|
TOURNAMENT:
CIMB Kuala Lumpur Open Squash Championships, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
REPORTS:
Women 1st round:
Kitchen Coasts To KL Upset:
Women's Quarters: Men 1st round:
David Leads Domestic Charge In KL
Semi-finals:
Boswell & Abbas
Burst Into Shock KL Final
Finals:
Nicol David & Mohammed Abbas Celebrate KL Titles
RESULTS:
WOMEN:
1st round:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt Jenny Duncalf (ENG) 9-6, 9-6, 9-4 (32m)
[Q] Shelley Kitchen (NZL) bt [7] Madeline Perry (IRL) 9-7, 9-3, 9-1 (34m)
[4] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt [Q] Rebecca Chiu (HKG) 9-7, 2-9, 9-1, 9-3
(49m)
[6] Vicky Botwright (ENG) bt Sharon Wee (MAS) 5-9, 5-9, 9-1, 9-2, 9-6 (51m)
[5] Tania Bailey (ENG) bt Laura-Jane Lengthorn (ENG) 9-5, 9-6, 10-9 (53m)
[3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [Q] Annelize Naude (NED) 5-9, 0-9, 9-0, 9-3,
9-1 (40m)
[8] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt Alison Waters (ENG) 9-5, 10-8, 9-7 (30m)
[2] Natalie Grinham (AUS) bt [Q] Engy Kheirallah (EGY) 8-10, 9-1, 9-3, 9-5
(54m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [Q] Shelley Kitchen (NZL) 9-3, 9-6, 9-4 (38m)
[4] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt [6] Vicky Botwright (ENG) 9-5, 9-10, 6-9, 9-3,
10-8 (76m)
[3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [5] Tania Bailey (ENG) 9-6, 9-3, 1-9, 10-8
(47m)
[2] Natalie Grinham (AUS) bt [8] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) 9-4, 9-4, 9-2 (24m)
Semi-finals:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [4] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) 9-7, 9-7, 9-3 (54m)
[2] Natalie Grinham (AUS) bt [3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) 9-5, 9-1, 9-5 (38m)
Final: [1]
Nicol David (MAS) bt [2] Natalie Grinham (AUS) 6-9, 9-3, 9-6, 7-9, 9-6
(102m)
MEN:
1st round:
[1] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Shahid Zaman (PAK) 11-4, 11-7, 11-4 (20m)
[5] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt Nafzahizam Adnan (MAS) 11-5, 11-2, 11-5 (18m)
[4] Mohammed Abbas (EGY) bt [Q] Bilal Zaman (PAK) 11-9, 11-4, 11-7 (26m)
Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) bt [8] Mansoor Zaman (PAK) 11-6, 11-9, 11-3 (26m)
Alister Walker (ENG) bt [7] Jonathan Kemp (ENG) 11-6, 11-7, 10-11 (5-7),
11-7 (49m)
[3] Stewart Boswell (AUS) bt [Q] Kashif Shuja (NZL) 11-10 (3-1), 11-9, 11-4
(29m)
[6] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [Q] Omar Mosaad (EGY) 11-8, 11-10 (2-0),
11-10 (2-0) (39m)
[2] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [Q] Saurav Ghosal (IND) 11-2, 11-2, 11-3 (16m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [5] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 11-10
(3-1) (59m)
[4] Mohammed Abbas (EGY) bt Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) 11-5, 5-11, 11-7, 6-11,
11-3 (50m)
[3] Stewart Boswell (AUS) bt Alister Walker (ENG) 11-9, 11-7, 11-7 (42m)
[2] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [6] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) 8-11, 11-10 (5-3),
11-9, 11-8 (58m)
Semi-finals:
[4] Mohammed Abbas (EGY) bt [1] Nick Matthew (ENG) 11-10 (2-0), 5-11, 11-9,
6-11, 11-9 (65m)
[3] Stewart Boswell (AUS) bt [2] Karim Darwish (EGY) 8-11, 11-4, 11-8, 5-11,
11-6 (68m)
Final:
[4] Mohammed Abbas (EGY) bt [3]
Stewart Boswell (AUS) 11-6, 11-5, 11-5 (34m)
-----------------------------------------------------------
[TOP]
REPORTS
Finals:
Nicol David &
Mohammed Abbas Celebrate KL Titles
Malaysia's Nicol David delighted her home supporters in the country's
capital Kuala Lumpur when she beat Australian rival Natalie Grinham in a
marathon final today (Saturday) on the all-glass court at Berjaya Times
Square to lift the women's title in the CIMB Kuala Lumpur Open Squash
Championships.
In the men's final, Egypt's Mohammed Abbas won the biggest title of his
career when he beat Australia's Stewart Boswell in straight games.
