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David Trounces Kitchen at Home
By SquashTalk Staff © 2003; all rights of reproduction reserved.
August 23, 2003 

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Nicol David Reaches Malaysian Open Final

With her secret weapon quite possibly being the several months she spent with former WISPA star Liz Irving this spring in Holland, Malaysian qualifier Nicol David score a convincing victory over fifth-seeded New Zealander Shelley Kitchen today to reach the finals of the 2003 Malaysia Open.

David tenaciously fought back from 2-0 down and saved seven match-balls before winning in five games in 63 minutes.

The former world junior champion, currently ranked 39 in the world, dropped the first two games easily, much to the dismay of the strong and united Malaysian crowd. Just as everyone thought Shelley's height was proving to be a big disadvantage to the underdog, Nicol came back with a bang to take the third convincingly.

The fourth game was the highlight of the championship so far. Many great rallies were played and on several occasions, Shelley's shots sent Nicol sprawling across the court to retrieve. The New Zealander, ranked 16 in the world, went on to gain match-ball on seven occasions, but each time the 'pint-sized' Malaysian kept the ball going, waiting for the unforced errors. Much to the delight of the hyped-up crowd, Nicol levelled the match after eventually taking the game 10-9.

By now Shelley was looking totally exhausted and the fifth game was a total contrast to the fourth. Nicol took a 5-1 lead, but a lapse of concentration gave Shelley a few easy points before the local heroine regained composure to take the game and match 1-9 4-9 9-3 10-9 9-5 much to the delight of the ecstatic crowd.

David will face second-seeded Englishwoman Cassie Jackman in the final. Jackman, who had yet to drop a game, finally faced some resistance from compatriot Stephanie Brind, the fourth seed. Brind, playing her relaxed game, took the first game 9-5. The next two were one-sided, with Cassie finding the length and moving Stephanie around with her fast and powerful volleys to the back. In the fourth game, Stephanie put up a slightly better performance, but Cassie was just too strong and cruised to a 5-9 9-1 9-1 9-4 victory in 43 minutes.

RESULTS: Mulpha-Head Women's Malaysian Open Squash Championship, Kuala Lumpur

Semi-finals:
[Q] Nicol David (MAS) bt [5] Shelley Kitchen (NZL) 1-9, 4-9, 9-3, 10-9, 9-5 (63m)
[2] Cassie Jackman (ENG) bt [4] Stephanie Brind (ENG) 5-9, 9-1, 9-1, 9-4 (43m)

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