The highest world ranked players competing in the qualification stage of the Women’s Singles event at the English Open in Sheffield, all finished in first place in their respective groups when the initial stage of proceedings came to a close on Thursday 28th October 2009.
Poland’s Zhu Fang, Hong Kong’s Zhang Rui, China’s Wen Jia and Japan’s Kasumi Ishikawa, the top four rated players all enjoyed success. Equally for the ensuing quartet there were no alarm bells ringing doom. Li Xue of France, Poland’s Xue Jie, the Czech Republic’s Renata Strbikova and Iveta Vacenovska all enjoyed success. Performances of Note
However, lower down the order there were three performances of note where the lower ranked player emerged successful.
Korea’s Kim Mi Soon defeated Germany’s Nadine Bollmeier and the Czech Republic’s Katerina Penkakova overcame Germany’s Laura Robertson.
Worthy Effort
However, the effort to catch the eye was that of Linda Creemers from the Netherlands; she overcame Canada’s Zhang Mo.
The Canadian is a young lady who simply does not have an angry bone in her body and recently shone at the Francophone Games held in the Lebanese city of Beirut. She partnered Pradeeban Peter-Paul to success in the team event and was crowned Women’s Singles champion.
Furthermore, as the North American champion, she competed in the Intercontinental Cup in Guangzhou earlier this month, finishing in second place to Australia’s Miao Miao.
Emerging from Shadows
However, in Sheffield she found Linda Creemers in form and a player who is just starting to emerge from the shadows.
The problem for Linda Creemers is forcing a way into a team that with Li Jiao, Li Jie and Elena Timina has won the Women’s Team title at the Liebherr European Championships on the two most recent occasions the competition has been held.
Impressed in Linz
One week ago in the Austrian city of Linz, the enforced absence of Li Jiao meant that Linda Creemers was selected and had a chance to show her skills; furthermore she did herself justice.
She suffered defeat in five games at the hands of Japan’s Kasumi Ishikawa, a talented young lady who reached the quarter-finals of the Women’s Singles event at the H.I.S. World Championships in Yokohama earlier in the year and had the temerity to extract one game from the redoubtable Zhang Yining!
Knocking at Door
In Linz, Linda Creemers underlined the fact that the top three Dutch players can have no room for complacency; in Sheffield she reinforced that view.
Sshe is knocking at the door and maybe that door will soon open.
Source: ittf.com
