WWTC: Lobban and Turnbull lift Australia past South Africa after narrow defeat against Japan

Australia went 1-1 overnight against Japan and South Africa as the 9th to 12th place Round Robin got underway with two entertaining matches at the WSF Women’s World Team Championships in Cairo. 

The Australia v Japan clash was fiercely contested in the opening two matches as Satomi Watanabe and Riga Sugamoto both prevailed in four games against Aussies Donna Lobban and Alex Haydon respectively. In the last match, Jess Turnbull pulled one back for Australia, but it wasn’t enough to avoid a narrow loss. 

In the second tie of the day Australia took on South Africa, who had beaten Switzerland 3-0 earlier on Wednesday. 

The Australians rallied behind Donna Lobban, who showed remarkable fighting spirit and played an excellent match to beat world no.24 Alex Fuller in a tense five-game opening match of the night. 

“I didn’t really have any expectations, but I think my level was pretty good today,” Lobban commented after the match. 

“When you go on first, it’s kind of nice to try to get the team off to a good start, without the pressure of knowing whether it actually counts in the end,” she said. 

In fact, Lobban’s win turned out to be critical as Cheyna Wood levelled the contest at one apiece after a hard-fought second match against Sarah Cardwell. 

It was up to Jess Turnbull to face off against Lizelle Muller in the third and decisive match. Turnbull delivered for Australia, taking the match in straight games and securing the overall win. 

“Playing the decider was stressful!” confessed Turnbull. “Being one all, a little bit of nerves came into the match, but I was able to focus on the strengths and I was able to get through. Happy to get the win for the team!”  

Australia will face Switzerland next in the last match of the Round Robin, scheduled for 9pm on Thursday 15 December (AEDT). 

In the main draw, no.2 seed USA made history as they overcame rivals Canada to reach the semi-finals of the WSF Women’s World Team Championship for the first time. USA will face England, while the other semifinal will see the top seed Egypt go against Malaysia.

The full schedule and results are available on the WSF Women's World Team Championships official website.

AUSTRALIA 1-2 JAPAN

• Donna Lobban 1-3 Satomi Watanabe  11-13, 11-7, 9-11, 9-11 (45m)
• Alex Haydon 1-3 Riga Sugimoto  9-11, 12-10, 4-11, 5-11 (47m)
• Jessica Turnbull 3-0 Akari Midorikawa    11-6, 11-5, 11-6 (25m)

AUSTRALIA 2-1 SOUTH AFRICA

• Donna Lobban 3-2 Alexandra Fuller  15-13, 13-15, 11-9, 8-11, 11-5 (47m)
• Sarah Cardwell 0-3 Cheyna Wood  7-11, 11-13, 7-11 (32m)
• Jessica Turnbull 3-0 Lizelle Muller  11-5, 13-11, 11-6 (37m)