World number one Nicol David was facing Natalie Grinham for the first time
since the pair had contested the World Open final in Belfast in November -
when David prevailed after five games and 95 minutes, then the longest match
of the 23-year-old's career.
The KL contest followed a similar course, with the favourite dropping the
first game before fighting back to regain supremacy over the No2 seed from
Queensland. But this time, the pint-sized Malaysian had to fight for 102
minutes - a new record match-length for Nicol - before finally sealing her
6-9, 9-3, 9-6, 7-9, 9-6 win over Grinham.
The sensational victory marked David's fourth KL title success, and the 17th
WISPA World Tour trophy of her career.
After both finalists survived marathon battles in the semi-finals, the men's
climax turned out to be a straightforward affair. Fourth seed Abbas, 26,
from Cairo, is enjoying his best ever run on the PSA Tour - and this year
celebrated a career-high world No14 ranking.
Third seed Boswell, ranked three places higher, is a former world No4 who is
still battling back to his former best after suffering a long PSA Tour
layoff after a back injury.
But the day belonged to Abbas as the rejuvenated Egyptian strode to an 11-6,
11-5, 11-5 victory in 34 minutes over the over 28-year-old from Canberra.
The triumph marks the third PSA Tour title of Abbas' career - and his first
since winning the COAS International crown in Pakistan exactly a year ago.
-----------------------------------------------------------
[TOP]
Semi-finals:
Boswell & Abbas
Burst Into Shock KL Final
Australia's Stewart Boswell and Egyptian
Mohammed Abbas will contest the men's final of the CIMB Kuala Lumpur Open
Squash Championships after pulling off marathon five-game upsets in today's
(Friday) semi-finals at Berjaya Times Square in the Malaysian capital.
By contrast, the women's semi-finals went according to the seedings - with
local favourite Nicol David and second seed Natalie Grinham prevailing to
set up a repeat of last November's World Open final in Belfast.
Mohammed Abbas, the fourth seed from Cairo, faced top seed Nick Matthew, the
British Open champion from England who was making his PSA Tour comeback
after recovering from an ankle injury sustained at the beginning of January.
Abbas moved into the lead after winning the first game on a tie-break - but
the Englishman struck back to draw level. Again, the next two games were
shared before Abbas edged ahead in the decider to beat Matthew, ranked seven
places higher in the world, 11-10 (2-0), 5-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9 in 65
minutes.
The win marked Abbas' first victory over Matthew for more than four years -
and takes the 26-year-old into his seventh PSA Tour final.
Like Abbas, Boswell also delighted the local crowd by avenging a defeat of a
Malaysian in the previous round. The 28-year-old from Canberra had to fight
back from a game down to overcome Karim Darwish, the second seed from Egypt
who beat Sarawak-born defending champion Mohd Azlan Iskandar in the
quarter-finals.
Boswell moved 2/1 ahead, but Darwish forced the match into a decider when he
took the fourth game. The Australian prevailed after 68 minutes, winning
8-11, 11-4, 11-8, 5-11, 11-6 to reach the 27th PSA final of his career.
Crowd favourite Nicol David, the world number one from Malaysia, faced
defending champion Vanessa Atkinson in a repeat of the 2006 event women's
final. But this time, the top seed triumphed as David extended her unbeaten
Tour record since last March by beating the fourth seed from the Netherlands
9-7, 9-7, 9-3 in 54 minutes.
"I'm pretty disappointed," said 2006 champion Atkinson. "I could have been
two nil up rather than down if I had played a few points differently and had
the run of the ball. I don't think I could have played any better, she just
came out ahead on the big points."
In the other semi-final, Natalie Grinham celebrated her 29th birthday in
fine style, beating her older sister Rachael Grinham, the No3 seed, 9-5,
9-1, 9-5 in just 38 minutes. The match represented the 13th international
clash between the Toowoomba twosome from Queensland - with Natalie reducing
Rachael's head-to-head tally since their first meeting, in the KL Open in
2001, to 8-5.
"I have trained well and am in the final so it is fair to say the week is
going well," said the birthday girl. "It is always a battle with Nicol and I
guess it will be another one tomorrow."
-------------------------------------------------------------[TOP]
Women's Quarters: Men 1st round:
David Leads Domestic Charge In
KL
Malaysia's world number one Nicol David is single-handedly leading domestic
interest in the CIMB Kuala Lumpur Open Squash Championships after her two
compatriots Ong Beng Hee and Mohd Azlan Iskandar crashed out of today's
(Thursday) quarter-finals of the men's event in Berjaya Times Square in the
Malaysian capital.
