Source / PSA Squash TV
Joelle King (Ngāti Porou) has lost her quarterfinal in a battle of a match at the Cleveland Classic in the United States.
King, the world no. 4 ranked player and tournament top seed, was beaten by America's Olivia Fiechter by three games to two in just under an hour.
The Kiwi fell behind early, losing the first game 8-11, but bounced back to grab the next two, 11-6 and 11-3, to lead the world no. 10 heading into the fourth game.
But Fiechter responded well producing a commanding 11-3 win in the fourth and edged King in the final game 11-7 to advance to the semifinal.
“It was such a battle. Joelle has been in incredible form this year, she’s had an incredible season with some huge wins and she just came off a semi-final at ToC (the Tournament of Champions in New York),” Fiechter said.
“The fifth game was back and forth and I told myself to be positive and to take some risks, and beating a player like Joelle is one of the biggest wins of my career and it means so much.”