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Howard's Roundup
 

[2] Natalie Grinham (Ned) bt [3] Rachael Grinham (Aus)
                    11/13, 11/6, 11/6, 11/4 (37m)
[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt [4] Alison Waters (Eng)
                    4/11, 11/6, 15/13, 11/7 (62m)

Nicol & Natalie in the final ...
 
Top seeds Nicol David and Natalie Grinham will meet in a World Open final the Amsterdam crowd have dreamed of ever since it was announced the World Open would be coming to Amsterdam.

Natalie, the Dutch number one, beat elder sister Rachael, but only after dropping her first game of the tournament. Nicol, who spends much of the year in Amsterdam, held on to her crown with a thrilling win over Alison Waters after the Englishwoman gave her the sternest of tests.

So it's a repeat of their epic 2006 final in Belfast ... who can wait ???

[2] Natalie Grinham (Ned) bt [3] Rachael Grinham (Aus)
                    11/13, 11/6, 11/6, 11/4 (37m)

Natalie sets up Dutch final

Just as she did a couple of weeks ago in the Dam Square "unofficial final", Natalie Grinham beat her elder sister Rachael, but the prize wasn't a title - not yet - rather a fourth place in a World Open final.

The match started off rather quietly, some quick point and some errors from both players. Natalie took the early lead, 4-1, but Rachael rallied to 5-all. Natalie edged ahead 9-7 but couldn't capitalise as Rachael took it 13-11, the first game Natalie had dropped all week.

Whereas Natalie's progress had been fairly comfortable until this point, Rachael had to come from two games down in both her previous matches. And naturally, this match wasn't an up and down the walls affair, both were moving the ball around, making each other work.

Rachael admitted after the match that she was struggling physically, and it looked that way as Natalie took early control of the second, and effectively never let go until she was through to the final. The last two and a half games saw Natalie playing the way she had been all week, and Rachael simply didn't have enough energy left to find an answer.

"The only thing that would have been better than making the final here in Amsterdam would be to have met Rachael in the final tomorrow.

"I have the hardest time playing her - what do I do with the ball? I had a lot of trouble at the start- I made a lot of errors and she was controlling things She's a very unorthodox player so I don't know what she's going to do - she's always tricky.

"If I hadn't taken the second game, it would have been very difficult.

"It's all about being focussed throughout the game - and in the first game it wasn't working. I knew in the end she would tire - I knew I really had to push her - and I was feeling good physically.

"I hope I play as well tomorrow, I might watch Nicol and Alison's game - but it's not going to change my game plan."

"I didn’t feel too bad to start with, and she made a few unforced errors in the beginning then relaxed a bit. When she started to get into rallies, and when she was holding it, when I couldn’t see her shots, I was a bit slower off the mark that I would have liked to be.

"After each rally, I was trying very hard to focus, to get my thoughts together, but it had been a long time since I had been in a final, and last week was pretty big for me, playing for the British Open title, and then this week, a couple of long five setters… I felt alright physically, but mentally, last week took a lot out of me probably…

"And it didn’t help I was playing against Natalie today, because against anybody else, I don’t know…. I was trying to focus, but you make a few wrong shot choices, and you end up losing rally after rally…

"I feel like going to bed now…!!!!"

NAT TENSE, RACHAEL FLAT…

That’s a quick summary of this match that won’t stay as their best encounter really, with a home girl a bit frozen on there today, a bit of pressure playing in front of her home crowd, added to a bit of “oh my god she knows what shot I’m about to play” thought process, on one side, and a pretty tired lady although still willing to do good on the other…

Natalie eventually let go of her arm, especially as Rachael was getting a bit slow with her movement, and found some gorgeous drop shots that her sister just couldn’t pick up, and the writing was pretty quickly on the wall.

Also, I know she’ll deny it, but I have the feeling that Rachael may have thought at time that she probably wouldn’t make it tomorrow in the final in a good shape enough, that she would be too tired, and that it was probably not such a bad thing if her sister was to play it instead. Not that she wanted to lose, but maybe, maybe, she didn’t fight as hard as she would have against a normal player.