David rounded off a full unbeaten year on the international circuit in
perfect fashion by defeating Zealand's Shelley Kitchen - the last player to
beat her, in March 2006, in the play-off for the bronze medal in the
Commonwealth Games in Australia.
David's 9-3, 9-6, 9-4 victory in 38 minutes takes the 23-year-old from
Penang into a repeat of last year's final against defending champion Vanessa
Atkinson, whose surprise defeat of the Malaysian superstar last February was
not the outcome the packed crowd had been expecting!
Dutch star Atkinson, the fourth seed who has not enjoyed the best of form
since her 2006 KL success, had to fight back from 2/1 down to beat England's
sixth seed Vicky Botwright 9-5, 9-10, 6-9, 9-3, 10-8 in 76 minutes.
It was an up-and-down match in which Atkinson led the second game 8-2 and
squandered four game balls before losing it - then had match-ball at 7-8
down in the decider and hit an audacious winning boast before serving out to
win!
"I have been losing a lot of close matches so I was really happy to have
held it together mentally," said a joyful Atkinson afterwards. "It is good
to make the last four in an event again!"
The other women's semi-final will renew the family battle between
Australia's Grinham sisters. Natalie Grinham, the No2 seed, cruised to a
9-4, 9-4, 9-2 win in just 24 minutes over Egypt's eighth seed Omneya Abdel
Kawy, while older sibling Rachael Grinham, the No3 seed, was stretched to
four games by Tania Bailey before beating the fifth seed from England 9-6,
9-3, 1-9, 10-8 in 47 minutes.
It will be the sisters' 12th international clash since meeting for the first
time in the KL Open final in February 2001 - with the current head-to-head
tally between the pair being 8-4 in Rachael's favour.
Both Malaysians in the men's event battled for just short of an hour each
before bowing out to higher-ranked opponents. Sixth seed Mohd Azlan Iskandar,
the defending champion, took the first game against second seed Karim
Darwish and forced the second into a tie-break - but it was the Egyptian who
ultimately prevailed 8-11, 11-10 (5-3), 11-9, 11-8 to move into the
semi-finals.
Darwish will face Stewart Boswell in the semis after the third-seeded
Australian despatched England's unseeded Alister Walker 11-9, 11-7, 11-7.
Fifth seed Ong Beng Hee, twice a runner-up in the event, faced top seed Nick
Matthew. The Englishman, looking for his first PSA Tour title of 2007 after
winning the British Open for the first time last year, recovered from losing
the second game to beat Beng Hee 11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 11-10 (3-1) in 59
minutes.
Matthew will now face fourth seed Mohammed Abbas after the Egyptian beat
16-year-old Pakistani Aamir Atlas Khan 11-5, 5-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-3.
---------------------------------------------------------------[TOP]
1st round:
Kitchen Coasts To KL Upset
Qualifier Shelley Kitchen produced the only upset on the opening day of
women's action in the CIMB Kuala Lumpur Open Squash Championships when she
despatched Ireland's seventh seed Madeline Perry in straight games in the
WISPA Gold event in the Malaysian capital.
Today's (Wednesday) victory was in fact the New Zealander's second over the
Irish world No9 this year on the WISPA World Tour. It took just 34 minutes
for Kitchen to record the 9-7, 9-3, 9-1 win which takes the 27-year-old from
Auckland through to a quarter-final against local heroine Nicol David, the
world number from Malaysia.
David, playing in her first Tour event since winning the World Open title
for the second successive year in Belfast last November, was fully tested by
England's Jenny Duncalf, but ultimately toppled the new British National
champion 9-6, 9-6, 9-4 in 32 minutes.
The win extends David's unbeaten run to 37 matches in all international
competitions since exactly a year ago when she lost to Shelley Kitchen in
the bronze medal play-off in the Commonwealth Games in Australia.
Second seed Natalie Grinham, the Australian who is expected to meet David in
the final in a repeat of the Belfast climax, recovered from a game down to
beat Egyptian qualifier Engy Kheirallah 8-10, 9-1, 9-3, 9-5 in 54 minutes.
Grinham will now face another Egyptian, eighth seed Omneya Abdel Kawy who
defeated England's Alison Waters 9-5, 10-8, 9-7.
Sharon Wee delighted the home crowd when she took a two-game lead against
England's sixth seed Vicky Botwright. The 29-year-old from Malacca only
scored three points in the next two games - but held Botwright at 6-6 in the
fifth before the world No5 from Manchester regained control to win 5-9, 5-9,
9-1, 9-2, 9-6 in 51 minutes.
Botwright now meets defending champion Vanessa Atkinson, the Dutch number
one who beat Hong Kong qualifier Rebecca Chiu 9-7, 2-9, 9-1, 9-3.
[TOP]
|
[ ]
