27/07/2008
CIMB MALAYSIAN OPEN
Double Delight For Home Heroes In Malaysian Open
Men's Draw
Women's Draw
Reports
Preview
Women's Draw
CIMB
Malaysian
Open
2008
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 21-26 Jul, $53k |
Round One
23 Jul |
Quarters
24 Jul |
Semis
25
Jul |
Final
26 Jul |
[1] Nicol David (Mas)
11/5, 11/5, 13/11 (20m)
Rebecca Chiu (Hkg |
Nicol David
v11-9, 11-8,
8-11, 11-4 (45m)
Omneya Abdel Kawy |
Nicol David
11-3, 7-11, 11-1,
11-6 (43m)
Rachael Grinham |
Nicol David
11-1, 11-4, 11-6
(31m)
Natalie Grinham |
[7] Omneya Abdel Kawy
(Egy)
11/6, 10/12, 13/11, 11/5 (20m)
[Q] Raneem El Weleily (Egy) |
[3] Rachael Grinham
(Aus)
11/3, 9/11, 11/4, 11/4 (33m)
[Q] Louise Crome (Nzl) |
Rachael Grinham
12-10, 11-13,
12-10, 11-3 (48m)
Laura Lengthorn-Massaro |
[8] Laura
Lengthorn-Massaro (Eng)
11/4, 11/7, 13/11 (35m)
[Q] Madeline Perry (Irl) |
Kasey Brown (Aus)
11/7, 14/12, 8/11, 11/6 (45m)
[6] Shelley Kitchen (Nzl) |
Shelley Kitchen
11-7, 11-8, 11-4
(32m)
Tania Bailey |
Tania Bailey
11-8, 11-7, 9-11,
11-5 (41m)
Natalie Grinham |
Alison Waters (Eng)
12/14, 11/8, 6/11, 11/4, 11/2 (55m)
[4] Tania Bailey (Eng) |
Delia Arnold (Mas)
11/3, 11/3, 11/4 (20m)
[5] Jenny Duncalf (Eng) |
Jenny Duncalf
11-6, 9-11, 11-7,
5-11, 11-6 (54m)
Natalie Grinham |
[Q] Lauren Briggs
(Eng)
11/2, 11/5, 11/2 (22m)
[2] Natalie Grinham (Ned) |
Qualifying:
21-Jul, Round One:
e Perry (IRL) bt Orla Noom (NED) 11-5, 11-4,
11-5 (21m)
Lauren Briggs (ENG) bt Annelize Naude (NED) 11-6,
11-5, 12-10 (26m)
Raneem El Weleily (EGY)
bt Line Hansen (DEN) 5-11, 11-3, 6-11, 11-5, 11-6 (37m)
Louise Crome (NZL) bt Sharon Wee (MAS)
11-9, 11-5, 2-11, 9-11, 11-5 (40m)
|
Men's Draw
CIMB Malaysian
Open
2008
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 21-26 Jul, $52k |
Round One
23-Jul |
Quarters
24-Jul |
Semis
25-Jul |
Final
26-Jul |
[1] Wael El Hindi
(Egy)
11/6, 11/4, 11/9 (42m)
Chris Ryder (Eng) |
Wael El Hindi
v10-12, 11-8,
11-6, 11-4 (54m)
Saurav Ghosal |
Wael El Hindi
11-8, 12-10, 8-11,
11-9 (78m)
Azlan Iskandar |
Azlan Iskandar
11-6, 8-11, 4-11,
12-10, 11-8 (96m)
Ong Beng Hee |
[8]
Eric Galvez (Mex)
11/6, 11/8, 11/5 (27m)
[Q] Saurav Ghosal (Ind) |
[3] Azlan Iskandar
(Mas)
11/2, 11/6, 11/6 (28
Nafiizwan Adnan (Mas) |
Azlan Iskandar
11-3, 11-5, 11-3
(18m)
Mansoor Zaman |
[6] Mansoor Zaman
(Pak)
10/12, 11/7, 6/11, 11/6, 11/4 (52m)
[Q] Wade Johnstone (Aus) |
Kashif Shuja (Pak)
11/4, 8/11, 12/14, 11/3, 11/5 (65m)
[5] Omar Mosaad (Egy) |
Omar Mosaad
v26-24, 8-11,
9-11, 11-5, 11-4 (87m)
Stewart Boswell |
Stewart Boswell
5-11, 11-8, 13-11,
11-5 (62m)
Ong Beng Hee |
[Q]
Tom Richards (Eng)
11/4, 11/5, 11/6 (38m)
[4] Stewart Boswell (Aus) |
Tarek Momen (Egy)
11/6, 11/7, 8/11, 11/6 (44m)
[7] Farhan Mehboob (Pak) |
Farhan Mehboob
v14-16, 9-11, 11-1,
11-8, 11-8 (90m)
Ong Beng Hee |
[Q]
Muhd Asyraf Azan (Mas)
11/3, 11/6, 11/0 (23m)
[2] Ong Beng Hee (Mas) |
Qualifying:
Wade Johnstone (AUS) bt Yasir Butt (PAK) 11-9,
8-11, 7-11, 11-7, 12-10 (54m)
Saurav Ghosal (IND)
bt Scott Arnold (AUS) 11-3, 11-7, 14-16, 11-8 (55m)
Tom Richards (ENG) bt Aaron Frankcomb (AUS) 7-11,
7-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-4 (73m)
Muhd Asyraf Azan (MAS)
