Rise to power
In Hurghada, Carol Owens regained her No 1 squash ranking
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Grinham swinging in Hurghada; Owens receiving the first place prize from Ibrahim Nafie, Board Chairman of Al-Ahram, Aleyeddin Hilal, youth minister and Saad Abu Rida, Red Sea governor
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New Zealand's Carol Owens snatched her third title in three weeks at the Sixth Women's Hurghada International Squash Championship in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada. And for the third time in a row, Owens' victim was Australia's Rachael Grinham.
Following up her victories in the WISPA Grand Prix finals in Qatar, the Ninth Heliopolis Open and in Hurghada, Owens reclaimed the world number one position she had relinquished in the June rankings. Nashwa Abdel-Tawab reports on the ascent. Owens reached the top of women's squash in March 2002, taking over from Sarah Fitz-Gerald of Australia.
In Hurghada, Grinham attacked from the start but Owens was determined to rest control. After 17 minutes, two Grinham drops which caressed the top of the tin spelt the end on a 9-5 scoreline. In no time, Owens controlled the second, taking it 9-1.
But Grinham came out on the attack in the third to take a 5-0 lead. But Owens was not to be denied, and rallied strongly to win the next nine points unanswered and claim the title.
"I am going home and will keep working on my fitness to stay ahead of Rachael," Owens said afterwards.
Despite beating Grinham, Owens' fear of her opponent is well-founded. Grinham's athleticism is already a great strength alongside her placement skills. And "Beware of Rachael" seems to be the recurrent slogan on tour.
"I am not so much disappointed with the result. It's just that I didn't play as well as last week," Grinham said. "But taken with Qatar, these have been some of the best results of my life. I was mentally exhausted and lacking in experience." Grinham will take two weeks off and then start seriously on her training sessions in Heliopolis with her coaches until September when major tournaments begin.
In Hurghada, although Grinham lost she won the popularity contest with Owens who has never managed to win many admirers in Egypt.
Owens breathed a sigh of relief after the tournaments. "Four weeks away, three tournament wins, I couldn't be happier."
To reach the ultimate goal of regaining her world's top ranking, Owens cruised to the Hurghada final by sweeping to a 9-2, 9-0, 9-4 win over England's Stephanie Brind in 39 minutes. She then beat England's eighth seeded Rebecca Macree of England 9-1, 9-4, 9-2 in 43 minutes. The semi-final was a battle between veterans -- Owens and Cassie Jackman. After 47 minutes, Owens secured a 10-8, 9-1, 9-0 win.
Grinham reached the final by beating Shelly Kitchen from New Zealand 9-2, 9- 1, 9-1 in 25 minutes. She took 59 minutes to beat her younger sister Natalie 9-5, 3- 9, 9-0, 9-5 in the quarter-finals. The victory avenged the first ever defeat by Natalie three months ago.
The semi-final was the first meeting this year between Grinham and Dutch No 1 Vanessa Atkinson with both players enjoying the best form of their careers and boasting their highest world rankings. Despite shouts of encouragement from the packed crowd and from her mother Carol, world No 5 Atkinson was consistently outplayed by the Australian who took just 33 minutes to claim a 9-0, 9-4, 9-3 victory.
Earlier, in Heliopolis, Owens beat Grinham in straight games in the $20,000 tournament to claim the 25th WISPA title of her career.
"I haven't run so much for a long time," said Owens after her 9-5, 9-5, 9-4 victory in 44 minutes. "I was really twisted and turned out there. It was really hard," added Owens who recently celebrated her 32nd birthday. The match was Owens' first real test in the event after relatively comfortable affairs en route to the final.
The outstanding match, the pair's second meeting in little more than a week, featured inventive all-court action characterised by Grinham's delicate touch matched by her opponent's resilience.
