Top Seeds To Tussle For Texas Title

Top seeds Rachael Grinham and Vanessa Atkinson will battle for glory in the final of the Women's Texas Open after straightforward straight games semi-final victories on the all-glass court at the Plaza of The Americas in downtown Dallas in the USA.

Favourite Rachael Grinham, the world No1 from Australia and the title-holder, beat her younger sister Natalie Grinham 9-4 9-5 9-1 in 46 minutes, while second seed Atkinson, the world champion from the Netherlands, defeated England's Vicky Botwright 9-3 9-2 10-8 in 44 minutes.

Toowoomba is a town in Queensland, Australia. Not on the tourist circuit, nor famous, but it does have a well-known annual flower carnival. It also has two exports: the Toowoomba Twosome - Rachael and Natalie Grinham.

Standing at one and three in the world, the pair tend to meet in matches on the WISPA Tour depending upon which half of the draw they are placed. When on opposite sides, one or both seem to fall before the final (they haven't played one since 2001) - but when they are on the same side, as in this week's fourth Texas Open, they regularly play off to ensure that the family has one representative on the last day.

The atrium ice rink at the Plaza of the Americas was the bearpit in which the sisters would do battle. A lightweight contest between two featherweights who feint and move rather than hope to progress based upon weight of shot.

When filmed for the WISPA international TV highlights programmes, players are required to wear different coloured clothing to ease recognition. In the case of the Twosome, it is absolutely essential as they are so similar!

Rachael (in red) started the stronger, while Natalie (in white) seemed less able to get in front to control rallies. They know each other's game very well - of course - but, living in different parts of the world (Natalie in Netherlands, Rachael in Egypt), they rarely train together.

They both boast and float the ball more than most players. Taken together it meant a feast of all-court play. Front to back, side to side and in tangents around each other they progressed. Rachael picked up more opportunities to finish rallies, sometimes with overhead kills that brought immediate and excited applause. Natalie was making occasional mistakes, perhaps the product of trying even harder to outwit her knowing opponent.

This was enough to take Rachael to the first game, and she maintained her edge in the second and what turned out to be the third and last. Try as she might, Natalie could run and fight but not impose herself on the match. Rachael, the senior by one year at 28 had won and was in the final, her 28th on the WISPA World Tour.

Interviewed afterwards, the winner commented: "For Natalie and me, it depends who is on their game on the day. We are close and she was just a little off and it tipped the balance my way."

Natalie, meanwhile, ruefully told a reporter: "Usually I can rely on my running, but today everything was going in for her."

Vanessa Atkinson's major problem occurred before, rather than during, her semi-final match with Vicky Botwright. Only as she dressed to play did she realise that her remaining skirt was not in her drawer but instead with the rest being laundered. Fortunately for her the problem was solved by a loan from Natalie Grainger, the sixth seed from the USA whom Natalie Grinham had upset the previous day.

Botwright, surprise winner over fourth seed Nicol David, was also clearly thinking about her skirt. The previous evening she had worn black to match the angry ball bruise on her thigh. Now that the bruise had turned blue, she was able to continue the matching with a navy one for the semis!

World champion Atkinson had beaten her English opponent 3/0 in the last four of the Tournament of Champions in February, and managed to maintain her record in this match. Botwright, who entered the world top ten at the start of the year and is now up to seven is becoming a serious contender at the age of 27 (two years younger than Atkinson). But the Manchester-based England international found herself chasing the game too much. Atkinson comes forward so strongly these days, and though she may lose her focus for odd games as she did against Linda Elriani in the quarters, tends not to drop whole matches very often.

Here, it was only in the third game that Botwright began to find a rhythm that was in any way unsettling to the Dutchwoman. Until then she had spent too much of the match pinned to the back wall. It was a dose of Botwright's medicine, however, that saw Atkinson caress a winner to save the game ball that Botwright had acquired at 8/7 before going on to take the match by pushing her opponent back into a rear corner without room to dig out the ball.

"I am disappointed, but she put me under so much pressure that I wasn't allowed to produce anything except in the do-or-die third," said Botwright after her second surprise semi-final appearance in a WISPA Grand Prix event this year.

Atkinson was complimentary in victory: "I was very scared coming into the game to be honest. She hadn't dropped a game before today and is playing well," said the eight-times Dutch national champion who is now celebrating her 25th appearance in a WISPA final.

Despite having played countless times before, this will be Grinham and Atkinson's first meeting this year - though their third in a final since last July. A Dutch win would take Atkinson very close to the top ranking spot that Grinham holds and the world number two covets. "I will really have to dig in to have a chance," said Atkinson.

Semi-finals:
[1] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [3] Natalie Grinham (AUS) 9-4, 9-5, 9-1 (46m)
[2] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt [7] Vicky Botwright (ENG) 9-3, 9-2, 10-8 (44m)