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Waters Waltzes To Greenwich Open Win
Howard Harding reports...

RESULTS: Women's Harrow Greenwich Squash Open, Greenwich, CT, USA

Quarter-finals:
[1] Alison Waters (ENG) bt [8] Samantha Teran (MEX) 11-2, 11-6, 11-3
[4] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt [7] Engy Kheirallah (EGY) 1-11, 11-4, 4-11, 11-6, 11-9
Raneem El Weleily (EGY) bt [3] Laura Massaro (ENG) 11-8, 11-7, 11-7
[2] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt [5] Kasey Brown (AUS) 11-4, 11-9, 7-11,11-7

Semi-finals:
[1] Alison Waters (ENG) bt [4] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) 11-7, 11-4, 11-9
[2] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt Raneem El Weleily (EGY) 9-11, 11-7, 12-10, 7-11, 11-8

Final:
[1] Alison Waters (ENG) bt [2] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) 11-8, 12-10, 11-8

England's Alison Waters won the Women's Harrow Greenwich Open in convincing style at the Field Club of Greenwich in the USA, beating Egyptian Omneya Abdel Kawy in straight games in the final of the $37,450 WISPA World Tour Silver squash event in Greenwich, Connecticut.

The top seed from London, ranked six in the world, reached the final without dropping a game - then despatched Abdel Kawy, one place below on the world list, 11-8, 12-10, 11-8 to pick up the third WISPA title of her career.

Second seed Abdel Kawy was celebrating her third appearance in the climax of the event since 2005 - and her third finish as runner-up. But the 24-year-old from Cairo overcame stiff resistance from compatriot Raneem El Weleily in the semi-finals before winning 9-11, 11-7, 12-10, 7-11, 11-8. Unseeded El Weleily made her breakthrough in the tournament when she removed England's No3 seed Laura Massaro, the world No9 ranked 12 places higher, in a straight games quarter-final shock.

Waters In Line For US WISPA Double

England's world No6 Alison Waters is predicted to double her collection of WISPA World Tour squash titles in her first two tournaments of the year in the USA over the next two weeks.

The 25-year-old from London is top seed in both the long-established Harrow Greenwich Open, a $37,450 event at the Field Club of Greenwich in Connecticut, and the Burning River Classic, a $39,050 tournament in its fourth year at Cleveland Racquet Club in Ohio. Both are WISPA Silver 30 level events.

In each event, Waters is projected to line up against second seed Omneya Abdel Kawy, the world No7 from Egypt, in the final.

Waters has twice finished as runner-up in Greenwich - in 2006 and 2008 - while Abdel Kawy was the beaten finalist last year. In the 2009 Burning River Classic, Waters won the runner-up cheque.

The Harrow Greenwich Open takes place between 21-24 January, followed by the Burning River Classic from 31 January to 3 February.

Played alongside the Harrow Greenwich Open will be the North American Open Men's Hardball Doubles, an ISDA-sanctioned championship and one of the

prominent squash events in the United States.

Harrow Greenwich Open 1st round draw:

[1] Alison Waters (ENG) v Qualifier

[8] Samantha Teran (MEX) v Lauren Briggs (ENG) [4] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) v Qualifier [7] Engy Kheirallah (EGY) v Qualifier [6] Camille Serme (FRA) v Raneem El Weleily (EGY) [3] Laura Massaro (ENG) v Qualifier [5] Kasey Brown (AUS) v Tania Bailey (ENG) [2] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) v Latasha Khan (USA) Burning River Classic 1st round draw:

[1] Alison Waters (ENG) v Qualifier

[6] Engy Kheirallah (EGY) v Qualifier

[3] Madeline Perry (IRL) v Qualifier

[7] Samantha Teran (MEX) v Lauren Briggs (ENG) [5] Kasey Brown (AUS) v Qualifier [4] Laura Massaro (ENG) v Raneem El Weleily (EGY) [8] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) v Dominique Lloyd-Walter (ENG) [2] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) v Latasha Khan (USA)