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22/08/2009 World number 16 Jaclyn Hawkes has her sights set on her first national title when she takes on Joelle King in the final of the Inspire.Net New Zealand Squash Championships in Palmerston North tomorrow. |
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Hawkes wants to finish her stint in New Zealand on a high note before she heads back to her base in Halifax, England on Monday.
The pair meet in the final for the first time, with King the victor in five games in their only previous match in the Mitchell Cup earlier this year.
The men's final will be an all-Remuera club battle between the number one seed Kashi Shuja, chasing his fifth title in six years, against 30-year-old George Crosby, in his first New Zealand Championship final.
Crosby, the seventh seed, prevailed in four games over Dunedin's Oliver Johnston while Shuja was too strong for the national under-19 champion Alex Grayson from West Auckland 11-3 11-8 11-6 in 34 minutes.
Hawkes,26, proved too strong for the 2006 world doubles champion Tamsyn Leevey (Wellington), playing error-free squash to win in straight games 11-2 11-8 11-3 while King overwhelmed 16-year-old Blenheim player, Megan Craig in three games lasting just 18 minutes.
Hawkes, who heads back for the British Open in two weeks, was delighted that she came up against Leevey, the fourth seed, who is making a comeback to the game after two years away.
I was pleased to play someone pretty good today in the semifinal. Although Tamsyn is not yet back on the pace that she used to be, she is still a good player. I had to play well to beat her, Hawkes said.
If I had played loosely she was good enough to cause me plenty of trouble. Sometimes if you play all easy matches, you get to the final you are not on the pace. Tamsyn gets a lot of balls back so that was good for me to get into some good, long rallies.
I played well tonight to win by that score. I didn't make many mistakes. The key was my length today.
Hawkes has returned over recent years for the New Zealand Open, losing to Shelley Kitchen in the final last year and in 2006, missing the 2007 event because of illness.
King has not required more than 20 minutes in any match this weekend, and has not dropped a single game along the way.
The world number 39 was in confident mood winning 11-2 11-4 11-2 against the youngster who is 150 places behind King in the world rankings.
Craig, the national junior representative, had earlier shown a glimpse of her potential and fighting qualities when she upset the third seed and world top-50 player, Kylie Lindsay (Matamata) in a five-game quarterfinal. The diminutive Marlborough teenager came from 2-1 down to win the last two games 12-10 and 13-11 for the best win of her young career.
Crosby, who has competed at the national championships for 12 years, will contest his first final. The 30-year-old proved too steady for Dunedin's Oliver Johnston winning in four games 11-5 12-14 11-5 11-5 in just under an hour.
It was doubly satisfying for the 30-year-old who has returned to the game in the last year after working overseas.
To make the finals for the first time feels great, especially after only getting back into the game this year, Crosby said.
The key tonight was my consistency. I kept error free and he started to make some mistakes which is where I picked up some easy points.
I hit a good length and tried to tie him into the back corners and force him to go for some shots that were not on.
He will find the task very tough against the in-form, number one seed, Shuja who took a little over half an hour to dismantle Grayson. Shuja, the world number 39, was never behind in the count throughout in an emphatic display.
Results:
Men, Quarterfinals: [1] Kashif Shuja (Auckland) beat [8] Scott Gardiner (Christchurch) 11-5 11-6 11-5; [5] Alex Grayson (Auckland)beat [4] Evan Williams (Wellington) 11-7 12-10 16-14; [6] Oliver Johnston (Dunedin) beat [3] Graeme Wilson (Auckland) 11-9 11-5 7-11 11-8; [7] George Crosby (Auckland) beat [2] Josh Greenfield (Palmerston North) 11-6 11-6 7-11 12-10.
Semifinals: Shuja beat Grayson 11-3 11-8 11-6 (34 mins); Crosby beat Johnston 11-5 12-14 11-5 11-5 (54 mins);
Women, quarterfinals: [1] Jaclyn Hawkes (Auckland) beat [8] Amanda Landers-Murphy (Auckland)11-5 11-2 11-5 (20 mins); [4] Tamsyn Leevey (Wellington) beat [5] Lana Harrison (Auckland) 10-12 11-6 11-2 11-7 (31 mins); [11] Megan Craig (Blenheim) beat [3] Kylie Lindsay (Matamata) 9-11 11-7 6-11 12-10 13-11 (45 mins); [2] Joelle King (Hamilton) beat [7] Jackie Laurenson(Auckland) 11-2 11-0 11-4 (20 mins).
Semifinals: Hawkes beat Leevey 11-2 11-8 11-3 (21 mins); King beat Craig 11-2 11-4 11-2 (18 mins).
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