Grand'Maître and Saunders win their fifth racquetball doubles title

Josée Grand'Maître of Longueuil, Que. and Jennifer Saunders of Winnipeg extended their title streak to five by the 2007 Canadian Women's Doubles Championship on Tuesday at the Canadian National Racquetball Championships at the Regina Court and Fitness Club in Regina.

Grand'Maître and Saunders defeated second seeds Genevieve Brodeur (Sherbrooke, Que.) and Véronique Guillemette (Calgary), 16-14, 15-11 in a fast paced final. Although they won in two straight games, the champs were down in both games.

Brodeur and Guillemette led 14-12 in the first game and but couldn't finish it off. In game two, they again led 9-6, but Grand'Maître and Saunders came back again.

Afterwards, Saunders said she was "confident that we can come back from any score."

Saunders also gave credit to Brodeur and Guillemette, saying "they played well, and it was fast paced," as she expected. She also knew "losing the first game would have been tough."

Grand'Maître agreed, saying "I knew it was going to be tight."

She also said this victory was "a sweet one, because you never know when it'll be the last one." At 45, Grand'Maître is closer to the end of her career than the beginning.

It was also sweet for Grand'Maître, as she had a foot injury only six weeks ago. She said "I didn't expect to be playing this well so soon."

And she had to play well, as Saunders was not as sharp as usual. But that didn't worry Grand'Maître, who said afterwards she's "confident in Saunders. She knows what to do. I know she'll come back" from any inconsistency.

It was Saunders's second title of the day, as she won Mixed Doubles with Michael Burgess (Brandon, Man.). They defeated the brother and sister team of Graham and Christine Richardson of Regina, 15-3, 12-15, 11-8.

In the mens' final are Mike Green of Burlington, Ont. and Brian Istace of Calgary, the top seeds, against second seeds Vincent Gagnon (Longueuil, Que.) and François Viens (Montreal). They are playing later on Tuesday night.

In the semis earlier on Tuesday, Green and Istace defeated James and Tim Landeryou, brothers from Saskatoon, 15-9, 15-7, and Gagnon and Viens defeated Francis Guillemette (Montreal) and Kris Odegard (Saskatoon), 16-14, 15-8.

Overall, one hundred and fifty one players will be competing in 25 singles and doubles divisions at the Regina Court and Fitness Club in Regina. The format of the championships has doubles on Monday and Tuesday with singles beginning on Wednesday and continuing until Saturday.

Les championnats canadiens de racquetball a commencé