bt Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 6-11, 11-1, 11-9, 15-17, 11-8 (86m) |
Reports
Double Delight For Home Heroes In Malaysian Open
It was a popular home double in the CIMB Malaysian Open when
Malaysians Nicol David and Ong Beng Hee clinched the
women's and men's titles, respectively, in the major Tour squash event
at the Curve Complex in Kuala Lumpur.
No stranger to Squash history-making, Nicol David added a further
entry to the records by becoming the first winner of a
WISPA World Tour
title to be decided by the international player body's new
'Pro-Scoring' system.
And, after taking four games to win her previous two
matches, the world number one from
Penang gave every indication that she is now fully
comfortable with point-a-rally game scoring to 11 points by beating
Tour rival Natalie Grinham 11-1, 11-4, 11-6 in just 31 minutes.
It was a battle between the two top players in the
world - and David ensured that she will continue to hold the world
number one ranking next month by extending her career head-to-head
tally over the Australian-born world No2, now playing under the Dutch
flag, to 13-6.
The victory, in her sixth successive appearance in the final, marked
David's fourth Malaysian Open title in a row. The win also notched up
David's 30th consecutive match success on the Tour - and her seventh
successive title since winning the Qatar Classic in November.
The final of the men's 5-star PSA Tour event produced a real
treat for the KL crowd surrounding the brand new Malaysian all-glass
court making its debut at the Curve Shopping Mall. Second seed Ong
Beng Hee faced national rival Mohd Azlan Iskandar, the
defending champion who was seeded in third position.
With two titles each to their names, the final was sure to be close -
and after Beng Hee took the first game, reigning champion Iskandar
fought back to lead 2/1 - then came within two points of the title at
10-all in the fourth.
But Beng Hee - the first home winner of the crown in 2000, then the
champion again in 2005 - regained the upper hand and went on to claim
an 11-6, 8-11, 4-11, 12-10, 11-8 victory after 96 minutes.
Remarkably, it was the pair's third PSA Tour match which exceeded 95
minutes - the first lasting 102 minutes, in
the 2005 Malaysian Open semi-finals!
The victory takes Ong Beng Hee's career PSA
Tour title tally to 12 - and is sure to see the 28-year-old return to
the world top ten, and close in on the highest world ranking of seven
which he established in December 2001.
Home Hopes For Malaysian Double In KL
Malaysia's defending champion Mohd
Azlan Iskandar produced a stunning upset over Egyptian favourite
Wael El Hindi in today's (Friday) men's semi-finals in the
CIMB Malaysian Open to ensure that three of Saturday's four
finalists in the major Tour event at the Curve Complex in
Kuala Lumpur
will be from the host nation.
Third seed Iskandar, the 26-year-old from KL in his fifth successive
appearance in the 5-star
PSA Tour
event's semi-finals, battled for 78 minutes to subdue El Hindi -
finally winning 11-8, 12-10, 8-11, 11-9 to earn his first
PSA Tour victory over the higher-ranked Egyptian since prevailing in
the 2004 final.
