14-Aug, Finals:

[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt [2] Jenny Duncalf (Eng)                                   11/8, 11/4, 11/6
[2] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt [1] Nick Matthew (Eng)              12/14, 11/6, 10/12, 11/8, 11/4

   
          Player Info...         H2H Men...          H2H Women....        Performance History....

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“You just know this Australian Open has so much history,” “With all those big names on that trophy, you just know you want to get that title as well and I’m really pleased to win it. “I knew that today was going to be a tough final, she knows my game really well and we play each other a lot. “ My good starts to the first two games gave me a big advantage. "I really had to stay consistent in there, I was moving well, I focussed well and I just stayed on my game.” “Knowing I was watching the ball well, I could move well and I had to give her no time to player her shots, because she is so dangerous when she has time,” “I was trying to keep the ball going and not make any errors.”

   
Press Cuts

13-Aug, Semi-Finals:

 [1] Nicol David (Mas) bt  [3] Rachael Grinham (Aus)                         11/7, 13/11, 11/7
 [2] Jenny Duncalf (Eng) bt [4] Madeline Perry (Irl)                    11/8, 11/9, 2/11, 11/4

[1] Nick Matthew (Eng) bt David Palmer (Aus)                            11/9, 11/4, 11/5 (54m)
[2] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt [5] Gregory Gaultier (Fra)          7/11, 11/9, 11/9, 11/9 (64m)

11/5, 11/9, 7/11, 11/5 (69m)

LJ Anjema

11/9, 11/4, 11/5 (54m)

David Palmer

12/14, 11/6, 10/12, 11/8, 11/4

[2] Ramy Ashour

11/3, 10/12, 11/8, 12/10

[3] Karim Darwish

 7/11, 12/10, 11/4, 11/5

[6] Gregory Gaultier

7/11, 11/9, 11/9, 11/9 (64m)

[2] Ramy Ashour

 5/11, 11/9, 11/4, 11/4

[2] Ramy Ashour

07- Aug, Qualifying Finals:

Alan Clyne (Sco) bt Rex Hedrick (Aus)                   11-13, 11-9, 11-5, 11-5
Dick Lau (Hkg) bt Alex Phillips (Eng)                                 11-3, 11-9, 11-4
Asyraf Azan (Mas) bt Aqeel Rehman (Aut)               11-7, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7
Max Lee (Hkg) bt Kashif Shuja (Nzl)              8-11, 8-11, 16-14, 11-5, 11-4
Ivan Yuen (Mas) bt Campbell Grayson (Nzl)           12-10, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8
Zac Alexander (Aus) bt Chris Lloyd (Nzl)                         11-5, 11-4, 11-6
Matthew Karwalski (Aus) bt Wade Johnstone (Aus)           11-6, 11-7, 11-4
Martin Knight (Nzl) bt Raphael Kandra (Ger)                   13-11, 11-8, 11-6

06-Aug, Qualifying Round One:

Martin Knight (Nzl) bye
Raphael Kandra (Ger) bt Ondrej Ertl (Czl)                           13-11, 11-7, 11-2
Matthew Karwalski (Aus) bt Scott Arnold (Aus)     11-8,13-11,8-11,8-11,11-9
Wade Johnstone (Aus) bt Justin Beard (Aus)              11-9, 10-12, 11-3, 11-7

Ivan Yuen (Mas) bt Kamran Khan (Mas)                     11-8, 8-11, 11-9, 11-4
Campbell Grayson (Nzl) bt Joseph Watts (Nzl)                   11-1, 11-6, 11-4
Chris Lloyd (Nzl) bt Joshua Southwell-Nobbs (Aus)               11-7, 11-3, 11-6
Zac Alexander (Aus) bt Josh Cardwell (Aus)                        11-5, 11-3, 11-9

Max Lee (HK) bt Bradley Hindle (Mlt)                         11-8,11-6,8-11,4-11,2-11
Kashif Shuja (Nzl) bt Tim Manning (Aus)                              11-6, 11-8, 11-8
Asyraf Azan (Mas) bt Luke Sims (Aus)                                 11-5, 11-4, 11-2
Aqeel Rehman (Aut) bt Roman Svec (Cze)                            11-8,11-8,11-3

Alex Phillips (Eng) bt Jamie McErvale (Aus)          13-11,11-7,1-11,4-11,11-4
Dick Lau (Hkg) bt Ben Takamizawa Harris (Jpn)                      8-11,3-11,1-11
Rex Hedrick (Aus) bt James Skiffington (Nzl)                         11-2,11-1,11-1
Alan Clyne (Sco) bye

 11/0, 11/2, 4/0  rtd

[6] Annie Au

11/7, 13/11, 11/7

 11/8, 11/4, 11/6

[2] Jenny Duncalf

11/7, 11/4, 11/7

[7] Donna Urquhart

11/3, 2/11, 12/10, 11/9

11/8, 11/9, 2/11, 11/4

[2] Jenny Duncalf

[2] Jenny Duncalf

08-Aug, Qualifying (6 places):

