Egypt's Mohammed Abbas claimed the biggest win of his career
today as he beat Stewart Boswell in straight games in the final at
Berjaya Times Square, while Malaysia's own Nicol David added
yet another title to her locker, taking her fifth KL Open title as she
overcame Natalie Grinham 3/2 in a repeat of their world open thriller
...
PhotoStory of the event >>>>>>>
[4] Mohammed Abbas (Egy) bt
[3] Stewart Boswell (Aus) 11/6, 11/5, 11/5 (36m)
Abbas too sharp Alex Wan reports
Mohammad
Abbas claimed his biggest tournament win today, overcoming Australia’s
Stewart Boswell in the battle of the 3/4 seeds, having yesterday
between them eliminated the top two seeds. Abbas played flawlessly
clinical squash and dominated from start to finish. The Egyptian moved
around the court with such grace and was sharp whenever there was an
opportunity to end a rally – just like an Egyptian.
It
was a cautious start by both players, who were trading length for
length in the first four rallies and points going equally both ways.
Things changed as Abbas had a shot off the frame of his racket which
spun into the front wall to take a 3-2 lead. This turned the game
around as he raced to an 8-2 lead. A stroke gave Boswell his last
point of the game, and at 9-5 there was a battle at the front left
corner where they were trading drop after drop. After the sixth one,
Abbas finished it off with a cross court drop, totally flat footing
the Aussie and getting to game point. He converted it with a backhand
volley drop into the nick.
The second game was similar, both starting cautiously and Abbas
building a huge lead to 7-2. It would have been 8-2 had not Abbas
explained to referee Munir Shah that some interference happened - that
drew a huge applause from the crowd and an acknowledgement from the
referee, what great sportsmanship! Boswell got two points to close the
gap at 4-7, but Abbas closed it out again 11-5.
The third was once again very similar, 4-4 and then it was all the way
for Abbas. Today’s win marks a year plus a week since his last
tournament win at the COAS International in Pakistan. Perhaps March is
a good month for the Egyptian!
"We both had tough
matches yesterday and we are both tired to a certain extent. My
strategy today was just to play to the back, wait for a loose shot and
go for it. However, halfway through the first game, I sensed that he
was tired so I moved him front and back.
"This is the biggest win of my career and I am very happy to win it
here – great people and crowd."
"He was just too good
and too sharp today. I couldn’t break his rhythm and he was leading in
all games. I’m not too tired from yesterday, but then we both had
tough matches yesterday too. I didn’t particularly play badly today,
but I’ve played better of course ..."
"Against
Natalie, you have a play a different game each time. Each time I have
to work hard and today, I had to work even harder.
"In the end, it worked out for me. I am very glad I had the big lead
in the fifth as that helped me secure the game and match. Natalie was
coming back, so thank goodness for the lead.
"A big thanks to my parents who are always here to watch me play and
also to Liz (Irving), who points out to me the gaps between games."
"We
always have good battles. I felt confident and was in it the whole
way. I thought Nicol was tired and I changed my game a bit after the
fourth, which was a silly thing to do.
"At 2-7 down I changed back to my game and it was working, but she was
to far ahead by then.
Nicol David’s outing here last year disappointed the home crowd when
she lost to Vanessa Atkinson in the final. She made up for half of
that by avenging that defeat yesterday, and today, she completed the
job and stretched her unbeaten professional run to 31 matches.
In
a repeat of the World Open final, Nicol David and Natalie Grinham
served squash fans a feast, in a match that lasted 102 minutes – 4
minutes more than the World Open final. They are arguably the two
fittest players on the circuit and both looked good enough to have
another game after it ended!
Grinham started off well, breaking into a 6-0 lead. This didn’t
surprise many, knowing David’s notorious slow start in matches. Her
first point came off a stroke and she won another point before Grinham
gained serve again. Grinham was 7-2 up and that was when David started
one of her trademark comebacks, inching back slowly to 6-7. Grinham
tightened up, a few fist clenches to motivate herself and she was game
ball up. The Aussie finished in style when she volleyed a forehand
drop straight into the nick and the home crowd was silenced. It should
be noted that Grinham was moving very well and David was not as
impressive as she could be.
