Siyoli Waters reached the semi-finals of the Indian Challenger event in Chennai last week and will be looking to continue her good form at the Hong Kong Chairman’s Cup on Tuesday.
The Cape Town based player overcame 90th ranked France’s Laura Pomportes in the quarter-finals, winning 3-0 (11-6 11-9 16-14) and then went on to play Hong Kong’s Joey Chan. But she went down 3-2 (11-6 11-8 5-11 4-11 11-9) to the world’s 35th ranked player in the semi-finals.
“After battling with the tournament’s No4 seed, Dipika Pallikal in the first round, I met with the very agile Pomportes,” said Waters (nee Lusaseni). “My game plan was to apply pressure by taking the ball early and using pace. This strategy seemed to work well. In the third game, I tried to wrap things up too quickly, which meant the rallies were too short or I made errors trying to play winners. Taking it point-for-point, I was able to finish the match, winning in three straight games.
“The match against Joey was ‘interesting’. I knew she was quick and clever, and she pounced at me in the first two games, and I couldn’t quite settle or move in the way I wanted to. In the third game I exploited a weakness of hers, and just sat on it… which seemed to work well.
“It all had to be accompanied with some hard work, fetching many of her boasts or tricky shots to the front, and also concentrating on winning points at the back of the court, rather than the front – where I’m likely to make more errors.
“In the fifth, I had the lead and seemed to be dominating, but again rushed to capitalise on the pressure I was building, but I forgot to sustain it long enough…or to continue to exploit her weakness. An experienced player like her, remained steady, fought back, and played some impressive finishes. She knows there will be war next time.”
Waters’ first round match in Hong Kong will be against Japan’s Miwa Maekawa, ranked 112th, just one spot ahead of the South African, meaning it should be a well-matched scrap. Last year Waters and Steve Coppinger represented SA at the World Games in Taiwan. Coppinger also reached the semi-finals at the Indian Challenger event.
Article Source: http://www.sascoc.co.za/
