[ Complete draw & results ]

Duncalf Upsets Atkinson to Reach Weymuller Final

Trailing two games to one and 7-2 in both the fourth and fifth games, fifth seed Jenny Duncalf rallied in each case for an improbable 2-9 9-3 2-9 9-7 9-7 victory last night over No. 3 seed Vanessa Atkinson in the semifinal round of the Weymuller Open, held as always in Brooklyn Heights. Duncalf will now face top seed and ’04 champion Natalie Grainger, who barely lost a memorable five-game final a year ago to Rachel Grinham, and who maintained full control throughout her 9-4, 1 and 3 semi with Shelley Kitchen.

It was the second route-going upset win in as many matches for Duncalf, who had blitzed second seed Vicky Botwright 9-2 in the fifth game of their quarter on Friday. Duncalf and Atkinson have engaged each other in fierce struggles in this event in the past – four years ago, after dropping the opening pair of games in the quarters, Duncalf won the third and had game-ball in the fourth before being edged out in the fourth game by Atkinson, who was too exhausted from this battle to have enough left for her semi with eventual champion Cassie Campion. Ironically in view of the impending match-up this afternoon at 2:00, Duncalf in that ’03 quarter was similarly striving for a second consecutive upset win, having already provided the surprise of the tournament by following her success in the qualifying final over Kitchen by rallying to victory from a 2-1 deficit against the heavily favored Grainger.

That match, as well as the entire tournament, had taken place in the cozy confines of the Heights Casino club itself before the matches were moved a few years ago to the nearby Annex, which offers greater viewing capacity. Also in that ’03 Duncalf-Atkinson match, the former, possibly reacting to her heroics of the night before, had gotten off to an extremely ragged start in the first two one-sided games before finding her rhythm in the third; she certainly cannot afford a similar beginning this afternoon against Grainger, who is playing extremely well and who is coming off the Field Club Open pro-doubles win that she and partner Jess Dimauro earned two weeks ago with an exciting four-game final over reigning Canadian Nationals champs Narelle Krizek and Steph Hewitt in the final.

Autograph time at the Weymuller: (photo Fiona Geaves)

RESULTS:    Women's Carol Weymuller US Open Squash Championship, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Semi-final Results:
[1] Natalie Grainger (USA) def [4] Shelley Kitchen (NZL) 9-4 9-1 9-3
[5] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) def [3] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) 2-9 9-3 2-9 9-7 9-7