Khan Advances, Patrick over Former Teammate Reta
May 7 2004 By Rob Dinerman, SquashTalk Independent News Service © 2004 
[Qualifying Results Complete]     [Hyder Trophy Main Draw]

In the North American quarter of the draw Latasha Khan took the US spot against Meredith Quick.. (Photo © 2004 Debra Tessier)

Five-time and current U. S. National champion Latasha Khan consolidated her supremacy among American women squash players by defeating Meredeth Quick, the only other American to make the main draw and Khan's Nationals final-round opponent both in '02 and this past March, by a decisive score of 9-5, 1 and 3. Quick held even to 4-all in the opening game, but a swift four-point run put Khan in control of that game and she never looked back.

Khan will now face Katie Patrick this evening at the host Sports Club/LA at 5 o'clock in the first of the evening's four quarter-final matches. Patrick posted a four-game round-of-16 win yesterday afternoon over her former University of Pennsylvania teammate Runa Reta, the fourth seed, who as a senior last season reached the final of the '03 Intercollegiate Individual championships at Trinity. The two jockeyed back and forth near the top of the Penn line-up during their one overlapping season, 1999-2000, when Penn won the national team title for the only time in the history of the women's program.

Latasha Khan is looking very fit. (Photo © 2004 Debra Tessier)

They also jockeyed back and forth for control of this match, whose undulating 6-9 9-1 10-8 9-2 graph accurately points up the changes in momentum that occurred during much of their 64-minute struggle. After getting hammered in the second game following her hard-fought first-game win, Reta rebounded in the pivotal third game, but losing the tiebreaker session that concluded that game seemed to take everything out of her. She was listless in the fourth game, while Patrick, sensing the very real opportunity for an upset over her higher-ranked Canadian compatriot, forcefully attacked the ball and built up her lead.

By the end, Reta was too far behind to realistically catch up and too deflated to seriously attempt to do so.

Katie Patrick broke fellow Canadian Runa Reta to face Latasha Khan in the quarters. (Photo © 2004 Debra Tessier)

Only two of the other six first-round matches exceeded the three-game minimum. Lauren Briggs of England had a tin-filled letdown in the second game of her 3-1 victory over the Engy Kheirallah, the graceful 22-year-old Egyptian, whose bid for the third game dell just short at 9-7 before the convincing 9-2 fourth. And in the adjoining court Melissa Martin and Carla Khan engaged in what might have been the match of the day due to the physical mid-court play and intermittent stretches of brilliance from both players.

The last time they met was several months ago in the final round of the Ottawa Open, which Khan had prevailed in five exciting games. The latter has a consistent grind-it-out style which contrasts noticeably with the dynamism that infuses Martin's game when she is "on." This was certainly the situation in the opening segment of the first game, when she buried four consecutive winners, all of different shot, to smartly move out 4-0. But, as would happen throughout the match, this spurt would be immediately followed by a ragged period marked by unforced and/or impatient tins and a seeming loss of concentration. In this case her lapse enabled Khan to embark on a 6-0 run and an eventual 9-5 first-game win.

Carla Khan (front) had a tough match against Michelle Martin. (Photo © 2004 Debra Tessier)

Martin dominated the 9-3 second game, highlighted by several of the half-dozen unplayable cross-court drop backhand serve winners during the match that she lashed in spectacular fashion directly into the nick. She was also applying substantial pressure with her backhand drives and cross courts, hit with a degree of pace that belies her slender frame and the fact that she often hits them off her back leg. Khan possesses far less firepower and she was in retreat through most of that game.
But the match then did a major about-face right away in the third game, with Khan sprinting away to a 9-1 victory. She then rallied from 2-5 to 8-5 in the fourth in just three hands, but a daring Martin drop-shot winner at match-ball got her going again and she courageously closed to 7-8. The match could have gone in any direction at that point, as Khan seemed flustered by the evaporation of almost her entire lead and Martin's eyes had regained their fire.

But the match ended in anti-climatic fashion, as a Martin lob drifted just out of court on the left wall, and she then tinned a forehand drop shot when she seemed to change her mind about what shot to hit at the last instant on an open ball.
A relieved Khan will now face Jenny Tranfield, a 9-1, 0 and 0 winner over Denmark's Line Hansen. In the other bottom-half quarter, second seed Shelley Kitchen, a 9-0, 0 and 4 winner last night over qualifier Sarah Kippax, will play her Kiwi compatriot Tamsyn Leevey, who beat Rebecca Botwright three games to love. Top seed Fiona Geaves, also a 3-0 winner over qualifier Judith Casbolt, will oppose her fellow British countrywoman Briggs in the remaining quarter-final. The semis are Saturday at 1 and 2 o'clock, with the final set for early Sunday afternoon.

Lauren Briggs upset Engy Kheirallah. (Photo © 2004 Debra Tessier)

Summary Of First Round [complete draw]

Fiona Geaves def. Judith Casbolt, 9-3, 9-4,9 -2
Lauren Briggs def. Engy Kheirallah, 9-3, 2-9, 9-7,9-2
Latasha Khan def. Meredeth Quick 9-5, 9-1, 9-3
Katie Patrick def. Runa Reta, 6-9, 9-1,10-8, 9-2
Carla Khan def. Melissa Martin, 9-5, 3-9, 9-1, 9-7
Jenny Tranfield def. Line Hansen 9-1, 9-0, 9-0
Tamsyn Leevey def. Rebecca Botwright, 9-4, 9-2, 9-5
Shelley Kitchen def. Sarah Kippax, 9-0, 9-0, 9-4

Fiona Geaves (front) controlled a hard hitting Judith Casbolt. (Photo © 2004 Debra Tessier)

#1 seed Fiona Geaves played with confidence. (Photo © 2004 Debra Tessier)

#2 seed Shelley Kitchen sent qualifier Sarah Kippax home. (Photo © 2004 Debra Tessier)

Jenny Tranfield was spot on this evening. (Photo © 2004 Debra Tessier)

Line Hansen (right) was overwhelmed by a no nonsence Jenny Tranfield. (Photo © 2004 Debra Tessier)

Rebecca Botwright (right) couldn't convert her serves into points tonight against Tamsyn Leevey. (Photo © 2004 Debra Tessier)

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