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After losing out in the final of the Central Gauteng Open last week, South African number one Siyoli Waters went one better at the NSA Open, capturing her fourth WSA title and her first on home soil after defeating top seed Kylie Lindsay in the final.
The first round saw two upsets as local qualifier Farrah Sterne, a former top 50 ranked WSA player, beat fifth seed Antonella Falcione, the Argentinean number one in four games. Unseeded Korean Ahn Eun Chan followed this with four game win over seventh seed Milnay Louw. Chan, who was ranked as high as 52 this time last year, was playing her first event for almost 12 months. Top seed Lindsay, had to tough it out against Korean qualifier Kim Ga-Hye, eventually coming through in four tough games.
Lindsay and Waters both needed four games to progress to the semifinals, while Chan continued her march through the draw, leading third seed Laura Pomportes two games to one before the French number three had to retire due to calf injury. The local crowd almost saw a second South African reach the semifinals as fourth seed Cheyna Tucker led sixth seed Salma Nassar two games to one before the Egyptian fought back to win in five games.
In the semifinals, Lindsay looked down and out, trailing Chan two games to love. However, she fought back and eventually took the match in the decider. Waters and Nassar’s semifinal match was a repeat of last week’s semifinal at the Central Gauteng Open and just like last week, Waters came through in four games to reach the final.
Waters, 30 and Lindsay, 29 are currently only one ranking place apart and their only prior encounter was at the Pyramids International last October where Waters won 11-9 in the fifth. This time Waters delighted the home fans by edging Lindsay in three close games and secured her fourth WSA title and first in South Africa.
Waters will be strong favourite to secure her fifth WSA title next week as she is top seed at the Keith Grainger Memorial UCT Open in Cape Town.
19th April – Final:
[2] Siyoli Waters (RSA) bt [1] Kylie Lindsay (NZL) 11-9 12-10 11-7
18th April – Semi Finals:
[1] Kylie Lindsay (NZL) bt Ahn Eun Chan (KOR) 5-11 4-11 11-8 11-6 11-7
[2] Siyoli Waters (RSA) bt [6] Salma Nassar (EGY) 11-4 10-12 11-3 11-9
17th April – Quarter Finals:
[1] Kylie Lindsay (NZL) bt [Q] Farrah Sterne (RSA) 7-11 11-6 11-6 11-4
Ahn Eun Chan (KOR) bt [3] Laura Pomportes (FRA) 6-11 8-11 11-6 6-6 rtd
[6] Salma Nassar (EGY) bt [4] Cheyna Tucker (RSA) 7-11 11-5 9-11 11-7 11-7
[2] Siyoli Waters (RSA) bt [8] Menna Nasser (EGY) 11-6 8-11 11-1 11-6
16th April – 1st Round:
[1] Kylie Lindsay bt [Q] Kim Ga-Hye 11-8 15-13 8-11 11-8
[Q] Farrah Sterne bt [5] Antonella Falcione 11-7 11-3 7-11 11-6
[3] Laura Pomportes bt [Q] Elani Landman 11-5 11-3 11-7
Ahn Eun Chan bt [7] Milnay Louw 11-8 5-1113-11 11-6
[6] Salma Nassar bt [Q] Alexander Fuller 11-8 7-11 12-10 11-5
[4] Cheyna Tucker bt Maia Kirk 11-3 11-1 11-5
[8] Mennat Nasser bt Adel Weir 11-9 11-8 11-7
[2] Siyoli Waters bt Aparajitha Balamurukan 11-4 11-8 11-7
15th April – Qualifying Finals:
Alexandra Fuller bt Nono Sekhoto 11-2 11-4 11-1
Farrah Sterne bt Julie Lee 7-11 11-5 11-4 11-8
Elani Landman bt Alexa Pienaar 9-11 11-5 11-5 5-11 11-8
Kim Ga – Hye bt Robyn Baptiste 12-10 11-7 11-4
14th April – Qualifying Round 1:
Nono Sekhoto bt Senade Haupt w/o
Farrah Sterne bt D. Schneider w/d
Elani Landman bt Lume Landman 11-8 8-11 11-2 11-2
Alexa Pienaar bt Diana Haynes w/d – Shin Splits injury
Robyn Baptiste bt Bongi Seroto 11-6 11-3 11-4
