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| November 4, 2002 | Monday | Sha’aban 28,1423 |
Record fifth world title for Fitz-Gerald
DOHA, Nov 3: Australia’s Sarah Fitz-Gerald achieved the last goal of her glittering career Saturday when she clinched a record fifth World Open title with a battling win over England’s Natalie Pohrer in an incident-packed match.
The Australian suffered several tumbles on a slippery floor and the match had to be stopped three times — once for 15 minutes — while the air conditioning was switched on to remove condensation from the surface.
Fitz-Gerald also resisted a mid-match fightback from Pohrer before sealing a 10-8, 9-3, 7-9, 9-7 victory.
The match was officially timed at 61 minutes but, including stoppage, it actually lasted one hour 27 minutes.
Pohrer, who had come from two games down to upset New Zealand’s former world champion Carol Owens in the semifinals, this time came from two down to win the third game and lead 3-0 in the fourth.
Once again she showed the ability to think on her feet and to play a deceptive and destructive game in the front court.
In the end, though, Fitz-Gerald thwarted Pohrer’s recovery from 3-8 to 7-8 in the fourth, thanks largely to patience in the ever-lengthening rallies and to her consistently greater weight of shot.—Reuters
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