The second was David all the way, moving well and moving her opponent
all over the court. The last point was given, as Grinham tinned
David’s serve. A game each and the home crowd went wild. David
followed this up with some neat play in the next game too, racing to a
5-1 lead and later had game ball at 8-4. It was now Grinham’s turn to
inch back, but David allowed just two points before wrapping it up for
a 2-1 lead.
As
David showed some great play in the previous game, many had expected
her to wrap things up but remember, we have two of the fittest players
in the circuit battling it out. Grinham took the lead but David came
back to level at six apiece. At this junction the score stuck with
many hand outs. Grinham held on and sneaked home home 9-7 to force a
decider.
The fifth saw David break away to 7-2, but despite the scoreline, the
rallies were very close. David had match ball at 8-4. Grinham tried to
come back and the crowd was definitely worried, as she was very
convincing. But David was not about to disappoint again and eventually
reclaimed her KL Open crown – with this she has won the KL Open for
the fifth time. What a match!
Day of the Underdogs but women's seeds go through Alex Wan reports from KL
Semi
finals of the 2007 CIMB KL Open opened play at 4.30pm local time today
with the women’s top two seeds advancing, while the men’s top seeds
tumbled out. Both the men’s matches went the limit while both the
women’s matches finished in three as Nicol David and birthday girl
Natalie Grinham set up a repeat of their World Open final from
December.
The top two seeds in the men’s event were eliminated today in similar
fashion, with both Nick Matthew and Karim Darwish being eliminated in
just over an hour by Mohammad Abbas and Stewart Boswell respectively
at the Berjaya Times Square concourse.
Boswell starts the upsets
Darwish and Boswell were the first to get on court, providing the
Friday afternoon crowd some delightfully fast paced squash to kick off
the session. It was the Egyptian who drew first blood, reaching game
ball at 10-6. Boswell managed to save two game balls before Darwish
closed out the game 11-8. In the second Boswell got into his element
and raced quickly to a 6-1 lead before finishing off 11-4 in exactly
ten minutes.
Boswell continued his good run in the third, racing to 6-1 once again
and then 8-3. Darwish had a run and took five consecutive points to
draw level. In between the points, a no let call was made against
Boswell, to which he reacted and received a conduct warning.
On the next point, the ball became stuck in the bunting above the
court, and took a good five minutes to sort out. That helped Boswell
settle back into the game, which he eventually won 11-8. The fourth
was Darwish leading all the way, taking only seven minutes to force
the decider.
Both players played cautiously in the fifth and both seem very pumped
up, naturally. At 3 apiece, Boswell slammed a forehand cross court
winner into the nick, which Darwish thought was down – the referee and
Boswell didn’t think so. That, I feel, affected Darwish who then
managed only another three points in the game. First upset of the day
complete.
"I
played well in patches today and that was a very tough match. It’s
also a bit hot in there so that didn’t help either.
"Hopefully, with some stretching, rest and some food now, I’ll be all
ready for tomorrow. It’s my first final in a very long time, the last
one was in September in St.Louis."
"I’m
very happy with the win tonight. It’s my first big win against the top
guys. Nick is a very good player so I had to really push him to the
back before I can go short."
"Mentally
I felt a bit flat today even before I went on. I was trying to force
myself to concentrate but it really needs to happen naturally.
"Credit to him though he mixed it up well.
"I felt good physically after being out and I didn't expect too much
here as it was a little early, so I am not too unhappy."
[4] Mohammed Abbas
(Egy) bt [1] Nick Matthew (Eng)
12/10, 5/11, 11/9, 6/11, 11/9 (65m)
Abbas nicks it
How many matches finish with a nick? In this era, if it did happen
there’s a high chance it's an Egyptian and today was no exception.
Mohammad Abbas took a big scalp today when he outlasted Nick Matthew
in a marathon of just over an hour.
The Egyptian 6-footer started off well, leading all the way and held
game point at 10-6. Slowly, Matthew came back just as he did against
Bengy last night. Abbas didn’t allow to comeback to be completed
though, totally wrong footing the British Open champion at 10-10,
where all Matthew could do was watch as the ball died in the opposite
direction, and Abbas finished off the game with a great length to take
the lead.
Abbas again led early in the second, but two consecutive strokes
allowed Matthew to draw level at 3-3. Most play so far in this game
have been on the backhand side of the court, the Englishman winning
most of the rallies and charging ahead to 9-4, dropping just one more
a point before taking the game and leveling up.
