Finnish Open

20-Mar-06:

Final:
[1] Lauren Briggs (ENG) [2] Sarah Kippax (ENG)
9/6, 4/9, 9/0, 9/3

Lauren Briggs
Finnish Open Champion
Poku Salo reports from Finland

Top seed Lauren Briggs of England managed to win her first Finnish title on her fourth try. In the final on Monday night Lauren beat the second seed Sarah Kippax by 3 games to 1.

The first game started quite evenly but then Lauren managed to get a 8-2 much thanks to Sarah errors. Sarah got back and came to 6-8 but lost it 9-9.

Lauren starts the second game steadily but Sarah's attacks paid off. Lauren makes a few unforced errors and loses the game. The third game was all about Lauren and she takes it 9-0. Lauren starts the fourth game as she finished the third and went on to take the title.

The organizers Mikkeli Squash Club had arranged for those brave enough a possibility to swim in "a hole in the ice". Diplomas for bravery were given to Delia Arnold, Lim Yoke Wah, Charlie De Rycke and Georgina Stoker.

"Tough match. Sarah is very fit so you have to try as much as you can. I just try to play as good as possible and try to keep my concentration.

"I was nervous in the first and in the second game but then it just settled down. You're never sure you're going to win a squash game. I knew if I play well and steady I have a very good chance of winning."

19-Mar-06:

Semi finals
[1] Lauren Briggs (ENG) bt [4] Charlie de Rycke (BEL)
3/9, 9/4, 9/2, 9/0 (41m)

[2] Sarah Kippax (ENG) bt [7] Aisling Blake (IRL)
9/3, 2/9, 6/9, 9/6, 9/2 (55m)

Top Seeds to contest Finnish Final
Poku Salo reports from Finland

The two top seeds will play for the Savcor Finnish Open title on
Monday in Mikkeli, Finland.

Top seed Lauren Briggs got a bad start as Charlie De Rycke took the first game 9/3. Lauren got her game going in the second and from then on there was never any doubt about the winner.

"It was a tough match. Charlie played really well in the
beginning. I was happy to come back and win it in the end. She made it very difficult and I really had to work hard," said Lauren.

Second seed Sarah Kippax had to fight hard in the longest match of the tournament so far. Aisling Blake put in a hard fight and was leading 2 games to 1 and 5-0.

Sarah slowed the game down and that helped her get back in the match and get the game 9/6. In the fifth Aisling didn't have much to give and Sarah took it 9-2

"It was a very hard match. In the fourth when I was 5-0 down I decided to slow it down and to avoid errors," admitted Sarah. "It worked and I think she got a bit tired in the fifth."

19-Mar-06:
Blake Halts Hansen in Quarters
Poku Salo reports from Finland

Seventh seed Aisling Blake made it to the semi-finals of the Finnish Open in Mikkeli when she beat third seed Line Hansen in three games.

The first game was even until 4-all but then Aisling took five point in a row to win the game. Aisling took the second convincingly and it looked like the third was going the same way. Line got back in the game at 2-7 and saved matchballs at 6-8 and 7-8. She had gameball at 9-8 but finally lost it 10-9.

"Tough game and especially in the third I was struggling when Line played a lot better. I was pleased to get away in three games," said Aisling.

Top seed Lauren Briggs scored a convincing victory over Delia Arnold, although she temporarily lost her concentration in the second game. Delia went to 5-0 but Lauren came back and took the game 9-5 in one hand.

"It was not easy, everybody is playing good on the circuit nowadays".

The match between Charlie De Rycke and Orla Noom was expected to be a tough one. That was not the case as Charlie only lost six points in the match.

"I kept the tempo high and didn't make mistakes. I'm really happy, especially to win 3-0", said Charlie after the match.

Second seed Sarah Kippax who played only two games in the first round didn't get her game going in the first, which went to Georgina Stoker 10-8, before recovering to claim the next three games and a semi-final place against Blake.

"I thought Georgina played very well in the first. I got my game together much better in the end."

