Wilton, Connecticut’s Olivia Blatchford claimed her fifth-career WSA title Saturday, defeating French world No. 72 Cyrielle Peltier in the $5, 000 Paderborn Open final in Germany.
Blatchford and Peltier split the first two games, both winning 11-7, before Blatchford pulled away to win the match in four games 11-8, 11-7.
“Cyrielle played an excellent match, and kept trying to break my game, ” Blatchford said. “I do not like to play slowly, so I had to attack. Luckily, I managed to do what I set to do.”
“I love Germany and have played many big junior tournaments here under the eye of my father, ” Blatchford said of the hosts. “He loved his “Weizen”, so now I must drink one for him—cheers, Dad, and thank you so much Paderborn.”
The Paderborn Open is the twenty-two-year-old’s first title of 2015, and first since winning two titles in the fall of 2014—the $15, 000 Abierto Mexicano de Racquetas in September and $5, 000 Tournament at Club Meadowvale in October.
Blatchford, world No. 37, now travels northwest to Dublin, Ireland, where she is seeded eighth in the $15, 000 GillenMarkets Irish Open.In 2014, Blatchford upset top-seeded Madeline Perry as a qualifier in the Irish Open quarterfinals. This year, if Blatchford and top-seeded Perry both win their opening matches, they will face each other again in the quarterfinals. Perry, thirty-eight, is set to retire on home soil after the Irish Open.
Irish Open main draw play begins Wednesday, April 22. For more information, visit the official Irish Open tournament page.