Amanda Cranston (Nzl) bt Laura McCredie (Aus)                11/3, 11/2, 11/2
Vanessa Pickerd (Aus) bt Selena Shaikh (Aus)                   11/1, 11/4, 11/4
Zoe Petrovansky (Aus) bt Grace McErvale (Aus)                 11/8, 11/1, 11/2
Tamika Saxby (Aus) bt Jessica Turnbull (Aus)                     11/5, 11/6, 12/10
Lisa Aitken (Sco) bt Bethany Brazier (Aus)                          11/5, 11/6, 11/6
Amanda Landers-Murphy (Nzl) bt Jennifer Brown (Aus)       11/3, 11/2, 11/2

2010 Australian Open

Andrew Dent reports

Malaysian superstar Nicol David took a step closer to her first Viridian Australian Open title when she downed former champion Rachael Grinham 11-7, 13-11, 11-7 in the semi-finals on Saturday.

In front of a large crowd at Canberra’s Royal Theatre, David outplayed her Australian opponent to claim the opening semi-final in 34 minutes.

Grinham hadn’t beaten David since 2007, but she took the game right up to the world number one and had her under enormous pressure at times.

However, David was able to stay in the points with some superb defence and lift her game when it counted, saving two game balls in the second to gain a crucial 2/0 advantage.

Grinham conceded that losing the second game had handed David a vital advantage.
 

“It’s definitely harder to come back from two-love down against Nicol,” Grinham said. “I made it harder on myself by not taking advantage and taking that second game. “But Nicol is good at that, when she’s down she just digs in and doesn’t make any errors and makes you win the point, she doesn’t give you anything. “She doesn’t hit too many winners. It’s either you’re on the end of a long rally and you guess the wrong way, or you make the error.”

Nicol David, who will be playing her 70th tour final on Sunday,  will take on Jenny Duncalf of England in the final following the second seeded Duncalf’s 11-8, 11-9, 2-11, 11-4 win over defending champion Madeline Perry of Ireland.

Duncalf ended Perry’s title defence in a close match that could have gone either way. She claimed the first two games narrowly before Perry stormed through the third playing almost faultless squash.

However, the Englishwoman regrouped to dominate the fourth game to reach her first Australian Open final.

A disappointed Perry said there hadn’t been that much between them.

“The key was those first two games, I think if I could have won one of those two games it could have been different,” Perry said. “But obviously at two-love down it gives Jenny all the confidence, and even after winning the third she was still two-one up, but it was a really close game and I thought I played better than yesterday, I was just disappointed with the result. “In the fourth I just got my tactics wrong. I was perfect in the third but just went a bit defensive in the third and let her get too big a lead.”

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“I didn’t want to let the second game go. "I knew in this situation these girls are going to keep going, so that game was really important to me.” “She didn’t make many errors, it was just very solid squash. I knew I had to work hard. “I’m just happy to be in the final. “With Rachael, because we have these matches all the time, it was always going to be a battle and even though it was three-love it was really hard, like a five-setter.”

“That third game was bizarre, it just ran away from me. I tried to get back into it and stay in the rallies but it just wasn’t happening and I went a bit flat. "I just tried to forget about it and start from scratch and rebuild the rallies, which worked well in the fourth.” “Maybe the emotion of winning that second made me a little flat for the third,” she said. “Pete Barker was talking to me after the third and told me it had happened, it was gone, just reassert yourself and build the rallies up again because in the third there weren’t even that many contested rallies.”

 
Matthew ends Palmer’s fairytale
to set up Ashour rematch

World squash number one Nick Matthew ended David Palmer’s Australian Open fairytale with a ruthless 11-9, 11-4, 11-5 win in the semi-finals in Canberra on Saturday.

The 35-year-old Palmer has been carrying an ankle injury during the week but has been playing great squash, culminating in a win over world number three Karim Darwish in the quarter-finals. However, despite the vocal support of a large home crowd, the 2008 champion came up short against a player at the peak of his game.

Palmer got away to a great start and jumped out to a 5-2 lead, only for Matthew to claw his way back to level terms, the two then going point for point until Mathew broke away at 9-9 to close out the first game.

The defending champion then stepped up a gear against an increasingly tired looking Palmer to take control of the rest of the match.

As the match wore on, Palmer found it harder and harder to read Matthew’s shots and was often left flat footed at the back of the court. He conceded afterwards that he hadn’t been physically up to the task of beating the world’s best player on Saturday.
  

“The week caught up with me I think,” Palmer said. “My legs got heavier and you can’t give up that much time against him. He’s one of the fastest men on the court. “I was on the back foot and that caused my shots to be not quite as accurate as well. “Still, it was a good week for me. With my seeding no one expected me to get this far and considering the ankle injury I’m still pretty proud.”

The Englishman will now take on Egypt’s Ramy Ashour, a 7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-9 winner over Gregory Gaultier, in a repeat of the 2010 decider, won in straight games by Matthew.

Ashour downed fifth seeded Frenchman Gregory Gaultier in a semi-final full of passion, humour, tension and remarkable shot making from both players. The pair were renewing their Australian Open rivalry from last year, where they also met in the semi-finals.