The third and fourth were shared, the third to Abbas in a close 11-9
score, and then Matthew easing in the fourth in eight minutes. The
decider was a cracker, both players trading point for point. At 8-8,
Abbas tinned a drop, but in the next he made it up with a cross court
flick that sent Matthew the wrong way.
A stroke to Abbas followed, bringing him to match ball, which he
converted with the shot of the evening – a forehand cross court slam
into the front left corner from the T.
Many had expected an explosive affair between the Grinhams, having
heard of their battles in the 2005 Worlds, 2006 Hyderabad and most
recently this January’s Apawamis. Instead they were left disappointed
and a little puzzled.
The pace seemed slow today, perhaps because both players were being
cautious and that they both knew the other’s game so well. The first
game was the longest, lasting eight minutes. Natalie had opened up a
lead 3-0, after which Rachael came back to draw level at 5-each.
The younger Grinham then stormed home taking next four points to win
9-5. The second and third were similar, both finishing in favour of
Natalie and lasting just seven minutes. While Natalie seemed fresh and
alert throughout, Rachael didn’t seem quite herself today.
"It’s
always tough playing my sister and it’s nice to beat her, because she
used to beat me all the time before this.
"I’m playing really well right now so hopefully I can do the same
tomorrow in the final also. I’m very happy to be in the final,
especially with today being my birthday!
"I’m feeling better as the tournament progresses and whoever it is,
it’s going to be tough. I don’t know if there’s anything wrong with
Rachael, just that I feel she played better yesterday against Tania."
"Mentally,
I just wasn’t there today. I am not physically tired at all, so that’s
not the problem. It was hard to focus for some reason and mentally, I
didn’t mind whether it was me or Natalie who won."
"Because of that it was hard to push myself to come back after falling
behind. Maybe it just wasn't my day today ..."
"Vanessa
played very well today. I needed to go for everything she threw at me
each time or the outcome could well have been different.
"The cut on my shin is no big deal. In fact I didn't even notice it as
I was very focused on the match itself.
"Tomorrow, it’s one final push, one last match. It’s going to be tough
against Natalie, but it sure is going to be exciting also, even more
so with her playing so well all week.
"I'm
pretty disappointed actually. 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."
David gains her revenge
Nicol David today exacted revenge against world number four Vanessa
Atkinson, who beat her on this very same court in the same venue in
last year’s KL Open final. As I said yesterday, Atkinson is almost, if
not already, back at her best.
In
fact it was Atkinson who took the lead in the first. She was 6-3 up
before David clawed back with some patient play, moving the Dutch
champion to all corners. She allowed Atkinson one more point and
eventually wrapped up a game lasting twenty minutes – the longest game
of the evening so far.
That record was broken in the next game – 24 minutes, including a
short injury break from David, who hit herself in the shin.
It was Atkinson once again who took an early three point lead at 4-1.
Again, the Duracell bunny came back to lead 5-4, tiring Atkinson out
along the way, who seemed to give up on rallies after a while. Still
she stayed close, never more than a point away, but it was David again
at 9-7.
Atkinson was clearly tired in the third, managing just three points
and it was over in ten minutes. For a three game match, 54 minutes
does seem a long time!
On to the mall Play
moved to the Berjaya Times Square today, the same venue the event was
held last year. A total of eight matches will be played on a single
all-glass court erected in the main concourse of the mall. A single
court might be good in the sense that I’ll need not run around, but
the downside would mean it’s going to be a 12-hour working day!
Second seed Karim Darwish saved four game balls in the second game to
avoid going 0-2 down and went on to defeat local hopeful Azlan
Iskandar in a high tempo match.
With both players adopting a similar attacking style of play, it was a
delight to watch them battle it out. Some patient play in the first
game from Iskandar earned him the game 11-8, through some fairly long
and close rallies. They were both getting into each other’s way and
towards the end Darwish had begun to have a few words with the
Malaysian.
The second was by far the most explosive, with both players constantly
getting into each other’s way and a good amount of pushing was seen.
The Malaysian played well enough to get to game ball at 10-7, after
which Darwish again had a word with him. That seemed to turn things
around as he simply couldn’t close it out. Darwish came back slowly to
force the tie break and finally clinched it on his fourth game ball.
The third and fourth were both close affairs. Darwish won a delightful
rally with a forehand slam into the nick from Iskandar’s serve
to reach game ball and won it on a stroke after a no let decision
against Iskandar.
