Grinham Survives Kheirallah Marathon At Heights Casino

Top-seeded Australian Rachael Grinham had to fight back from two games down to overcome fast-improving Engy Kheirallah in a dramatic 85-minute semi-final of the Women's Carol Weymuller Open at Heights Casino in New York, USA.

It was the 24-year-old Egyptian's second marathon clash in 24 hours after battling past England's Lauren Briggs in a 92-minute quarter-final duel.

But Grinham's greater experience shone through in the semi of the established WISPA World Tour event as she dug deep to forge a 6-9, 3-9, 9-5, 9-3, 9-6 victory to earn her second successive final appearance in a WISPA event - and the 38th of her career.

"From the knock up, the ball felt really heavy on my racket, I couldn't seem to get a decent length especially when I tried to put pace on the ball," said a relieved Grinham afterwards. "Basically she was playing much better squash than me in the first two games - I knew the only way to stay in the match was to run everything down and luckily my movement was very good today.

"I had to keep her behind me and deep, so I started lobbing as much as possible - forcing Engy to go for higher risk shots which she did in the third and fourth to let me back in. In the fifth, she became more patient and kept the ball deep for longer which made the fifth a close game," added the 29-year-old from Queensland.

Kheirallah, the third seed who lost to the Australian in last month's British Open semi-finals, admitted that she had been nervous of being tired - "but felt good".

"I was playing really well and Rachel was making a lot of mistakes and I couldn't believe it when I was 2/0 up! I had a lead in the third then Rachael changed her game, slowing the pace and hitting a lot of lobs. In the fifth, I got more patient and got a second wind - but she was playing better and her experience won her the match," explained the world No12 from Alexandria.

The first game of the other semi-final was over almost as soon as it started, with USA's No2 seed Natalie Grainger playing at a blistering pace that caught her opponent Annelize Naude completely off guard.

The fourth seed from the Netherlands fought back in the second to draw level, but Grainger reasserted her authority thereafter to carve out a 9-1, 5-9, 9-2, 9-1 win in 35 minutes.

The win takes the former world number one from Washington DC into her second WISPA final on home soil this year - and the 26th of her career.

Semi-finals:
[1] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [3] Engy Kheirallah (EGY) 6-9, 3-9, 9-5, 9-3, 9-6 (85m)
[2] Natalie Grainger (USA) bt [4] Annelize Naude (NED) 9-1, 5-9, 9-2, 9-1 (35m)