Friday at the Growthpoint SA Nationals squash championships in Cape Town, defending women’s champion Lizelle Muller was challenged by Alexa Pienaar before qualifying for her fourth consecutive final.
When she trailed provincial teammate Pienaar 4-2 in the fifth game, the 37-year-old SA Country Districts player, who thinks this will likely be her final Growthpoint Nationals, found her title in jeopardy.
However, she was able to overcome the nerves that threatened to wreck her title chances and rally for a 9-11 12-10 11-7 9-11 11-7 victory.
She will meet first seed Alex Fuller, whom she lost to in the 2020 final, in Sunday’s championship final after the WP player defeated provincial teammate Siyoli Waters 3-0.
Despite the score, Waters performed admirably, pushing her 30th-ranked opponent to the limit before falling 11-9 12-10 11-9.
Christo Potgieter of Joburg Squash, the defending champion, reached the men’s final with relative ease, overcoming SACD’s Tristen Worth in a close opening game, 11-9, before dominating the next two games, 3-0.
On Sunday, he will face top seed Dewald van Niekerk (SACD) in a rematch of last year’s final, after the reigning champion defeated Northerns star Ruan Olivier 3-0.
Muller attributed her success to her experience as she maintained her composure in the face of a fierce assault from her SACD colleague.
“As this is most likely my last year at the championships, I knew I had to keep pushing to make the final,” she added.
“I was a bit apprehensive, and it is always difficult to play against a colleague. Alexa played quite well, so congratulations.
“I believe my experience paid off in the end, and now that I have accomplished my objective, I just want to go out and have fun.”
After winning a close first game, Pienaar will be disappointed that he did not close out the second game when he had a 10-8 advantage.
In contrast, Muller was able to find her shot and turn that disadvantage into a 12-10 victory to even the score.
From that point on, the reigning champion had to be patient and keep the ball deep, while capitalizing on any loose shots by her opponent.
Pienaar never gave up and surged to an 8-3 lead in the fourth game, putting her years of experience to good use. Although Muller was able to tie the score at 9-9, Pienaar won the following two critical points to force a decisive game.
In the fifth game, she continued in the same vein, but was continuously compelled to play her best shots due to Muller’s relentless pressure. It allowed the champion to gain a 10-7 advantage, and she eventually won on her first match point.
Results, ladies semi-finals: 1-Alex Fuller (WP) bt 5-Siyoli Waters (WP) 3-0 (11-9 12-10 11-9), 2-Lizelle Muller (SACD) bt 3-Alexa Pienaar (SACD) 3-2 (9-11 12-10 11-7 9-11 11-7)
Shelomi Truter (SACD) defeated Helena Coetzee (Northerns) with a score of 3-0 (11-3 11-6 11-5), and Teagan Roux (Joburg Squash) won by walkover.
Men, semi-finals: 1-Dewald van Niekerk (SACD) bt 5-Ruan Olivier (Northerns) 3-0 (11-8 11-5 11-3), 3-Christo Potgieter (Joburg Squash) bt 2-Tristen Worth 3-0 (11-9 11-2 11-2)
5-8 playoffs: JP Brits (SACD) defeated Matthew Boote (KZN) 3-0 (11-2 11-3 11-3), and Rodney Durbach (WP) cruised to a walkover victory.