When Iskandar had taken an early 4-0 lead in the fourth the home crowd
thought they’d have something to cheer for – a decider. However, four
consecutive tins from the Malaysian drew the score level. The Egyptian
played cool and came back once more, pipping Iskandar by a mere three
points for a place in the semi-final tomorrow.
"It
was tough as expected, playing Azlan, who was more at home. I’m not
happy with my performance today, I was slow in getting to the ball and
my shots were not as sharp as they need to be. Azlan had a big lead in
the second and had he been 2-0 up, it would have been something else."
Overall,
I don't think we played well today. We’re both attacking players, so
it boils down to who made fewer errors. If I had managed to close out
the second game early, then it would have put me in a more confident
and comfortable position. Unfortunately, when I was holding game ball,
I got a bit complacent and he just made his way back and beat me."
"The
first game was quite close. Stewart’s obviously a very good player and
as the pace got faster, the better he was while I got off a bit. I’m
still getting used to the all glass courts and playing these top guys
is beneficial for me.
"I learned a lot from today’s game. The only down side is I thought I
could’ve done better today, especially after playing so well
yesterday."
Boswell too good
Former world number four Stewart Boswell played clean, flawless squash
to end the run of Englishman Alister Walker. Having eliminated
compatriot Jonathan Kemp yesterday, Walker looked good for a repeat
tonight in the first game as the players traded point for point
,but it was Boswell who sneaked home 11-9.
As the match went on, so did the pace. While Boswell welcomed this
increase in tempo, Walker seemed to make more and more mistakes. It
was 11-7 to the Australian in both games two and three, but there were
some good rallies between the two here and there.
[4] Mohammed Abbas (Egy) bt Aamir Atlas
Khan (Pak) 11/5, 5/11, 11/7, 6/11, 11/3 (50m)
The Khan-ming of a new star
Aamir Atlas Khan, once the Asian Junior Champion and still only 17
years of age, showed today that yesterday’s win over compatriot
Mansoor Zaman was no fluke when he stretched Egyptian Mohammad Abbas
to a decider.
The youngster started off steadily and took an early lead 4-2 before
two consecutive tins in the front right corner brought play to level.
The more experienced Egyptian then dictated and played more steadily
to gain the lead. The next game saw Khan come back strongly to draw
level at 11-7. The third and fourth were split a game each between the
duo.
Khan seem to lose steam in the fifth as Abbas raced to a huge lead in
no time, totally dominating the game, the Pakistani seen scrambling
corner to corner in a bid to retrieve everything. Abbas finished off
11-2, but it was Khan who stole the show on the day.
[1] Nick Matthew (Eng) bt [5] Ong Beng Hee
(Mas)
11/8, 8/11, 11/5, 13/11 (59m)
Matthew breaks local hearts
British Open champion Nick Matthew came back from his injury break
strongly and ended local hopes in the men’s event when he edged out
Ong Beng Hee in closely contested match. In what I’ll describe as
entertaining, clean squash, Matthew showed no signs of his injury
today.
The match began with a point each and this was followed by a pair of
lets going either way. It was Bengy who drew first blood, leading 3-1
after a backhand drive that died at the back of the court. Bengy led
4-3 before Matthew took command and won 11-8. Matthew continued his
run in the second, until Bengy took his first lead at 9-8, after which
a long and amazing rally took place where both players visited all
corners of the court numerous times. The Malaysian ended up getting
that one and eventually the game when the lad from Sheffield tinned a
return. One game each.
Matthew came back strongly, totally dominating the court and sending
Bengy to all corners, then eventually winning 11-5. Neat and crisp
from Nick. Then Bengy came strongly in the fourth, racing to a 6-2
lead with some nice attacking play. He continued to lead despite a
resurgence from Matthew, 7-4 then 9-6 that followed with two let
calls. Bengy got to game ball at 10-6 and a chance to force the
decider. The Gods above must have decided the Malaysian boys will not
win more than a game each today, as just like his compatriot, he
couldn’t close it out. Matthew slowly edged his way back and
eventually ended the last Malaysian challenge in the men’s event.
"It was good fun! I am
very happy with the way I played and much better than I had hoped for.
It’s great when you enjoy a good match against Bengy and we have a lot
of respect for each other. In the end, I was finishing stronger than
he was.
