02-Aug, Final:                                                             Battle of the sexes

[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt [3] Rachael Grinham (Aus)       8/11, 11/3, 11/5, 11/8 (38m)
 

Champion Nicol said she never for a moment took her opponent lightly.

"Rachael plays a game that only she can play. And if you end up trying to play that sort of game, and it doesn't work, really. So you need to get back to your own game plan and stick to it. Mentally it was a real battle to stay in."

"It was a good final, some great rallies and I'm glad I came through."

Nicol stays on in Singapore for an extra day to play a Battle of the Sexes exhibition match against Singapore's No 1 men's player Udai Singh. The undercard will pit Asian Junior champion Low Wee Wern against Singapore's Men's Under-19 champion Samuel Kang.

Then she will head back to Penang for a short break before heading back to Amsterdam to prepare for the Dutch Open.

Squash great Liz Irving, who coaches Nicol in Amsterdam, was full of praise for her fellow Queenslander Rachael:

"Great shot player, great tactical awareness, and Nicol did very well to beat her. It really could've gone either way if Nicol had lost that fourth game."

"Nicol did really well to keep her composure and stay focused on the job at hand."

Post-match, Rachael says she has mixed feelings about the new pro-scoring system which is being used on the WISPA Tour for only the second tournament.

"This scoring is crazy. I'm really uneasy about it at the moment, I'm sure everybody is. Normally before, you're in your rhythm, and you know if you're going to play a shot and you're comfortable about it.

"But now, it's like in the back of your mind, you've got this thing saying 'look, if it's down, you're going to lose a point, or if it's up, you can win it quickly as well'. Knowing that you can get cheap points so quickly is playing on your mind as well.

"And with it going to just 11, you just sort of get panicky in court. It's a completely different feeling mentally approaching the game. It's going to take a while to work out, but I will."

"I made some poor decisions in the fourth game, at 9-8 down I went for a cheap point on return of serve. But I'll learn."

11/9, 11/9, 11/7

Madeline Perry

8/11, 11/3, 11/5, 11/8 (38m)

[3] Rachael Grinham

12/10, 10/12, 11/6, 11/4

[7] Omneya Abdel Kawy

Qualifying:

29-Jul, Finals:
Alana Miller (Can) bt Sharon Wee (Mas)            5/11, 12/10, 11/7, 7/11, 11/6
Lauren Briggs (Eng) bt Lim Woke Yah (Mas)       8/11, 11/8, 11/6, 11/6
Orla Noom (Ned) bt Wee Wern Low (Mas)          11/7, 12/10, 1/11, 11/5
Line Hansen (Den) bt Raneem El Weleily (Egy)  11/7, 11/9, 11/8

28-Jul, Round One:

Sharon Wee (Mas) bt Joannah Yue (Sin)             11/4, 7/11, 11/7, 11/1
Alana Miller (Can) bt Kar Yan Koh (Sin)              11/6, 11/4, 11/4
Lauren Briggs (Eng) bt Delia Arnold (Mas)           11/9, 11/7, 7/11, 11/7
Lim Woke Yah (Mas) bt Eman El Amir (Egy)         w/o
Orla Noom (Ned) bt Siti Munirah Jusoh (Mas)       11/4, 11/13, 11/8, 4/11, 11/8
Wee Wern Low (Mas) bt Louise Crome (Nzl)        7/11, 11/6, 11/7, 6/11, 11/9
Line Hansen (Den) bt Dipika Pallikal (Ind)           11/6, 11/9, 11/7
Raneem El Weleily bt Hengameh Habipour (Iri)    11/1, 11/1, 11/2

Free seating for Qualifying Rounds and Main Draw 1st Round

Quarter Finals onwards:
Season Ticket:  Premium Seats (Limited) $50, Normal Seating $40
Daily Tickets: Premium Seats (Limited) $20, Normal Seating $15

Tickets for standing gallery may be made available on the day of the event.

