Phil Smart Seattle Open 2002

SquashTalk >News > WISPA USA > Seattle Open Final - Fitz-Gerald Equals WISPA Record

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Fitz-Gerald Ties Martin's 57 Tourney Wins
by Howard Harding © 2002 SquashTalk

Sarah Fitz-Gerald, the world No1 and four-times world champion from Australia, beat New Zealand's world No2 Carol Owens in a well-fought Phil Smart Women's Seattle Squash Open final at the Athletic Club Downtown in Seattle, USA, to equal compatriot Michelle Martin's record of 57 WISPA World Tour titles.

THE RECORD
Fitz-Gerald's feat is particularly impressive as her career was interrupted for 1 1/2 years by knee injuries and two surgical procedures to correct the knee problem. Coming in the "modern WISPA era" of tourney opportunities practically every weekend, it is hard to provide a simple comparison with legendary Aussie Heather McKay or New Zealander Susan Devoy. Certainly both of the latter players have unreachable (for Fitz-Gerald) marks of winning 16 and 8 British Open titles respectively.

But perhaps most impressive of Fitz-Gerald's achievements is her consistency. She has won 20 of 21 tournaments entered dating back to January 2001, her only loss coming to Leilani Joyce at the Hong Kong Open finals on August 24 2001.

THE MATCH

Both players had reached the final without conceding a game - and both were clearly determined to pull out all the stops in their 30th Tour meeting since their first in Hong Kong in May 1993.

Fitz-Gerald took a strong lead in the opening game but Owens fought back, using the boast and moving the ball around, before Sarah responded with punishing boasts herself to win 9-7.

"I was 8-3 up in the second game when we played this incredibly long rally," recalled Fitz-Gerald afterwards. "Carol was all over the place, then she hit this shot which I completely misread to win the point - and suddenly she was back to within a point of me, before I won the game on a tight drive." Fitz-Gerald maintained the upper hand in the third game, only losing service three times, and ultimately claimed her place in the record books with a 9-7 9-7 9-1 victory. The win, in her 87th WISPA final, stretched Fitz-Gerald's unbeaten run to 47 matches since September last year.

ON TO AUSTRALIAN OPEN
"I feel the pressure's lifted a little now, and it gives me a great chance to break Michelle's record back home at the end of the month when I defend my Australian Open title in Adelaide," said the Seattle champion after her fourth win in a row in the USA.

"What also pleases me about this win is that it rectifies my recent performance in Qatar, where I didn't play at all well despite winning the World Grand Prix Finals there," Sarah added.

RESULTS: Phil Smart Women's Seattle Squash Open, Seattle, USA

Final:
[1] Sarah Fitz-Gerald (AUS) bt [2] Carol Owens (NZL) 9-7, 9-7, 9-1

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