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29-Sep-07, Final:

[3] Dominique Lloyd-Walter (Eng) bt [4] Sarah Kippax (Eng)      2/9, 9/6, 9/6, 9/5 (59m)

Lloyd-Walter wins all-English final
WISPA reports from Reykjavik

Yesterday, Dominique Lloyd-Walter had received two shocks. The first occurred in her hotel room when her hair straightening appliance burst into flames – thankfully not while on her head – and later when she beat top seed Jaclyn Hawkes to reach the final of the Icelandair Group Classic in Reykjavik.

After being unable to train with an ankle injury before landing in Iceland her expectations were low; and she asserted that even when she was close to semi victory she didn't believe she would win.

Sarah Kippax was eyeing the semis rather than the final too. But with second seed Isabelle Stoehr cleared away by Tenille Swartz in the quarters, the possibility of reaching the last day became reality when she had taken two setting games to clinch a three love win over the young South African.

Two English girls battling for the title in the first WISPA Premiere Series event, a WISPA initiative which fosters events in new countries and regions. In gym parlance, the local players were pumped to see the event. Watching, talking to and even playing with the WISPA women.

Lloyd-Walter is the senior of the pair. Two years older, a higher ranking of 22 (against 35 for Kippax), winner of two WISPA Tour titles against her opponent's one. In fact she had beaten Kippax in the semis of the Swiss Open 2005 on the way to one of her Tour wins, the other being the Brest Open a year earlier. The Cheshire girl's success was in the Pepsi Enschede Open 2006, so both seeking their first this year.

They had met again this year in the Swiss Open where Lloyd-Walter won 3/0. So two encounters, two straight games DLW wins and her ahead in all departments. However, squash is not played on paper but instead on the wooden floor of the main court at the Veggsport Club was where their order would be decided.



Kippax started brightly, finding success with a few neat drops ending tight rallies. An anticipated drive that she volley dropped gave her game ball, and a Lloyd-Walter tinned drive the first game. It seemed that the rigours of the previous evening were taking the edge off the Londoner's usual solid performance.

Into the second and she was still a little off the pace going forward, but the signs of better movement were there. More was being picked up. But although the top seed climbed to game ball at 8/6, it needed three attempts to level; which she finally did with a front wall nick that ended mid court.

As had happened in her semi final, Lloyd-Walter’s blister dressing had become dislodged and so running repairs were required at the early stages of the third. Once completed, she continued to slowly increase her grip on rallies, inducing errors as she stretched Kippax more and forced her to go reduce her margin on attempted winners. But though Lloyd-Walter was edging ahead the sheer athleticism of Kippax was forcing her to dig deep.

Saving a game ball at 8/3 Kippax slowly reduced the margin, but at 8/6 Lloyd-Walter forced another error to take a 2/1 lead. The leg weariness had gone, the question now being whether the lengthy exchanges taking the match toward the hour mark would take their toll.

Slowly, the score in the fourth climbed as blows were traded as both players mixed it up, drawing gasps and applause from the gallery in equal measure. Five all was reached, but from here all the lengthy rallies went DLW’s way. Having got to match ball with a back wall roller directly from serve, she closed out on the first attempt.

"The problem with my foot wasn't so much the blister but the taping restricting my movement a little and it was slipping until I fixed it. I was thinking more about that than my game early on.

"I have never won a tournament this big so I am really, really pleased. I put in a lot of work this summer with Steve Townsend, Steve Evans and Jenny Tranfield. All three have given me so much support and I am glad that I have now given something back to them.

"I am delighted to have got to the final but disappointed to have lost. I started well and felt I was playing decisively. But once I had taken the first and was up in the second I seemed to lose some momentum and she picked up the pace.

"But I gave it my best shot and I am happy as I have picked up some things to go away and work on."

While the players reviewed the on-court side, when asked about the impact of the event overall, Tomas Gudbjartsson, President of the Icelandic Squash Committee, a heart surgeon who had just come off court after rallying with Georgina Stoker, placed it in context of a sport with 1,000 players out of a population of 300,000.