01-Aug, Semis:
David and Grinham Through to Final

World number one Nicol David and world champion Rachael Grinham will contest the final of the Women's CIMB Singapore Masters after surviving contrasting semi-finals at the Kallang Squash Centre in Singapore.

Grinham, the third seed from Australia, put on a dominant display against her Egyptian opponent Omneya Abdel Kawy in the first semi-final. The world number three showed her elite technique to outplay her seventh-seeded opponent.

Grinham displayed her relentless determination by coming back after being on the verge of losing, to take control of the first game. To her credit, Abdel Kawy elevated her intensity to take the second game but fell in the last two as a calf strain evidently slowed down her speed on court - leaving Grinham a 12-10, 10-12, 11-6, 11-4 victor.

"I’m very happy to reach the final in this tournament as it is the first major final I have achieved in a while," said the 31-year-old Queenslander. "It was a tight game and for a moment there, it was getting very close.

"Winning games like this always gives you the confidence to carry on into the finale," added Grinham, now in the 47th Tour climax of her career.

In the other semi, Malaysian favourite Nicol David took on unseeded Madeline Perry, from Ireland. The defending champion took the match without dropping a game, defeating her surprise opponent Perry 11-9, 11-9, 11-7 in 36 minutes.

"Madeline played very well and she pushed me all the way but I made sure I was always a level ahead throughout," explained the world's best player afterwards. "I kept a clear eye on the ball and got to play the shots I wanted to."

Looking ahead to her opponent in the final, Nicol said: "Games with Rachael are always tough. We played in the semi-finals last week in Malaysia and I always know I must prepare myself to expect anything when I step onto the court with her."

David, one win away from the 30th WISPA title of her career, will be making her 44th appearance in a Tour final.
 

31-Jul, Quarters:
Down to the semis
in Singapore

The quarter-final matches completed at the CIMB Singapore Women’s Squash Masters 2008 today provide an exciting lead up to the semi-finals. Quality squash was played throughout at the Kallang Squash Centre tonight, as top ladies fought it out for the coveted spots in the next stage.

Rachael Grinham from Australia kept up her fine form in the tournament by beating England’s Alison Waters to be the first person to reach the semi-finals. Rachel dropped the first game to come back and took the next three games.

Malaysia’s Nicol David showed her class this evening with the world number one beating Jenny Duncalf of England convincingly. Nicol took the match after being pushed to a tie break in the second game. Eventually she eased into the semi-finals with a straight-games win.

Omneya Abdel Kawy kept the Egyptian pride alive. She won a tightly fought game against France’s Isabelle Stoehr. The match went to five games with both girls being pushed to the edge and giving their all to win.

Rebecca Chiu’s run in the tournament ended at the hands of Madeline Perry from Ireland. Madeline was in sublime form as she did not allow the lady from Hong Kong to take a game.
 

"It certainly wasn’t easy in there and Jenny put up a good fight but she made a couple of flaws in between where I got the chance to quickly seize the opportunities and take control of the game.

"I will continue to perform to the best of my abilities for the semi-finals and look forward to having as exciting a day as I did today."

"Unfortunately, my journey stops in the quarters. I took the first game rather easily, then I lost my way mentally, losing quickly the second and third, to be led in the fourth. There, I just hung on, even though I’m led, saving several match balls. I think I ended win it 15/13.

"We were at 4/4 in the fifth, very tight game, and that, it all went very fast, I was too relaxed, mentally, I lost my grip… too many imprecisions all the way, and against Omneya, it’s lethal!

"I must say I didn’t play my best squash, and to be honest, it was not the highest quality of matches from a tactical point of view, neither from a precision one. But still I lose in five, after another five setter yesterday. So, positive things nevertheless.

"In the 11 scoring system, you just can’t allow yourself to relax, and I’ve got to work on that. I’ve got four weeks to tune my racquet and prepare myself, as it was my first ever tournament in 11.

