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| Artemis TODAY
- Sun 31st, Day FOUR
Steve Cubbins in Scotland |
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Vanessa
bags her first BSPA
"I've been meaning to play BSPA events for a while," said
Vanessa Atkinson after claiming her debut title with a
straight-games win over Nicolette Fernandes.
"I wanted to play this one in particular, and only remembered to
enter on the last day!"
 She
made a better start than has been her wont this week, quickly
going 8/2 up, but Nicolette pulled a few points back, levelled
at 9-all only to see two crisp winners take the game away from
her.
"I didn't feel I did much wrong in the first," said Vanessa,
"she just played a few good shots."
It had been quick, the first game, but the second was longer as
they both settled, and the rallies became longer. There was
never much in it, Nicolette generally a point ahead until they
reached 8-all, but Vanessa went to 10/8, tinned an easy winner
but made amends on the next point to go two up.
"There were some hard rallies in that game," said the eventual
victor. "I was feeling tired and I was hoping she was too."
Again a close start to the third, but Nicolette was having to
work hard to keep in touch, and from 6/5 it started to tell.
Three winners from Vanessa, then two tired volleys into the tin
from Nicolette and it was all over.
 "It
took a lot of work to break her, but it started to tell in the
third," was Vanessa's verdict.
Nicolette was happy enough with her performance:
"I thought I was definitely in it. I made a few errors at the
wrong times, but I guess that's what happens when you play
someone like Vanessa. You know you need to keep the pressure on
and you go end up going for too much.
"She just played better than me in the third though."
She's up for revenge though, is Nicolette: "If I get through my
early rounds in Sweden next week I should play her again, I'm
looking forward to that ..."
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Adrian
added to the list
Adrian Grant added his name to the illustrious list of Artemis
Open champions with a hard-fought win over Saurav Ghosal in a
pulsating match that had the ESC crowd on the edge of it seats
until the very end.
If you had to make a prediction based on their previous matches
you would definitely have put Saurav down to win the first
quickly.
He did. 11/6 and it didn't take very long with Saurav firing in
those straight-arm drops, and Adrian not quite there, not yet.
 You
might have predicted Saurav to take the second too, but as
Adrian said, "I wanted to win the first, but I knew I couldn't
afford to go two-nil down, not to Saurav."
So the second was much more contested, much longer, with the
Englishman now hitting the ball purposefully and holding a
slender lead for the most part of it. From 8-all he hit three
winners to level matters.
The third was much of the same, both playing hard and fast now,
the crowd were mightily impressed with both the shotmaking and
retrieving going on out there. Adrian got to ten first, but only
by one, and Saurav levelled with a reflex volley into the nick.
At 12/11 to Adrian Saurav politely enquired of the referee why
all the decisions seemed to be going against him and received a
conduct warning for his trouble. To be fair he'd been warned
previously.
 At
13/12 to Adrian he was sorely aggrieved when a stroke was given
against him as Adrian went for a shot that was pretty tight to
the wall from my viewpoint (ok, let's be blunt, it was never a
stroke).
He didn't react though, not until the start of the fourth, when
he reverted to the slow, touch game that had served him so well
in the first. And it worked as he quickly established a 6/1
lead. Adrian worked his way back, but the lead was big enough
for Saurav to get himself to 10/6.
Adrian's crosscourt drop looked to clip the top of the tin (ok
that's a euphemism, it did hit the tin), and Saurav was walking
off court when a let was given. "Oh my, I hope Saurav doesn't
lose this game now," said the spectator next to me.
 Well,
of course Saurav did. Adrian saved those four game balls,
another one at 11/12, two tins from Saurav and the new champion
was crowned.
"I thought I played alright," said Saurav. "I could have taken
the third, I should have taken the fourth, so I felt I deserved
a fifth, at least!"
Adrian was happy with the win. "It's not unusual that I get
off tom a slow start, but my movement hasn't bee great this
week, so I've been focusing on putting the ball into the right
places, like I did when I was ill in Saudi.
 "This
was easily the hardest match this week though, Saurav was fast
out of the blocks as always, and played well, he was a bit
unlucky in patches."
As for being the 11th Artemis Champion:
"This is definitely the best BSPA event, it's a great
atmosphere, a great city, and it's good to get my name on that
list ..."
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