On that occasion they played one of the best matches ever seen in Australia, and although Saturday’s match may have fallen short of that classic, it came fairly close.

Gaultier had chances to win every game, only to be undone by some sublime stroke play from the audacious Egyptian, who seems able to hit clean winners from any position on the court.

Ashour said he thought he noticed Gaultier beginning to tire towards the end of the match so he tried to increase the pace of the game, which allowed him to sneak home. A downcast Gaultier was left rueing his lost chances.

“It’s tough to lose three games 11-9, 11-9, 11-9.” Gaultier said. “I had the opportunity to take one of these three games but he managed to hit winners at the right time. “I’m disappointed but I’m happy with the way I played. "I think it’s a good start to the season for me to get my confidence up.”

12-Aug, Quarter-Finals:

Women's Quarters
[1] Nicol David bt [6] Annie Au                                                                 11/0, 11/2, 4/0  rtd
[3] Rachael Grinham bt [7] Donna Urquhart                                                  11/7, 11/4, 11/7
[4] Madeline Perry bt [8] Joelle King                                                  11/3, 2/11, 12/10, 11/9
[2] Jenny Duncalf bt [10] Natalie Grinham                                          11/4, 12/10, 8/11, 11/8

Men's Quarters
[1] Nick Matthew (Eng) bt Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned)                  11/5, 11/9, 7/11, 11/5 (69m)
David Palmer (Aus) bt [3] Karim Darwish (Egy)                                11/3, 10/12, 11/8, 12/10
[5] Grégory Gaultier (Fra) bt [4] James Willstrop (Eng)                       7/11, 12/10, 11/4, 11/5
[2] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt [6] Peter Barker (Eng)                                  5/11, 11/9, 11/4, 11/4

       
Press Cuts

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“I didn’t really expect it,” Palmer admitted later. “I can’t give much up to these guys at the best of times but I’ve struggled all week with my ankle and somehow I’m managing to get through.

“Maybe it’s good because I’m trying not to put too much pressure on myself, just trying to get through the match without reinjuring it and trying to make it at least competitive.
“Maybe being a bit more relaxed is working.”

“I’ve got nothing to lose tomorrow, it’s a dream to be able to play a major semi-final here in Australia,” he said. “There’s a bit of rivalry with Nick but then again he’s the one with the pressure on him.

“I quite like playing against him, so if I’m up for it, who knows?”

“At the beginning it was just torture for me – he made an unbelievable start and I couldn’t do anything.”

“I just told myself to forget about it and fight hard. Today was not a day for accuracy from me, so I thought to myself ‘try and raise the pace and things may work out your way’.”

Andrew Dent reports

Australia’s David Palmer showed he’s still a major force in the world of squash when he stunned world number three Karim Darwish to reach the semi-finals of the Viridian Australian Open squash championships in Canberra on Friday.

Palmer, at 35 and playing with an injured ankle, came out firing in the first game then held off a comeback from the third seeded Egyptian to win 11-3, 12-10, 8-11, 12-10.

The Australian number one injured his ankle in his opening round match and there was some doubt as to whether he would be able to continue in the tournament.

He was slightly tentative in his second round win over Tom Richards, but showed no signs of discomfort as he took advantage of an at times out-of-sorts Darwish to record the tournament’s biggest upset.

It was Palmer’s eighth win over Darwish but his first since 2008 and ensures a semi-final against world number one Nick Matthew of England.

Matthew earlier withstood a fierce onslaught from Dutchman Laurens Jan Anjema to win 11-5, 11-9, 7-11, 11-5 and move a step closer to defending his title.

But he will first have to get past Palmer, who played brilliantly against Darwish to the delight of the parochial fans in Canberra’s Royal Theatre.

Matthew survived a brutal onslaught from Anjema, taking an early lead then holding off a ferocious comeback from the tall left-hander.

Anjema came into the quarter-finals in top form, having beaten seventh seed Thierry Lincou in the first round before demolishing American Julian Illingworth in the second.

However, he started slowly allowing Matthew the early advantage before finding his way back into the match.

Both men played some spectacular squash as the momentum swung between the two. The Dutchman took an early lead in the fourth as he looked to get the match back on even terms, only for Matthew to claw his way back and eventually ease away with the game to close out the quarter-final.

“He came back strong, he obviously played well in the first round and had one of the best wins of his career and then backed up really well in the second round,” Matthew said.

“I felt before the match that little buzz that’s I’ve not had this week. I felt that I was up for a big match and I started really well.

“I scrapped really well – if things are not going well that’s one thing I can rely on, to scrap hard and fight for every point.”

Crowd favourite Gregory Gaultier of France overcame slow start to down fourth seeded Englishman James Willstrop 7-11, 12-10, 11-4, 11-5. Willstrop came out firing and had Gaultier in all sorts of trouble, but he worked his way back into the game and finished far stronger than his opponent.

Gaultier will take on Ramy Ashour in a repeat of last year’s classic semi-final.

Ashour also overcame a  very slow start, making far too many unforced errors in the first and up to the middle of the second, before storming back to beat England’s Peter Barker 5-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-4.

