[Main Draw]

MANETTA MAKES PROGRESS AT EPSTEIN, BAKER AND GREEN EVENT

Manuela Manetta reached the Los Angeles semis. (photo © Debra Tessier )

Manuela Manetta edged second seed Samantha Teran yesterday afternoon in the quarterfinal round of the Epstein Becker & Green Los Angeles Open in the most noteworthy result of the tournament so far. Manetta and Teran have both been steadily climbing the WISPA rankings during the past year, and on this occasion the young Italian standout was able to persevere through a taut 9-7 fourth game against her Mexican opponent, in the process avenging the four-game defeat she had suffered at Teran's hands in Dayton this past January.

All of the excitement on Friday came in the draw’s bottom half, as up top No. 1 seed Natalie Grainger swiftly subdued Runa Reta and fourth seed Lauren Briggs somewhat surprisingly did the same to seven-time U. S. National champion Latasha Khan, who was surprisingly compliant throughout her 9-5, 3 and 2 defeat.

In the lone remaining quarter, third seed Raneem El Weleily, the teenage Egyptian whose sweet stroke production have propelled her rise up the charts, out-lasted Joshna Chinappa, 10-8 in the fourth. It was the second close match in as many days for the latter, who in the round of 16 won both the fourth and fifth games by 9-7 tallies to complete her upset win over Aisling Blake.

Briggs seems to be near the top of her game this week, buttressing her well-known tenacity with solid execution as well, qualities she will definitely need later this afternoon to combat Grainger’s fearsome firepower. In the other semi, Manetta will have to maintain the level she demonstrated against Teran when she takes on El Weleily. As noted, both women eked out exhausting victories in their respective matches yesterday, and today’s encounter may hinge on which player is better able to recover from their testing quarterfinal battles when they meet this afternoon.

QUARTERFINAL RESULTS: [MAIN DRAW]
[1] Natalie Grainger (USA) d [8] Runa Reta (CAN) 9-1, 9-0 9-3
[4] Lauren Briggs (ENG) d [5] Latasha Khan (USA) 9-5, 9-3 9-2
[3] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) d Joshna Chinappa (IND) 9-0 9-6 4-9 10-8
[6] Manuela Manetta (ITA) d [2] Samantha Teran (MEX) 9-4 6-9 9-3 9-7