Chris Walker's Timeless Win
June 26 2005, by Rob Dinerman
Squashtalk Independent News; © 2005 SquashTalk LLC

Walker and Grainger Take Wins in Los Angeles
Second seed Chris Walker and top seed Natalie Grainger demonstrated the skill and athleticism that has propelled each to prominence on the world pro circuit in winning the men's and women's U. S. Pro championships respectively in Los Angeles this past weekend. Sponsored by Epstein Becker & Green, this tournament has become a major stop on the United States squash circuit and that tradition grew appreciably with the performances of the two eventual champions, both of whom have reached the final round of the British Open in recent years.

For Chris Walker, age 38, who once was ranked as high as 4th in the world, it was once again an amazing display for an athlete at his age. In 2001, after his world ranking had dipped into the low 20s and he took a long, complete vacation from squash to travel around the world, he pulled off one of the most amazing revivals in PSA history when he came out of nowhere to reach the British Open Finals and came very close to a victory in the finals (see story.) This US Pro win was also amazing, as Walker has barely played in competition outside of hardball doubles for several years.

Walker, who won this event in 2001, the only prior time he has participated in it, defeated two-time (2000 and 2004) tournament winner Stefan Casteleyn 11-10[2] 11-9 5-11 11-9 by employing his classic drop/lob strategy, a tactic that has also served him admirably on the ISDA pro doubles tour, where he and right-wall partner David Kay have become a top-seven duo over the past few years. Walker's constant working of Casteleyn prevented the latter from taking the offensive and may have worn him down just enough to make the difference in the three close games that landed in the British star's column. The one exception to this trend occurred in the third game, where Walker's sharpness temporarily deserted him and Casteleyn's mid-game run of five consecutive points persuaded the former to let that game go and conserve his energy for the (barely) close-out fourth.

Though six-time and current U. S. national champion Latasha Khan played well throughout the final, especially in taking the 9-4 second stanza, Grainger's superior firepower enabled her to impose her formidable game upon the competitive scenario. She has slimmed down considerably, a tribute to the strenuous training sessions she has adopted in recent months, and when she is hitting and moving as well as she was in California, she is capable of defeating (and in fact HAS defeated) every top-ranked woman in the world. Like Walker she suffered a slight mid-match lapse but like Walker she was able to regain command over a praiseworthy but out-gunned opponent en route to the 2005 U. S. Pro title.

Khan's final-round Nationals opponent the past two years, Meredeth Quick, has by now firmly established herself as the No. 1 contender to Khan's reign, having dominated the several matches she has played this past 2004-2005 season against other highly ranked Americans like Louisa Hall, Shabana Khan and Lily Lorentzen, and she mowed down Shabana 9-0, 0 and 1 in the third-place playoff in their fourth meeting of the season, all of which have gone in straight games to Quick. Karim Yehia won three close games against Patrick Chifunda in the men's three/four match.

Sunday Recap

Men's Final: Chris Walker d Stefan Casteleyn, 11-10 [2] 11-9 5-11 11-9 Women's Final: Natalie Grainger d Latasha Khan, 9-4 4-9 9-4 9-0

Men's 3rd place match: Karim Yehia d Patrick Chifunda, 11-8, 9 and 8.
Women's 3rd place match: Meredeth Quick d Shabana Khan, 9-0, 0 and 1.

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