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Owens Emphasizes Dominance

By Howard Harding © 2003; [draw/results] all rights of reproduction reserved.
June 9, 2003 

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Carol Owens corrected the anomaly which saw her slip to No2 in the women's world squash rankings at the beginning of June by snapping up her second WISPA World Tour title of the month in convincing style in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada.

The New Zealander's 9-5 9-1 9-5 defeat of Australian Rachael Grinham, the world No3, in the final of the Women's Hurghada International restores the number of events in which she has competed over the past year to the required minimum of eight - enough to ensure that the 32-year-old from Auckland will reclaim the world No1 slot in the July list.

It was the pair's third meeting in a WISPA event final in little more than two weeks, and the third successive commanding straight games victory by Owens, who now extends her unbeaten Tour run to 29 matches since last November.

Just as she had done seven days earlier in the Heliopolis Open final in Cairo, fourth seed Grinham set out her stall in the first game - buzzing round the court like an annoying little fly which could not be swatted away. Although she had lost in Egypt, the Australian had extended Owens as the match progressed. But the former world champion has the facility to soak up punishment until the challenge has diminished.

It happened this way in Hurghada. After 17 minutes, two Grinham drops caressed the top of the tin to give the top seed the opening game. The second was equally combative but this time Grinham only gained a single point as Owens moved into a 2-0 lead.

The diminutive Australian, now based in Cairo, had clearly decided that the time for defence was over and came out all guns blazing in the third. Before the 2000 world champion had adjusted, she found herself 0-5 down. Owens' resilience began to kick in and, despite having to survive a series of stomach wrenching boasts hit from all parts of the court, slowly began to reassert her authority.

From 0-5 down it soon became 9-5 up - and the title was in the New Zealander's hands after 37 minutes.

"I am going to have to go home and keep working on my fitness to stay ahead of Rachael," said Owens afterwards, though it is clear that her sheer athleticism is already a great strength alongside her placement skills.

Queenslander Grinham's disappointment was mixed with joy: "I am not so much disappointed with the result, just that I didn't play as well as last week. But taken with Qatar, these have been some of the best results of my life."

Based in Cairo for over two years now, Grinham was hoping to give the Hurghada fans their first 'local' win. As the 26-year-old Aussie admitted: "I was ranked eight when I arrived, now I am three. Cairo works for me."

RESULTS: Women's Hurghada International Squash Championship, Hurghada, Egypt

Finals:
[1] Carol Owens (NZL) bt [4] Rachael Grinham (AUS) 9-5 9-1 9-5

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