"We have to compete with big sports such as soccer, handball, swimming, horse riding and so on so we need to use every opportunity to get publicity.

"For us to have foreign players coming here to show how mature the sport is in other countries, in their marrow and blood, lets us know how much more we have to go."

On the championship itself he commented, "This puts us on the map and answers the question do they really play squash there. We are proud of our country's infrastructure and maybe this publicity will help as we try to build more courts."

As for the players, he gushed, "I have been amazed at the quality of play and we have really enjoyed it.

"The girls were really polite and showed great sportsmanship. They behave like professionals without being divas! They are thankful and so easy to organise for."

And the icing on the cake came during the trophy presentations when he said "We must have them back next year!"
  

Running repairs for DLW ...

ICELAND SQUASH BACKGROUND

When Hilmar Gunnarsson was asked to provide a short history of Icelandic squash, that was all he could offer as there is no long history of squash on the North Atlantic island.

It is a story in which he is the central character as although there were two courts a little before he built his centre with partner Hafsteinn Danielsson, he was and remains the impetus in these parts.

As an exchange student in the seventies, Hilmar was in Ohio where he played racquetball. "I had a dream of opening a racquetball centre here," he explained.

He and Hafsteinn, being sports teachers operating limited hours, they needed more work. The two courts on the island were full, so having kept the dream alive for several years, he roped in his partner.

They built two wooden courts. "They were chipboard so you could put your fist through the walls!" he recalls.

When another group built five on the other side of capital city Reykjavik, they thought that their business was doomed. But a year later the opposition were knocking on the door asking him to rent their place.

They took it over, and now Veggsport Club is the pulse of Icelandic squash. "Where does the heart beat, that's the thing." It certainly does so at a healthy rate in their centre.

Fit and wiry, he actively plays and encourages. He takes the spinning classes too. And keeps everybody and everything else on the move too.

Now Hilmar hopes that a two court centre planned for Akueyri on the north of the island will go ahead as that will enable them to move towards being a national association rather than a committee in the eyes of the Icelandic Sports Council who require at least three. "That would transform us as they would then give us real financial support to add to their helpfulness now," he says.

"We are so small. Our weak spot is that we are too few players and it is difficult for us to afford to travel to other countries and get experience. We would also like to get a coach based here for several months to teach us, but that is a money and sponsorship matter too," he laments.

But if dogged pursuit of a dream counts for anything then Hilmar and those around him will realise theirs. Squash will flourish in the land of lava.

... oooh ... ouch!

28-Sep-07, Semi-Finals:                                                 Draw & Results

[3] Dominique Lloyd-Walter (Eng) bt [1] Jaclyn Hawkes (Nzl)  3/9, 3/9, 9/0, 9/6, 9/4 (89m)
[4] Sarah Kippax (Eng) bt [5] Tenille Swartz (Rsa)                 9/5, 10/8, 10/9 (47m)

Two Upsets in Icelandair Semis
WISPA reports from Reykjavik

Top seed Jaclyn Hawkes had made serene progress to the last four, but she and opponent Dominique Lloyd-Walter have a close playing history. They have met twice, both this year, with spoils shared. Lloyd-Walter had won in March at the Burning River Classic in USA, while Kiwi Hawkes levelled in the Irish Open semis a month later, winning 3/1.

Both have made it into the top WISPA world top twenty; the New Zealander securing 19th slot last month and her opponent getting up to 18 last year.

The scene was set for a close match, with the only uncertainty being the state of the English girl's ankle which she still needs to strap after a fall caused swelling less than two weeks ago.

Angular Hawkes started assuredly, in contrast with her more compact opponent who was not building rallies in her normal controlled way. The English player was very much under the cosh and destined to go down in straight games.

