Tournament of Champions Squash at Grand Central in NYC

[TOC DRAW and RESULTS ] [Also Tuesday's Men's Semis]

Defending champion Natalie Grainger won easily this evening by a tell-tale 11-6, 5 and 5 tally over a demoralized-appearing Vanessa Atkinson in the semifinal round of the Bear Stearns Women’s Challenge Cup, part of the Tournament Of Champions that has been going on all week at Grand Central Station in mid-town Manhattan. As was also true last year, this year’s women’s event is only a four-player tournament, as opposed to past years when a full 16-player draw (preceded by two rounds of qualifying) was presented.

2004 World Open champion Atkinson played some of her best squash ever during those prior years in this venue, especially when she won in both 2005 and 2006. But both in last year’s final-round loss to Grainger (who dominated the last three games after narrowly dropping the opener) and even more so in tonight’s 25-minute rout, the classy Dutch star showed she still cannot find the formula to regain the high-quality world #1 level she displayed confidently as recently as two years ago. This was true to the extent that Grainger, who herself wasn’t nearly as sharp as she had been in her most recent New York appearance, when she dismantled Jenny Duncalf early last month in Brooklyn Heights in the Weymuller Open final, was nevertheless able to prevail in under 25 minutes.

Grainger’s spate of early errors staked Atkinson to a 4-1 first-game lead, but an Atkinson tin jump-started a swift 10-2 run, built mostly on nearly a half-dozen Atkinson errors (including two lobs out of court, in reaction to which she over-compensated with lobs that were shallow enough for Grainger to punish), augmented by a number of Grainger straight-drop winners from mid-court. The latter was winning the battle of left-wall rails, stepping in when an opening occurred and striking her severe drives to distinct advantage.

She began the second game with a shallow backhand cross-court that whizzed past a non-reacting Atkinson for a winner, a symptom of the difficulties Atkinson seemed to have throughout the match at picking up the ball off Grainger’s racquet. This shortfall induced a growing degree of tentativeness, which is fatal against Grainger (who needs to be worked relentlessly to prevent her from imposing her impressive offensive arsenal) and which manifested itself in Atkinson’s letting too many balls she could have volleyed instead take her to the back wall; in the lack of conviction in her rare shot-making forays; and in her consistently letting the ball play her rather than vice-versa. One of the most extreme examples of the latter occurred at 2-5 in the second game, when Grainger hit a poorly-angled backhand working boast that Atkinson should have pounced upon in mid-court but which she instead allowed to drift slowly all the way to the right wall, where Atkinson lost track of it and foul-tipped it into the floor for 2-6.

Grainger followed up by smacking a backhand cross-court volley beautifully into the right-front nick, then collected another quick point on an Atkinson backhand working-boast serve-return tin. The game concluded a few points later when Atkinson, drawn up to the front-left to retrieve a Grainger drop shot, hit the ball right back into herself for a stroke against her and a two games to love deficit.

The third game began as more of the same, as Grainger moved smartly to 6-1, mostly on three or four misdirection wrist-flicks that caught a by-now-thoroughly-flustered Atkinson totally off balance, The latter then was given one last chance to get back into the match when Grainger, perhaps letting up a bit with such a big lead, hit three consecutive unforced tins to suddenly make it 4-6. But the American national champion then righted herself with a well-disguised and precisely-struck forehand drop shot winner, then collected another stroke on a wayward Atkinson backhand drop shot. A nice overhead forehand volley winner made it 9-4, preceding a sharp-angled Atkinson cross-court forehand drop shot, one of only a handful of winners her normally potent firepower was able to generate on this occasion.

But she left her subsequent serve open enough for Grainger to carve a straight-drop serve-return winner to get to match-ball, which she promptly converted on a forehand working-boast that a stretched-out Atkinson could only steer cross-court to a waiting Grainger, who nailed it down the open right wall to emphatically punctuate her supremacy, at least on this evening. One has to think that Atkinson is too good and has too accomplishment-filled a resume not to recapture the elite form she has displayed for so many years.

For now, it will be Grainger against Shelley Kitchen (winner last night of a similarly definitive 11-5, 5 and 6 top-half semi over Vicky Botwright) in Wednesday night’s 6:30 women’s final. A high-level competitive final would really help the WISPA cause in influencing the Tournament Of Champions committee in the decisions its members will be making as to the future and prize-money level of upcoming editions of this high-profile tournament.

TOC Women's Draw:
Semi Finals
[1] Natalie Grainger def [4] Vanessa Atkinson 11-6 11-5 11-5
[3] Shelley Kitchen def [2] Vicky Botwright 11-5 11-5 11-6

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