08-Mar, Finals:
 
[4] Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt [3] Azlan Iskandar (Mas)             11/8, 15/13, 12/10 (66m)
 
[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt [2] Natalie Grinham (Ned)                9/4, 9/2, 9/2 (35m)
  

 
With the boys having guaranteed a local winner with their semi final wins yesterday evening, Nicol David overcame Natalie Grinham in a one sided affair to finish a dream ending for Malaysia.

Bengy Limps to his First KL Open

The local boys came into the match both on a high from winning their semi final matches. Whoever won, it was a victory for Malaysia and also for the boys, proving a point that they are still capable of being amongst the best out there.

Both were also definitely nervous and started off very cautiously. Rallies were very slow, as they traded plenty of backhand drives and lobs, to the point it was rather boring to watch. When the opportunity came to attack, the drops and slams came off the walls so high. The first game saw a lot more mistakes from Iskandar and it handed Bengy the first game.

The second had a lot more action, as both players stepped up the tempo with a lot more attacking. It was point for point all the way through the game and at 8-10, a great rally ensued with Bengy winning. A mishap happened next as Bengy accidentally caught Azlan’s finger on his swing. The game went into extra points, Azlan held three game balls but was unable to clinch it. Bengy reached his first at 14-13, finishing it in style as he sent Azlan sprawling having sent him the wrong way.

If the second was fast paced and exciting, the third was explosive. Having played each other for the last two decades, these boys know each other’s game inside out. Plenty of fast paced attacks, retrieves and kill shots! Bengy was 7-8 down, two strokes his way brought him to 9-8, but the lead was cancelled out and went Iskandar’s way this time. Bengy next slams Iskandar’s serve into the tin to hand him his fourth game ball of the match. Again, Iskandar was unable to finish off and allowed Bengy to reach match ball this time. The next rally was long and as Iskandar ran to the back to retrieve, he ran into Bengy’s calf, who then fell to the ground screaming in pain. A three minutes injury break was given.

It would have been a big blow to be 2-0 and match ball up, then forced to retire! Bengy came back limping still and was handed the title as Iskandar tinned a simple forehand.

Grinham Hampered as
Nicol makes it Five

The pair have been close rivals for a number of years now, and have occupied the top of the rankings for some time and the last time they played in Malaysia the match lasted well over an hour. So what was expected in this women’s final was a fiery and close one, but this was not the case at all.

The first game was competitive, with long rallies and plenty of running from both the girls. David was superior in every aspect, and it was really her great movement on court that gave her the game. In the next, Grinham was clearly playing well below herself and many could tell there was something wrong with her. Grinham was skipping a lot in the court and didn’t seem to look particularly comfortable. Grinham was not in the game at all in the third. She was merely guessing most of David’s attack and she herself went for the kill on nearly every shot.

It wasn’t the match the crowd had hoped for, but credit to Grinham for staying on court and finishing up the match. She could have simply retired injured, but she did not, I believe in order not to disappoint the floods of locals who had turned up despite it being elections day.
 
 

"Azlan and I are very close, we’ve known each other for many years. Today it was a mind game more than anything, the squash didn’t matter as much. It was a matter of who wanted it more.

"Obviously Azlan was under more pressure tody, after he had won the Asian Championships in Kuwait.

The second and third were really close and had I lost either of those, it might have been a different result."



"I was a bit nervous in the start. Bengy held his nerves a lot better today, especially in the end of the second and third games. I was 10-9 up in both those games and I let it slip. That’s the reality, I just gotta learn from these."

"My ankle didn’t really heal after Apawamis. It was alright in the beginning but I was made to twist and turn a lot. Obviously playing Nicol, there was a lot more running as well."

World number one Nicol David halted the giant-killing run of on-form British champion Alison Waters. The pair played a very energetic match but the Duracell bunny was once again, superior. David moved very well and was in her element, Waters certainly didn’t play badly at all. In fact, she put a very strong challenge in the first, putting away several great winners. 

Azlan Completes the Puzzle

Newly crowned Asian champion Azlan Iskandar completed the perfect finale for tomorrow as he ousted the second seed, English number five Adrian Grant. The pair have met numerous times on Malaysian soil in the last two years, with the Malaysian emerging victorious each time. Things were the same today, and this must be one of their shortest matches here, as each time they meet, it gets very close. 3-0 was the score yet still it took a full hour to complete!

The match began at a steady pace and moving each other around. There was really nothing much exciting, particularly in the first. It was just that Grant was the one who crumbled with mistakes more than Iskandar, allowing the Malaysian to lead 1-0. The second saw both of them fully warmed up now and attacking a lot more by comparison, and Azlan once again squeezed through 11-8.

The third was a different ball game altogether, as Grant seemed to get his shots in this time round. The first half had both players neck and neck, but it was Grant who broke away to 9-5. At this point, many would have thought the fourth was in view, but Iskandar stepped up his game. He attacked once again, pushing in some very tight straight forehand drives to force a weak return and finished it off with a straight drop. This must have worked at least four times, as he slowly crawled back and won six consecutive points to earn the victory.

"I would definitely have taken the 3-0 part, but not the 5-9 down in the third!

"This all Malaysian final tomorrow will be great. The last time I played Bengy in Kuwait, it went on for two hours. The Squash Rackets Association of Malaysia can’t ask for anything better than this, the both of us in the final. Today Bengy and I proved that we still have what it takes to be up there."

"I expected a tough match from Alison, especially after her high from her win yesterday. Even after such a long hard match, she came very strongly today.

"I had to keep the pace high and each time she stepped back, I increased the tempo.

"Tomorrow will be an exciting day for Malaysia, with both the boys in the final and also me playing Natalie. We always have very close matches, so it should be a great match."