But the advice not to be impetuous, clearly given to her by fellow player Kirsty McPhee before the start of the third, had an instant impact. Rallies were longer, characterised by better length, patience and very good work overhead. Now it was Hawkes who was finding it difficult to develop momentum and was faltering.

A feathered overhead reverse angle boast from Lloyd-Walter secured the fourth, and with it a rush to re-dress an ugly blister.

Traffic problems led to a plethora of lets in the decider, but all the while the third seed stayed in front, not fazed by Hawkes reasoning with the referee why a preferred decision was more appropriate, nor by top seed's play as she dug in.

The ending, when it came after 89 minutes, was one of those unsatisfactory conclusions that don't allow spontaneous applause. The stroke that ended it in Lloyd-Walter’s favour was in no doubt, but the technicality that Hawkes was exploring delayed the exit.

But when she did leave the court it was as a last four loser.

"I have no answers at all at the moment. I am going to go away and rerun it. I got tense, I couldn't go for my shots in the second half of the match, and I really don't know why."

Jaclyn Hawkes
 
"Even in the fifth I didn't think I had a chance. I hadn't trained for a week because of my ankle and I wasn't confident at all. It was only at 7/4 in the 5th I began to believe I might win."
 
Dominique Lloyd-Walter

As the second semi got underway it seemed that Sarah Kippax would make it an all English final as she swept into a two game lead over Tenille Swartz. The South African looked a little heavy legged after her arduous upset quarter final win over second seed Isabelle Stoehr, but even when she fired herself up she lost the second in setting.

But despite her only having notched up twenty years, Swartz has already garnered a reputation as a fighter, so when she went 7/2 then 8/4 down in the third game there was no certainty to the outcome. With the last point always the most difficult to win, it wasn't a major shock that a comeback was mounted, but the extent of it was a surprise. Kippax contrived to go from match ball at 8/4 to 8/9 in one hand as the girl from Parys discomfited her. A heavy crosscourt drive got her back on strike though, and two more steady rallies where Swartz was left floundering at the back left the Cheshire girl in her second WISPA Tour final of the year, having lost in the Finnish Open final in March.
 

"I thought I played pretty well, trying to keep the pace up as I thought she may be a little bit tired from her match yesterday.

"Although I was pretty much in control in the first, we were level pegging in the second and winning it was crucial as I may have struggled from one all.

"The last time I played Dom was in the Irish Open and I lost 3/0 and didn't play great so I need to do better this time."

Sarah Kippax

"My legs felt quite heavy and Sarah is such a physical player and I couldn't keep up. She took me short and I struggled a bit. But I'm happy as my squash was good and coming to Iceland was a great experience."

Tenille Swartz

TEST THE WATERS ...



For a modern nation Iceland appears to have serious plumbing problems. The ground leaks ... Volcano lava emerges through carelessly unrepaired cracks in the earth ... So do hot torrents of water.

It was to one of these that the WISPA group competing in the first Icelandair Group Classic went after morning practice.

The Blue Lagoon is a pool of 40c water that has welled up from some 5,000ft under the country; arriving laden with silica, salt and other elements, making it very beneficial for the mind, body, and especially skin (so the promotion says).



So there you are, in the middle of a lunar landscape frolicking around in the waters, expecting to emerge looking ten years younger, feeling relaxed etc. Maybe a pipedream, but a really enjoyable surreal experience and definitely beneficial for aching squash joints.
  

AN INTRIGUING FINAL ...

Icelanders claim that their water is the best in the world, but even that poured over tea leaves would not help in an attempt to guess the final winner of the Icelandair event.

The only certainty is that an English winner will be crowned at the Veggsport Club tomorrow in front of an enthusiastic audience.

Dominique
Lloyd-Walter

2/9, 9/6, 9/6, 9/5 (59m)

Sarah Kippax

Tenille Swartz

27-Sep-07, Quarters:
Swartz makes Iceland Semis
 
When Ingolfur Arnason became the first settler in Iceland a few years back, actually quite a few as this was the year 874AD, he apparently termed Reykjavik ‘Smoky Bay’. He may have been referring to the wispy volcano plumes but he could also have been thinking ahead to the Icelandair Group quarter finals when some WISPA girls were really smoking!

