David into HK Title Match, Shares Fitz-Gerald's 90-Final Record by Howard Harding
photos courtesy Steve Cubbins
December 7, 2013
- A near hour-long victory by defending champion Nicol David over
England's Alison Waters in the semi-finals of the Women's Cathay
Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open sees the Malaysian equal
the 90 WSA World Tour final appearances set by Australian squash legend
Sarah Fitz-Gerald.
World No1 David, going
for a remarkable ninth successive title in Hong Kong, recovered from a
game down to beat No4 seed Waters 9-11, 13-11, 11-7, 11-7 in 58 minutes
in the WSA World Series Gold event on an all-glass showcourt at the
Hong Kong Cultural Centre at the Hong Kong harbour.
"To equal Sarah in
anything is always an accomplishment for me," David (pictured above
with Waters) told SportAsia. "She's so respected and she's done wonders
for women's squash. She's one of my role models as well, so to actually
equal what she's done is really a feat for me."
Fitz-Gerald, 45, expected David to not only go on to beat her record but also reach at least a century of finals.
"She's done
magnificently well and I expect her to go bigger and beyond that," said
Melbourne-based Fitz-Gerald, who won five World Open titles among her
62 WSA titles.
"Knowing her, she'd be
looking at 100 and probably 120 or so. Good on her. She's a great
little champion and a fantastic ambassador for squash," added the
Australian.
In a repeat of the
2011 final, David will take on Egypt's Raneem El Welily. The world No3
from Cairo broke Hong Kong hearts by ending local star Annie Au's run,
beating the Hong Kong number one, the event's 12th seed, 11-6, 11-5,
11-5.
RESULTS: Women's Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open, Hong Kong
Semi-finals: [1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [4] Alison Waters (ENG) 9-11, 13-11, 11-7, 11-7 (58m) [3] Raneem El Welily (EGY) bt [12] Annie Au (HKG) 11-6, 11-5, 11-5 (26m)