Camille Serme caused a sensation on Sunday by becoming the first Frenchwoman ever to win the British Open title. The 26-year-old from Creteil, near Paris, who has never broken into the world's top four, was too physically fresh and tactically astute for home hope Laura Massaro, defeating the third-seeded former world and British Open champion 11-3, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8 in a stunning display.
It was possible Massaro had been feeling the effects of her 77-minute victory from match-point down against Nicol David, the legendary titleholder, on Saturday but Serme capitalised boldly and commendably as she surged to victory on the show court in Hull, northern England.
Serme took the ball in short wherever possible, especially with drops which clung to the walls, and then lobbed or drove to the back, trying to make Massaro's legs do more work than they wanted to. Serme also volleyed challengingly. It worked, except for a spell from 6-5 in the third game until she was 6-8 down in the fourth when Massaro, with characteristic, tenacity refused to admit defeat.
At the end, Serme did not know whether to laugh or cry and, during the immediate post-match interview, she had to apologise for being briefly lost for words. "I feel so much now," she said. "But strangely I didn't really feel nervous during the match. I was so focussed. I just had to go on court and use my tactics.
"In the third game Laura put up such a fight. I always admire her spirit. I knew she was not going to give up. She showed that yesterday (in Saturday's semi-final against David).
Comments
Comments are closed.