English Pair To Contest Reykjavik Final

The inaugural Women's Icelandair Group Classic, the first ever WISPA Premiere Series event, will climax in an all-English final after Dominique Lloyd-Walter and Sarah Kippax overcame their semi-final opponents in contrasting styles at Veggsport Squash Club in the Iceland capital Reykjavik.

In their third clash this year, third seed Dominique Lloyd-Walter faced New Zealander Jaclyn Hawkes, the top seed. Hawkes sped to a 2/0 lead, but the 26-year-old from Harrow fought back to clinch an impressive upset 3-9, 3-9, 9-0, 9-6, 9-4 after 89 minutes.

"Even in the fifth, I didn't think I had a chance," said a delighted Lloyd-Walter afterwards. "I hadn't trained for a week because of my ankle and I wasn't confident at all. It was only at 7/4 in the decider that I began to believe I might win."

Now in her third WISPA World Tour final - though her first for more than two years - Lloyd-Walter will face Sarah Kippax, the 24-year-old from Chester who is celebrating her sixth final.

The fourth seed faced surprise opponent Tenille Swartz, the fifth seed from South Africa who defeated second seed Sharon Wee in a major first round upset.

Kippax took the first two games and soon reached match-ball at 8-4 in the third. But the gritty 20-year-old from Parys bravely fought back to move to 9/8 in a single hand to claim an unlikely game-ball.

Kippax regained the advantage and, after 47 minutes, secured her 9-5, 10-8, 10-9 victory.

"I thought I played pretty well, trying to keep the pace up as I thought she may be a little bit tired from her match yesterday," said Kippax.

Rising star Swartz was not too downhearted: "My legs felt quite heavy and Sarah is such a physical player and I couldn't keep up. She took me short and I struggled a bit. But I'm happy as my squash was good and coming to Iceland was a great experience."

Semi-finals:
[3] Dominique Lloyd-Walter (ENG) bt [1] Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) 3-9, 3-9, 9-0, 9-6, 9-4 (89m)
[4] Sarah Kippax (ENG) bt [5] Tenille Swartz (RSA) 9-5, 10-8, 10-9 (47m)