Injury beaten by Devoy

Press, 25 January 1986, Page 80

Injury beaten by Devoy

NZPA staff correspondent Marlow, Buckinghamshire New Zealand’s Susan Devoy today overcame a hamstring problem to beat Britain’s Suzanne Burgess, 9-7, 9-3, 9-7, and reach the final of the British Under-23 championship. Devoy, the world champion and favourite for the title, easily dodged the challenge of the Yorkshirewoman, but later admitted to having been troubled by a slightly tom leg muscle. “I haven’t told anyone about it. It doesn’t pay to think about injuries... you tend to lose concentration,” she said.

Burgess, who upset the fourth seeded Australian, Liz Irving, in the quarterfinal, proved a gritty opponent, but later admitted the “supreme fitness” and the ability to “play all the shots well” had given Devoy the edge. Devoy, aged 22, said her form had been a “bit

up and down.” “I’m not playing nearly as well as I was this time last year. People expect you to play well all the time. You can’t,” she said. Devoy, who is looking to win her first major title of the year, will find a tough competitor waiting for her on court today. She faces the Cirencester (west England) firecracker, Lucy Soutter, who scored a devastating 10-8, 9-2, 9-1 win over her fellow England international, Lisa Opie.

The diminutive Soutter, aged 18, snatched a close first set, then raced past a visibly tiring Opie to win the match in 47 minutes. Soutter, the British national champion who has grabbed the attention of the squash world this year, is expected to push Devoy hard for the honours.

Devoy admits she’ll have to “pull out all the stops” if she is to beat the young woman being hailed as the new “wondergirl” of British squash.