Amanda Landers-Murphy Lands Title No.6 In Darwin
by Howard Harding

May 11, 2015 - Amanda Landers-Murphy picked up the sixth WSA World Tour title of her career when she beat fellow New Zealander Megan Craig in the final of the Women's NT Open, the WSA Challenger 10 squash event at Darwin Squash Centre in Darwin, Australia.

Both Kiwis put paid to home interest in the final after despatching Australians in the semis - favourite Landers-Murphy taking out fourth seed Sarah Cardwell and third seed Craig ousting Melbourne-based No.5 seed Christine Nunn.

The final marked the two New Zealanders' sixth Tour meeting in three years. Left-hander Landers-Murphy extended her head-to-head record to 4/2 after beating the reigning New Zealand national champion 12-10, 11-3, 11-4 in 29 minutes.

"I definitely got better as the tournament progressed," said the 23-year-old NT Open champion later. "These are the sorts of events I'm targeting now, so to get this win is very satisfying."

RESULTS: Women's NT Open, Darwin, Australia

1st round:
[15] Samantha Calvert (AUS) bt Christine Deneufbourg (AUS) 11-3, 11-1, 10-12, 12-10 (24m)
[13] Jasmine Chan (AUS) bt Alexia Clonda (EST) 11-3, 11-7, 11-5 (15m)
[16] Madeleine Gill (USA) bt Sylvaine Durand (AUS) 11-4, 11-3, 11-3 (16m)
[12] Aika Azman (MAS) bt Kareen Marechalle (AUS) 13-11, 11-4, 11-6 (20m)
[14] Natalie Newton (AUS) bt Claire Faucompre (AUS) 11-8, 11-9, 11-2 (18m)
2nd round:
[1] Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZL) bt [15] Samantha Calvert (AUS) 11-3, 11-1, 11-3 (14m)
[8] Lakeesha Rarere (AUS) bt [11] Selena Shaikh (AUS) 11-1, 11-9, 11-9 (25m)
[7] Teh Min Jie (MAS) bt [9] Jessica Turnbull (AUS) 11-8, 12-14, 8-11, 11-6, 11-9 (48m)
[4] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) bt [13] Jasmine Chan (AUS) 11-3, 11-6, 12-10 (23m)
[3] Megan Craig (NZL) bt [16] Madeleine Gill (USA) 9-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-1 (29m)
[6] Zulhijjah Binti Azan (MAS) bt [10] Zoe Foo Yuk Han (MAS) 10-12, 11-7, 11-2, 11-2 (28m)
[5] Christine Nunn (AUS) bt [12] Aika Azman (MAS) 11-2, 11-6, 11-2 (20m)
[2] Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG) bt [14] Natalie Newton (AUS) 11-2, 11-5, 11-3 (14m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZL) bt [8] Lakeesha Rarere (AUS) 6-11, 11-2, 11-2, 11-7 (31m)
[4] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) bt [7] Teh Min Jie (MAS) 11-0, 11-8, 11-2 (23m)
[3] Megan Craig (NZL) bt [6] Zulhijjah Binti Azan (MAS) 11-5, 11-4, 11-7 (20m)
[5] Christine Nunn (AUS) bt [2] Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG) 12-10, 8-11, 11-3, 11-8 (37m)
Semi-finals:
[1] Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZL) bt [4] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) 13-11, 11-7, 11-8 (40m)
[3] Megan Craig (NZL) bt [5] Christine Nunn (AUS) 12-10, 11-9, 11-9 (39m)
Final:
[1] Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZL) bt [3] Megan Craig (NZL) 12-10, 11-3, 11-4 (29m)