Report from Tournament Director Jay Nash
MARIA TOORPAKAI WAZIR (PAK) vs MILOU VAN DER HEIJDEN (NED) 13-11 11-3 11-9 (27 mins)
This was a special game as it was the first ever WSA Nash Cup event. It was nice to see the top 2 seeds reach the final (despite both beating Canadians in their respective semi finals!). Also, Maria brought her coach down for the final – none other than Mr Jonathan Power!
Milou had got better as the tournament had progressed and she started out well against Maria. Maria was always going to play at a high pace so it was important for Milou to take space away from her opponent. She led 3-2, 5-3, 7-4 but Maria strung a couple of good points together to get back to 6-7. It was now Milou’s turn to sting some good points together and she marched to 10-6 game ball with patient but positive squash. Maria then took it to Milou and played 3 winners and got a stroke to bring it back to 10-10. They shared points to 11-11 then Maria played 2 boasts to win the game – a volley boast and a trickle boast.
The second game was all Maria. The high pace won its fair share of winners but also forced a number of errors from Milou. 11-3 Maria.
The 3rd was very keenly contested. Maria maintained her momentum and went 2-0 up. Despite a big fight back from Milou, Maria built on this to lead 5-2. That became 7-3 and 9-5. So close to the finishing line. Did Milou have anything left to throw at her opponent? Answer – yes! She went from 5-9 to 9-9 in one hand and one had to ask why she hadn’t played this quality of squash throughout the match (simple answer is that Maria was not letting her). Maria stayed calm and won the next 2 points with a volley boast and a cross court drive winner to become the inaugural WSA Nash Cup Ladies Champion.
Maria ”when I win a tournament, I feel that I am moving forwards towards my goals.so winning today means a lot to me. I was nervous. I played well and that helped control my nerves. I love London Squash – the people are lovely and very enthusiastic about squash – they understand it! I would love to come back next year but a lot will depend on where I am with my ranking”
Milou “Obviously disappointed to lose. At 10-6 in the first, I got 3 “no lets” and this unsettled me. After the first she played much better. She is a very physical player. After going 2-0 down I was not going to just lie down without a fight but she did play better than me today. I am still happy with the tournament. London Squash is a great place. I don’t get to play in front of big crowds that often like there was today. I had a lovely billet (Jay Nash and his family) and met some lovely people, and hope to be back next year.