Melbourne 2001
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Women's First Round
by Elspeth Burnside Oct 10, 2001 © 2001 Elspeth Burnside and Squashtalk
[last update was 15-oct-01 ]

Fitz-Gerald, Campion, Nimmo happy with first round play.

Sarah Fitz-Gerald in Speedy Victory, David Advances

The home city favourite Sarah Fitz-Gerald headed a catalogue of speedy victories for the leading lights in the opening round of a women's World Open that claimed only one seeded casualty at the Sport and Aquatics Centre in Melbourne.

Maha Zein, the player rated 16th, went out 4-9 9-5 9-7 9-1 to Nicol David, but it wasn't too much of a shock considering the World Junior Champion from Malaysia has jumped eight places above the Egyptian to no 22 in the latest world rankings. But if there was a lack of surprises, there was no shortage of courageous comeback tales from layers who have suffered from career threatening injuries or illness.

Fitz-Gerald, the no 3 seed who reclaimed the world no 1 ranking this month in the wake of two knee operations, and she treated her adoring Melbourne crowd to a comfortable 9-1 9-4 9-0 win over France's Isabelle Stoehr. The 32-year-old, winner of the Qatar Classic last week, admitted it was a relief to get the first match out of the way.

"I've been looking forward to this tournament for a long, long time," she said. "It's nice to have a straightforward start, but it's going to get a lot tougher as the week goes on."

Eleven months ago, England's Cassie Campion was forced to miss the defence of the title in Edinburgh, Scotland, when she had to undergo surgery for a serious back operation, and it wasn't until well into this year that she returned to the game. But she showed no sign of rustiness in condemning Ireland's Madeline Perry to a 9-0 9-4 9-0 first round defeat.

"It has been very tough battling back to fitness," admitted the former world no 1 who is seeded 11th this week. "When I was lying in a hospital bed 11 months ago and couldn't walk I really did wonder if I would play again. "I'm still not 100%, but I'm getting better every tournament and playing for a world championship is an extra motivation. It was wonderful to win the title in Seattle two years ago, and I was devastated when I couldn't defend."

Scotland's Pam Nimmo nearly lost her life, never mind her career, when she suffered from deep vein thrombosis following a long haul flight to America in February. But the world no 15 continued her brave battle back to fitness as she romped to a 9-2 9-3 9-1 win over American no 1 Shabana Khan.

"I was very nervous today," admitted the no 12 seed who has risen to a career best world no 15 despite the illness setback. "My confidence is so low and I just wish the old carefree me would return." In a disappointing day for the Khans, Shabana's younger sister, Latasha, also went out, beaten 9-7 9-7 7-9 9-5 by England's no 13 seed, Vicky Botwright.

Results (seedings in brackets) First round:
(5) Fiona Geaves (England) beat Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egypt) 9-2 9-4 4-9 9-5;
(8) Rachael Grinham (Australia) beat Sharon Wee (Malaysia) 9-0 9-4 9-2;
(15) Natalie Grinham (Australia) beat Liz Irving (Australia) 9-4 9-2 10-8;
(10) Rebecca Macree (England) beat Rebecca Chiu (Hong Kong) 9-6 9-7 9-7;
(4) Linda Charman-Smith (England) beat Engy Kheirallah (Egypt) 9-1 -2 9-5;
Nicol David (Malaysia) beat (16) Maha Zein (Egypt) 4-9 9-5 9-7 9-1;
(11) Cassie Campion (England) beat Madeline Perry (Ireland) 9-0 9-4 9-2;
(2) Carol Owens (New Zealand) beat Kim Hannes (Belgium) 9-0 9-0 9-2;
(6) Stephanie Brind (England) beat Senga Macfie (Scotland) 9-1 9-1 9-7;
(3) Sarah Fitz-Gerald (Australia) beat Isabelle Stoehr (France);
(1) Leilana Joyce (New Zealand) beat Lara Petera (New Zealand) 9-1 9-4 9-4;
(9) Vanessa Atkinson (Netherlands) beat Ellen Petersen (Denmark) 9-1 4-9 6-9 9-0 9-3; (7) Suzanne Horner (England) beat Annelize Naud (South Africa) 9-3 9-2 9-2;
(12) Pamela Nimmo (Scotland) beat Shabana Khan (USA) 9-2 9-3 9-1;
(13) Vicky Botwright (England) beat Latasha Khan (USA) 9-7 9-7 7-9 9-5;
(14) Shelley Kitchen (New Zealand) beat Janie Thacker (England) 9-3 9-4 1-9 9-4

Meanwhile, Frenchman Thierry Lincou and Australia's Paul Price, the world's no 5 and 6, are the top seeds in the downgraded WSF Men's World Challenge starting tomorrow (Monday) at the same venue in Melbourne. Originally classed as a world championship and including all the top names, the late loss of sponsorship resulted in the change of title and a drop in prize money from US$105,000 to $15,000.

However, it will be a useful warm-up for many of the players competing in the men's world team championship starting a week tomorrow. Two of the American team, Preston Quick and Tim Wyant, have both taken the chance of a competitive build-up. However, Damian Walker and Richard Chin have opted out.