Patience pays for Cardwell

AUSTRALIAN veteran Vicki Cardwell turned back the clock for a first-up victory in the Pak Fah Yeow Ladies Open last night with a 3-1 triumph over compatriot Robyn Cooper.

Cardwell, ranked 15th in the world and two places above Cooper, took time to settle down but controlled the game once she found her rhythm and ran out a convincing 3-9, 9-5, 9-3, 9-6 victor at the Hong Kong Squash Centre.

''My willingness to be patient got me through,'' said 39-year-old Cardwell, who gave up squash after winning the world title in 1983 but returned to the professional circuit two years ago following the birth of her second child.

''Robyn is very talented but like a lot of these talented young players she needs to be more disciplined. They go for the winning shots a little bit too soon and make mistakes.'' Cardwell was at her best in the closing stages of the fourth game when she stopped a Cooper comeback and wrapped up the match with a delicate drop shot.

Her opponent in today's second round is third-seeded Suzanne Horner, who was in devastating form in shutting out fellow-Englishwoman Linda Charman 9-1, 9-0, 9-0.

Experienced Canadian Heather Wallace, the world number nine, was given a scare by Hugoline Van Hoorn of the Netherlands before winning in five games.

Wallace took the first game 9-2 but world ranked 25th Van Hoorn picked up the pace and won the next two 9-7 and 9-5, only to relax and save herself for the decider as she allowed the Canadian to win the fourth 9-0.