Rachael wins Grinham Duel
April 8, 2005, WISPA News
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Rachael Grinham had the better game this evening in Dallas against her sister Natalie. (photo: © 2005 Debra Tessier)

Vanessa Atkinson, the intense world #2 player with the flying red hair, has a game built on complete court pressure and a relentless attack. Her success often turns on an internal confidence factor, and this week in Dallas, Atkinson is looking confident.

Atkinson will face off tomorrow against Rachael Grinham, who after a few months of seemingly listless performances is also looking confident.

Both players were on court tonight for identical three-quarters of an hour, so it shapes up to be an even contest.

TOOWOMBA SHOWDOWN
Toowomba is a town in Australia. Not on the tourist circuit, nor famous, but it does have a well known annual flower carnival. It also has two exports, the Toowomba Twosome - Rachael & Natalie Grinham.

Standing at one and three in the world, whether they meet in matches on the WISPA Tour tends to depend upon which half of the draw they are picked into. When they are opposite sides one or both seem to fall before the final (they haven’t played one since 2001), but when they are on the same side as at the 4th Texas Open being played in Dallas this week they do regularly play off to ensure that the family has one representative on the last day.

The atrium ice rink at the Plaza of the Americas was the bearpit that the sisters would do battle upon. A lightweight contest between two featherweights who feint and move rather than hope to progress based upon weight of shot.

Natalie Grinham could not repeat her 2003 Texas Open performance against Rachael. (photo: © 2005 Debra Tessier)

Ordinarily matches shot for the WISPA international TV highlights programmes need the players to wear different coloured clothing to ease recognition. In the case of the twosome it is absolutely essential as they are so similar!

ELDER SISTER STRONGER TONIGHT

Rachael (in red) started the stronger, while Natalie (in white) seemed less able to get in front to control rallies. Of course they know each other's game very well--it is so similar to the other one's--but they do not regularly train together as they live in different continents; Natalie in Netherlands, Rachael in Egypt.

They both boast and float the ball more than most players. Taken together it meant a feast of all court play. Front to back, side to side and in tangents around each other they progressed. Rachael picked up more opportunities to finish rallies, sometimes with overhead kills that brought immediate and excited applause. Natalie was making occasional mistakes, perhaps the product of trying even harder to outwit her knowing opponent.

This was enough to take Rachael to the first game, and she maintained her edge in the second and what turned out to be the third and last. Try as she might, Natalie could run and fight but not impose herself on the match. Rachael, the senior by one year at 28 had won and would be in the final.

Interviewed afterwards the winner commented "For Natalie and I it depends who is on their game on the day. We are close and she was just a little off and it tipped the balance my way."

Natalie, meanwhile, ruefully told a reporter "Usually I can rely on my running but today everything was going in for her."

ATKINSON ENDS THE BOTWRIGHT RUN

Vanessa Atkinson was too strong for Vicky Botwright. (photo: © 2005 Debra Tessier)

For Vanessa Atkinson, her major problem occurred before rather than during her semi final match with Vicky Botwright. Only as she dressed to play did she realise that her remaining skirt was not in her drawer but instead with the rest being laundered. Fortunately for her the problem was solved by a loan from Natalie Grainger, who maintained that she was still waiting to get one back from the last time it happened!

Botwright, surprise winner over fourth seed Nicol David, was also clearly thinking about her skirt. The previous evening she had worn black to match the angry ball bruise on her thigh. For the semis, now that the bruise had turned blue she was able to continue the matching with a navy one!

World champion Atkinson had beaten her English opponent 3/0 in the semis of the Tournament of Champions in February and managed to maintain her record in this match. Botwright, who entered the world top ten at the start of the year and is now up to seven is becoming a serious contender at the age of 27 (two years younger than Atkinson) but found herself chasing the game too much. Atkinson comes forward so strongly these days, and though she may lose her focus for odd games as she did against Linda Elriani in the quarters, tends not to drop whole matches very often.

Here, it was only in the third game that Botwright began to find a rhythm that was in any way unsettling to the Dutchwoman. Until then she had spent too much of the match pinned to the back wall. However, getting forward more than once she turned the ball across the front wall to take a point. Strangely enough though it was a dose of Botwright’s medicine that saw Atkinson caress a similar winner to save the game ball that Botwright had acquired at 8/7 before going on to take the match by pushing her opponent back into a rear corner without room to dig out the ball.

Vicky Botwright just missed the opportunity to take it to 4 games. (photo: © 2005 Debra Tessier)

If you had offered Botwright two semis berths this year she would doubtless have enthusiastically accepted, but now she is beginning to hope for even more. "I am disappointed, but she put me under so much pressure that I wasn't allowed to produce anything except in the do or die third," she said.

Atkinson was complimentary in victory. "I was very scared coming into the game to be honest. She hadn't dropped a game before today and is playing well."

Now she looks forward to another world one and two battle – with a win taking her very close indeed to the top ranking spot that Grinham holds and she covets. On the last couple of occasions they have played Grinham was not quite at her best but this week has been looking strong again. As Atkinson said, "I will really have to dig in to have a chance." Dallas waits to see how deep she needs to go.

SEMI FINALS – 8 APRIL

Rachael Grinham (Aus) (1) beat Natalie Grinham (Aus) (3) 9/4 9/5 9/1 (46m)

Vanessa Atkinson (Ned) (2) beat Vicky Botwright (Eng) (7) 9/3 9/2 10/8 (44m)

Note: Matches use the WSF 9 point traditional hand-out scoring, with a 1 or 2 point tiebreaker at 8-8.

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