Kitchen Avenges Nationals Defeat In Hong Kong

New Zealand number one Shelley Kitchen beat Tamsyn Leevey in today's semi-finals of the Crocodile Challenge Cup in Hong Kong to avenge the loss to her compatriot in last year's National Championships.

Kitchen, the No1 seed from Auckland, needed 42 minutes to gain her 9-4 9-10 9-5 9-5 win over Leevey, the fourth seed from Wellington.

Kitchen's opponent in her eighth WISPA World Tour final will be local star Rebecca Chiu, the Asian Games champion from Hong Kong. Chiu, the second seed, cruised to a 9-4 9-1 9-3 win over Scotland's Pamela Nimmo in 25 minutes to reach her ninth Tour final.

Dreams of local representation in both finals expired when Germany's Simon Rosner ended the courageous run of Hong Kong qualifier Dick Lau. The effects of the 19-year-old's sensational five-game quarter-final upset over top-seeded compatriot Wai Hang Wong, the title-holder, clearly took its toll in the semi-final.

Rosner, the eighth seed, defeated Lau 11-9 11-9 11-6 in 45 minutes to set up a final against Dylan Bennett. The second seed from the Netherlands was fully tested by fourth seed Campbell Grayson before ultimately prevailing 10-11 11-9 11-9 7-11 11-8 over the New Zealander in 50 minutes.

Men's semi-finals:
[8] Simon Rosner (GER) bt [Q] Dick Lau (HKG) 11-9, 11-9, 11-6 (45m)
[2] Dylan Bennett (NED) bt [4] Campbell Grayson (NZL) 10-11 (0-2), 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 11-8 (50m)

Women's semi-finals:
[1] Shelley Kitchen (NZL) bt [4] Tamsyn Leevey (NZL) 9-4, 9-10, 9-5, 9-5 (42m)
[2] Rebecca Chiu (HKG) bt [3] Pamela Nimmo (SCO) 9-4, 9-1, 9-3 (25m)