Chinappa, Lorentzen Advance
July 23, 2005, by Martin Bronstein, Bloso Sports, Herentals Belgium
Squashtalk Independent News; © 2005 SquashTalk LLC

Lily Lorentzen beats Sally Looi (photo proeventfotos.com)

WOMEN’S JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPS BELGIUM FOURTH ROUND SATURDAY JULY 23 2005

NO TEST FOR CHINAPPA
Joshna Chinappa walked off the court after winning her fourth round match barely breathing hard and not a drop of sweat in sight. No that she had played that well – in fact the standard in the first game was lamentable and hardly improved in the next two games.

For a number one seed to play that untidily does not bode well for the final rounds but the great Chris Robertson – here as the Welsh coach and manager – did not put too much importance in to Chinappa’s lackadaisical performance. “She’s the sort of player who plays as well as she has to – she rises to the opposition,” he told me.

My reaction was that she had better do just that.

The Blaso all-glass court (photo © 2005 Martin Bronstein)

She and her opponent, Siti Munirah Jusoh of India, opened the fourth round action on the glass court and played passable club squash. Short rallies, little strategy and minimum effort. Both could not play a decent length to save the IOC ( who would want to?)

Jusoh ran to a 6-2 lead and then fell apart allowing Chinappa a run of seven points in one hand to take the seven minute game. This ain’t the way you win world titles.

They settled down in the second game and although Chinappa won 9-4, the score is flattering: she had to fight through 32 rallies to win the game. At 7-2 the serve changed hands seven times before Chinappa reached game point and then there were another seven rallies before she took the ten minute game.

After that effort Miss Jusoh retired mentally and lost the third game 1-9 in four minutes and thirty seconds.

THE EGYPTIAN FORCE CONTINUES

Joshna Chinappa needs to up the focus (photo © 2005 Martin Bronstein)

There was no way that Joelle King of New Zealand was going to beat the experienced and highly talented Egyptian Sara Badr. The magic Egyptian squash gene is alive and well in Miss Badr – who has a face that could launch a thousand Helen of Troys. She has incredibly fast hands and reads the game instinctively. She know exactly where to put the ball when her opponent is slightly out of position, although she did put an awful lot of balls down the middle of the court, perhaps confident that her opponent was not going to do much with them. Badr plays the game as though born to it: confident on court never seeming to have think what to do. King is not a bad player – she knew how to play the basic game very well but she simply could not handle the Badr short game – disguised boasts and drops from all over the court.

Badr won the first two games 9-3 and 9-2 but King, instead of falling away, fought even harder in the third game, taking a 4-0 lead and making Baddr earn every one of her points in fighting back to level at 5-5 and then, as suspected pushing home 9-6 to win the 29 minute match.

LOCAL GIRL MAKES VERY GOOD
Belgium has never had a world champion and so the weight of a nation rests on the shoulders of Charlie de Ryke, seeded three. She has picked up some fine tournament wins recently and her six years of tutelage under Shawn Moxham (David Palmer’s coach) has paid remarkable dividends.

She came on court in her match against the tiny Egyptian Heba Ahmed and demonstrated just how a champion should play. She crushed Ahmed 9-0 inside four minutes. Now just remember, Ahmed had knocked out the English seeded player in the previous round, so she is not a punch bag. She was obviously nervous and settled down to make more of a game of it in the second game. De Ryke is good: she moves well, she hits the ball beautifully and has a real feel for putting in the boast at unexpected times. You don’t normally expect to outshoot an Egyptian player, but time and time again de Ryke’s boasts found Ahmed standing flatfooted by the T. She took the second game 9-5 in five minutes and the third 9-2 in under six minutes. Charlie was not too happy with the ease of the match.

“I could not get into my rhythm,” she told me. She also said that her strengths were taking the ball early and keeping up a high pace. That is just part of the story. Her coach, Moxham said she played well but refused to name the ultimate winner.

“All the top four have a chance. The danger is Raneem el Weleily.”

On the showing today Miss de Ryke must be a very hot favourite.

SOUTH AFRICAN EFFICIENCY
We finally had some semblance of a fight when Tenille Swartz of South Africa played France’s Camille Serme. They were well match for the most part but Swartz finally showed much greater determination than her opponent. Serme had the upper hand in the first game and stood at game point 8-7, but Swartz upped her effort and fought like hell to save the game. Her effort was unsuccessful, losing 9-7, but from that moment on she had the gained the upper hand using a disguised cross court volley to finish off rallies with style.

