V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa: Defending women’s champion Lizelle Muller was put through the wringer before emerging from a bruising battle with Alexa Pienaar to qualify for her fourth straight final in the Growthpoint SA Nationals squash championships in Cape Town on Friday.
The 37-year-old SA Country Districts player, who says she will probably be playing in her last Growthpoint Nationals, saw her crown teetering when she trailed provincial colleague Pienaar 4-2 in the fifth game.
But she was able to shrug off the nerves which threatened to derail her title hopes to rally for a hard-fought win 9-11 12-10 11-7 9-11 11-7.
She will face the winner of the later semi-final between top seed Alex Fuller and No 5 Siyoli Waters, both of Western Province, in Sunday’s final.
Joburg Squash’s Christo Potgieter, the 2020 champion, advanced to the men’s final in relatively comfortable fashion, coming through a tough first game against SACD’s Tristen Worth 11-9, but then taking control of the next two in a 3-0 result.
He will play the winner of the second men’s semi-final between top seed Dewald van Niekerk (SACD) and Northerns player Ruan Olivier, seeded five.
Van Niekerk put her victory down to experience as she kept her composure in the face of a terrific onslaught from her SACD colleague.
“As this is probably my last year at the Nationals, I really wanted to be in the final, so I knew I just had to keep pushing,” she said.
“I did feel a bit nervous, and it is always difficult to play against your teammate and Alexa played very well, so well done.
“I think my experience came through in the end and now that I have achieved my goal, I just want to go out and enjoy myself and have fun, whoever I’m playing.”
After winning a tight first game, Pienaar, who produced some stunning volleys into the nick, will rue not wrapping up the second game after leading 10-8.
Instead, Muller was able to find her range and transformed that deficit into a 12-10 win to level the match.
From then it was a case of the defending champion showing patience and keeping the ball deep, without neglecting to capitalise on any loose shots by her opponent.
She needed all her years of experience because Pienaar never gave up the fight and surged into an 8-3 lead in the fourth game. Although Muller was able to get back to 9-9, Pienaar sent the match into a decider by winning the next two crucial points.
She continued in that vein in the fifth game but was constantly forced to play her best shots as Muller kept up relentless pressure. This allowed the champion to build a 10-7 lead and she finished it off with her first match point.
Results:
Women
5-8 playoffs: Shelomi Truter (SACD) bt Helena Coetzee (Northerns) 3-0 (11-3 11-6 11-5), Teagan Roux (Joburg Squash) walkover
Semi-finals: 2-Lizelle Muller (SACD) bt 3-Alexa Pienaar (SACD) 3-2 (9-11 12-10 11-7 9-11 11-7)
Men
5-8 playoffs: JP Brits (SACD) bt Matthew Boote (KZN) 3-0 (11-2 11-3 11-3), Rodney Durbach (WP) walkover
Semi-finals: 3-Christo Potgieter (Joburg Squash) bt 2-Tristen Worth 3-0 (11-9 11-2 11-2)
Ends
Captions:
FREE TO USE PICTURES
Joburg Squash’s Christo Potgieter: beat SACD’s Tristen Worth 3-0 to reach the men’s final of the Growthpoint SA Nationals squash championships at the V & A Waterfront in Cape Town on Friday.
SACD’s Lizelle Muller: the defending champion, beat provincial colleague Alexa Pienaar 3-2 to reach the women’s final of the Growthpoint SA Nationals squash championships at the V & A Waterfront in Cape Town on Friday.
Picture credit: Petri Oeschger
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