Thu 4th Dec
Semi-Finals                                                         Qatar Quotes

Men's Semis:
[9] Lee Beachill (Eng) bt Nick Matthew (Eng)  15/6, 15/9, 15/6  (41m)
[2] John White (Sco) v [4] Thierry Lincou (Fra)  15/13,11/15,5/15,15/8,15/9 (84m)
Full men's draw

Women's Semis:
[1] Carol Owens (Nzl) bt [3] Rachael Grinham (Aus)  10/8, 9/6, 9/7  (60m)
[2] Natalie Grainger (Usa) v [4] Cassie Jackman (Eng)  8/10, 9/5, 9/1, 9/2  (45m)
Full women's draw

Top seeds Carol Owens of New Zealand and Natalie Grainger of the USA  reached the final of the Qatar Classic after registering convincing semi-final victories at the Khalifa Squash Complex, while the men's final will be between England's Lee Beachill and Scotland's world number two John White.

Owens & Grainger to
meet again in Qatar
Owens overcame world No.3 Rachael Grinham in straight games to reach her third successive Doha final,  10-8, 9-6, 9-7 in one hour. The other ladies' semi-final was stopped for 30 minutes because of hot and humid conditions on court, as Grainger set-up a final date with a four-game win over world No.4 Cassie Jackman. Despite losing the first game, Grainger won 8-10, 9-5, 9-1, 9-2 in 45 minutes.

Owens was pleased with her win. "Rachael is a very tough opponent. She is the current British Open champion and knows how to play attacking squash. I had to be steady against her. Full credit to her for playing some incredible squash," said Owens, who lost the British Open semi-final to Grinham in October.

"It was a revenge match for me because Rachael beat me in the British Open. It definitely was sweet revenge for me. It was my day today and I thoroughly enjoyed it," the world No.1 said.

Grainger was equally happy after her semi-final win.

"I knew Cassie would throw a tough challenge at me. She has been on tour for quite a long time and employs smart tactics for all her matches. Today, I was shown all corners of the court by her. I am glad to have passed this test. I have had a tough year and it is good to see that I have reached the Qatar Classic final. I tend to play well in Doha so it is very satisfying to see myself do well here again," Grainger said.

The final will be a repeat of their World Open semi-final clash here in Doha last November, which Grainger won.

Contrasting wins for Beachill & White
Lee Beachill won the all-English semi-final clash with Nick Matthew, reaching the final in just 41 minutes.

"Personally speaking, this is the highlight of my career so far," said Beachill. "I have reached the final of the Qatar Classic, which is unbelievable for me. I haven’t done this well on the circuit for a while now. My victory over Peter last night has given me great confidence. I hope to do well from now on."

White's match with Lincou featured many lets in its 84 minutes, but the world number two eventually prevailed in a see-saw match.

"It would be a dream come true for me to be ranked No.1. I am just one step away from it. I am some 30 points behind Peter [Nicol]. Hopefully, I will win the final and then close the gap on Peter. I am looking to wind up the year with a good show here and then in the World Open," White said. "Thierry and I always seem to play a tough match and today was no different. I am glad I am done with this long match," he added.

Semi-final pics from Fritz Borchert
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