David Struggles into Last 16 at Women's Worlds; El Sherbini, Serme, Gohar Advance by Sean Reuthe photos mroslanhisam.com
April 26, 2016
- Malaysian icon and defending champion Nicol David had to call on all
of the experience that has seen her capture a record eight World
Championship titles as she recovered from a game down to defeat 2007
winner Rachael Grinham in a stunning five-game spectacle in the
National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil, Malaysia.
David began
the better of the two and swept to the first game, before a spectacular
response from 39-year-old Grinham saw the Australian go 2-1 ahead and
threaten to cause one of the biggest upsets in World Championship
history. But David stormed into action and dropped just three points in
the final two games to record an 11-4, 8-11, 8-11, 11-1, 11-2 victory
which was met with a deafening roar from a captivated crowd.
"In
the fourth and fifth games I knew that I had to step it up, be in the
rallies and force my game a lot more," said David, who meets England’s
Alison Waters in round two.
"I think that, in the first
three games, it maybe took its toll a little bit and I could feel that
she was getting tired in the fourth and fifth so I went through and won
it as well as I could. I started to hit my balls better and I was, at
least, getting the timing right. The court was a little bit deader in
the evening than it was in the morning at practice so you have to
adjust, get going and I felt much better in the fourth and fifth games
because I could get out to the ball a bit better and attack when I
could.
"I’ve beaten Rachael Grinham, who is a former World
Champion. It’s not often you get former World Champions in the
first round, but I got through, a win is a win and I’m very pleased to
beat Rachael."
In-form Egyptian World No.2 Nour El Sherbini is also through after a devastating display against Australia’s Donna Urquhart.
El
Sherbini, the current British Open champion, was in superb form and put
relentless pressure on Urquhart throughout the 29-minute affair with a
range of inch-perfect drops, deceptive boasts and pinpoint drives
enabling her to control proceedings
The 20-year-old powered
to an 11-6 win in all three games to see her through to the next round
where she will go head-to-head with Annie Au.
“It wasn’t that easy, even if it looked like it,” said El Sherbini.
“Last
time I played Donna it was at the US Open and I won in five so I knew
what I needed to do and I was really prepared and focused. I was quite
confident and now maybe I know how I am supposed to play. I never
normally play that well in the first match so I’m happy to play like
this.
“You’re always happy to end it in three. Even if it was 3-0, Donna is not an easy opponent to play.”
The
day’s big upset saw Egyptian teenager Nadine Shahin shock former World
No.2 Jenny Duncalf to seal a spot in the second round of a World
Championship for the first time in her career - bridging a 34-place
World Rankings gap in the process.
Shahin played with
maturity and craft as she sought to outmanoeuvre her opponent and the
World No.50 fought to an 11-6, 11-7, 11-9 triumph to ensure she will
play best friend Nouran Gohar, the 18-year-old who defeated her in
January’s British Junior Open.
“I’m speechless, It’s my
first time to reach the last 16 of any World Series tournament, let
alone the World Championship,” said Shahin.
"It means everything to reach the second round, but it’s not over yet, there’s another challenge tomorrow and I’m up for it.”
Gohar
recovered from a game down to beat France’s Coline Aumard, while
Camille Serme and Sarah-Jane Perry will face off after respective wins
over Joey Chan and Olivia Blatchford. Waters moved past Heba El Torky
in four and there was also a victory for Au who beat Dipika Pallikal
3-2.
Results - First Round (Bottom Half): Naza PSA Women’s World Championship
