Alison & Samantha Score Seeding Upsets In Dallas

After an opening day of predictable outcomes in the first round of the Women's Texas Open in the USA, England's Alison Waters and Mexican Samantha Teran scored significant upsets on day two at the Downtown Dallas YMCA.

Teran, who missed a year on the WISPA World Tour following a bad knee injury, showed that the extensive training that she has undergone over the past six months is finally beginning to pay dividends. The 23-year-old from Mexico City outlasted sixteenth seed Rebecca Chiu to take an unexpected place in the last sixteen.

Teran has a game which contrasts sharply with her opponent from Hong Kong. Hitting the ball heavily, straight and deep, she slowly induced mistakes from Chiu, who has a fine all-round game. However, the Asian Games champion found an opponent all too willing to chase down drops and everything else she was hit with. Teran, currently ranked 37, came out stronger in the fifth game of the 73-minute clash - and was cheered home by her parents who had picked a fortuitous occasion to travel north of the border to watch her.

"After I saw the draw, I thought I had a chance and was excited," said Teran after her 5-9 9-1 9-5 5-9 9-2 triumph. "I thought that if we would play five games I would have an advantage because I am fit now."

Samantha now plays England's seventh seed Vicky Botwright, who had a more straightforward 9-1 9-3 9-1 win over Pakistan's Carla Khan to book a place on the glass court in the Atrium of Plaza of the Americas in Dallas.

Later, Alison Waters beat 14th seed Annelize Naude 7-9 9-7 9-5 9-1 in 58 minutes. Naude, the world No15 from the Netherlands, would have expected a struggle against in-form Alison Waters - who made her top twenty debut in March - and ended in a tussle from which she emerged second best. Having won the first game, the Dutch star raced to a 7-2 lead in the second before being pegged back. After losing a stroke when she was a point away from game-ball, Naude's confidence ebbed away as Waters began to take control.

"I lost focus at 7-2 up and that probably gave Alison the confidence to get back in," Naude ruefully commented afterwards.

England Squash coach Paul Carter had nursed Waters home - but was unable to repeat the success when his other charge Dominique Lloyd Walter was pitted against World Open champion Vanessa Atkinson in another England/Netherlands clash.

Second seed Atkinson, however, was complimentary about her opponent after her 9-5 9-6 4-9 9-2 win over the Englishwoman. "Dominique has drawn me so many times it's untrue, and again today even when she went two down her head didn't go down. You have to credit her mental strength."

It was an easy day for France's unseeded Isabelle Stoehr - who discovered that her opponent Fiona Geaves, the 13th seed from England, had withdrawn having woken up to find that the right Achilles tendon strained in practice the previous day had tightened further overnight. In the second round, Stoehr will now play fourth seed Nicol David, the Malaysian whose total court coverage drained the life out of Latasha Khan as she cruised to a 9-2 9-6 9-6 over the American.

Fifth seed Linda Elriani was another player who was delayed rather than derailed. English compatriot Stephanie Brind started strongly, volleying well while Elriani was struggling to find her length. Brind served for the first game twice at 9-8 but could convert neither as Elriani had by now began to settle. With the first game gone, Brind began to struggle against the better length and high balls that her opponent served up - Elriani ultimately winning 10-9 9-3 9-3 in 37 minutes.

1st round:
Samantha Teran (MEX) bt [16] Rebecca Chiu (HKG) 5-9, 9-1, 9-5, 5-9, 9-2 (73m)
[7] Vicky Botwright (ENG) bt Carla Khan (PAK) 9-1, 9-3, 9-1 (37m)
Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) bt [13] Fiona Geaves (ENG) w/o
[4] Nicol David (MAS) bt Latasha Khan (USA) 9-2, 9-6, 9-6 (28m)
[12] Madeline Perry (IRL) bt Runa Reta (CAN) 9-2, 9-4, 9-1 (42m)
[5] Linda Elriani (ENG) bt Stephanie Brind (ENG) 10-9, 9-3, 9-3 (37m)
Alison Waters (ENG) bt [14] Annelize Naude (NED) 7-9, 9-7, 9-5, 9-1 (58m)
[2] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt Dominique Lloyd-Walter (ENG) 9-5, 9-6, 4-9, 9-2 (41m)