Andrew Dent reports

Queensland’s Rachael Grinham said she was looking forward to the challenge of taking on world number one Nicol David after defeating Australian teammate Donna Urquhart in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open squash championships in Canberra on Friday.

Grinham was in great touch as she beat a nervous looking Urquhart in straight games 11-7, 11-4, 11-7 to book her place in the final four.

The 34-year-old will now play David for the first time since January and said that far from being daunted by the prospect, she was relishing the opportunity. Grinham, a former world number one herself, has not beaten David since the final of the British Open in September 2007.



Nicol David cruised into the semi-finals when opponent Annie Au of Hong Kong was forced to retire with a leg injury midway through the third game.

David was leading 11-0, 11-2, 4-0 when Au decided to retire, handing the match to the top seeded Malaysian. Au hurt her left leg towards the end of her second round win over Denmark’s Line Hansen on Wednesday but thought a day’s rest would allow it to mend.
 

“In practice it was okay, but in practice you always know where the ball is going to go,” Au said. “Once we got into the match I couldn’t twist my leg to play a shot. I thought it might get better but it didn’t.”

David said she realised Au had a problem early on, but didn’t want to take any chances.

Defending champion Madeline Perry won a close contest with 2009 winner Joelle King to reach the final four.

Perry came from 8-3 down in the fourth to see off the powerful Kiwi 13-11, 2-11, 12-10, 11-9 and avenge a first round defeat to King at last month’s Malaysian Open.



Second seeded Englishwoman Jenny Duncalf became the last player through when she saw off a tenacious Natalie Grinham.

Duncalf took the first game with ease but was then locked in a titanic battle with the Australian-born Dutchwoman before winning 11-4, 12-10, 8-11, 11-8.

Grinham chased and chased all match as an increasingly agitated Duncalf struggled to put her away.

But at 8-8 in the fourth game the Englishwoman finally broke clear and wrapped up an enthralling contest.

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“She can just play error-free squash and pick up everything, and keep pushing the ball to the back of the court and make you go for stuff.” “Because she can pick up balls that are normally winners against most girls you’re forced to play 10 winners to win one rally. “I’m looking forward to it, to trying to beat Nicole. I always want to play her but I tend to lose before I get to play her. “I like to have the opportunity to play her if I feel in good shape, and I feel pretty good at the moment.”

“I’m used to beating people with my pace, taking the ball early and hitting it hard on the T but she does it better than me.” “So I have to play a little bit differently and I don’t find it all that comfortable. “I managed to slow it down a bit more from the last time I played her. “I didn’t play very well against her in Malaysia but I’ve had a few good matches since then and I was confident I could player her better today.”

      
Press Cuts

11-Aug, Round Two, Part Two:

Women's Bottom Half:

[8] Joelle King (Nzl) bt [12] Delia Arnold (Mal)                                             11/5, 13/11, 11/9
[4] Madeline Perry (Irl) bt [11] Joey Chan (Hkg)                                  11/8, 6/11, 11/3, 11/2
[10] Natalie Grinham (Ned) bt [5] Kasey Brown (Aus)                         11/9, 7/11, 12/10, 11/9
[2] Jenny Duncalf (Eng) v [16] Gaby Huber (Swi)                                          11/5, 11/3, 11/1

Men's Bottom Half:
 
[4] James Willstrop (Eng) bt [Q] Alan Clyne (Sco)                                        11/5, 11/5, 11/2
[5] Grégory Gaultier (Fra) bt Adrian Grant (Eng)                                           11/7, 11/5, 11/8
[6] Peter Barker (Eng) bt Nafiizwan Adnan (Mas)                                           11/4, 11/2, 11/7
[2] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt Stewart Boswell (Aus)                                   9/11, 11/7, 11/8, 11/7

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Player Info

H2H

“Coming off a big win like I had in Singapore, it’s hard to focus sometimes. “Instead of thinking about winning points, I was thinking about winning the match. “At the start of the third I concentrated on what I had to do and it all clicked into place.” “I am going to have to play like I did in the third and fourth for the whole match against Joelle if I want to beat her.  “She beat me in Malaysia so it would be nice to get one back.”

Andrew Dent reports

Former champion Natalie Grinham caused the biggest upset of the Viridian Australian Open squash championships in Canberra when she bundled fifth seed Kasey Brown out of the second round on Thursday.

Grinham stunned the world number six in four tense games 11-9, 7-11, 12-10, 11-9 to move into the quarter-finals where she will play second seeded Englishwoman Jenny Duncalf, an 11-5, 11-3, 11-1 winner over Switzerland’s Gaby Huber.

Brown, who was suffering with an undisclosed illness throughout the match, was undone by the speed and court coverage from her former Australian teammate.

Duncalf looked in superb touch as she disposed of Huber in the last match of the women’s second round. She was always in complete control and later admitted her big match experience gave her a tremendous help.

Defending champion Madeline Perry of Ireland recovered from a second game blip to see off Hong Kong’s Joey Chan 11-8, 6-11, 11-3, 11-2. Perry won the Singapore Masters in the lead-up to the Open and said she had probably relaxed too much during the early stages of her match against Chan.

