Sharon Wee in NYC
SHE CAPS A STRONG WEEKENDS WORK IN THE HYDER
[Men's Draw / Resuts] [Women's Draw/Result]

By Alec Decker for Squashtalk © 2003; all rights of reproduction reserved.
May 18, 2003 

Sharon Wee the first WISPA Hyder Trophy winner, photo © 2003 Debra Tessier for Squashtalk

With the pioneer of softball squash in the USA, Dr. O. Quentin Hyder on hand, Sharon Wee from Malaysia made history, becoming the first champion of the new WISPA version of the Hyder Trophy Tournament. In winning the event, Wee joins a number of illustrious women's winners, including the incomparable American champion Alicia McConnell.

The final of the CJSquash.com Hyder Women's Open seemed to be decided by the third game.

WEE EXHIBITS ABILITY TO DOMINATE
Wee won the first game in dominant fashion. She came out radiating energy and used powerful strokes to put Alison Waters in the corners and under constant pressure. Waters was able to win the second rally of the game, and also managed a hand-out at 8-0, but lost every other rally, as the experienced Wee stayed away from Waters' weaponry.

A ROLE REVERSAL

Alison Waters after a nervous start took over in the second game. photo © 2003 Debra Tessier for Squashtalk

Wee was forced to run more in the first exchange of points in game two than she had in the entire first game. Nonetheless, after Waters managed a 1-0 lead after the 3rd rally, Wee was able to scrape together a string of well-managed rallies to take a
5-1 lead, and it appeared that Waters might have difficultly breaking through the incessantly well-dictated points by Wee.

Perhaps Wee felt the same way, and lost some concentration, as from one
point to the next, Wee went from commanding the momentum to being jerked around the court as if on a string. 9 rallies later, with the score 8-5 in favor of Waters, Wee managed one more hand-out before Waters put the game away with a series of hard-low rails, deep drives and precise drops that seemed to put Wee off her balance which throughout the tournament had been one of her great strengths.

Coming back on court, the crowd of 80 at the beautiful Sports Club/LA in New York City anticipated what looked to be a very pivotal game, and was not disappointed. It was 4 rallies before Waters scored the first point, then back to 1-all and then Waters
ahead 2-1 for another 6 rallies. At that point, Waters' concentration seemed to falter, as perhaps the long rallies and all-court play began to take a toll on both players. Their speed on court seemed not to flag, but Waters' shot selection and a few unforced errors put Wee up by a commanding 6-2 score before Waters woke from the coming nightmare. Seeming to know that this was a must-win game, Waters bore down and played an agressive and energetic series of points which put Wee back on the defensive and extracted a few forced errors from Wee, but never broke her.

Sharon Wee closes out the third game. photo © 2003 Debra Tessier for Squashtalk

Five rallies later, with the score knotted at 7-all, was where the battle for this match would be decided. Both players appeared to know this, and put on an extra burst of energy, getting to balls which appeared hopelessly out of reach, and exchanging agressive rallies which lasted half as long again as any the previous two games had seen. Wee managed to take the next point, going up 8-7, game-ball, after 3 rallies, but was unable to do more, as handouts were exchanged for the next 8 rallies.

CRITICAL JUNCTURE IN A SEESAW GAME
Waters used some impressive shot-making under incredible pressure to win points which at times seemed fated to Wee. Wee fought back each rally with brilliantly managed points, forcing Waters to make her shots from extended positions. On the 9th rally, with the crowd expecting fate to push things to a tie-breaker as poetic justice for such a hard-fough and exciting game, Wee managed that final point, taking the game 9-7 to a huge ovation from the spectators.

It seemed that Waters' spirit and fitness might hold out, as she battled at 0-2 down early in the fourth and final game, but it was only delaying the Wee's purposefull march to the CJSquash.com Hyder Women's Open Championship.

Alison Waters on the ropes. photo © 2003 Debra Tessier for Squashtalk

In the flashes of brilliant play, Waters appears to be a rising talent. Her quickness, powerful drives, and impressive movement technique bode well for her
advancement up the ranks of the WISPA tour. In earlier rounds, She was able to dominate for entire games at a time, and was unfazed by her opponents
strenths. It appeared, however, that when she came up against a seasoned and disciplined opponent like Wee, that her ability to win turned on whether she would be
able to concentrate and keep to her game plan, and manage her unforced errors - which were her game's primary fault.

Wee's victory at the oldest international squash tournament, and the premiere annual squash event for the New York Metropolitan SRA, seemed to be a fitting conclusion to an excellent weekend of squash. Players and fans alike were already talking about returning for next year's edition!

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