Bengy and Azlan Keeps Hopes
for an all-Malaysian Final Alive

Ong Beng Hee and Azlan Iskandar once again overcame their hurdles today in a bid to face each other in the final on Saturday.

Bengy, the former world number 7 from Penang, spent an hour on court before managing to shrug off Egyptian youngster Omar Mosaad. Compatriot Azlan Iskandar, by contrast, had the quickest men’s match against England’s Jonathan Kemp.

It was a high tempo match and the crowd simply enjoyed the display. In the end, the lanky six-footer just couldn’t match Iskandar’s speed and was sending the ball to the tin far too often, especially in the second and third games.

Top Two Also Advance

Stewart Boswell, losing finalist to Mohammad Abbas last year, beat reigning Asian Junior Champion Aamir Atlas Khan of Pakistan in four closely contested games. The young Pakistani had last year stretched Abbas to five and he is certainly one to look out for the future.

Adrian Grant of England also moved into the semi-finals after eliminating another Pakistani, Mansoor Zaman. Grant took a while to settle into the match, often shaking his head in frustration and soon allowed Zaman to take the first game.

After the break, he seemed to loosen up, gained composure and played very smart and simple textbook squash to win the next three rather comfortably and book himself a semi final date against Iskandar, who ousted him in 2006’s semi final and also last year’s Malaysian Open quarters.

MORE UPSETS IN WOMENS

Waters and Atkinson Continue Killing Runs

British national champion Alison Waters claimed her biggest scalp when she eliminated Rachael Grinham in five games in the longest match of the evening. The first two games were won rather comfortably and Grinham’s usual chops were all picked up without much fuss. Waters looked set to cruise through the third as well, up to 7-4, after which



Grinham did not drop another point in the game to force the fourth. Grinham was in total control in the fourth and it looked as if Waters had lost her chance. Most people in the crowd by now expected Grinham to cruise through the fifth, but control changed once again as Waters raced to an 8-0 lead. Grinham saved match ball and managed just another 2 points.

Vanessa Atkinson meanwhile, upset Egypt’s Omneya Abdel Kawy. Though unseeded it was only four years ago that the Dutch champion was crowned world champion here. An upset it was, but this was definitely a match that could go either way from the start.



Atkinson could have won it 3-0, and one might argue she was unlucky to lose the two games, both on extra points. Atkinson’s court coverage was far better than Kawy's, whose shots also did not come in as well as they normally do. Atkinson’s win earns her a semi final clash with Natalie Grinham in a repeat of the 2004 world Open final.



Chiu troubles Grinham

Rebecca Chiu of Hong Kong continues her great form after beating Jenny Duncalf yesterday, as she troubled Natalie Grinham.

The first game was close, players breaking off to lead and then the other caught up. Service changed hands a few times at 7-7 in the first before Grinham clinched it, and followed it up with an easy 9-2 in the second.

All looked lost but Chiu came back to take the third, only to eventually bow out to Grinham’s superiority in the fourth. Chiu definitely played one of her best matches I’ve witnessed and it was also aided by Grinham’s trouble with seeing the ball in the brightly lit complex.

The last match of the night between world champion Nicol David and Laura Lengthorn began at 10pm, just as the shops in the mall were shutting. David was in devastating mood and Lengthorn never looked dangerous enough to trouble her.
   

Malaysian hopes stay on course The New Straits Times
NICOL David cruised into the CIMB Kuala Lumpur Open quarter-finals while an upset-laden first round saw the exit of four women's seeds at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil yesterday ...

NO GLASS ...

In a rather surprising move, the organisers of the 2008 CIMB KL Open decided that all matches would be played at the side courts to be fair to all players.

With an amazing all glass court available here at the National Squash Centre, I find it an absolute waste that it is not being utilised. The reason of being fair to all players must also be a first, as I do not believe there is anywhere in the world where organisers will be able to accommodate all matches in a tournament of this size on the all glass court.

Also, the whole National Squash Centre has recently undergone a major refurbishment. The all glass court has had its floor sanded and painted, whilst the films of all walls have also been changed. If indeed fairness is the way to go, the court should see no action over the Malaysian Open as well.

What would it then be used for, one would question ...

Back to KL ...   

Having already held a series of NSC Satellite events this year, Malaysia's National Squash Centre welcomes some of the world's top players for the 2007 edition of the CIMB KL Open this week.

Local favourite Nicol David is top seed in a women's event which features all the world's best, while Malaysia's top men - Azlan Iskandar and Ong Beng Hee - are seeded three and four behind Australian Stewart Boswell and England's Adrian Grant.

For the quarters onward action moves to Berjaya Times Square.

Nafiizwan aiming for breakthrough in KL Open
The Star KUALA LUMPUR: National back-up player Nafiizwan Adnan wants to make an impressive outing in the CIMB Kuala Lumpur Open at the National Squash Centre this week to help him in the bid to achieve his target to get among the top 50 in the world before the year is over.

Some must toil in the qualifiers
The New Straits Times: WHILE Sharon Wee gripes about having to face World No 1 Nicol David in the first round of the CIMB Kuala Lumpur Open, other national players are not so fortunate as they toil in the qualifiers at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil today

Squash: Breaking the jinx
The Star: KUALA LUMPUR: National No. 1 men’s squash player Ong Beng Hee has run into the top seeds in the last two Kuala Lumpur Opens and got bounced out. This year, he intends to set the record straight.

Squash: Sharon cries foul over draw
The Star: Malaysia's number two woman squash player Sharon Wee is crying foul over the draw for the CIMB Kuala Lumpur Open, which begins on Wednesday ..