"My leg feels alright but I still have it taped for precaution. I also
ice it each time after I play. I am lucky my rehab didn’t take too
long so I did not lose too much match fitness.
"I was able to keep my aerobic fitness going, and n fact after two
weeks of resting I was already able to do some exercises on the bike.
"I know Natalie’s really
fit and fast, and I was trying to have a game plan where I just play a
basic game and push everything to the back.
"But that’s not my game, and it backfired on me. In the first I tried,
but the pace got so fast I couldn’t match Natalie’s speed.
"The lighting was also tricky, especially on the backhand side and I
daren’t volley off a single serve from there. I tried to play a good
match and I know I can play better than this."
"The
court is both bouncy and dead – bouncy in the back and dead in the
front, so it was rather awkward. You get drops that go so low but then
drives that bounce up so high.
"I think Omneya didn’t see the ball very well because she wasn’t
volleying much and even when she did, they’re not like how they
normally are.
"Rachael’s probably the hardest person for me to play, harder than any
of the girls. We know each other all too well ..."
Grinhams
to contest the semis
Natalie and Rachael Grinham will contest tomorrow’s semi final after
both won their matches today in contrasting fashions. Natalie, now
sporting a new short hairstyle (which I was told her easily takes five
years off her age), spent just 24 minutes on court against Egypt’s
Omneya Abdel Kawy.
The Egyptian was simply not herself today – gone were the trademark
nick shots and most of all the volleying. In fact, she was playing
textbook squash in the beginning, something which I confirmed with her
later. Natalie Grinham’s court coverage and speed was too good and she
returned everything Kawy threw at her. In the end, it was Grinham who
was outlasting Kawy in nearly every single rally.
Rachael had a much tougher time against England’s Tania Bailey, whose
last trip here was a memorable one (she made the final of the 2006
Malaysian Open, taking out Vanessa Atkinson and Natalie Grinham along
the way).
Grinham started strongly to take a two-game lead, but Bailey fought
back to take the third dropping just the solitary point. She went on
with her good run in the fourth and even had game ball in hand, which
she didn’t manage to convert. It was Grinham who came back, forcing
the set at 8 apiece, after which she wrapped it up.
After a string of not so convincing results which have seen her fall
to 8th in the latest rankings, her lowest since 2002, Vanessa Atkinson
reached the semi finals of the 2007 CIMB KL Open, but only just.
The Dutch number one started strongly against Vicky Botwright, who
seemed unsettled on court. Atkinson too the first 9-5 then took a
commanding 8-2 lead in the second, only for the English lass to claw
back and squeeze home in the second 10-9 to draw level.
In the third, Botwright definitely looked the fresher of the duo and
many had written off the 2004 world champion after she lost the third
6-9. She proved otherwise and in fact totally the opposite as the
90-second break seemed to have bought her a new pair of legs. She
totally dominated the fourth and dropped just three points to force
the decider.
Atkinson started the fifth looking tired again and fell to a 1-6
deficit after being overwhelmed by the lanky Botwright. Point by point
Atkinson came back, with yet another new pair of legs it seemed. She
eventually forced herself to 8-8 and by now it was Botwright who
looked tired. A few rallies later, Atkinson clinched her berth in the
last four
"I
was up and down in the match. I started off well but towards the end
of the second I started to tire and I hit the wall in the third. But
that’s squash, you hit the wall, then you come back and it goes on.
"At 1-6 down in the third, the first few points won helped and it gave
me some energy.
"I've been losing a lot of close matches so I was really happy to have
held it together mentally. It's good to make the last four of an event
again!"
"Even when I’m fresh, playing Nicol is already a huge task, more
so with all the kilometers I’ve just done. I need to have a game plan
tomorrow because against someone like Nicol, you can’t just go in and
play."
The Duracell bunny rolls on
As most would expect, Nicol David overcame Shelley Kitchen in a
relatively one-sided affair, but of course there were moments that the
Kiwi showed signs of a comeback, especially in the second where she
turned a 6-1 deficit to 6 each.
Service changed hands a few times at this point, before David rolled
home three points in a row to take a 2-0 lead. The third was fairly
quick, David led 6-4 and then in a single hand finished off the match
with a forehand volley nick. She plays Atkinson tomorrow in a repeat
of the 2006 final.
