In the women’s final it
was 20-year-old Kaitlyn Watts from Manawatu who overcame
national champion, Emma Millar in four games in the final
14-12 11-8 8-11 11-9.
It was Watts who showed her
intent early on in the match where she threw herself around
the court with three full-length dives in one
point.
Throughout 2021 the pair who are both currently
ranked just outside the top 100 had clashed on four
occasions with Watts winning three finals and Millar the
other in the quarter-finals at the Auckland Open.
In
the final in Wellington Watts took the first game as the
momentum swung back and fourth while the second game looked
a bit more decisive as Millar played catch up. However the
third turned again as Millar came up with a few key winners,
including a couple from the back of the court.
As is
so often the case neither player has the match under control
until the last point was won as Watts took the fourth game
in a real battle which was worthy of a final.
In the
third and fourth playoffs 18-year-old Jena Gregory (Hawkes
Bay) won in fourth games over fellow-teen Diana Galloway
(Wellington) and Taupo’s Willz Donnelly also took four
games to beat BOP’s Glenn Templeton in the men’s
third/fourth match.
Women’s Open Final:
[1]
Kaitlyn Watts beat [2] Emma Millar 14-12 11-8 8-11
11-9
Men’s Open Final:
[1] Evan Williams beat [2]
Chris van der Salm 12-10 12-10 5-11
11-8
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