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CIMB Malaysian Open
Championships, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Men's final:
[5] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [1] Stewart Boswell (AUS)
11-10 (3-1), 11-8, 11-4 (44m)
Women's final:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [4] Tania Bailey (ENG) 9-4,
9-3, 9-2 (36m)
David & Iskandar Celebrate Local
Malaysian Open Double
Malaysians Mohd Azlan Iskandar and Nicol David recorded a
notable local double in Kuala Lumpur today (Saturday) by
claiming the men's and women's trophies, respectively, in
the CIMB Malaysian Open Squash Championships.
The triumph marked fifth seed Iskandar's third successive
upset in 48 hours. After making his breakthrough in the
quarter-finals when he despatched England's defending
champion Adrian Grant, the 2004 champion despatched second
seed Lee Beachill in the semi-finals of the 4-star PSA Tour
men's event.
In his second PSA Tour final in two months, the Sarawak-born
25-year-old survived an opening game tie-break against top
seed Stewart Boswell before romping to a sensational 11-10
(3-1), 11-8, 11-4 victory over the Australian in 44 minutes.
The KL win follows Iskandar's unexpected triumph in May's
North American Open in San Francisco and confirms a
significant return to form for the former world No12 who
currently stands at 19 in the PSA World Rankings.
The result, however, will do little to help Boswell
celebrate his 29th birthday tomorrow (Sunday).
The final of the women's WISPA World Tour Gold event
consolidated Nicol David's status as the most consistent
player in the women's game.
Remarkably, the 23 year-old from Penang was appearing in her
14th successive Tour final since reaching her first World
Open climax in Hong Kong in December 2005.
Her surprise opponent Tania Bailey, the fourth seed from
England, had stunned observers in the previous round by
beating Australia's No2 seed Natalie Grinham in straight
games.
But the Lincolnshire lass was unable to match the fire-power
of the local heroine as David took just 36 minutes to win
9-4, 9-3, 9-2 and claim her country's prestigious Open title
for the third time in a row.
The title success brings David's WISPA career tally to 20
titles - equalling the current haul of Dutch rival Vanessa
Atkinson, but still three behind Australia's Rachael
Grinham, her opponent in the KL semi-finals.
Men's Semi-finals:
[1] Stewart Boswell (AUS) bt [6] Cameron Pilley
(AUS) 11-9, 11-2, 11-7 (36m)
[5] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [2] Lee Beachill
(ENG) 6-11, 2-11, 11-10 (3-1), 11-9, 11-2
(64m)
Women's Semi-finals:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [3] Rachael Grinham
(AUS) 0-9, 9-2, 9-5, 4-9, 9-4 (72m)
[4] Tania Bailey (ENG) bt [2] Natalie Grinham
(AUS) 9-2, 9-4, 9-0 (28m)
Azlan & Bailey Upset Second
Seeds In KL
Malaysia's Mohd Azlan Iskandar and England's Tania Bailey
secured surprise places in the finals of the CIMB
Malaysian Open Squash Championships after notable upsets in
today's (Friday) semi-finals in Kuala Lumpur.
Iskandar, the 2004 champion who is the 4-star PSA Tour
event's fifth seed, made his breakthrough in the
quarter-finals when he despatched England's No3 seed Adrian
Grant - the defending champion - in straight games.
The Sarawak-born 25-year-old then pulled off one of his best
wins in recent times when he beat second seed Lee Beachill.
In a dramatic 64-minute clash which delighted the KL crowd,
Iskandar fought back from two games down to beat his second
English opponent in 24 hours 6-11, 2-11, 11-10 (3-1), 11-9,
11-2 - thereby registering his first ever victory over the
former world No1.
In his 15th Tour final, Iskandar will meet Stewart Boswell,
the top-seeded Australian who has reached his 29th Tour
final in KL without dropping a game.
The 28-year-old from Canberra defeated fellow Australia
Cameron Pilley 11-9, 11-2, 11-7. Pilley, the sixth seed,
produced a stunning quarter-final performance to upset local
hero Ong Beng Hee - the fourth seed and two-times former
champion - in four games.