Swartz runs down Stoehr

This did mean that others were on the receiving end though. Second seed Isabelle Stoehr was one. Tenille Swartz was not showing much interest in playing short, but a great deal of dedication in running down the variety of shots of Stoehr. Keeping her shape and a low error rate eventually took the 20 year old South African to a two game lead despite the increasingly frenetic encouragement of the other French players.

As the third game unfolded it did appear that the tide may be turning as Stoehr stepped on the gas and began to dominate rallies. Having won that one she was carried on the surge in the fourth until the she was in sight of levelling when a wobble occurred. A couple of feathered drops later she was back on level terms against an opponent who had probably run herself out.

It certainly seemed that way when Stoehr opened up a 4/0 lead in the decider. Then her pace subsided while the Swartz sails began to billow again. The hour mark was well behind her, but she was chasing down, causing errors and generally harrying as she had earlier.

Three times Stoehr gave away strokes as she hit the ball in her own general direction. With only one hand-out Swartz climbed from 1/8 to 8/4. Then she gave away her first match ball with a tired punt, only to find herself at 8/7 when the French girl regrouped. Then one of the longest straight rallies saw an eventual tinned drop offering up another match ball to the South African, which this time she took with a backhand clinger that Stoehr couldn't scrape away. 72 minutes with an edge of the seat ending.

"I shouldn't have lost the second. I was still feeling a bit flat and she controlled well. I got a bit more rhythm and did better, but during the fifth it went again. She fought really well and I couldn't find a way to get points. I thought she would be tired and give up but she didn't."



"I played her a week ago, in the British Open. It gave me an idea of what I needed to do to beat her. I knew it would be hard but I had a game plan.

"When I went two up I knew I mustn't let up as she would come hard at me. She has a really good attacking game which should beat me but I had to work really hard and not give her stuff in the air.

"When I was down in the fifth I did start panicking a bit but then I thought that I had got this far so I wasn't ever going to give up.

"I had problems getting a visa, but thank goodness I got here!"

No probs for seeds 1, 3 and 4 ...

The top seed Jaclyn Hawkes fared much better and eased through despite the game effort of Orla Noom, who didn't recover from dropping the early games this time.

Dominique Lloyd-Walter tends not to be explosive, but her steady play featuring few errors has a tendency to induce a little impatience and teases out a few injudicious stabs at winners. This was very much the format of her all English quarter final against Kirsty McPhee. A straight game win and the bonus of no problem with her ankle which had swollen after a fall on the eve of the Dunlop British Open and caused her withdrawal.

‘I was a bit worried as I didn't tape it this morning, but although it stiffened a little I massaged it and taped it for this match and it was fine’ the third string told the media.

Hawkes next for her.

After a long wait while Stoehr and Swartz were battling, fourth seed Sarah Kippax took out French number two Camille Serme to complete that country's evening of misery. Kippax was operating efficiently while her opponent was tentative in the early stages. But even when Serme started to get more into her stride and took a 6/1 lead in the third, Kippax kept asking questions, forcing Serme to retreat into a more negative mode. This proved costly as Kippax was able to catch and pass her.

The English player will now meet a surely tired Swartz.

For the losers, a trip to the famous Blue Lagoon where they will be able to bathe in the enervating hot ground water that well up in the middle of a lava field. For the winners, some practice and preparation for their semi finals. For the Icelandic squash enthusiasts, another evening of competition to savour.

Draw & Results


 

27-Sep-07, Round One:
WISPA arrives in Iceland

 
Iceland is a young island geologically ... and in squash terms too. It only began in earnest with the formation of the Veggsport Club in Reykjavik exactly twenty years ago.

