Nicol David reserved her finest performance so far for her Malaysian compatriot as she swept Low Wee Wern aside in only 27 minutes to reach the Squash World Open semi-final on Monday.
David’s performance in an 11-2, 11-5, 11-2 win suggested she has become an even shorter odds favorite to win the title a fifth time and equal the record of the great Australian Sarah FitzGerald.
She was able to take the ball extremely early, move her opponent around and make time for herself to play a wide range of strokes she sometimes prefers not to use.
Low played by no means badly, but there was little she could do to halt the finest player of the past few years playing at her absolute best.
“It’s always hard when you are playing against your teammate,” David said. “But it’s the quarter-final of the World Open and you have to try and play your best squash. I feel as fit as I have ever been and maybe I am faster to the ball, which enables me to do more things.”
David now plays Alison Waters, the third-seeded English player who twice gave her hard matches in the Far East recently.
“I have to be disciplined against her. I’m sure tomorrow will be another hard one,” David said.
Waters, however, was not at her absolute best, even though she brought to an end the world championship career of the former World Open champion Vanessa Atkinson with a five-game win.
The score was 9-11, 11-4, 11-7, 10-12, 11-8, and once again the 2004 champion showed how fiercely reluctant she has been to quit the stage. Against Natalie Grainger the day before Atkinson came from two games down and saved two match points to beat the former world No. 1. Against Waters she saved fully nine match points, and managed a stunning run of seven successive points from 5-10 down in the fourth game, followed by a run of four points in a row from 4-10 in the fifth game before she said goodbye.
Earlier Camille Serme upset the seedings for the second day in a row to become the first French woman to reach the semi-finals of the World Open. Serme, who had overcome the eight-seeded Laura Massaro in four games on Sunday, now beat another English player, Jenny Duncalf, in five.
“I can’t really believed I’ve beaten the world No. 2 and I’m in the last four,” said Serme after her 8-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-2, 11-5 success. “It’s crazy.”
The world No. 9 from Creteuil now plays the home heroine, Omneya Abdel Kawy. The fourth-seeded Egyptian saved three crucial game balls in the second game of her 11-8, 14-12, 6-11, 11-5 win against Kasey Brown, the improving 10th-seeded Australian.
After letting another big lead slip with an error-strewn performance at the French Open on Wednesday, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka felt like getting as far away from the courts as possible. “Just want to quit tennis right now,” Sabalenka said after wasting a lead of a set and two breaks in a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 loss to Diana Shnaider in the women’s singles quarter-finals. “We’ll see in few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally.” Sabalenka’s wait for a first French Open title continues despite the four-time major winner leading 4-1 in the second set and being two points from victory while
BIG NAMES GONE: Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title, reaching semi-finals for the fifth time in six years and finishing second on three occasions Alexander Zverev on Tuesday breezed past Rafael Jodar to stay on course for an elusive Grand Slam title at the French Open, while Jakub Mensik halted Joao Fonseca’s scintillating run in the quarter-finals. Zverev, the highest-ranked player left in the men’s draw, put an end to Spanish teenager Jodar’s impressive Roland Garros debut, easing into the semi-finals with a 7-6, (7/3), 6-1, 6-3 win. The 29-year-old Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title. He has finished runner-up on three occasions, including at the 2024 French Open. “I want to win the matches that are ahead of
Liverpool are in advanced talks with former AFC Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola as they seek a replacement for Arne Slot, reports said on Tuesday. Iraola has emerged as Liverpool’s top target to replace Slot, who was sacked on Saturday last week after a turbulent second season in charge. Liverpool have reportedly agreed a deal in principle to bring the Spaniard, who left Bournemouth at the end of this season, to Anfield. Sporting director Richard Hughes was heavily involved in hiring Iraola during his time at Bournemouth and is again spearheading the recruitment of the highly rated coach. The Reds are
US President Donald Trump said he would attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday at Madison Square Garden, but said he does not have much sympathy for ordinary basketball fans who cannot afford sky-high ticket prices to do the same. “They can watch it on television,” Trump said aboard Air Force One on Friday as he flew to Wisconsin for an event with farmers, after he was asked about tickets that have climbed as high as US$8,000 each when the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs square off in Manhattan for the first time in the series. “It’s sorta
RSS