"I try my best to feel I am not at home - but playing here sometimes
helps me and sometimes doesn't," explained Iskandar, winner of the
title in 2004 and 2007.
"Today I didn't hear a thing until seven-all in the fourth! At that
point I really didn't know what I was doing and froze a bit. But then
I let my racket do its thing."
Fellow countryman Ong Beng Hee, the No2 seed, also took four
games to secure his place in the final, beating fourth-seeded
Australian Stewart Boswell 5-11, 11-8, 13-11, 11-5 in 62
minutes.
Both finalists are celebrating their third Tour final appearances of
the year, but while Iskandar is marking the 19th of his career, it is
Ong Beng Hee's 20th since making his debut in the Milo Open
final in 1996, also in KL.
But, but perhaps more remarkably, Saturday's clash will be the pair's
sixth successive meeting in a major final - after contesting
the KL Open, Asian Championship and Asian Games
finals in 2006, then the Asian Championship and KL Open
climaxes earlier this year.
The final of the women's $53,500
WISPA World Tour Gold
event will feature the top two seeds, with local heroine Nicol
David now just one win away from her fourth title in a row. But
the top seed and world number one from Penang was pushed to four games
for the second successive day before beating career-long rival
Rachael Grinham, the world champion from Australia, 11-3, 7-11,
11-1, 11-6 in 43 minutes.
David will now face another Grinham, Rachael's younger sister
Natalie Grinham. The second seed stemmed a spirited comeback
display by
England's
Tania Bailey
before beating the fourth seed - playing
her first event since undergoing knee surgery - 11-8, 11-7, 9-11, 11-5
in 41 minutes.
The final will mark the third meeting this year between the world's
top two players - and the 19th of their careers, with the Malaysian
boasting a 12-6 head-to-head advantage. But while David is recording
the 43rd
WISPA final of her career, Natalie Grinham is celebrating her 30th!
Grinhams Tested In Malaysian Open
Australian sisters Rachael and Natalie Grinham were
severely tested in the quarter-finals of the CIMB Malaysian Open
before taking their anticipated places in the last four of the $53,500
WISPA World Tour Gold
squash event at the Curve Shopping Complex in
Kuala Lumpur.
Third seed Rachael Grinham, the world champion from
Queensland, was taken to tie-breaks in her first three games against
Laura Lengthorn-Massaro before finally getting the better of
the eighth seed from England 12-10, 11-13, 12-10, 11-3 in 48 minutes.
The women's event is the first being played under WISPA's new
Pro-Scoring system, where - as has been the case on the men's
PSA Tour
for some years now - games are scored 'point-a-rally' to 11 points.
"The scoring is on my mind at the moment," Grinham senior conceded.
"It's like you are in control but suddenly you are second guessing
yourself when you have a chance to put the ball away.
"You approach it differently because of the consequences - it is not
comfortable yet," added the Cairo-based world number three.
"Practicing is one thing, but it is only in pressure situations in
tournaments that you get used to dealing with the different mental
thing - which is such a big part of the game."
Rachael Grinham now goes on to face local favourite Nicol David,
the world number one from Malaysia who also dropped a game before
clinching an 11-9, 11-8, 8-11, 11-4 victory over long-time rival
Omneya Abdel Kawy, the seventh seed from Egypt.
Natalie Grinham,
the world No2 who now competes under the Dutch flag, battled for five
games before overcoming
England's fifth seed Jenny Duncalf 11-6, 9-11, 11-7, 5-11, 11-6
in 54 minutes.
The second seed will now take on Duncalf's
England team-mate Tania Bailey. Playing in her first event for
four months, after undergoing knee surgery, Bailey again scored a
notable triumph by beating New Zealand's sixth seed Shelley Kitchen
11-7, 11-8, 11-4.
"I was stiff this morning, but not quite as achy as I expected,"
explained the fourth seed. "I iced my knee, sat on ice too and had a
massage.
"Luckily I was able to control the ball, hit it down the line because
it clings so well on this court and try and keep it away from
Shelley's racket. But I got a bit nervy at the end as I couldn't
believe I could actually be winning!"
