Junior squash Kiwis beat Australia to make top 8

PRESSURE TIME: Anna Hughes, left, in action against Australian Alexandra Haydon at the World Junior Squash Championship in Tauranga. PHOTO: JOHN BORREN

Watch out Malaysia - the Kiwis have you in their sights.

New Zealand's 2-1 victory over Australia in the women's team event at the World Junior Squash Championship yesterday sets up a must-see quarter-final clash against Malaysia in the glass court at Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre from 6.45pm today.

"We have nothing to lose," said excited New Zealand No 1 Kaitlyn Watts, 16, after she clinched the victory over Australia with a straight sets win.

"The pressure is off us. We will work hard and try to do our best against these other teams now."

Watts tried not to think about the pressure going into her match with Lauren Aspinall with the clash tied at 1-1.

She was barely pushed in the end, winning 11-3, 11-8 and 11-4 against the highly rated young Australian.

"I was just trying to relax and play my own game because if I thought about it too much, I would not have been able to play the squash I wanted to," Watts said.

"I focused on my game plan and played the first game very well. In the second game, I dropped it a bit, and I lost the momentum. But I got the intensity back up and dominated again, which was good."

After Anna Hughes, 18, was beaten by Australian Alex Haydon in the opening match it was up to Rotorua's Camden Te Kani-McQueen, 18, to step up and play the game of her life under pressure.

And she delivered in style at her first major event representing New Zealand, beating Courtney Mather 11-4, 13-11, 11-7 in the most competitive of the three matches.

The former Rotorua Girls High and Rotorua Lakes High student started as if she was playing a local club match, dominating from the opening serve with her dynamic backhand a healthy points winner for her.

The second game was much tighter with Te Kani-McQueen jumping out to an early 7-3 lead before Mather fought back with typical Aussie resilience.

She won five straight points to lead 8-7 before the lead changed point for point until the crucial winning drop shot sealed the set for Te Kani-McQueen.

The Kiwi was relatively untroubled to win the final set in front of a large contingent of supporters from Rotorua, including her parents and grandparents looking on with obvious pride.

"The second game could have been better for me as I fell asleep a little bit, but it was good in the end," Te Kani-McQueen said.

"I did feel a bit more pressure and nerves at the start. The first set was good because I was just trying to get rid of a few nerves. This was our most important match we wanted to win."

Team manager Jo Williams was struggling to stop smiling after watching her girls perform so well under pressure.

She says making the top eight was their absolute goal pre-tournament.

"We have got some young girls in the team, so it was always going to be a difficult job. I am absolutely thrilled they have got this far, and now we are going to be looking to cause an upset in the top eight."