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Site updated on 12/06/2000
SARAH
SWINGS STRONGLY
SquashTalk News, Dec 6 2000.
Martin Bronstein reporting from Lambs Club London
SO FITNESS
IS NOT A PROBLEM EH SARAH?
It may just be a case of fulfilling her commitments but on
the other hand it could be a way of warning the others players just how
fit she is, but Sarah Fitz-Gerald played three matches in 24 hours and
still looked as fresh as a daisy after beating Rachael Grinham in their
quarter-final match.
After beating Ellen Petersen in the first round, she jumped into a car and was driven the 150 miles to Birmingham to play for Edgbaston in the National League. Very cleverly the league organisers brought women into England's major league by stipulating that teams consist of four men and a women, which gave the top players some activity after the women's league ended through lack of sponsors.
GRINHAM
GRABS A GAME
As soon as Sarah had won her match in Birmingham she was back
on the M1 back to London for a good night's sleep ready for her 1 pm match
against Grinham. She won the first game 9-2 and then found herself bedazzled
by Grinham's ability to chop and float the ball. Grinham is entranced
by the two inches above the tin and cuts the ball from all over the court.
Her defence is a volley that lets the ball arc to the front wall but the
ball then sits up and waits her opponent's pleasure. However she has enough
confidence in her movement to get to almost everything.
It worked in the second and she took the game 9-2 to even the match. Fitz-Gerald buckled down to greater power and speed in the third as Grinham's effort reduced and the predictable result came to pass as Fitz took the last two games 9-1, 9-1. "Rachel played really well in the second game, chopping the ball all the time and I didn't know what was happening. When she's got her game together she's lethal," Fitz-Gerald commented after the game.
A SINGAPORE
SLING FOR A BAD WRIST?
It was noted that Grinham's right wrist, the one that stopped her playing
for Australia, seemed to be in perfect working order. The mystery of the
wrist that is perfectly fit for all other tournaments but goes limp in
an Aussie shirt, may be solved. The rumors are that she will be playing
for Singapore in the next world championships. It seems that Singapore
are flashing mucho dollars to attract major squash players as residents.
Amjad Khan threatened to leave Pakistan for Singapore and other players
have been approached.
THE HEADCASE
KEEPS IT TOGETHER
Natalie Grainger, the fourth seed had very little problems with fifth
seed Suzanne Horner, the England player who is also the reigning world
masters over 35 champion. You have to admire Horner for still being in
the top ten at her age when most other players seem to disintegrate on
reaching the big 30. She was never a player with flair but plays a very
good basic length game, which no longer is enough at the top level. Grainger
has flair to spare; her backhand volley drop, used against the hardest
crosscourt slams, still takes my breath away. Rather than taking the speed
off the ball, she uses the speed to volley the ball an inch above the
tin giving her opponent no chance at all at retrieval.
Grainger's range of shots is matched by a very good squash brain and she took the first game 9-3 in five minutes and was quickly up 8-0 in the second when Horner got hand in and scored a point. Would this be another case of the Grainger head going walkabout? Only slightly; the last three points of the game took longer than the first eight, but Grainger finally put it away 9-2 and the third 9-3, with the whole match taking 22 minutes.
Not a helluva lot to get excited about and in truth the action won't really get started until tomorrow's semi-finals when Grainger faces off against Fitz-Gerald.
UNIVERSALSPORTSCLUB CLASSIC QUARTER-FINAL
PARTIAL RESULTS .
Sarah Fitz-Gerald (Aus) bt Rachael Grinham (Aus) 9-2, 2-9, 9-1, 9-1. 26
minutes.
Natalie Grainger (Eng) bt Suzanne Horner (Eng) 9-3, 9-2, 9-3. 22 minutes.
FULL MATCH REPORTS DIRECT FROM LAMBS CLUB DAILY FROM M BRONSTEIN.
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