WORLD SQUASH NEWS

RESULTS: Credit Suisse Privilege Women's World Open Squash Championship, Hong Kong

1st round:
[1] Carol Owens (NZL) bt [Q] Carla Khan (PAK) 9-2, 9-6, 9-3 (24m)
[11] Vicky Botwright (ENG) bt [Q] Engy Kheirallah (EGY) 9-5, 9-6, 5-9, 9-1 (46m)
[7] Natalie Grinham (AUS) bt [Q] Vicky Lankester (ENG) 9-0, 9-0, 9-3 (26m)
[12] Stephanie Brind (ENG) bt Latasha Khan (USA) 9-7, 9-4, 9-4 (20m)
[3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [Q] Alison Waters (ENG) 9-3, 9-1, 9-2 (26m)
[10] Jenny Tranfield (ENG) bt Pamela Nimmo (SCO) 9-0, 9-2, 9-1 (24m)
[6] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt [Q] Wendy Maitland (SCO) 9-2, 9-2, 9-4 (23m)
[9] Rebecca Macree (ENG) bt Rebecca Chiu (HKG) 9-7, 9-5, 7-9, 9-4 (69m)
Madeline Perry (IRL) bt [16] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) 9-7, 9-5, 9-2 (32m)
[5] Linda Charman (ENG) bt Annelize Naude (NED) 9-1, 9-2, 9-4 (23m)
[15] Shelley Kitchen (NZL) bt [Q] Tamsyn Leevey (NZL) 9-1, 9-2, 9-4 (20m)
[4] Cassie Jackman (ENG) bt Sharon Wee (MAS) 9-7, 4-9, 9-7, 9-5 (31m)
[13] Fiona Geaves (ENG) bt [Q] Kim Hannes-Teunen (BEL) 9-5, 9-1, 9-1 (22m)
Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) bt [8] Tania Bailey (ENG) 4-9, 0-4 ret.
Nicol David (MAS) bt [14] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) 9-0, 9-2, 9-3 (20m)
[2] Natalie Grainger (USA) bt [Q] Laura Lengthorn (ENG) 9-5, 9-7, 9-1 (27m)

Bailey & Duncalf Crash Out Of World Open

English seeds Tania Bailey and Jenny Duncalf crashed out of the Credit Suisse Privilege Women's World Open Squash Championship, beaten by unseeded opposition in today's (Tuesday) first round action in Hong Kong.

Bailey, the eighth seed, was forced to stop when leading Isabelle Stoehr of France 9-0 and 4-0, after a severe accidental racket blow to the bridge of her nose left her bleeding and disorientated.  After an extended break, the world No14 from Stamford in Lincolnshire said: "I feel sick and my legs won't stop shaking.  All I want to do is go to bed."  The 24-year-old was rushed to hospital with breathing problems and was thought likely to need stitches.

By contrast, 16th seed Duncalf went down tamely 9-7 9-5 9-2 in 32 minutes to Ireland's unseeded Madeline Perry.  Duncalf, 21, from Yorkshire, had been enjoying a good run on the WISPA World Tour, rising ten places in two months to a world No12 ranking.

Stoehr, 24, from Tours, progresses to a second round match against England's 13th seed Fiona Geaves, who today defeated Belgian qualifier Kim Hannes-Teunen 9-5 9-1 9-1 in 22 minutes, while 26-year-old Perry, from Banbridge, faces England's fifth seed Linda Charman.

At the bottom of the draw Natalie Grainger, the second seed from the USA, removed English qualifier Laura Lengthorn 9-5 9-7 9-1 in 27 minutes.  The recently-crowned Qatar Classic champion will face unseeded Nicol David, the former World Junior Champion from Malaysia, who defeated reigning World Junior Champion Omneya Abdel Kawy, the 14th seed from Egypt, 9-0 9-2 9-3 in 20 minutes.

Local star Rebecca Chiu, the diminutive world No17 from Hong Kong, started brilliantly against Rebecca Macree of England in the longest match of the day.  On her home showcourt at the Hong Kong Squash Centre, Chiu advanced to a 7-1 lead in the first game, but sacrificed the early advantage to lose 9-7 9-5 7-9 9-4 in 69 minutes.  The Asian Games champion was knocked off her stride by a racket clip to the left ear as the profoundly deaf ninth seed fought determinedly back to 7-7, collecting a warning for aggressive pushing along the way.  Chiu was granted three minutes rest time to recover from the discomfort, but spent most of the time preoccupied with the lost lead.

"I was angry and crying a bit," she admitted. "My mind was all over the place when I went back on.  I just could not hit a proper length, which meant Macree was always able to force the pace against me."
She was 0-6 down in the second when Macree attracted a conduct stroke for pushing that brought the home player back into the match with two points gained from the incident. A similar double-point refereeing decision at 7-7 in the third game actually ended the game in Chiu's favour, but she could not maintain the break-back as Macree settled into more disciplined style for the fourth game.

Official website: www.worldsquashopen.com/