"There were patches in
the match where Shelley was coming back, so I had to tighten my game
or I wouldn’t have won with that scoreline.
"I haven’t played Vanessa in a while, but she is very experienced so I
am expecting it to be another tough match."
"I played well here and there, but the pace was so fast. She’s hitting
really well, especially her lengths, which die at the back. In the
past it was just the pace and her moving you around. The games were so
quick and each time we drew level, I guess I relaxed a bit but in no
time she would be up again.
"I am overall happy with the tournament, as I did better than I
expected to."
Matthew's KL Missive Top seed Nick Matthew,
making his return to competitive action, reports from KL ...
The
quarters move today to the glass court in times square shopping mall
so yesterday was the last day at the sports institute. It's pretty hot
and humid on court in there so there should be some tough matches.
From what I saw of the men's first round, most of the top seeds won
through pretty comfortably.
Kashif looked like he played well against Stewart and was
perhaps unlucky not to get at least a game (the first was a tie break,
the second 11-9) but Stewart was hitting it well as he always does.
Alister played very well against Jon kemp, who made a few
too many errors for his liking, but dug in well to save match balls in
the third before Ali closed it out in the fourth.
I was a bit nervous after my enforced lay-off but was happy to find a
rhythm again and not to spend too long on court as I know today's
match with Beng Hee will be a massive step up.
In the women's, Nicol looked in terrific shape. a lot has been
made in the media here about her not playing competitively since the
Asian Games in December but she came through the hardest first round
possible against Jenny, who has been playing very well herself, and
looked very sharp.
Tania did well to beat Laura 3-0, and Vicky to battle back
from 2-0 down, which can give you confidence in itself.
CIMB
KL Open 2007 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
12-17 Mar, $40k
Round One 14 Mar
Quarters 15 Mar
Semis 16 Mar
Final 17
Mar
[1] Nick Matthew (Eng)
11/4, 11/7, 11/4 (20m)
Shahid Zaman (Pak)
Nick Matthew 11/8, 8/11, 11/5, 13/11 (59m)
Ong Beng Hee
The first round proper of the KL Open saw one upset in the women's
draw as Kiwi qualifier Shelley Kitchen overcame seventh seed Madeline
Perry 3/0 to set up a quarter-final clash with Malaysia's squash queen
Nicol David, who beat British National Champion Jenny Duncalf in
straight games to stretch her unbeaten record 37 matches and a full
year.
There
was almost a second home representative in the last eight when Sharon
Wee fell just short against Vicky Botwright, the fifth seed. Botwright
recovered quickly from two games down before edging home from 6-all in
the fifth, and now meets Vanessa Atkinson, the defending champion who
beat qualifier Rebecca Chiu in four games.
In the bottom half of the draw Australia's Grinham sisters are on
course for their expected semi-final meeting, with Rachael set to meet
Tania Bailey and Natalie facing Omneya Abdel Kawy in tomorrow's
quarter-finals in Kuala Lumpur's Berjaya Times Square.
In the men's event, top seeds Nick Matthew and Karim Darwish
are safely through to the last eight, alongside local hopes Ong
Beng Hee and Azlan Iskandar who meet the top pair in the
quarter-finals.
Action now moves to the glass court in Kuala Lumpur's Berjaya Times
Square.
13-Mar-07:
Home Hopes dashed
in Qualifying Finals Alex Wan reports
Chiu squeezes through
Hong Kong’s Rebecca Chiu came back from the brink of defeat
against reigning world junior champion Raneem El Weleily to
make it to the main draw of the 2007 CIMB KL Open. The Egyptian
started off in her element, racing to a 5-1 lead in no time, the
rallies were short and finished neatly and the pace seemed a bit too
fast for the petite Chiu.
El
Weleily faced a lot more resistance in the second game as Chiu got
more used to the pace and controlled the game a little more. Still,
the young Egyptian managed to squeeze out the game 10-8. At 2-0 down,
things did not look too good for Chiu, who was cheered on by her coach
Tony Choi and old friends from Malaysia. It was experience that won
the match for her as she began to dictate from there on to book her
berth against defending champion Vanessa Atkinson tomorrow.