"I’m still happy though, yesterday, I got THE match, now, I just have to work to produce more than one per event…

"A few weeks ago, I was not at my best vis a vis my squash, and it’s so good for me to enjoy my squash and to be winning. Now, I’ve got to go on, persevere… I’ve got the pleasure to play and play and play again… I had a good look at things, and it just did me a hell of a good.

"Back to hard work now, and next stop, the Dutch Open…"

Quarter-Final results

30-Jul, Round One
Upsets Galore in Singapore ...

The first round of the CIMB Singapore Women's
Squash Masters 2008 started with spectators on the edge of their seats as they witnessed World Number 2, Natalie Grinham being dumped out of the tournament by Isabelle Stoehr in a tight battle that went right down to wire. Natalie representing The Netherlands took the first fame, before Isabelle from France stormed back to take the next two. Natalie valiantly played through an injured ankle, however eventually lost in the fifth game tie-break.

Natalie's sister Rachel had a distinctly better evening on the
court. The Australian managed to get past Canada's Alana Miller with relative ease. Winning the match 11-2, 11-6, 11-6 in what was a dominant display from the world number 3 player.

Omneya Abdel Kawy from Egypt made short work of Lauren Briggs from England. The Egyptian beat Laurenin straight games. With a final score of 11-1, 11-7, 11-3, Omneya made it evident why she is ranked number 8 in the world.

The much anticipated game of the night was between Malaysia's World Number 1, Nicol David against Egypt's Engy Kheirallah. Engy put up a good fight but was unable to match Nicol's fierce stamina that defeated her 11-5, 6-11, 11-6, 11-3.

In the others matches played today Jenny Duncalf from England beat Orla Noom from the Netherlands, while Rebecca Chiu from Hong Kong beat Tania Bailey from England in the other big upset of the evening. Bailey ranked number 5 in the world lost to Chiu after taking the first game.

"That was a surprise victory for Isabelle and hopefully I can get down on that road tomorrow. I have never beaten Nicol before and I know how difficult it will be. Nicol is so consistent and she is such a steady player. Obviously it will take a lot to beat her ..."

Madeline Perry from Ireland beat World Number 7 Shelley Kitchen from New Zealand. Perry dominated the match winning 12-10, 11-9 11-5.

Alison Waters of England was in fine form when she took on Line Hansen of Denmark. The world number 12 barely broke a sweat as she took on the qualifier from Denmark winning 11-4, 11-1, 11-4.
 

Noom & Low

Thanks to Orla for the
results updates ...

"It's always difficult in the opening match and when you play somebody unranked, it's always very difficult. Engy had nothing to lose and she went for every stroke. For me it's always a relief to get past your first round opponent and from now on I know what to expect."

2007 Event

29-Jul, Qualifying Finals:
Qualifying complete in Singapore
  
The final matches for qualification for the CIMB Singapore Women’s Squash Masters 2008 were completed this evening at the Kallang Squash Centre. Four intense matches were played tonight to decide which lucky ladies would be challenging some of the world’s best squash players.

In a closely fought first match of the evening Canada’s Alana Miller beat Malaysia’s Sharon Wee. Alana showed fantastic determination after coming back from losing the first game to take the next two. The match got close as Sharon pulled a game back, before finally losing the last game.

The second match pitted England’s Lauren Briggs against Lim Yoke Wah from Malaysia. After Yoke Wah valiantly won the first game, Lauren came back to take the next three in a row and thus the match.

Orla Noom representing The Netherlands was matched against Low Wee Wern from Malaysia. In a thrilling encounter Orla eventually won the day by playing some masterful strokes of squash. Even though Wee Wern put up a good fight winning one match, in the end it was not enough.

In the final deciding match of the evening Line Hansen from Denmark was challenging Raneem El Weleily from Egypt for the distinction of being able to play against the international players. The match could have gone either way but a few crucial shots ended up deciding it. Line Hansen edged ahead and managed to keep herself there, winning in straight games..

It was an exciting night of squash and the action only looks to get better as the competition heats up for the rest of the week.
   

Noom & Low

Thanks to Orla for the
top half results ...

2007 Event