The players arrived in the wet and windswept country to compete in the Icelandair Group Classic, the first WISPA Premiere Series event. The initiative encourages new events, and Iceland would certainly be a new experience for the players.

As they coached from the airport they passed a moonscape of black lava - so lunar that NASA astronauts have practiced there before being flung out of our atmosphere.

There are erupting volcanoes, Europe’s largest waterfalls, glaciers and even deserts on the North Atlantic island. This is somewhat unique; as probably is the local dish of puffin breast with blueberry sauce. Icelanders are also partial to eating pickled ram’s testicles, but that is probably a delicacy too far!

Vegg means wall, and the veggs of the four courts were being smacked with activity in the first round at the wall sports club ...

Seven Seeds Through

Seven of the seeds negotiated the initial hurdle, though Dutch sixth rated Orla Noom needed over an hour to get past French challenger Celia Allamargot. Left handed Noom found herself up against a fit, athletic opponent who was more than willing to run the ball down. The 21 year old from La Rochelle established 7/6 positions in both the 9/7 games she lost before snatching the fourth and eventually subsiding in the fifth.

Afterwards she revealed that she had been unable to play for the preceding fortnight due to a combination of a cartilage injury and an arthritic problem, both in her racket-hand wrist.

"For two weeks I did not play, only doing physical work. I tried it last weekend and it was still not good, but today I played very hard and it hurt me a lot. But I am happy, I did very well physically," Allamargot said.

Noom, meanwhile commented, "I just struggled to find a length. I was clipping the side wall and she hit some awesome winners.

"I never make it easy for myself! I seem to go one or two down, and that wasn’t a good idea before the quarters tonight!"

However, on the plus side for the French second seed Isabelle Stoehr cruised into the last eight, and was joined by 18 year old Camille Serme; the current European junior number one and victor over seventh seed Georgina Stoker from England who looked under squashed.

Iceland’s number one Rosa Jonsdottir had travelled back from Denmark to compete as the local wild card. While the physiotherapy student was dispatched by fourth seed Sarah Kippax she pronounced the trip worthwhile.

"It was very difficult. She was so mobile. When I thought I had played a very good shot she ran and got it!

"I really enjoyed it even though there was a big difference in play. Now I see what I need to do to improve," she added.

National TV had filmed their number one in her match, but have vowed to follow proceedings in later rounds. Newspapers are featuring the event and the players are looking for meals that exclude sea birds and anything suspiciously spherical!

Quarter-Final Results

Liney Halldorsdottir, General Secretary of the Icelandic National Olympic Association,
with Rosa Jonsdottir and Sarah Kippax

27-Sep, First Round Results

25-Sep-07:
WISPA Tour makes
debut in Iceland

Iceland joins the WISPA World Tour this week when the island - only 178 miles from Greenland, but part of Europe - hosts the first WISPA Premiere Series squash championship.

The Icelandair Group Classic will take place in the Icelandic capital city of Reykjavik, from 27-29 September - the first ever WISPA event on the North Atlantic island.

The WISPA Premiere Series was recently unveiled to nurture women's international squash in a new country or region.  Where it can, as in this case, WISPA will find the prize money - with the local association securing hosting costs.

With the support of Icelandair Group, Chairman of Icelandic Squash Hilmar Gunnarson looks forward to welcoming the players to Veggsport Squash Club in Reykjavik, where the players will be making every effort to integrate with local players and media as part of the ethos of Premiere Series.

New Zealand's Jaclyn Hawkes,  the 24-year-old world number 20 from Auckland, leads the $14,000 Icelandair Group Classic field, which includes players from eight countries - including Iceland's Rosa Jonsdottir.

"I am very excited about playing in Iceland this week and hopefully getting a chance to look around and see a bit of the country.

"Of all the places that I've played tournaments over the years, I would say that I'm looking forward to this experience the most.

"We always seem to get a great response from local players who enjoy being able to watch us play - and the local media who get interested too.  Let's just hope that we can impress them all enough to convince them to hold more of these tournaments in the future!"