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[1] Natalie Grainger (Usa) bt [4] Lauren Briggs (Eng)
       9/1, 9/0, 9/6 (27m)
[3] Raneem El Weleily (Egy) bt [6] Manuela Manetta (Ita)
       9/4, 9/5, 9/3 (27m)

It's the first and third seeds who will contest the final at the LAAC after Natalie Grainger and Raneem El Weleily recorded comprehensive semi-final wins ...
   

Focus on LA #4

[3] Raneem El Weleily (Egy) bt [6] Manuela Manetta (Ita)
       9/4, 9/5, 9/3 (27m)

Raneem's magic prevails

It was a fair bet that world junior champion Raneem El Weleily needed to, and would, play better than in yesterday's quarter-final. There were unlikely to be any quick rallies against Manuela Manetta unless the Egyptian could find winning shots, and in the end that's just what she did.

Manuela didn't play badly, not at all, but in today's Raneem she found an opponent who was willing and able to run and retrieve just as much as she was, but who had an arsenal of winning shots to boot.

When a player wins a point with a particularly good shot I mark my notes with a tick, and Raneem got six ticks in the first game alone, underlining the fact that it was Raneem who won the game, very unlike yesterday when she was gifted the first.

The magic disappeared at the start of the second as Manuela led 5/0, but it soon returned as Raneem started picking off loose shots with her trademark volleys and drops.

Manuela rallied at the start of the third too - five handouts followed by a 3/0 lead for the Italian, but she just couldn't match Raneem's efficiency in putting the ball away, and in just under half an hour it was all over.

“I played much better today, I had to. Never mind the score, that was really tough.

“Manuela never gives up and she’s getting better and better every day, I’ve watched her results improving.”



“I went through patches of playing well, good lengths and consistent, but as soon as I got a bit loose she would be onto it. I started the games well then kept losing my good length and she took over.

“She’s so talented, I started feeling a bit tired by the end but she played really well. Still, reaching the semis is a good result for me, one step at a time …”

[1] Natalie Grainger (Usa) bt [4] Lauren Briggs (Eng)
       9/1, 9/0, 9/6 (27m)

Grainger marches on

Another mighty impressive performance from the top seed. Lauren Briggs played really well yesterday, but today she just wasn't given the opportunity to display her undoubted skill, either in attack or defence.

Natalie Grainger came out firing, taking the ball early, pummeling it into the back corners and picking off anything loose with volleys and drops.

There was a glimmer of hope for Lauren as she led 3/1 in the third, but Natalie soon stopped that little rot with a run of seven points to reach match ball. Lauren picked up another trio of points to make the scoreline more respectable, but it never looked like being enough.

The tick count for the two winning semi-finalists was pretty even, so it should be an exciting youth v experience final ...
 

“Very happy with that. High concentration, put the ball where I wanted it to go, mixed up the pace. If you meet those targets you can’t go far wrong.

“Lauren’s improved over the last year and played really well yesterday so I wanted to come out hard and fast and I did just that. I lost to her last time we played when I wasn’t fully fit, so it’s nice to put that one right.

“I’ve never played Raneem before, but she’s really talented. It feels like watching a little mini-me out there with that backhand volley of here. It’s going to be fun watching her develop, but not just yet …”

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