She now takes on 2009 champion Joelle King of New Zealand in the quarter-finals following King’s 11-5, 13-11, 11-9 win over young Malaysian Delia Arnold.

King got off to a great start before allowing Arnold back into the contest with a string of unforced errors. She clinched the second game in a tiebreak before racing away to a 10-5 lead in the third, then holding off a late comeback from the Malaysian. King said she had been hit with an attack of nerves playing on the all-glass court in the Royal Theatre.

“I love playing on the glass, it suits my game,” the world number 13 said. “But I had a few nerves early on. It’s quite different playing in an arena like this so I’m just happy to come away with a three-love victory.” She said her second game lapses were the result of nerves. “I was ridiculously nervous, I just couldn’t seem to calm myself down,” King said. “Obviously I knew it was going to be a tough match against Delia so there were a lot of added nerves there but somehow I managed to pull through.”

"Stewart should be ranked better than he is the way he played.

"He played like a top 10 player. I think we played a very good quality match tonight."

“I’ve been quite lucky I’ve had two players ranked where they are, but at the same time someone like Greg (Gaultier) has had two tough matches and he’s managed to win them both three-love,” ‘I’m very happy with the way I’m hitting the ball, I’m very pleased with the way I’m moving in my first tournament back.”

"James is in great form but he didn’t have tough matches – he hasn’t played top players yet.

"It’s easy to be in good form when you don’t play top players, but he’s a great player and he’s really good to watch so I think it’s going to be a really good match."



 

 
Press Cuts

10-Aug, Round Two:

Women's Top Half:
Nicol David bt Emily Whitlock                                 11/9, 11/7, 11/5
Annie Au bt Line Hansen                              14/12, 11/4, 9/11, 11/9
Rachael Grinham bt Low Wee Wern               11/8, 8/11, 11/4, 11/3
Donna Urquhart bt Dipika Pallikal                  11/6, 7/11, 11/6, 11/8

Men's Top Half:
Nick Matthew bt Ong Beng Hee                              11/7, 11/8, 11/9
Laurens Jan Anjema bt Julian Illingworth               11/4, 11/3, 11/3
David Palmer bt Tom Richard                        4/11, 11/9, 11/6, 11/5
Karim Darwish bt Max Lee                             11/5, 8/11, 11/5, 11/7

H2H	Player Info

Photo Gallery

England’s Nick Matthew remained on track to defend his title with an impressive win over Malaysia’s Ong Beng Hee.

World number one Matthew absorbed everything the Malaysian threw at him to close out the match 11-7, 11-8, 11-9.

Matthew and Ong have been opponents since their junior days and the Malaysian used all his experience to undo his opponent, hitting an array of shots to all parts of the court.

However, Matthew was up to the challenge despite struggling to close out the match in a tight third game.

“I seem to get to seven, eight and nine points okay before hitting a bit of a roadblock. But that’s a credit to Beng Hee, he stayed around to fight to the end. He changed his tactics every point so it was hard to feel comfortable.

“I was happy to get off three-love really. I’m getting through, I’m not really playing with full fluency yet, but it’s early days in the tournament so hopefully I’ll find it.

“Everything’s sort of in place, it’s just a matter of piecing the bits together – I’ll get that in the next few days.”

Matthew will need to be at his best against in the quarter-finals where he meets Laurens Jan Anjema, who followed up his first round defeat of fifth seed Thierry Lincou with a dominant display against Julian Illingworth, winning 11-4, 11-3, 11-3

“I played really well tonight – it’s tough to follow up a win over someone like Thierry,” he said.

“You walk around with your head in the clouds but you have to tell yourself it’s a new day and there’s work to be done.”
 

“I was happy just to get on court. I’ve been out at the AIS getting treatment and they’ve done some great work.

“In the early stages it felt like I was dragging my leg around and I think winning that second game was very important – if Tom had gone two-love up I think he would have run away with it.

“I think it probably affected Tom’s game a little bit because it can be hard to play against someone you know has an injury.”

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"She certainly got everything going for her at the start. She didn’t make any mistakes and at the end I knew I just had to tighten up a little bit more and feel the ball better, and she started to make a few more errors. "It’s nice to see a 17-year-old play like that – I’d heard about her and I was expecting a challenge today. "It’s good that it was three-love. "It was close in the first game and with this scoring you cannot let your guard down, every point is important."

"It’s an advantage for me because I train with her now, but I guess it could be an advantage to her as well. "It’s good that there won’t be too many surprises, we know each other’s games pretty well and it’s been really good to train together.” "I didn’t get my length right in the second and she was all over me.” "I knew I had to get back in front of her and control the game again if I wanted to win. "Today it was all about getting the right position and slowing it down, not giving her any pace on the ball."

World number one Nicol David of Malaysia made it through to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open with a straight games win over 17-year-old Englishwoman Emily Whitlock on Wednesday.

David started slowly but overpowered her younger opponent to win 11-9, 11-7, 11-5.

Whitlock finished third at the recent World Junior Championships and showed no fear against her illustrious opponent, jumping out to an 9-6 lead in the first game. However, David stepped up a gear and won five points straight to win the first game and was never headed thereafter.

