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[2] Karen Meakins (Bar)  bt [3/4] Denise Sommers (Ber)
                       11/2, 11/1, 11/5

Mighty Meakins makes another final

She's ranked #2 in the Caribbean, and has appeared in the last two CASA finals, and tonight Karen Meakins fully lived up to that billing as she swept past CASA debutante Denise Sommers to reach a third successive final.

Dominant from the start, the Barbados #1 was moving the ball from corner to corner, catching her opponent out with drops and boasts time after time. Added to that, nothing was going right from the Bermuda National coach, everything she tried hit the tin, just adding to her frustration.



The first two games slipped by quickly, and though a determined "C'MON" from Denise heralded a competitive opening to the third, it was short-lived as Karen reasserted from 3-4 down to take an ultimately comfortable win ... and boy was she delighted ...

"That felt great. I went out hard to make sure I won the first few points and just kept it going from there. I've been watching Denise play and thought that moving the ball around would be the best tactic, and it worked well.

"It's great to be able to execute what I've been training to do really, and of course to make another final is wonderful."

"That was ****," commented Denise, enjoying a beer after the match. "I remember why I stopped playing competitively !"

[3/4] Colin Ramasra (T&T) bt [1] Dean Watson (Cay)
              13/15, 11/9, 11/9, 11/6

Ramasra takes out top seed

Quite how local favourite Dean Watson survived his semi-final this morning was a mystery to many - especially Patrick Foster - and the top seed threatened to defy the odds again as he fought back time and again against T&T's Colin Ramasra in tonight's semi-final.

The first game was as close as close can be, nothing between them, Watson edging ahead 10-8 before finally taking it 15-13. Giving away more than a few years to his opponent, the pace had to start telling, surely.

Colin forged ahead from the middle of the second, reaching 10-5. Dean hung in there, saving four game balls before finally tinning the fifth. Same story in the third, Colin eases ahead 8-3 then 10-7 on a loooong rally where Dean stays in the back corner, shaking his head as Colin puts away an easy drop at the front.

That's it, you thought, he's gone. But no, he's still capable of chopping in those winners from anywhere on court, saves two game balls then agonisingly puts the third in the tin to concede the lead.

But he really was gone in the fourth. He looked knackered at 3-all, declined to run for a couple of rallies as Colin reached 10-5, and this time he could only save one match ball as Colin reached a second consecutive CASA final.

"I knew he'd had a hard match at lunchtime, so I wanted to make the first game last as long as possible. Even though I lost it, that game was perfect for me.

"I was up in all the other games, but he just kept coming back. he can hit lots of winners and goes for it regardless, when he's down he can get points back very quickly. That's experience for you, but I knew that if I kept going he's have to start tinning them.

"I lost to him 3-0 here in the Cayman Open, so I'm really pleased with that result, and I'm really looking forward to the final ..."

[1] Nicolette Fernandes (Guy) bt [3/4] Cheri-Ann Parris (Bar)
                         11/7, 11/5, 11/3

Fernandes fires into final

The hot favourite for the women's title duly moved to within one match of regaining the title she won in 2005 with a solid enough win over the CASA Junior champion.

Cheri-Ann competed well in the first two games, but a few too many tins didn't help her cause, and the third ran away from her quickly as Nicolette showed sign of the form that took her into the world's top thirty before an 18-month injury layoff interrupted her progress.

She's back now though, looking in good form and looking forward to a rematch with Karen, who she beat in the final of the Southern Caribbean Championships earlier this year.

"She puts some good pace on the ball and made it difficult in the first two games, but I was pleased with how I was playing at the end.

"I feel like a completely different person from four years ago, I was a kid then but I'm a woman now, and when I look at all the youngsters here this week it makes me feel almost old!"

 [3/4] Chris Binnie (Jam) bt [2] Shawn Simpson (Bar)
            13/11, 12/10, 11/7

Binnie bins second seed Simpson

You wait for two days for an upset and all of a sudden along come two at once. After the demise of the top seed in the first men's semi-final, Jamacia's Chris Binnie produced another surprise as he took out second seed Shawn Simpson.

