CONTROVERSIAL refereeing played a big part in saving eighth seed Sarah Fitz-Gerald from an early exit from the $300,000 Pak Fah Yeow women's Open yesterday as she clawed back from two games down to stop English qualifier Segna Macfie.
Australia's Fitz-Gerald struggled to find her rhythm at the start of the match as Macfie dictated the pace and clinched the opening games 9-2, 9-2.
An upset was on the cards as Macfie surged to a 4-0 lead in the third but Fitz-Gerald eventually settled down and launched her comeback, playing a steady game and keeping the ball in play rather than going for the shots.
Disaster struck the gutsy Macfie at 6-4 when the referee ruled against her and awarded a controversial point to Fitz-Gerald. The decision knocked the fight out of the Englishwoman as she made four straight errors and conceded the game.
She still could not get over her frustration and lost the fourth 9-2. She was thrown off her stride by the marker and referee repeatedly making what appeared erroneous decisions which the players overruled themselves.
While Macfie let her concentration sway, Fitz-Gerald drew on her wider experience and held her nerve to clinch the decider 9-5. ''Segna played very good squash in the first two games and I thought that was the end for me, but I was very fortunate she letme off the hook,'' said world number seven Fitz-Gerald.
''The refereeing certainly didn't help but having been on the circuit longer, I was able to take it better and that probably made the difference.'' Macfie, who returned to professional squash last year after a four-year break during which she took up a steady job, was a good sport despite the defeat and did not push the blame on the poor officiating.