She will play Hong Kong’s Annie Au in the last eight following Au’s 14-12, 11-4, 9-11, 11-9 win over Line Hansen of Denmark. Au never looked as comfortable against Hansen, with the Dane unlucky not to win a tight first game.

Au has faced David seven times on tour and at the Asian Games and is yet to notch a victory, but she said she would go in with nothing to lose.
 

Hansen had her chances throughout but was undone by some errors at crucial moments to hand the match to the Au, who won the title in 2008.

Australian teammates Rachael Grinham and Donna Urquhart will meet in the quarter-finals after both won tough second round matches.

Grinham downed Malaysian Low Wee Wern 11-8, 8-11, 11-4, 11-3 before Urquhart saw off India’s Dipika Pallikal 11-6, 7-11, 11-6, 11-8.

Urquhart and Grinham were part of the Australian team that won the world teams title last December and have become training partners since Grinham returned to live in Australia at the start of July.

Urquhart was in dynamic form at the beginning of her match against Pallikal, showing why she has risen to number 13 in the world over the past few months.

But after starting brilliantly she lost concentration in the second and allowed the Indian back into the contest. However, she regrouped to regain control and move comfortably into the final eight.

Grinham’s match followed a similar pattern to Urquhart as she won the first game easily, then dropped the second before regaining control and easing away.

08-Aug, Round One (top half):

Player Info


H2H

Women's round one

Nicol David bt Samantha Davies                  11-3, 11-6, 11-2
Emily Whitlock bt Kylie Lindsay           11-9, 7-11, 11-4, 11-3
Annie Au bt Lisa Aitken                               11-3, 11-1, 11-5
Gaby Huber bt Sarah Cardwell            11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 11-1

Kasey Brown  bt Amanda Cranston              11-2, 11-7, 11-3
Jenny Duncalf bt Vanessa Pickerd               11-5, 11-3, 11-3
Line Hansen bt Milou Van Der Heijden 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-9
Rachael Grinham bt Lucie Fialova               11-6, 11-5, 11-2

Low Wee Wern bt Zoe Petrovansky             11-4, 11-6, 11-5
Madeline Perry bt Siti Munirah Jusoh          11-5, 11-2, 11-3
Natalie Grinham bt Melody Francis             11-2, 11-4, 11-5
Donna Urquhart bt Tamika Saxby              11-7, 11-1, 11-3

Joelle King bt Maggy Marshall                     11-6, 11-3, 11-2
Joey Chan bt Christine Nunn                       11-3, 11-2, 11-3
Dipika Pallikal bt Amanda Landers-Murphy  11-4, 11-8, 11-2
Delia Arnold bt Olga Ertlova      5-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 11-6

Men's Round One (bottom half)

James Willstrop bt Chris Ryder                 13-11, 11-8, 11-0
Alan Clyne bt Muhd Asyraf Azan                  11-5, 11-9, 11-4
Adrian Grant bt Simon Rosner    2-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-8
Nafiizwan Adnan bt Dick Lau                      11-7, 11-4, 11-3

Peter Barker bt Aaron Frankcomb               11-8, 11-7, 11-6
Gregory Gaultier bt Cameron Pilley            11-6, 11-8, 11-7
Stewart Boswell bt Saurav Ghosal             14-12, 11-2, 11-5
Ramy Ashour bt Ivan Yuen                         11-3, 11-7, 11-3

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“I had never played Samantha before so I didn’t know what to expect,” David said.

“I knew she was a big shot player and she made some shots but I just stuck in there and played solid.”

David had a rare loss at last week’s Singapore Open but said she had already put that out of her mind.

“Those days happen and I’m just moving forward,” she said.

“It’s good to get fresh and ready for the Australian Open and I’m excited to be here.”

“I just wanted to go out there and work on some things that I’ve been working on the last couple of months.” “I felt quite comfortable on there, I felt like I played pretty well. She got a bit tired towards the end so I was able to take advantage of that and get through in three. “I’ve got a day off tomorrow as well so it’s just keep form and keep sharp through the week. I’ve got a tough one against Nat Grinham on Thursday so just looking forward to playing that really.” “She’s come back and is moving just as well and playing just as well before the baby. I played her in the Cayman Islands at the beginning of the year I think and I ended up losing that one.”

Duncalf will play Gaby Huber in the second round after the Swiss number one downed Melbourne’s Sarah Cardwell 11-6, 8-11, 11-5, 11-1.

“It’s quite different playing someone that you don’t know,” Jenny said.

“I went and watched the qualifiers yesterday because I didn’t know 90 per cent of them so I had a little look at Vanessa yesterday and she looked good.

“You can never take any match lightly, but it’s nice to get a feel for the court early.”

The top women’s seeds all progressed with few problems.

Third seed Rachael Grinham beat Lucie Fialova of the Czech Republic 11-6, 11-5, 11-2, Ireland’s Madeline Perry (4) downed Malaysia’s Siti Munirah Jusoh 11-5, 11-2, 11-3 and Kasey Brown (5) was too good for New Zealand’s Amanda Cranston 11-2, 11-7, 11-3.

