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Last four at Camana Bay
It was down to the final four in the Cayman World Open, with the
world's top three ranked players - Nicol David, Raneem El
Weleily and Laura Massaro - joined by Jenny Duncalf who was a
fixture at number two until recently.
Massaro edged past Weleily in a 13/11 in the fifth thriller to
reach her first World Open final, while six-time champion Nicol
David went through to yet another final with a repeat of last
year's straight-game final victory against Duncalf.
20-Dec, Semi-Finals:
[3] Laura Massaro (Eng)
3-2 [2] Raneem El Weleily (Egy)
5/11, 11/9, 12/14,
11/4, 13/11 (69m)
[1] Nicol David (Mas)
3-0 [6] Jenny Duncalf (Eng)
11/7, 11/4, 11/2
(37m) |
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[3] Laura
Massaro (Eng)
3-2 [2] Raneem El Weleily (Egy)
5/11, 11/9, 12/14, 11/4, 13/11 (69m)
Massaro makes the final
 Phew
what a thriller! Not that the opening game gave any indication
of what the finish would be like, as Raneem El Weleily, after
going 4-0 down in about a minute, found her shots and raced
through to take the first game 11/5.
The pace had been slow, and Laura Massaro had been subdued, no
“CMON” tonight.
That changed, as did the match, from the outset of the second
game as the rallies became longer and the play more determined.
Massaro’s “COMS”s started to appear, as she worked her way back
into the match, a big one as she reached game ball before
levelling the match 11/9.
The Englishwoman was hanging in during the third game though,
always behind but digging in to recover from 10-6 down only to
lose it 14/12 with two volleys that just clipped the tin.
Massaro was dominant in the
fourth for 11/4 setting up a decider that couldn’t have been
closer. Atless frequently winning the points. times it appeard
that Massaro wanted it too much, Weleily perhaps not enough as
she persisted with some casual shots that were
 That
changed in the fifth though, by now Raneem was joining in with
the fistpumps and “CMON”s, they both wanted it, clearly.
Massaro got to match ball
first, thought she'd won it on a stroke (so did we behind the
front wall) only for the video ref to agree with the “yes let”
decision.
Raneem had her cannce at 11/10 as Laura tinned an easy dropshot,
but couldn’t get across to Laura’s next crosscourt for 11-all.
A well worked rally forced Raneem to lob out, and another forced
a rushed dropshot that was too low and a delighted Englishwoman
was in the final.
 “We’ve
been taking turns at winning and swapping in the rankings all
year, so it’s fitting that there was just a couple of points
between us in the whole match,” said an emotional Massaro.
“You always know with Raneem there are going to be patches where
she hits winners, you just have to hang in and come through
them.
“It feels great to reach the World Open final, I’m so happy!”
“Now it’s all about getting the right preparation for tomorrow.
I haven’t been to swim with the Dolphins yet, it looks like
Danny will have to go on his own now!” |
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[1] Nicol David
(Mas) 3-0 [6] Jenny Duncalf (Eng)
11/7, 11/4, 11/2 (37m)
It’s Nicol again
Next up, in a repeat of last year’s final, was Nicol David
against another Englishwoman, Jenny Duncalf.
 David
had scored 11 unanswered points to finish of that match, their
last, so it must have been a weight off Duncalf’s mind when she
took the third point of the night. She continued to take them
too, and looked to be playing well, moving smoothly, and making
David work for everything.
The Malaysian doesn’t mind work of course, and she buckled down
to her task, maintaining the lead although Duncalf closed to
5-4, and 8-7. Three points in a row put David into the lead 11/7
and Duncalf’s task began to look as daunting as it did on paper.
The Malaysian dominated the next two games as Duncalf’s belief
slowly drained. 7-1 in the second became 11-4, and although the
Englishwoman took a 2-0 lead in the third Nicol once again
reeled off eleven in a row with Jenny barely contesting the last
few.
 So
it’s yet another final for Nicol, against a very determined
Englishwoman in her first. Should be fun.
“Jenny was playing some great shots at the start, I just
couldn’t tell where the ball was going next and I wasn’t able to
play my own game,” said Nicol.
“I really had to up my game to stay in it, and thankfully I got
it all together as the match wore on.
“It’s great to be in another final here, especially the World
Open! Laura and I both know we have to step up our games for
tomorrow, so it should be a great battle.” |
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