Rachael & Laura In Monte Carlo Final

The top two seeds Rachael Grinham and Laura Lengthorn-Massaro will contest the final of the Women's Monte Carlo Classic after straight games triumphs in the semi-finals of the $25,300 WISPA World Tour squash event in its 13th year at Stade Louis II in Monte Carlo in Monaco.

Favourite Grinham, the world No3 from Australia who is celebrating her second successive appearance in the final, took just 26 minutes to despatch France's fourth seed Isabelle Stoehr 11-5, 11-3, 12-10.

"I felt really good again," said Grinham afterwards. "And with Isabelle making a few unusual errors it was a good combo for me. I have had some hard matches with her and she can be really dangerous, but she made it a bit easier for me today."

Stoehr agreed: "I didn't find any length today and she was controlling me," said the world No12 from Montpellier. "She is really good even when it is tight so you can imagine when it was in the middle!"

The other semi saw Lengthorn-Massaro, the second seed from England, take on third seed Vanessa Atkinson, the former world number one from the Netherlands who was the Monte Carlo champion in 2005. The higher-ranked English player made up for a lack-lustre performance in the quarter-finals to claim a convincing 11-3, 11-4, 11-8 victory in 27 minutes.

A downcast Atkinson said later: "For the first half of the opening game I just thought that I needed to wake up. I felt heavy and my body was not reacting to the pace. It was the opposite of yesterday, and she didn't give me a chance to recover."

Lengthorn-Massaro, celebrating her first appearance in the Monaco final, acknowledged a different approach in the semi-final: "I was probably a bit too relaxed yesterday. Today I was focussed in my head but relaxed on the ball. I was really sharp, volleying well and finishing; it was probably the best that I have played for a while."

Semi-finals:
[1] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [4] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) 11-5, 11-3, 12-10 (26m)
[2] Laura Lengthorn-Massaro (ENG) bt [3] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) 11-3, 11-4, 11-8 (27m)