Well, only a thought…

Nicol tested again

The world number one and defending champion survived a testing match against an Englishwoman yesterday, and she did so again tonight in an even tenser match.

After taking the first three points of the match Nicol lost the next ten. Or rather, Alison won them in a magic spell where she had Nicol well and truly on the ropes. The Malaysian stopped the run with a drive glued to the wall, but Alison hammered the resulting service into the nick to take the lead.

Nicol regrouped in the second, cut out the uncharacteristic errors, and pulled away from 5-all in the second to level.

The third was a nail-biter. Alison was matching Nicol in every department, took an early 3-1 lead and held it for the rest of the game, only to be caught at 9-all. One, two, three, four game balls came the Englishwoman's way, every rally disputed, long and tense.

Four times Nicol denied her, you could sense that she would only need one chance, and when that chance came at 14-13 she duly took it, Alison tinning a reasonably easy dropshot.

It felt crucial, and it was. Nicol moved ahead in the fourth, 6-3, 9-5 then 10-6 on a stroke, and took it on her second opportunity, a drive glued to the backhand wall that died at Alison's feet.

Nicol pumped her fist, knowing she'd escaped ... Alison beat her racket on the floor, knowing she'd missed an opportunity ... the final was set.

"I think it was a good competitive match, the third was crucial, I really needed it, especially having had three or four game balls…

"I tried everything I could, I gave my 100%, and that kind of match gives me confidence that I’m getting closer, it gives me the belief, and for the next matches, a 50/50 chance instead of a 70/30 as previously.

"I felt I had a chance there, maybe next time…"



"That’s the best she’s ever played, no matter what happens now…"

Alison's Dad, after the third game

[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt [4] Alison Waters (Eng)
                    4/11, 11/6, 15/13, 11/7 (62m)

IMPRESSIVE ALI

“That’s the best she’s ever played” stated Alison’s dad right after she lost that crucial third game 15/13, and I think that all will agree the statement to be correct….

If Nicol played with a lot of poise in the first points, very quickly, it just turned to Alison’s advantage, with the English girl hitting that ball with authority and precision. And honestly, Nicol just didn’t seem to see the ball, always a bit late, and always on the back foot.

The second saw a more assertive Nicol, but Alison was still to make her first unforced error, that shows how flawless her game was. The English lady ended up making two errors, the second at the end of an amazing rally at 8/5 Nicol, a nth drop shot that finally clips the tin. We knew at the moment that we were in for a great third.

And boy we weren’t disappointed! What a game people, Ali didn’t have much to lose, hit her shots low and powerfully, Nicol kept on calming the pace down, lobbing as much as she could, while Ali tried her best to pick the rhythm up… Stunning rallies, with the English lady finding breathtaking winners, well, should have been winners, that the World Champion would save one after the other… the crowd was loving every minute of it.



The English girl had four chances to take the game, but each time, Nicol saved them by digging in deep. At 13/12, a truly amazing rally won only just by a deep backhand cross court from Nicol. 13/13. That rally probably took a lot out of Ali, and she basically tinned the next shots, to give away that precious and crucial game.

Nicol soared in the fourth, and although the English girl never gave up, unforced errors crept in, the legs suddenly felt very heavy, and the joy that Nicol expressed after she won her match ball showed how much she was relieved, all credit to Ali to have her under so much pressure…

"As you could see, she was pretty awesome today, the best she’s played against me, I just couldn’t give her an inch, and every time she could, she really went for it.

"I felt confident for the first three points, then she found an excellent length, while I was trying to do too much too soon. After losing the first game, I tried to concentrate on the next game, to be solid, and put that loss right out of my mind. And in the third, the only thing I could think of was “score that next point, and keep chasing that ball”!!!.

"Tonight, it was nice to have the support of my parents, but also of the audience, so I took the crowd in, and went for it….

"Tomorrow, it’s the final of the Worlds, I’m so looking forward to it…"