The No. 3 and No. 5 ranked players in the world took the court at Vassar College last weekend to determine the 2007 WISPA (Women’s Internation Squash Players Association) Tournament Champion. Both have been previous winners of the event, with Rachael Grinham (AUS) taking the title in 2003 and Natalie Grainger (USA) in 2005.
Grinham moves well and is quick, producing an array of shots that can confound any opponent. Grainger is a power hitter who has the uncanny ability to take the pace out of a rally and establish control.
On a day when Australia went into mourning over their Rugby World Cup exit, they could take great pride in the exceptional talent of one of their own as Rachael Grinham won the WISPA Vassar Class of ‘32 Professional Squash Tournament on Oct. 7.
No. 1 seed Rachael Grinham (AUS) defeated No. 2 seed Natalie Grainger (USA) 9-7, 10-8, 6-9, 1-9, 9-6. (Length of match: 1:12)
Natalie Grainger jumped ahead 2-0 in the first game employing the tactic that had proved so successful in her semifinal win over Shelley Kitchen. She hit drop shots to the front left corner that proved difficult to pick up. But Rachael Grinham adapted and she countered with deep lobs to the back right corner. She also put great length on the ball in rallies as evidenced by the three occasions Grainger struck the back wall with her racket as she kept the rally alive. From 2-2, Grainger led 4-2, and then Grinham went on a tear, winning 5 points in a row to lead 7-4. She closed out the game 9-7.
The second game was similar and both players had scoring spells. Grainger went up 3-1 and in an early rally there was a brief scare as Grinham fell heavily in the front court. But she popped up and seemed more disgusted with herself than anything else. Grainger was cutting off shots early and trying to dictate the rallies. But a couple of unforced errors allowed Grinham back in to the contest and at 3-3 there was a long spell when they traded serves. The crowd of just over 100 was enjoying every moment, particularly when Grinham hit a couple of shots between her legs.
Both showed cat-like reflexes in the front court with an exchange of volleys close to the front wall. Grinham used some back wall boasts to get out of trouble and waited for Grainger to make a mistake. In this manner she went up 8-3. But Grainger replied with a run of her own coming from 4-8 down to 8-8. At 8-8 and nothing to choose between the players it was Grinham who picked up this game 10-8. Her penultimate winner was a sublime shot that was barely a millimeter above the tin that went cross court and out of Grainger’s reach.
The Australian led the match 2-0 and the crowd sensed that perhaps this would only go another set. Grainger had played some lovely shots and yet come out on the wrong end so how could she survive? But Grainger is in great shape and obviously didn’t share the crowd’s concern. She came out and battled throughout the third game, dealing with the deep lobs and trying to add power. Her overheads were strong and she kept Grinham at full stretch time and time again. The crowd got behind Grainger as they wanted to see this match go the distance. At 4-4 Grainger had an excellent spell and went up 7-4. Grinham battled back to 7-6. But Grainger maintained good length on her volleys and powered on to win 9-6. At 2-1, it was match on.
Buoyed by her success Grainger was like a gunslinger in game 4. She started emphatically with an overhead for a winner. In the blink of an eye it was 5-0. Grinham had to stretch full length just to stay in the rallies and although there was a strong fight back Grainger never let her off the hook and won 9-1. The players had been on court for an hour and it was all tied up at 2-2.
The crowd’s applause was loud as they anticipated the final game. It was hard to know who to cheer for as both had played outstanding squash. It was a tense time for the players and they were both dripping wet from the fast-paced games and the warm Vassar court. Grainger had the momentum going in to this decider and went up 2-0. Again, the length of her shots was critical. Grinham kept chasing everything down and played a couple of wicked boasts that caught the side wall nick and she got back to 2-2. Grinham’s stalwart defense was proving effective. She edged ahead 6-2 when she struck a backhand drive down the left wall rather than a lob, and followed it with a lovely cross court shot for a winner. Both caught Grainger off-guard. Grainger must have felt the match slipping away so she summoned up the energy to regain serve. That she did and then she produced 4 points of her own to tie the game at 6-6. So it was 2-2 in games and 6-6 in the final game. All the remaining points were top draw. A cross court backhand from Grinham got her the serve back and she added a point for 7-6 with a deep lob that was difficult to return and struck the tin. Then it was 8-6 and game ball after another lengthy rally, and Grinham took the title when Grainger hit a volley in the front court just inches from the front wall that came back and hit the American. It had been breathtaking action. The applause was loud, long and well-deserved.
(Article courtesy of Vassar College)