US Fall to Hong Kong

Now looking to match their seeding of No. 11

EDMONTON, Canada - The US came out firing on all cylinders when No. 2 Meredeth Quick got off to a fast start against Hong Kong No. 2, Christina Mak. Aided by several unforced errors in the first two games by Mak, Quick took control of the match with patient play and timely winners.

Mak established a slow pace of play by continuously placing balls deep in the back court and floating crosscourts whenever she had the opportunity. But rather than force the issue, Quick worked with the pace and waited for opportunities to attack. And her location of choice was deep on the right wall where Mak struggled and hit several boasts into the middle of the tin.

But things began to change in the third when Mak stopped hitting the tin. Instead, Mak relentlessly pushed the ball around the court to dig into Quick's fitness. Not that Quick is lacking fitness; more that Mak kept drawing out the points to keep her moving. As a result, Quick found the tin on several occasions of her own.

The fifth was a seesaw battle in which Mak jumped out to a 4-love lead before Quick rallied to even the score at five. But from there, it was all Mak who ran off the next four points to win the match for Hong Kong.

US No. 1 Latasha Khan

With the fate of the American team now in the hands of No. 1 Latasha Khan, who had never before beaten Hong Kong No. 1, Rebecca Chiu, the prospects of playing for 9th place looked like an uphill battle. But Khan started off the match strong, hitting forehand winners seemingly at will. Khan is particularly strong on the right wall hitting balls hard, low and short, and that weapon staked her to a 8-5 lead.

But Chiu drew on her experience and WISPA No. 15 ranking to draw even and ultimately winning the game 10-8.

In the second, Chiu's quickness and tremendous ability to retrieve balls with offensive returns helped her to run the table without the loss of a point.

Though Khan put up a fight in the third, Chiu was more than willing to let her run. Instead of shooting when opportunities presented themselves, Chiu elected to keep Khan moving until a ball was simply out of reach. Chiu finished the third strong, 9-4, and Hong Kong moves on to face the winner of Australia/Germany for 9th place. The US will play the loser of that match for 11th.