Defending champions bow out
The quarter-finals of the women’s pairs have turned the competition on its head
The quarter-finals of the women’s pairs at the $125,000 Australian Open have turned the competition on its head after the shock departure of defending champions.
World number four Karen Murphy and former Scottish international Kay Moran have been up-staged in a thriller quarter-final lasting nearly three hours against the formidable forces of young-guns Victoria Troster and Elise Cowan, with the local hopefuls prevailing 6-11, 8-4, 4-1.
The dynamic duo trailed in the first set but maintained face to claw their way back into the match during the second set by picking up three shots on the second end and continuing their momentum to secure the set and ultimately pushing the game into a tie-break showdown.
The surprise packets in competition have now set up a semi-final encounter with Mosman Park’s Lisa Featherby and Linda Warburton after they defeated Anne McClure and Christina Pavlov in straight sets to advance through the draw 14-5, 8-8.
Featherby and Warburton took charge early in the match with sharp bowling, picking up three shots on the second, four shots on the fourth and another three on eighth to comfortably advance through the first set.
The second set proved more challenging for the Western Australian’s, tied up at 8-apiece on the ninth end after they picked up a final count of three to secure the set.
In other games, Victoria’s Nicole Shortis and Rebecca McMahon proved too strong for their opponents, defeating Queensland’s Charlie Harkness and Yvonne Lovelock in straight sets 8-5, 9-8 to advance through to Thursday’s semi-finals.
The pair are now set to battle it out against Kristina Krstic and Rechelle Cole after they defeated NSW’s Melyn Fleming and Carmen Anderson in comfortable straight sets 9-4, 10-9.
Catch all the action from the women’s pairs semi-finals from 9am AEDT Thursday 23, February at the Darebin International Sports Centre.
Click here for full results from the 2012 Australian Open.
Story provided by Courtney McKenna for bowlsaustralia.com.au.