Binnie, the 20-year-old four-time CASA junior champion, got the better of two tight, tense, tough opening games. Both were cracking the ball fearsomely, fighting for everything, as the score rose point by point. The end of the first featured several brutal rallies, mostly ending with an error forced out of one or the other of them.

Chris held his nerve the better to sneak into the lead, almost lost his nerve as he let a 10-6 lead slip in the second, eventually taking it too on extra points.

The Jamaican got off to a good start in the third, 4-1, Shawn battled back but 6-7 was as close as he got, Chris taking his passage into the final on his second match ball.

"That was tough. The first two were really close, but I thought I was going to blow that lead in the second. I think he got tired in the third, I was trying to keep it deep on his backhand as much as I could, anything I put short, especially on his forehand, he was killing.

"I came third last time, so this is definitely my best so far, I'm very excited about being in the final, but Colin's going to be tough, very tough ..."

Well, the quarter-finals went according to plan, in that seven of the eight seeded players went through in straight games, but men's top seed Dean Watson gave left South Sound home faithful with more than a few bitten fingernails as he squeezed home in the fifth against Bermuda's Patrick Foster.

The women's quarters started with two youth v experience clashes, and although Keisha Jeffrey and Rhea Khan gave good accounts of themselves, the experience of Denise Sommers and Karen Meakins proved too much in each case. Sommers won 11/5, 11/5, 113, Meakins 11/5, 11/1, 11/6. The two coaches meet tonight for a place in tonight's final.

In the third match it was youth's turn to prevail as Cheri-Ann Parris, just out of the  junior ranks, put out Liliana White, appearing in her 16th consecutive CASA championships. Liliana had chances to extend the match before Cheri-Ann closed the third out in extra points, winning 11/6, 11/3, 13/11.

The final match saw favourite Nicolette Feranndes overwhelm another youngster, Kerrie Sample, dropping just five points in the process of an 11/1, 11/4, 11/0 win. She meets Cheri-Ann tonight as she continues her bid to retain the title she won in 2005.

In the first men's match of the day Chris Binnie's extra weight of shot made the difference the Jamaican eased past Kristian Jeffrey in three, 11/5, 11/6, 11/5.

Next up was a rematch of the 2007 final, with a different result this time as newly re-crowned T&T champion Colin Ramasra turned in a sparkling performance to oust Gavin Cumberbatch in straight games, 11/6, 11/4, 11/2. The Barbadian was playing a slow-paced game, but found the tin too many times with attempted winners - but then he had to go for them as Ramasra was hunting down everything too high.

"I felt really good on court today," said Colin. "I was hitting the crisply and playing my best squash of the tournament so far. I feel I'm getting better and really looking forward to the semi-finals."

In an all-Barbados matchup second seed Shawn Simpson made it a bad day for the Cumberbatch clan as he beat Gavin's younger brother Bryant 11/9, 11/9, 11/9.

That left the best for last as Watson, with the home crowd behind him, took on Foster in a battle of the ex-pats, both having been over here from different parts of the UK for five or six years now.

The early stages were very much cat and mouse, a slow=paced game where Dean was assuming the feline role more often than not. There was a flurry of decisions at the end of the second, all going against Patrick much to his non-amusement, as Dean opened up a two-game advantage.

The discussions with the ref may have fired up Patrick, he certainly came out with a different intent in the third, and quickly built up a lead that Dean showed no intention of chasing down.

The fourth was a nail-biter. Close all the way, the cheers of the crow raised as Dean earned match-ball at 10-9, and turned into groans as he served out. Patrick showed him the correct grip for the serve, took the next two points and we had a decider.

And it was Patrick who held the advantage for much of the fifth, leading 7-3 and 9-6. But, as Dean said afterwards, "it comes down to who wants it most in the end." Five points in a row saw the top seed off the hook, 11/8, 11/6, 2/11, 10/12, 11/9 the home crowd and the seeding committee still happy.

"I've never served out on match ball before, that's a first! Maybe it's because I'm getting towards 40, not long to go now ...

"The first two games were slow, I could control it, but he came out blasting in the third and once you're a few points down there's no point, you might as well save yourself for the next.

"He tired towards the end of the fourth, I could feel a change, and although he took that and got a lead in the fifth, it allowed me to go back to how were were playing in the early stages.

"It comes down to who wants it most in the end ..."

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