Siblings lift Westview squash titles

SIBLINGS Rudi van Niekerk and Lizelle Goosen produced dominant performances to capture the Westview Open squash titles when the first major tournament of the Eastern Province year reached a conclusion on Friday.

Van Niekerk took the first game 11-2 against close rival Jason le Roux and seldom faltered thereafter to run out a comfortable 3-0 winner in 28 minutes.

The women’s final was even quicker as Goosen claimed her third title in a row with a straight games win over an error-ridden Jacqui Ryder in 22 minutes.

This pair have had some terrific battles in past tournaments, but Ryder just could not find her rhythm on the night.

As she fell behind in each game, she tried to force the play, but her normal superb strokeplay deserted her this time.

She showed a glimpse of her fighting qualities in the final game when she strung some decent rallies together to hold off three match points, but the gap was just too big against an opponent of Goosen’s calibre, who went on to win 11-6 11-2 11-8.

Le Roux found himself with similar problems against the fetching ability and assured shot-making of Van Niekerk. There was a moment in the second game when Le Roux dug deep to force his way to an 8-6 lead, but the top seed quickly doused his hopes by taking the game 11-9.

The NMMU player always seemed to be under pressure, while Van Niekerk had much more time on the ball, allowing him to dictate play.

This was clearly evident in the final game, which he rushed through for an 11-2 11-9 11-3 result.

The province’s top players will now turn their attention to the Super leagues, which get under way on Wednesday.