Malaysia’s bid for additional entry into the main draw of the women’s
event came to an end when world number 26 Tricia Chuah was
beaten 3-1 by Engy Kheirallah. The world number 13 took a 2-0
lead with some neat squash before Chuah came back strongly to take the
third with some great kill shots. However, she looked the less fresh
of the duo on court and Kheirallah finished her off in the next game
to book a berth in the main draw, much to the joy of her husband Karim
Darwish, who is the second seed in the men’s event. She plays Natalie
Grinham in the first round tomorrow.
Second
seed Shelley Kitchen had the easiest match of the day by far,
eliminating Aussie Peta Hughes in three games. Kitchen drew Madeline
Perry for tomorrow in what could be a close affair. Annelize Naude
of the Netherlands also had a relatively easy match against Indian
youngster Joshna Chinappa in just under 30 minutes. Naude plays
Rachael Grinham tomorrow.
End of road
for Arnold
Malaysia’s challenge in the men’s qualifiers ended too, as Timothy
Arnold crashed to Indian national champion Saurav Ghosal.
Though Arnold fell 3-0, this was one of his best performances I have
seen so far. Gone was the hard hitting and Arnold is now able to vary
his game a lot more. There were good rallies between the two, but
Ghosal’s killer instincts are far ahead of the Malaysian. The Indian
also played a much better game than he did yesterday against Malaysian
junior Kam Hing Chong.
Bilal Zaman became the fourth Pakistani to make the main draw
when he beat Dylan Bennett in a match lasting an hour. Having led 2-0,
the lanky Dutch came back strongly to force a fifth, but the Egyptian
held on for a date against Egyptian Mohammad Abbas tomorrow.
Omar Mosaad, another talented youngster from the land of the
pharaohs, came from a game down to beat lanky German Simon Rosner. He
plays local Azlan Iskandar tomorrow in what could be a fast paced
exciting game, seeing both players have a similar attacking style.
Kashif Shuja, a familiar name here in Kuala Lumpur since his
junior days, meanwhile, had a quick 20-minute match against
Australia’s Paul Davis, who was dictated to from start to end. The
Pakistani born Kiwi faces another Australian tomorrow in the form of
third seed Stewart Boswell.
12-Mar-07:
Qualifying under way in KL Alex Wan reports
All the seeds in the women categories went through safely in round one
of qualifying. First on and off court was Shelley Kitchen, who
totally dominated Hong Kong’s Elise Ng. Kitchen later said she loves
the centre court and is used to it, having played on it many times
over the years.
Over at the side courts, Malaysia’s bright star Wee Wern Low gave a
good account of herself when she put up a good fight against Aussie
Peta Hughes. Though the score line was 3-0, Low kept Hughes on
court for nearly 45 minutes.
Annelize Naude spent the least time on court today when after
three rallies and leading 1-0, her Australian opponent retired with an
ankle injury. Naude’s opponent tomorrow, Joshnna Chinappa
dropped just a point in her demolition of Sweden’s Josefa Bertilsson.
Rebecca Chiu of Hong Kong and Raneem El Weleily took
just 12 minutes in beating their local junior opponents. Chiu dropped
just two points in the entire match, in the first game against Fatin
Balqis. El Weleily was playing in a more relaxed manner against 14
year old Yan Xin Tan, who had her parents in the front row of the
gallery.
Top seed Engy Kheirallah trounced another Malaysia junior
Rachael Goh, dropping a point each in the first and third games.
Kheirallah will play Malaysia’s third ranked Tricia Chuah, who
beat another junior Wee Nee Low. Chuah will be looking to turn the
tables against the more fancied Egyptian on home ground tomorrow.
Arnold still in ...
The men’s event saw some closer matches. The brightest local stars of
the day had to be Timothy Arnold and Kam Hing Chong.
Arnold beat Wales’ Rob Sutherland in a closely fought match. Having
trailed 2-0 the Welsh fought back to grab the third but Arnold held on
to take the match in four in just over 40 minutes. Arnold plays
Saurav Ghosal next, who struggled to overcome Kam Hing Chong, a
member of the Malaysian junior team who finished third in last year’s
world juniors. Ghosal didn’t look the same player who was here last
year, and started slowly against the lanky Chong, who managed to take
the third game in a tiebreak. The more experienced Ghosal held on to
win the fourth in a tiebreak to scrape through.
Dylan Bennett, Kashif Shuja and Omar Mosaad all
beat their local opponents with relative ease in similar fashion.
