WORLD SQUASH
NEWS RESULTS: Valid Dutch Squash Open, Maastricht, Netherlands Men's final: [7] James Willstrop (ENG) bt Tommy Berden (NED) 15-11, 10-15, 15-9, 15-5 Women's final: [4] Natalie Grinham (AUS) bt [1] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) 9-6, 9-5, 4-9, 9-4 Grinham & Willstrop Dash Dutch Hopes England's James Willstrop and Australia's Natalie Grinham dashed hopes of local successes in the Valid Dutch Squash Open with four-game victories over Dutch national champions Tommy Berden and Vanessa Atkinson, respectively, in Maastricht. Willstrop, the 20-year-old world junior champion from Pontefract in Yorkshire who is ranked 34 in the world, beat Berden 15-11 10-15 15-9 15-5 to lay claim to a place within the PSA world top 30 rankings. Surprisingly, seventh-seeded Willstrop - who beat three qualifiers en-route to the final - secured his third PSA Tour title in Maastricht without coming up against a higher-seeded player. The women's final was almost an all-Netherlands affair as Queenslander Natalie Grinham, the world No7, has been based in Almere for several years. Fourth seed Grinham upset regular training partner Atkinson, the top seed ranked a single place higher in the WISPA rankings, 9-6 9-5 4-9 9-4 to claim the third WISPA World Tour title of her career, and her third this year.
|