Perry, winner of the Singapore Open last week, was also pleased with how she had played against Munirah Jusoh.
 

“I knew Siti was probably one of the harder first-round matches. I was aware she was a good player,” Perry said. “I wanted to really concentrate today with it being the first round and just start the tournament with a good start. “I’m coming into it better than I was last time but I’m going to have to be this time, Nicol David’s here and all the top girls are playing well, Jenny Duncalf’s playing well.”

Other winners included 2008 champion Annie Au of Hong Kong, seventh seed Donna Urquhart and 2009 winner Joelle King from New Zealand.

However, the four-time champion will have to step up several gears before facing second-seeded Egyptian Ramy Ashour, who downed Malaysian qualifier Ivan Yuen in the last match of the night.

Earlier Australian number two Cameron Pilley bowed out at the hands of classy Frenchman Gregory Gaultier, while Englishman Peter Barker was too steady for Hobart's Aaron Frankcomb, winning 11-6, 11-8, 11-7.

Gaultier was in blistering form as he downed world number 14 Pilley 11-6, 11-8, 11-7.

Frankcomb had the sixth-seeded Barker in trouble at various times throughout their match, but couldn't maintain the pressure when it counted.

England's fourth seed James Willstrop put on a display of superb squash as he downed fellow countryman Chris Ryder 13-11, 11-8, 11-0, declaring later he played almost the perfect match.

Willstrop has flown under the radar this year with most of the attention on fellow countryman Nick Matthew and Egypt's Ramy Ashour. He now faces Scotsman Alan Clyne, who continued his recent climb as he reached the second round of a platinum level tournament for the first time with an 11-5, 11-9, 11-4 win over Malaysia's Muhd Asyraf Azan.

Clyne won the first game easily, then came back from 8-2 down in the second, before running away with the third against a disconsolate Azan.

"I managed to get onto the pace pretty quickly in the first game because on the glass court you need to be positive and get the ball in short and I thought I did that really well," said the Edinburgh-based Scot.

England's Adrian Grant came from two games down to overhaul German Simon Rosner 2-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-8.

Rosner played superbly in the first two and half games and had chances to bring up match points, but Grant, the world No18, ranked 12 places higher, clung in and eventually turned the tables on his younger opponent.

Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan joined fellow Malaysian Ong Beng Hee in the second round when he beat Dick Lau from Hong Kong 11-7, 11-4, 11-3.

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“I need some more matches like this – I haven’t really played since January because of an injury. “At my age it’s pretty hard to come back and for my body to find the pace. It’s hard for me to get back to the level I was before the injury.”

Hong Kong’s Max Lee became the first player through to the second round of the Australian Open in Canberra when he came from a game down to beat New South Welshman Matthew Karwalski on Monday.

Karwalski looked headed for an upset when he won six straight points to close out the first game, only for Lee to steady down and outlast his opponent 6-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-8 in a high quality opener to the tournament.

Lee was faultless during the second game and although mistakes began to creep in towards the end, he just managed to keep clear of a gallant Karwalski.

Lee had to win two five-setters in qualifying just to make the main draw and said once he lost the first game, he was determined not to go two-love down a third time.

Malaysia’s Ong Beng Hee and Julian Illingworth of the US also progressed but not before being tested by their opponents.

Ong, a former Australian Open semi-finalist, downed New Zealand qualifier Martin Knight 5-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-4 while Illingworth saw off Swiss player Nicholas Mueller 11-6, 11-7, 7-11, 11-9.

Illingworth said he had been expecting a battle against Mueller and he was happy to get off in four games.

 

“I knew it was going to be close, we are right next to each other in the rankings. “It’s the first tournament of the season for most of them, actually I played a small one last week but for most of the guys it’s their first one, so anything can happen. “You don’t know who’s going to come in in form and who’s going to be lacking a little match fitness. “Winning the first round in these big ones is a big goal for all the guys coming through.”

Monday Schedule
NCCC=glass court
 

“I had to wait for 10 years until this guy was 35 years old and could hardly walk anymore, and I could just about beat him. “I prepared so well. All summer I was training very hard, but smart at the same time. “It really has to start happening for me now – I’m 28 years old – but at the same time I try not to put too much pressure on myself. “I just try to enjoy it and play well, and thank God it happened today, I’m so happy.”

“It’s a major event and you’re always a bit nervous, in the first round because you’re not quite into the tournament . “It’s really difficult playing a qualifier because they have two matches under their belt, so coming in he was very confident. "I thought he played very well, he put me under a lot of pressure for three games, but I managed to get a little bit better towards the end. “When I was 2/1 up I was a lot more confident and I think he got a bit tired towards the end. I think the two close games that I won, that worked him very hard and I think mentally he gave up a little bit.”

“I knew it would be a tough match from the moment I saw the draw.”

“I’m delighted to get off in three because it could have got tough out there if I’d have lost that first game.”

Foot injury forces Camilleri out of Open

Australian number four Lisa Camilleri has been forced to withdraw from next week’s Australian Open after sustaining a foot injury that has sidelined her for at least six weeks.

