Women’s $3k PSA Challenger, 18-20 June, Pontefract, England
Georgina Kennedy (Eng) 3-0 [2] Anna Kimberley (Eng) 11-1, 11-6, 11-2 (30m)
Two titles in a week for Gina
Another very impressive performance by Georgina Kennedy following on from her win in the Sumner Malik Memorial on Thursday to take her second PSA title in 4 days.
Her opponent in the final Anna Kimberley competed well and many of the long rallies they shared ended with appreciative applause from the audience but all too often from Kimberley’s perspective the points were taken by Kennedy. Her speed around the court and ability to retrieve what looked certain winning shots by Kimberley was at times jaw-dropping but it contributed to a well-deserved 3-0 win.
After receiving her trophy from Avril Storey the Managing Director of the sponsor AS Insurance Services Ltd Kennedy addressed the audience and thanked them for their support throughout the weekend and added
“I would like to thank everyone involved in this tournament from the club to the sponsor to the PSA for all they do to make these opportunities available to us.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my weekend in Pontefract and I’m very pleased to take the title after Anna made me battle for every point.”
Georgina Kennedy (Eng) 3-0 [3] Alicia Mead (Eng) n 11-0, 11-5, 11-0 (18m)
[2] Anna Kimberley (Eng) 3-1 Torrie Makik (Eng) 11-5, 14-12, 7-11, 11-7 (40m)
Semis : Wow! If ever there was a statement of intent this was it as Georgina Kennedy showed
exactly why she is considered to be one of England’s brightest prospects at the moment.
The first game was won 11-0 and to be fair Alicia Mead did very little wrong she was just
completely outplayed by an opponent who was determined to stamp her presence from the
outset.
Whatever Mead offered Kennedy was more than equal to controlling the match
from start to finish with very impressive shot selection and athletic retrieval. A 3-0 win and
on this performance there is no doubt she is destined to compete at the very top level.
A place in the final tomorrow awaits and we are already looking forward to seeing her again.
The second semi-final was a much more even contest with experience showing at the end.
Anna Kimberley lived up to her second seed placing to register a 3-1 win against Torrie Malik
who once again has shown that she can compete at this level and has a promising future
beyond that.
In summary this match could have had a different result but errors and
youthful impatience was probably the difference in the end as Malik was ahead in 2 games
that Kimberley came back to win.
Quarters :
First match on today was Sussex youngster Torrie Malik v Charlotte Jagger from Steel City Sheffield.
The match began slowly with both players looking a little jaded but after they had taken a game each it was Malik who came out stronger to book the first semi-final spot with a 3-1 win.
She will play 2nd seed Anna Kimberley who continued her progress with a smooth and confident display of squash against a sometimes frustrated Katie Wells. Wells battled hard but couldn’t quite match the tempo of her opponent and a 3-0 result was justified.
The match of the day lived up to expectations with a closely fought contest between number 1 seed Emily Whitlock who was flying the Welsh flag against unseeded English woman Georgina Kennedy.
Although this ran out a 3-0 win for Kennedy Whitlock was always in it and it took tie breakers to decide 2 of the 3 games. Kennedy is a class act and this win over a player who has a World ranking of 28 clearly demonstrates that.
The Pontefract Challenger 1 champion will be her opponent in the semi-final. Alicia Mead looked to be in a hurry as she comfortably beat a spirited but outclassed Sanne Veldkamp from the Netherlands in 3 quick games to set up another interesting match to test Kennedy later today.
Day ONE:
Day 1 and no major surprises with the first round results other than ‘Tornado Torrie’ (Malik) once again defying the rankings by beating the 4th seed Faiza Zafar from Pakistan with a very convincing 3-0 win. She will play the 5 th seed Charlotte Jagger tomorrow morning in the quarter finals after she despatched Jasmin Kalar in 3 games.
Number 1 seed Emily Whitlock progressed as expected against a determined but outclassed Tayla Mounter to set up a quarter final everyone is looking forward to against Georgina Kennedy who beat Emilia Korhonen in a one- sided 3-0 win.
Sanne Veldkamp from the Netherlands will play Pontefract Challenger 1 winner Alicia Mead after both had uneventful victories in their first round matches against Bruna Marchesi Petrillo from Italy and English hopeful Kierra Marshall respectively
Number 2 seed Anna Kimberley put on an impressive display to beat Polly Clark and she will face Katie Wells in the quarters after she eventually overcame Wild Card entry Grace Clark in the bestmatch of the night. Clark Led 2-1 and was continually asking questions of the number 8 seed untilWells turned the match around to gratefully come away with a 3-2 win.
