it off early, and she had some good time on the T. Atkinson struggled to get in front of her Aussie opponent and 10 minutes later the tough Aussie had beaten a valiant Atkinson three games to one and booked a place in the final.

[4] Isabelle Stoehr (Fra) bt [2] Madeline Perry (Irl)             9/0, 9/7, 8/10, 9/7

Stoehr blasts into final

In the first game Stoehr came out guns a blazing, hitting drops from everywhere, taking it very early and moving very quickly to anything Perry hit short. Perry was somewhat stunned and didn’t really have time to think as things were happening too quickly. A quick 9/0 to Stoehr and the first game in the bag.

Perry had 90 seconds to re-gather her thoughts and re-think her game plan, and it gave her the time she needed to focus. Stoehr was still playing well and dominating the T area but Perry was a bit more patient and concentrated on getting the ball deeper and trying to extend the rallies. The storm was being weathered and Perry was fighting hard to get back in the match. A few errors were creeping into Stoehr’s game but from 6/7 down she hit two fantastic volley drops helped by a mistake from Perry to win this one 9/7 and take a two games to love lead.

Perry was back in the match but she was 2/0 down. Stoehr came out like she did in the first - volley drop nick, drop nick, hitting the ball very early, rattling Perry. There wasn’t a lot Perry could do but just wait for yet another storm to pass, and it wasn’t until 5/0 down when Perry got her chances. Some good drives a couple of mistakes by Stoehr and it was 5/5. Realising she had just given away a good lead Stoehr jumped on the gas pedal and reeled off three winners to go match ball up. Three nervous mistakes by Stoehr gave Perry a lifeline which she took handily and with it the game 10/8 and a great comeback.

In the fourth it was Perry this time to come out firing and applying the pressure, leading 4/2 early on. Stoehr was still cutting the ball in at any opportunity picking up some good points in the backhand front corner but Perry was also playing a much smarter game and hitting a lot of her own winners through good straight length and great width on her cross courts. In the end though it was the French woman who was not to be out done. She hit a couple of great drops to go to match ball at 8/7 and with a tight drive win the match and a lunch date with Kasey Brown.


 

03-Apr, Quarter-Finals:

[1] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned) bt Aisling Blake (Irl)                   9/5, 9/7, 9/0
[3] Kasey Brown (Aus) bt [5] Samantha Teran (Mex)            9/6, 9/5, 9/1
[4] Isabelle Stoehr (Fra) bt [Q] Karen Kronemeyer (Ned)      9/6, 9/1, 9/4
[2] Madeline Perry (Irl) bt [7] Raneem El Weleily (Egy)         9/7, 9/6, 9/2

Seeds Safely Through In Montreal
Glen Wilson reports

The top four seeds will contest the semi-finals of the Atwater Cup after straightforward straight games wins in the quarter-finals.

Vanessa Atkinson v Aisling Blake
In the first two games the rallies were long in the beginning of each game, but Atkinson had that extra bit of ability to pull away at crucial times and that was the difference. In the third Blake hit a succession of quick tins and found herself down 4/0. After a couple of longer rallies that Atkinson also won, the Dutchwoman reeled of the last 3 or 4 points in a matter of minutes to win 9/0 and book herself a spot in the semi finals.

Kasey Brown v Samantha Teran
The first game was all go, hard hitting, some great retrieving, movement to the front and back, both players were giving it their all to establish an early advantage. It was Brown though who grabbed the upper hand and after 30min on court for the opening game she closed it out 9/6.

The second was more of the same, both players battling to get in front. There were a lot of let decisions and at times both players were frustrated but they both held their composure to keep it free flowing. Again it was Brown who came up with the odd drop nick or the volley cross winner to close it out 9/7.

Teran looked a little demoralized at the start of the third and Brown pounced on a few opportunities that were given to her and she raced away to win the third and the match 9/1. Teran though looks like a strong competitor and she’s improving with every event. Brown moves through and looks in good shape. Her match against Atkinson tomorrow will have the pundits guessing.

Isabelle Stoehr v Karen Kronemeyer
The first game was pretty even. There were a lot of long rallies that finished in lets. Stoehr made a couple of good shots towards the end to win it 9/6.

The second was quick with Stoher stepping up the court and applying the pressure from early on. Kronemeyer wasn’t quite moving as well as she was in the first game. Maybe she was starting to feel the effects of the long five setter she had in the first round. Stoehr won this game 9/1 and carried her momentum into the third 9/4 and with it the match three games to love. Stoehr has had two 3/0 matches and she should be reasonably fresh for tomorrow's semi final against Madeline Perry.

Madeline Perry v Raneem El Weleily
This was a great match to watch. Both players were playing well and moving with ease around the court. The mix between Perry’s drives and counter drops against the flair and shot making of El Weleily produced some stunning rallies. Perry won the first two very close 9/7, 9/6 and she was made to work hard to go 2/0 up.

Perry started well in the third establishing a good lead that seemed to be to far out of El Weleily’s reach and she closed it out 9/2. El Weleily looks a great prospect for top 10 in the not too distant future when she gains a bit more maturity, and for Perry it’s a date in the semi final where she will play Isabelle Stoehr.
  

 
Draw & Results

Joelle King revealed
Interview with Glen Wilson

Joelle comes from Cambridge, a small town two hours south of Auckland with a population of a little over 25,000. She is a very family orientated person and the thought of leaving New Zealand for a period of up to five months was a little daunting but exciting at the same time.

Joelle moved to Montreal and has been based at The Atwater Club where the event is being played. The locals straight away took an immediate liking to her and they quickly adopted her as one of their own.

“The support from the club members has been superb.”

Asked how she finds her first Montreal winter, “It’s ridiculously cold, freezing.” Something she knows she will have to get use to as a large amount of tournaments from December to May are in North America and Europe.

Joelle had an amazing junior career. In 2007 she was the number one junior in New Zealand, a finalist in the Scottish Junior Open, a semi finalist in the British Junior Open and she finished third in the world juniors in Hong Kong last year.

She turned 19 at the end of 2007 and she knows the hard work begins now and that the women’s pro tour is a completely different kettle of fish to the juniors.

Joelle is experiencing for the first time what it's like to be a full time touring professional and she’s loving it. "I’m meeting so many people and travelling to so many different places, its exciting."

Asked about her game and what she is learning she says, "the past three to four months have gone so fast, my game is developing so much. I know a lot more now than I did four months ago. I’m competing with a lot of tough players week in week out. The competition has been fantastic but I feel I’m not that far off the pace and I’m really excited about what lies ahead."

Joelle’s ranking has jumped from just outside the top 100 to 70 on the current list, but that is sure to rise after picking up some handy points in Montreal with a spirited first round loss to World Number 10 Vanessa Atkinson.

Asked about her overall experience so far, she says: "I didn’t know what to expect at first but I haven’t been overwhelmed by the whole experience. It’s been and extremely positive trip."

Joelle has the Irish, the British and an event in Texas to play before she returns to her beloved New Zealand in May where she would have deserved a well earned rest with her family. A time where she can relax and reflect on her first overseas squash experience.

An experience that I am sure will blossom into a great career for this young Maori girl from Cambridge, Aoteoroa, who hopes to one day follow in the footsteps of other great kiwis like Dame Susan Devoy and Leilani Rorani.