Camilleri, who was the 16th seed in Canberra, suffered the injury at the Malaysian Open two weeks ago.

She pulled out of the Singapore Masters the following week in the hope she would recover in time for the Australian Open, however, she has since discovered the injury is worse than she first thought.

Camilleri’s injury has meant good news for Hobart’s Maggy Marshall, who comes into the main draw as a replacement, avoiding the tricky qualifying tournament.

Marshall will take on eighth seeded New Zealander Joelle King and said she was thrilled to make the first round after falling in qualifying in 2010.

"It gives me great peace of mind to go straight through to the main draw, Marshall said.

"It will be hard taking on Joelle, because she’s been going really well lately, so it will probably be more about gaining experience."

Switzerland’s Gaby Huber has been elevated to 16th seed and will now play Melbourne’s Sarah Cardwell in the first round.
 

Andrew Dent reports
 
Malaysian squash superstar Nicol David will make her Australian Open debut after confirming she would be travelling to Canberra in August.

David, who has been world number one since August 2006, has won just about every major tournament in a glittering career. The 27-year-old will be hot favourite to add the Australian Open to a trophy cabinet that already includes Commonwealth Games gold, five World Opens and three British Opens.

David, who will be coming to Canberra with her long time coach, former Australian great Liz Irving, hasn’t played in Australia since the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

In an ominous sign for her opponents, the last time she was in Canberra was in 1999, when she won the Australian Junior Championship.

“I'm very excited to have this opportunity to play in this tournament for the first time, especially knowing the prestige the Australian Open has in the squash world and squash history,” David said. “I’m looking forward to giving it a good go there for this year's Australian Open.”

David said having Irving alongside her would give her a big advantage.

“Liz has always been amongst the best Australian women squash players and played many Australian Opens,” she said. “Having her with me will give me a lot of positive reinforcements coming into Canberra.

“This Australian Open will be one of the highlights for me this year and I'm glad that Squash Australia has brought this event back for both the men and women.”

Joining David in the top quality field are six former champions, all of whom are ranked in the top 20 in the world.

Last year’s champion, Madeline Perry of Northern Ireland, will be back to defend her title, while Kasey Brown (2006 champion), Annie Au (2008) and Joelle King (2009) will also play.

And in a significant coup, Toowoomba’s Rachael and Natalie Grinham will be playing the Australian Open together for the first time since Natalie won the title in 2004.

Rachael, who won the following year, said Natalie had made great progress since she came back to the game after giving birth to her first child last year.

“She’s made a pretty remarkable comeback,” Rachael said.

“A big factor of Natalie’s game is her movement, and she’s moving just as well now as when she was at her peak, and it’s not even a year after having the baby.”

19-Jul-11:
“Shell-shocked” Davies
ready for big test
Andrew Dent reports

Brisbane player Samantha Davies says she has nothing to lose after finding out she will be taking on world number one Nicol David of Malaysia on the main showcourt in the first round of the Australian Open in Canberra next month.

Davies was elevated to the main draw of the Open after Frenchwoman Isabelle Stoehr withdrew injured on Monday night.

Her reward is a clash with the Malaysian superstar on the all-glass court in Canberra’s Royal Theatre.

“I’m a bit shell-shocked, I only found out about an hour ago,” the 22-year-old from Scarborough said on Tuesday. “It’s going to be an incredible experience. I’ve never even see her play live before so it’s going to be a bit of a steep learning curve.”

Davies has only played on a glass court once before, one match at the World Junior Championships in Belgium in 2005.

“But never in front of the number of people that the Canberra theatre can hold and not against someone like Nicole,” she said. “I’ve got nothing to lose and I can only learn from it. There’s no pressure on me at all, I want to go out there and relax and enjoy it, and get as much out of it as I can.

“It’s a good benchmark for me to see where my game is.”

Davies made the main draw of the Australian Open in 2010 through qualifying, losing to David’s countrywoman Low Wee Wern in the first round on a traditional court.

New Zealand’s Kylie Lindsay, who was due to play David in the first round, will now take on England’s Emily Whitlock.

However, her reprieve may only be temporary as if she beats the 17-year-old Whitlock she would then have to face David in the second round, assuming David beats Davies.

The Australian Open will be played in Canberra from August 8-14.

Men’s world number one Nick Matthew opens his title defence against South Africa’s Stephen Coppinger on Monday, August 8.
  

Matthew back to defend title

The draw for the men's event was made well in advance, with England's world champion, world number one and defending champion Nick Matthew at the top of the draw which sees Egypt's Ramy Ashour as his anticipated opponent in the final.

The first round has thrown up some tantalising matchups, particularly the one between Australian number one David Palmer and Egypt's Amr Shabana, a match that would grace any final.

At the other end of the scale third seed Karim Darwish looks likely to face two consecutive qualifiers before a scheduled quarter-final with the winner of the Palmer v Shabana clash.

In the bottom half England's James Willstrop is seeded to reach the semi-finals, but he'll have to get past France's Gregory Gaultier, while Matthew's predicted quarter-final is an all-England class with Peter Barker.