She got in to top gear and never let up with her willingness to fight every point. Itgy was too much for her opponent and Swartz took the next three games by the same score 9-3.

On this showing she could make the semis. On thing is certain, regardless who she meets of the top four seeds, she will make them fight for every point. Her quarter-final opponent will be another Egyptian, Nehal Yehia, who beat the tiny 15 year old Malaysian Low Wee Wern to earn her place in the quarters.

I had an interest in this match: four years ago when this tournament took place in Penang (where I had a suit made in 48hrs by a company called ‘Funny Tailors’ which still makes me look terrific), I heard about this 11 year wunderkind by the name of Low Wee Wern and challenged her to a game. She came on court and dropped me to defeat. It was a match that brought on more laughs than cheers.

She is number two in the Malaysian team and even though is now 15, she still needs height and strength to make the most of her wonderful racket skills.

She lost the first game 1-9 through sheer nerves but then started to show her skills in the second, moving around the court with ease and pushing Yehia all the way to lead and serve for the game twice. Yehia saved them and then went on to win the 16 minutes game – one of the longest of the day – 10-9 and then take the third 9-1.

two game balls and then lead 9-8. Yehia stuck in a couple of winners to win the game and then take the third game 9-1.

Low Wee Wern will certainly be in the top four seeds in two years time. Whether she will follow in the footsteps of Nicol David is another matter.

LORENTZEN ABSORBS THE DELAYS AND WINS IN THREE
The sole surviving American, Lily Lorentzen showed real class and maturity in beating Sally Looi of Malaysia. There was no doubt that Lily was the better player but she was troubled by Looi’s ‘slow’ tactics and did not get into her full game until the third game.

Lorentzen, like Jonathon Power, likes to get on with the game; not nervous ticks or habits when it comes time to serve or receive – just get on with it. Looi likes to twiddle her racket when waiting for the serve and just when Lorentzen thought she was ready, she would twiddle it again.

The first game was tight and Lorentzen did everything right except kill the ball. Her volley drops were six feet high and the fleet footed Looi had ample time to get to the ball and do what she wanted with it.

Lorentzen led 8-4 and could not do anything to stop Looi’s comeback to win the game 10-8. In the second game it was all Lorentzen: great length, good shot selection and fast on to any short stuff that Looi tried. The game was over 9-2 in six minutes, but I still thought she lacked the killer touch – a glaring deficiency.

Lorentzen corrected this mis-judgment of mine very quickly at the start of the third game when she hit three superb backhand drop shots on the way to a 4-0 lead. She now had full confidence and there was very little Loois could do to prevent Lorentzen taking the game 9-4 to end the 37 minute match.

After the match Lorentzen admitted that the slow tactics of her opponent had put her off.

“But my game plan was to put pressure on her all the time and put her in the back corners. I was over- thinking my kill shots in the first two games and wasn’t confident but in the third game I was hitting them well,” she told me.

Lorentzen will now have to play Raneem el Weleily in the quarters, a player she has never met before. It should be a most interesting meeting.

WORLD JUNIOR WOMEN’S CHAMPS
FOURTH ROUND RESULTS.
Joshnia Chinappa (IND) bt Siti Munirah Jusoh (MAS) 9-6, 9-4, 9-1 (24mins)
Joey Chan (HKG) bt Shin Nga Leung (HKG) 9-7, 9-0, 9-6 (33mins)
Sara Badre (EGY) bt Joelle King (NZ) 9-3, 9-2, 9-6 (29mins)
Charlie de Ryke (BEL) bt Heba Ahmed (EGY) 9-0, 9-5, 9-2 (18 mins)
Tenille Swartz (RSA) bt Camille Serme (FRA) 7-9, 9-3, 9-3, 9-3. (37mins)
Nehal Yehia (EGY) bt Wee Wern Low (MAS) 9-1, 10-8, 9-1 (34 mins)
Lily Lorentzen (USA) bt Sally Looi (MAS) 10-8 9-2 9-4 (37 mins)
Raneem el Eleily (EGY) bt Ka Kei Chiu (HKG) 9-6, 9-0, 9-6 (24 mins)

Lily Lorentzen beats Sally Looi (photo proeventfotos.com)

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