Frédérique Lambert - the #2 player on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) , barely survived her quarterfinal match with 7th seed Natalia Mendez, 10-12, 11-7, 11-3, 11-13, 11-9, at the LPRT Christmas Classic in Laurel, Maryland Friday. This quarterfinal was a rematch from this year’s US Open semi-finals, when Lambert also won in five games.
Lambert was ahead 6-4 in the breaker only to see Mendez come back and take the lead at 7-6. Yet the young Canadian was able to recover, and won the next four points, which put her on match point at 10-7. But Mendez fought off that point by hitting a winning return of a drive serve to the right.
However, Mendez didn’t score, so Lambert had her second chance to end it. That also went by as Mendez hit a winning forehand cross-court. An unforced forehand skip shot by Lambert gave Mendez her 8th point, and she earned her 9th with a drive serve ace to the right side.
With an opportunity to tie the game at 10-10, Mendez skipped a shot. But she regained serve with a backhand return of a Lambert drive serve to the left side. Lambert got the serve back with an impressive backhand pinch that she volleyed out of the air and into the front left corner.
It was another backhand pinch shot that ended it, as Lambert made good on her fourth match point opportunity. The win sets up a showdown with her doubles partner Jessica Parrilla, as Parrilla best Cristina Amaya, 11-3, 6-11, 11-6, 11-8.
LPRT #1 Paola Longoria won her quarterfinal in straight games, as she beat Carla Muñoz, 11-6, 11-0, 11-3. Longoria’s semi-final opponent will be Rhonda Rajsich, as Rajsich defeated Alexandra Herrera, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9, 11-6.
The singles semi-finals will go Saturday at 4 PM and 5 PM with the doubles semis to follow at 6 and 7 PM. The singles final will be Sunday at 11 AM with the doubles final scheduled for noon. Check out the LPRT YouTube channel for the action or its LiveStream channel.
2017 Christmas Classic
Laurel, Maryland - December 8-10, 2017
LPRT Singles - Quarterfinals - Saturday
1 Paola Longoria d. 8 Carla Muñoz, 11-6, 11-0, 11-3
4 Rhonda Rajsich v. 5 Alexandra Herrera, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9, 11-6
3 Jessica Parrilla d. 6 Cristina Amaya, 11-3, 6-11, 11-6, 11-8
2 Frédérique Lambert d. 7 Natalia Mendez, 10-12, 11-7, 11-3, 11-13, 11-9
LPRT Singles - Semi-finals - Saturday
1 Paola Longoria v. 4 Rhonda Rajsich - 5 PM
2 Frédérique Lambert v. 3 Jessica Parrilla - 4 PM
LPRT Doubles - Semi-finals - Saturday
1 Paola Longoria & Alexandra Herrera v. 4 Carla Muñoz & Natalia Mendez - 7 PM
2 Cristina Amaya & Adriana Riveros v. 3 Jessica Parrilla & Frédérique Lambert - 6 PM
Follow the bouncing ball….
Saturday, December 9, 2017
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