There were contrasting victories for the two Malaysians in the men's
5-star
PSA Tour
event. While defending champion Mohd Azlan Iskandar needed
just 18 minutes to despatch Pakistan's Mansoor Zaman 11-3,
11-5, 11-3, compatriot Ong Beng Hee - the second seed who, like
Iskandar, is also a two-time champion - battled for 90 minutes against
Farhan Mehboob, recovering from two games down to beat the
seventh-seeded Pakistani 14-16, 9-11, 11-1, 11-8, 11-8.
But the toughest game of the day was the first fought out by
Stewart Boswell and Omar Mosaad - the fourth-seeded Boswell
ultimately earning the early lead by virtue of a 26-24 game score - a
near record points total!
Mosaad, the fifth seed from
Egypt, then struck back to take the lead going into the fourth game.
But Boswell, the Canberra-based 29-year-old who is also on a comeback
trail after a back injury, restored his advantage to record a 26-24,
8-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-4 win after 87 minutes.
Boswell faces Beng Hee in one semi-final, whilst - in a repeat of the
2004 final - Iskandar takes on event favourite Wael El Hindi in
the other.
Bailey Battles To KL Comeback Win
In her first Tour outing since undergoing surgery on her right knee in
April, Tania Bailey battled for 55 minutes to overcome
England
team-mate Alison Waters in opening round of the CIMB
Malaysian Open to claim her place in the quarter-finals of the
$53,500 WISPA World Tour Gold
squash event in
Kuala Lumpur.
"To be honest, I surprised myself how well I played," said the fourth
seed after her 12-14, 11-8, 6-11, 11-4, 11-2 victory. "I got back on
court four weeks ago after the operation and then it went bad for a
while so I have only had a week of training.
"Because I wanted to only concentrate on myself, I didn't even look at
the draw - so I only knew who I was playing a couple of days ago when
one of the girls let it slip by mistake!
"I was so looking forward to playing a match again, and I amazed
myself - it just showed how much the work I have done over the years
has helped. I've still got a lot of work to do and I am not sure how
I will feel in the morning."
Bailey acknowledged that WISPA's Pro-Scoring - the new
point-a-rally scoring system being used for the first time in the
Malaysian Open - probably helped her cause:
"I have point-a-rally to thank, as well, as I am not sure how I would
have coped physically if the match had been even longer," explained
the 28-year-old world No5 from
Lincolnshire. "In normal circumstances, I may have been a little more
defensive, but after the layoff I had to be more attacking."
Bailey will now face sixth seed Shelley Kitchen after the New
Zealander beat Australian Kasey Brown 11-7, 14-12, 8-11, 11-6.
"I have been practicing pro-scoring for six weeks now so I've got
comfortable with it," said Kitchen, from
Auckland. "I might think a little differently playing somebody
lower-ranked, but it is always a close tough match with Kasey so I
just concentrated on playing my game."
Local star Nicol David made a confident start in her bid to win
the title for a fourth successive time. The top seed defeated Asian
rival Rebecca Chiu, from
Hong Kong, 11-5, 11-5, 13-11 and will now face Egypt's seventh seed
Omneya Abdel Kawy for a place in the last four.
Australian Stewart Boswell was also making an injury comeback
in KL in the men's 5-star
PSA Tour
event. Like Bailey, the fourth seed from
Canberra last played at the KL Open in March - before seeking
treatment for a back injury back in his homeland.
Boswell comfortably overcame English qualifier Tom Richards
11-4, 11-5, 11-6 and goes on to face fifth seed Omar Mosaad
after the Egyptian fought back from 2/1 down to beat New Zealander
Kashif Shuja 11-4, 8-11, 12-14, 11-3, 11-5.
Two all-Malaysian encounters concluded with the favoured players
prevailing: Second seed Ong Beng Hee, the event's first home
champion in 2000, defeated KL-based qualifier Muhd Asyraf Azan
11-3, 11-6, 11-0, while third seed Mohd Azlan Iskandar, the
defending champion, beat Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan 11-2, 11-6, 11-6.
But Indian qualifier Saurav Ghosal produced the day's biggest
upset by removing eighth seed Eric Galvez. Fresh from his
home-town triumph in the Chennai Open earlier this month,
Ghosal - who gained a first class honours degree in Economics from
Leeds University in the UK this summer - despatched the Mexican 11-6,
11-8, 11-5.
