British player Jacklyn Hawkes has something to smile about when she gets back to her home country after dominating the New Zealand Squash Championships that was held in Palmerston North last weekend. She was the tournament’s top seeded player.
The world no. 16 was able to overcome the tough challenge provided by Hamilton resident Joelle King in the 49-minute thriller, winning 9-19, 11-8, 11-6 and 11-5.
In the men’s side, Kashif Shuja of Auckland clinched his fifth career national title by beating compatriot George Crosby 11-0, 11-8 and 11-9 in under thirty minutes.
Shuja’s haul of national title is second best compared to Paul Steel of Bay of Plenty who accumulated 10 national titles in his career.
After winning the tournament, Hawkes is expected to immediately fly back home to celebrate the victory with family and friends. During the final, she overcame her opponent’s aggressive tactics by playing aggressively as well to push King the back of the court to dictate play with her squash racket.
In an interview after the match, Hawkes said that she’s been joining this tournament every year because she considers this event important. When asked about her style of play, she said that it was all about dictating play that led to her victory in the end.
Hawkes has competed in competitions in New Zealand for the past seven weeks. In last week’s New Zealand Open, she lost in the first round to world no. 2 Natalie Grainger who was the top seed at that time.
For her runner-up effort, King is expected to enter the world’s top 30 and will be getting more invites in international squash competitions.
For Shuja, the victory was doubly special since it is rare for someone to win five national titles in the career. The current world no. 46 is now looking forward to overseas competitions to increase his rankings.