Carla Khan, Naude Get Big Wins
Sept 4, 2004, Howard Harding; SquashTalk Independent News Service © 2004;

Carla Khan (foreground) hung tough to defeat Jenny Duncalf. photo © 2004 Ricardo Lazaro.

Duncalf falters in five games

Carla Khan, member of the Azam Khan clan, scored a possibly breakthrough win when she upset the form book in the quarter-finals of the Women's Sports World Mexican Open Squash Championship and triumphed in five games over England's second seed Jenny Duncalf in Mexico City.

London-born Carla, the world #22 player, fought back from a game down against her higher-ranked opponent to take a 2/1 lead. But Duncalf, the world No12 from Yorkshire who has just been selected to make her England debut in this month's World Team Championships in Amsterdam, reasserted her authority on the match to draw level.

In the closely-contested decider, sixth seed Khan edged ahead to claim her notable 4-

Annelize Naude upset Stephanie Brind. photo © 2004 Ricardo Lazaro.

9 9-4 9-6 3-9 9-7 victory - and a place in the semi-finals against seventh seed Annelize Naude. The Amsterdam-based Naude scored a notable upset over an English player when she beat third-seeded Stephanie Brind 8-10 9-6 10-8 9-7.

The other semi-final will be the encounter predicted by the seedings, when top seed Vanessa Atkinson takes on Scotland's fourth seed Pamela Nimmo. Atkinson, the world No3 from the Netherlands, beat last week's Global Diamond Open winner Latasha Khan, of the USA, 9-6 9-7 9-5, while Nimmo needed four games to overcome Egypt's eighth seed Engy Kheirallah 9-6 9-4 5-9 9-1.

RESULTS: Women's Sports World Mexican Open Squash Championship, Mexico City, Mexico

Quarter-finals:
[1] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt [5] Latasha Khan (USA) 9-6, 9-7, 9-5
[4] Pamela Nimmo (SCO) bt [8] Engy Kheirallah (EGY) 9-6, 9-4, 5-9, 9-1
[7] Annelize Naude (NED) bt [3] Stephanie Brind (ENG) 8-10, 9-6, 10-8, 9-7
[6] Carla Khan (PAK) bt [2] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) 4-9, 9-4, 9-6, 3-9, 9-7

Squashtalk.com All materials © 1999-2004. Communicate with us at info@squashtalk.com.
Published by Squashtalk LLC, 409 Massachusetts Ave, Suite 102, Acton, MA 01720 USA, Editor and Publisher Ron Beck,
Graphics editor Debra Tessier Send comments, ideas, contributions and feedback to the webmaster.
Copyright © 1999-2004 SquashTalk, all rights reserved, may not be reproduced in any form except for one-time personal use.