David Gets Some Home Town Love

Nicol David
Nicol David

The Michael Jordaness of squash won the CIMB Kuala Lumpur Open at home in front of her massively supportive fans. Nicol David, whose popularity in Malaysia is on par with Michael Jordan’s here, rode the wave of raucous backing she had in Kuala Lumpur as she defeated Natalie Grinham in the final.

Last year David lost to Vanessa Atkinson in the final, a disappointment to the crowd that had come to support her. This year though, she got revenge and defeated Atkinson in three in the semis. Meanwhile, World No. 2 Natalie Grinham showed that she is currently the better Grinham sister, defeating her older sibling Rachael—ranked one place below Natalie—in three games.

Mohammed Abbas
Mohammed Abbas

The final was a challenge for both David and Grinham. The last time the two met was in the November World Open final in Belfast—where David prevailed after five games and 95 minutes, then the longest match of her career. The Kuala Lumpur contest was even tougher, five games and 102 minutes. Though David came out on top again, Natalie Grinham continues to be the only consistent threat to the World No. 1.

The men’s event included the strongest draw yet. With an increase in prize money to $40k this year—10 grand more than last year—England’s World No. 7 Nick Matthew and Egypt’s World No. 9 Karim Darwish decided to make the trip to Malaysia. But to everyone’s surprise, neither of the top two seeds reached the final. The two did manage to dash local hopes though, as they defeated last year’s finalists in the quarters. Ong Beng Hee lost to Matthew, and the 2006 winner, Mohd Azlan Iskandar, lost to Darwish.

In the semis the two got their own taste of defeat, as Australia’s Stewart Boswell defeated Darwish, and another Egyptian, Mohammed Abbas, took care of Matthew. Both matches went to five games and lasted just over an hour. The final was another story, with Abbas, the No. 4 seed, winning easily in three.