Ghosal will now meet Wael El Hindi, the top seed from
Egypt who is competing in the championship for the first time since
finishing as runner-up for the second year in a row in 2005.
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Perry Powers Into Malaysian Open Draw
Ireland's Madeline Perry powered
her way into the women's main draw of the CIMB Malaysian Open
after despatching Dutch opponent Orla Noom in today's
qualifying finals of the $53,500
WISPA World Tour Gold
squash event in
Kuala Lumpur.
Twice a quarter-finalist in the event, the former world No6 from
Banbridge, near Belfast, took just 21 minutes to overcome Noom 11-5,
11-4, 11-5 in the first
WISPA Tour event to use 'Pro-Scoring' - ie, point-a-rally games up to
11 points (or two clear).
Perry's reward is a first round clash with fellow Briton Laura
Lengthorn-Massaro, the eighth seed from
England.
New Zealand's Louise Crome survived the longest qualifying
battle, disappointing home hopes by beating Malaysia's Sharon Wee
11-9, 11-5, 2-11, 9-11, 11-5 in 40 minutes. The 30-year-old
Aucklander now faces world champion Rachael Grinham, the third
seed from Australia.
After a four-month lay-off - during which she underwent knee surgery -
Tania Bailey
will make her comeback at the event in which she finished as runner-up
for the past two years. The fourth seed will face English compatriot
Alison Waters, her successor as British National champion.
There was surprise local success in the qualifying finals of the men's
5-star
PSA Tour
event when KL-based Muhd Asyraf Azan battled for 86 minutes to
overcome Australian Ryan Cuskelly 6-11, 11-1, 11-9, 15-17,
11-8.
Ranked 157 in the world - and a successful qualifier in the event for
the fourth time since 2004 - 19-year-old Azan will face fellow
countryman Ong Beng Hee, the second seed who became the event's
first home champion in 2000.
Beng Hee won the title again in 2005, while third-seeded compatriot
Mohd Azlan Iskandar is also a two-time champion, in 2004 and
2007. And the defending champion also takes on a fellow countryman in
the opening round when he meets Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan, the
Malaysian No3.
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preview
Pro-Scoring Hails New Era
For Women's Squash In Kuala Lumpur
The $53,500 CIMB Malaysian Open is making squash history today
as the first women's Tour event to use point-a-rally scoring.
The WISPA World Tour Gold championship introduces the first
change in scoring from the traditional 'hand-in-hand-out' system - in
which a player can only win a point when serving - which has been used
since the Women's International Squash Players' Association was
formed in 1984.
As before, all matches will be best-of-five-games - but the games will
feature point-a-rally to 11 points, the same as the scoring used on
the men’s PSA Tour.
"Scoring is a fundamental part of the game, which is why WISPA has
spent a good deal of time discussing and evaluating Pro-Scoring,"
explained WISPA Chief Executive Andrew Shelley.
"Now we have committed to it, confident in its success, and look
forward to its formal unveiling on one of our really big stages - the
CIMB Malaysian Open. And there, for the first time there will be
uniformity for the players, the spectators, huge media coverage and in
our worldwide results output. A milestone in Malaysia!"
Australia's world champion Rachael Grinham is looking forward
to seeing the effects of this new introduction: "It's a big change
for the game mentally, which I think is huge because I believe at the
top of the women's game most matches are won mentally.
"From my experience in practice matches, I've found the pace to be
much faster, maybe because of a hint of urgency on the mind. I think
it will still take some time for everyone to get settled into the new
scoring.
"I do believe it will make matches much closer, which will be better
from the spectators' point of view. It will be interesting to see
what happens in KL," added the third seed.
The women's event (the main draw of which gets underway on Wednesday
after two days of qualifying) will also be historic for a further
reason: It will mark the first appearance on the Tour by Datuk
Nicol David since the Malaysian world number one acquired the
distinguished title in her home state of Penang earlier in the month,
becoming the youngest ever recipient of a 'Datukship'.
David is favourite to win the Malaysian Open title for a fourth
successive year - after reaching her sixth final in a row!
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