Dipika Pallikal took the Meadowood Pharmacy Open by storm to claim the sixth WSA title of her career.
The 21-year-old Indian stormed through the opening two round of the WSA Tour15 event in Winnipeg, Canada, defeating qualifier Laura Pomportes and No.7 seed Amanda Landers-Murphy in straight games. Playing the 60th WSA event of her career, Pallikal then faced a resolute challenge from Sarah-Jane Perry of England in the semi-final, dropping the second game and just squeezing through a 16-14 tiebreak in the third before ending the contest in four games.
Second seed Joey Chan of Hong Kong awaited the world No.15 in the final, having similar results in her early matches. The 24-year-old dispatched Czech qualifier Olga Ertlova and Englishwoman Emma Beddoes in three-games to ensure a semi-final place, before coming from a game behind to beat Miskai Kobayashi of Japan in four.
Pallikal’s tenth WSA final proved too much experience for the world No.19, as the Indian closed out a tight first game. Chan altered her approach in the second game in favour of a more attacking strategy. This tactical switch worked well in the opening stage of the game, before Pallikal adjusted her play to combat her opponent. Some timely winners extended the top seed’s lead to two games, and a continuation of this form saw her run out a 6-0 lead in the third game. Chan was unable to combat the increased pressure from the Indian and was only able to scrape back a few points before Pallikal closed out the contest.
Afterwards, Pallikal thanked the tournament organisers and sponsors, as well as her coach, Sarah Fitz-Gerald. She mentioned that it was great to see such big crowds supporting WSA squash in Winnipeg.
The 4th annual Meadowood Pharmacy Open saw the highest calibre of competition it has seen in its four year existence, following the highest ranked winner in its history claiming the 2013 title.