Savcor Finnish Open 2006 Mikkeli, Finland, 17-20 Mar, $6k
Round One Mar 18	Quarters Mar 19	Semis Mar 19	Final Mar 20
[1] Lauren Briggs (Eng) 9/2, 9/7, 9/0 [Q] Milja Dorenbos (Ned)	Lauren Briggs 9/3, 9/5, 9/4 (30m) Delia Arnold	Lauren Briggs 3/9, 9/4, 9/2, 9/0 (41m) Charlie De Rycke	Lauren Briggs 9/6, 4/9, 9/0, 9/3 Sarah Kippax
[6] Delia Arnold (Mas) 9/10, 9/2, 9/6, 9/6 Lim Yoke Wah (Mas)
[4] Charlie De Rycke (Bel) 9/4, 3/9, 9/0, 9/1 Lauren Siddall (Eng)	Charlie De Rycke 9/3, 9/2, 9/1 (29m) Orla Noom
[5] Orla Noom (Ned) 9/3, 9/4, 9/5 [Q] Jenny Wright (Wal)
[Q] Dagmar Vermeulen (Ned) 9/4, 9/2, 9/1 [7] Aisling Blake (Irl)	Aisling Blake 9/4, 9/1, 10/9 (42m) Line Hansen	Aisling Blake 9/3, 2/9, 6/9, 9/6, 9/2 (55m) Sarah Kippax
[Q] Lotte Eriksen (Fin) 9/3, 9/5, 9/4 [3] Line Hansen (Den)
Georgina Stoker (Eng) 3/9, 9/6, 9/6, 2/9, 9/3 [8] Christina Mak (Hkg)	Georgina Stoker 8/10 9/4 9/1 9/5 (54m) Sarah Kippax
Celia Allamargot (Fra) 9/3, 9/2 rtd [2] Sarah Kippax (Eng)

2005 Event

18-Mar-06:
Stoker makes Finnish quarters
Poku Salo reports from Finland

The first round of the Savcor Finnish Open saw sall but one of the seeded players progress to the quarter-finals, the exception being England's Georgina Stoker, who beat Hong Kong's eighth-seeded Christina Mak to set up an all-English clash with second seed Sarah Kippax.

The Quarter-Finalists

Lauren: The start of a tournament is allways difficult, but I think I played a good match.	Charlie: I have to concentrate harder and try to avoid mistakes and keep the running going	Line: Lotte made more mistakes than I did. She keeps running and trying but I guess I just had a bit extra	Sarah: It's never nice to win a match when your opponent is injured. A goodish start and I felt like I was playing OK
Delia: I don't think I played that well but overall it was OK	Orla: A good match. When I got my length and started to be patient, Jenny started to make mistakes.	Aisling: It was not an easy 3-0 victory. We both got into a rhythm but once I changed my rhythm a little it got easier	Georgina: It was a hard and very long match. She Christina plays very fast and it is very difficult to play her

Qualifying complete in Mikkeli Poku Salo reports from Finland Top seed in qualifying Siti Munirah Jusoh of Malaysia didn't make it to the main draw of the Savcor Finnish Open for Ladies, which started today in Mikkeli, Finland. Jenny Wright of Wales beat Siti in four games and will now play 5th seed Orla Noom in the first round. Another upset saw 5-8 seed Lotte Eriksen of Norway beating 3-4 seed Wilma Kirsten in straight games. England provided the top two seeds in Lauren Briggs, winner of the recent Swiss Open, and Sarah Kippax, expected to meet in the final on Sunday. The Finnish Open has now been organized 14 times, which makes it one of the most long-standing WISPA events.
Jenny Wright	Dagmar Vermeulen	Lotte Eriksen	Milja Dorenbos

Qualifying:

Qualification finals
Jenny Wright (WAL) bt Siti Munirah Jusoh (MAS)          9/0 9/1 6/9 9/0
Dagmar Vermeulen (NED) bt Susannah King (ENG)     8/10 9/5 9/2 5/9 9/5
Lotte Eriksen (NOR) bt Wilma Kirsten (ITA)                 9/1 9/2 9/0
Milja Dorenbos (NED) bt Cristina di Sacco (ITA)          9/0 9/0 9/4

1st round
Jenny Wright (WAL) bt Marianna Vanhanen (FIN)         9/0 9/0 9/2
Susannah King (ENG) bt Saara Valtola (FIN)                9/1 9/2 9/3
Lotte Eriksen (NOR) bt Tiia Knuutila (FIN)                    9/5 9/0 9/2
Cristina di Sacco (ITA) bt Laura Aalto-Setälä (FIN)       9/3 3/9 3/9 9/4 9/3