Final : Tze ends Watts run to claim the crown in Salzburg
it was a great final of the Mozart Open ladies on the glasscourt at EUROPARK Salzburg shopping mall between Toby Tse (HKG, WRL 110) and Kaitlyn Watts (NZL, WRL 178), with the third seed Tse having the better end in a thrilling five game encounter.
The Hong Kongese had a strong start and went into a 2-0 lead. While the first game was very close with long rallies the second game was more one sided.
Nevertheless Watts fought back impressively winning the third game 11/4 and even leveling to 2-all after taking the fourth game 11/9. The Kiwi showed great retrieving skills and was able to pick up most tricky shots from the skillful Tse.
Overall the crowd saw great performances of both players and very attracive rallies and was excited that the match went into five games. In the deciding game Watts wasnt able to turn the match totally as Tse was too clinical and found back into her rhythm and won 11/5 to take the title.
Semi-Finals : Watts run continues in Salzburg
Today the Austrian Squash Challenge moved onto the glasscourt in the EUROPARK Salzburg shopping mall for the semifinals of the Mozart Open ladies.
The first match was between second seed Sarahi Lopez (MEX, WRL 105) and third seed Toby Tse (HKG, WRL 110). The close gap in the world ranking between both players was also displayed on court. All games were very intense, tight and contested. After 48min Toby Tse was able to overcome
her opponent 3/1.
The second semifinal ended with an big upset. After already taking out eight and fourth seed of the tournament Kaitlyn Watts (NZL, WRL 178) took out top seed Hana Ismail (EGY, WRL 90) and showed an another great performance. She seemed to handle to change of location better than her opponent and made it into the final with a 3/0 victory.
Day Three, Quarter-Finals : Watts run continues in Salzburg
Today’s quarterfinals of the Mozart Open ladies event was the last day of action at Tenniscourts Süd, meanwhile the glasscourt was constructed at EUROPARK Salzburg shopping mall where the event will continue on Friday with the semifinals and the final on Saturday – and will host next week’s men’s event.
New Zealand’s Kaitlyn Watts continued her great run taking out another higher seeded player. The Kiwi beat fourth seed Isabel McCullough in the longest match of the tournament so far 3/1 in 53min. She will face top seed Hana Ismail in the semifinal. The Egyptian was too strong for Akari Midorikawa from Japan and booked her semifinal spot with a convincing 3/0 victory.
The second semfinal will be contested between second seed Sarahi Lopez from Mexico and Toby Tse from Hong Kong. Both players won their quarterfinal matches 3/1 and showed some great racket and physical skills.
Day Two : Watts joins top seven seeds in quarters
The quarter-finals went mostly to seeding, with New Zealand’s Kaitlyn Watts producing the only upset as she downed 8th seed Olivia Besant to join the top seven seeds in the quarter-finals.
Day ONE :
The first round of the Mozart Open PSA world ranking tournament took place at Tenniscourts Süd in Salzburg. The tournament is part of the Austrian Squash Challenge, a two week event. Photos by Jasmin alter
The only Austrian representative Gioia D’Alonzo unfortunately lost her opening match meaning no home hopes are left in the competition.
All other seeded players made it into the second round. Though Rose Lucas Marcuzzo had to fight for a great comeback from 0/2 to eventually win 12/10 in the deciding game.