Mosaad and Shuja outplayed Shahril Shahidan and Azfar Azan, both in
under 20 minutes. Ivan Yuen meanwhile, fell to German Simon Rosner,
who looked twice his size on court. The Malaysian had a slow start but
managed to give a much better account in the next two games.
Ashraf Azan, the 18 year old shot maker who two years ago upset all
odds to make the main draw of the KL Open, couldn’t repeat his feat as
he fell to Paul Davis. However, it is not a fair comparison as
the KL Open back then was just a US$7K event. He did however, kept the
Australian on court for almost an hour, making it the longest match of
the day.
Local hopes fall on Timothy Arnold, who faces a huge task of playing
Saurav Ghosal for a place in the main draw. He has however, the
comfort of knowing the Indian is not playing at his best. On a bigger
note, he also faces an uphill task of breaking into the top by end of
the year.
Another step up for KL Open
The KL Open keeps getting bigger, with the men's event, upgraded to
$40k, attracting Nick Matthew and Karim Darwish as top seeds. Home
hopes rest on Ong Beng Hee and Azlan Iskandar, seeded five and six
respectively.
Malaysia's own Nicol David, champion in 2005, is top seed in the
women's event, with Natalie Grinham seeded to meet David in the final.
A prospective semi-final meeting with Vanessa Atkinson, who beat David
in last year's final, would need to be negotiated first though.
Action takes place at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil, with
the later stages on the outdoor glass court in Berjaya Times Square.
Mohammad
Abbas claimed his biggest tournament win today, overcoming Australia’s
Stewart Boswell in the battle of the 3/4 seeds, having yesterday
between them eliminated the top two seeds. Abbas played flawlessly
clinical squash and dominated from start to finish. The Egyptian moved
around the court with such grace and was sharp whenever there was an
opportunity to end a rally – just like an Egyptian.
"Against
Natalie, you have a play a different game each time. Each time I have
to work hard and today, I had to work even harder. 
"We
always have good battles. I felt confident and was in it the whole
way. I thought Nicol was tired and I changed my game a bit after the
fourth, which was a silly thing to do. 
"I
played well in patches today and that was a very tough match. It’s
also a bit hot in there so that didn’t help either. 
"I’m
very happy with the win tonight. It’s my first big win against the top
guys. Nick is a very good player so I had to really push him to the
back before I can go short."
"Mentally
I felt a bit flat today even before I went on. I was trying to force
myself to concentrate but it really needs to happen naturally.
"It’s
always tough playing my sister and it’s nice to beat her, because she
used to beat me all the time before this. 
"Mentally,
I just wasn’t there today. I am not physically tired at all, so that’s
not the problem. It was hard to focus for some reason and mentally, I
didn’t mind whether it was me or Natalie who won."
"Vanessa
played very well today. I needed to go for everything she threw at me
each time or the outcome could well have been different. 
"I'm
pretty disappointed actually. 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.
In
fact it was Atkinson who took the lead in the first. She was 6-3 up
before David clawed back with some patient play, moving the Dutch
champion to all corners. She allowed Atkinson one more point and
eventually wrapped up a game lasting twenty minutes – the longest game
of the evening so far.
"It
was tough as expected, playing Azlan, who was more at home. I’m not
happy with my performance today, I was slow in getting to the ball and
my shots were not as sharp as they need to be. Azlan had a big lead in
the second and had he been 2-0 up, it would have been something else."
Overall,
I don't think we played well today. We’re both attacking players, so
it boils down to who made fewer errors. If I had managed to close out
the second game early, then it would have put me in a more confident
and comfortable position. Unfortunately, when I was holding game ball,
I got a bit complacent and he just made his way back and beat me."
"The
first game was quite close. Stewart’s obviously a very good player and
as the pace got faster, the better he was while I got off a bit. I’m
still getting used to the all glass courts and playing these top guys
is beneficial for me. 
"The
court is both bouncy and dead – bouncy in the back and dead in the
front, so it was rather awkward. You get drops that go so low but then
drives that bounce up so high. 
"I
was up and down in the match. I started off well but towards the end
of the second I started to tire and I hit the wall in the third. But
that’s squash, you hit the wall, then you come back and it goes on.
The
quarters move today to the glass court in times square shopping mall
so yesterday was the last day at the sports institute. It's pretty hot
and humid on court in there so there should be some tough matches. 