In the women's WISPA World Tour Gold championship, England's
fourth seed Tania Bailey stunned observers when she beat
Australia's No2 seed Natalie Grinham in straight games.
Since winning a historic three Commonwealth Games gold
medals in her home country last year, Grinham has become one
of the most in-form players on the WISPA Tour - reaching
nine Tour finals and defeating nemesis Nicol David in
April's Seoul Open final to win her 11th crown.
But today belonged to Bailey - who scored one of the biggest
scalps of her recent career by crushing the younger Grinham
sister 9-2, 9-4, 9-0 in just 28 minutes.
The other semi-final nearly produced an even bigger upset
when Rachael Grinham - the senior of the Toowoomba twosome -
extended Malaysian star Nicol David to five games. David,
the world number one going for a hat-trick of successive
Malaysian Open titles, failed to score a singe point in the
opening game.
But the country's most successful international sportswoman
lifted her game to see off the Aussie challenge - beating
third seed Grinham 0-9, 9-2, 9-5, 4-9, 9-4 in 72 minutes.
Women's 1st round:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt Tricia Chuah
(MAS) 9-2, 9-1, 9-5 (19m)
[6] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt [Q] Sharon Wee
(MAS) 9-6, 9-0, 9-2 (15m)
[3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [Q] Engy Kheirallah
(EGY) 6-9, 9-0, 9-6, 9-3 (45m)
[5] Vicky Botwright (ENG) bt [Q] Lim Yoke Wah
(MAS) 9-2, 9-2, 9-5 (18m)
[Q] Kasey Brown (AUS) bt [7] Madeline Perry (IRL)
8-10, 8-10, 9-0, 9-5, 9-7 (87m)
[4] Tania Bailey (ENG) bt Rebecca Chiu
(HKG) 9-2, 9-1, 9-7 (28m)
[8] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) bt Shelley Kitchen
(NZL) 9-3, 9-3, 9-3 (34m)
[2] Natalie Grinham (AUS) bt Alison Waters
(ENG) 9-6, 9-0, 9-1 (22m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [6] Omneya Abdel Kawy
(EGY) 9-4, 9-3, 9-0 (27m)
[3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [5] Vicky Botwright
(ENG) 9-2, 9-1, 9-0 (27m)
[4] Tania Bailey (ENG) bt [Q] Kasey Brown
(AUS) 9-4, 9-7, 9-5 (50m)
[2] Natalie Grinham (AUS) bt [8] Jenny Duncalf
(ENG) 9-1, 9-10, 4-9, 10-8, 9-4 (82m)
Men's 1st round:
[1] Stewart Boswell (AUS) bt Omar Mosaad
(EGY) 11-6, 11-9, 11-4 (30m)
[Q] Yasir Butt (PAK) bt [8] Aamir Atlas Khan
(PAK) 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-9 (39m)
[4] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt [Q] Tarek Momen
(EGY) 11-8, 10-11 (2-4), 9-11, 11-10
(5-3), 11-7 (66m)
[6] Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt Bradley Ball
(ENG) 11-6, 11-3, 11-2 (21m)
[5] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt Shahid Zaman
(PAK) 11-4, 11-4, 11-6 (16m)
[3] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan
(MAS) 11-6, 11-9, 11-4 (29m)
[Q] Farhan Mehboob (PAK) bt [7] Mansoor Zaman
(PAK) 6-11, 4-11, 11-2, 11-6, 11-7 (36m)
[2] Lee Beachill (ENG) bt [Q] Sherif Kamel
(EGY) 11-6, 11-2, 11-3 (21m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Stewart Boswell (AUS) bt [Q] Yasir Butt
(PAK) 11-4, 11-2, 11-4 (20m)
[6] Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt [4] Ong Beng Hee
(MAS) 11-8, 11-4, 6-11, 11-4 (43m)
[5] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [3] Adrian Grant
(ENG) 11-8, 11-8, 11-9 (58m)
[2] Lee Beachill (ENG) bt [Q] Farhan Mehboob
(PAK) 11-4, 11-5, 11-4 (22m)
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