Nicol David* added the one major title missing from her résumé last night in Philadelphia, as she beat *Raneem El Weleily* in the *Delaware Investments U.S. Open* final.
The win will come as a relief to the Malaysian, not only for adding the missing title to complete her set, but for also rising to the challenge of facing El Weleily who robbed her of a home Malaysian Open title last month.
David was five points from elimination in her semi-final against New Zealander *Joelle King*, and her progression to the final will be even more pleasing as she dispatched her Carol Weymuller victor *Alison Waters* in the quarters. In the first round she faced *Camille Serme* to complete a trio of qualifying opponents in the competition.
Raneem El Weleily too saw pleasing results earlier in the event, enjoying results against tough opponents *Low Wee Wern* and last year’s U.S. Open runner-up *Kasey Brown*, before gaining revenge on* Laura Massaro*, to whom she lost the Carol Weymuller Open to two weeks ago.
A fast and furious first game got underway, with Egyptian fearless as ever in her attacking shots and David forced to play a waiting game for the younger player’s mistakes. Errors came from both players given the frenzied attacking squash, but it was David who had the upper hand at the end of the first. El Weleily forced a tie-break and held game ball on three occasions, each time unable to see off the final point. David needed just the one opportunity to draw first blood, winning 14-12.
The world No.3 cut out all errors as the second game started, and seemed an answerable force as she levelled the score. Momentum stayed with the Egyptian at the beginning of the third as El Weleily led by a considerable way at 4-0 and later 6-2. However, much like her comeback against King in last night’s semi-final, the six-time world champion launched an impressive 10-point comeback to take back the lead.
The fourth was a close affair, as El Weleily’s error count lessened but so did her attacking efforts. As David extended the rallies and used her experience to dictate the tempo, she held a two point lead. Two volley nicks awarded her with match-ball, which she closed out forcing a no let decision from her opponent.
Overdue for Nicol David, she sets a new record for number of WSA titles won, moving ahead of legendary player *Sarah Fitz-Gerald* to 63 titles.
*Final:*
[1] Nicol David (MAS) vs [2] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) 14-12, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7 (42mins)
*Semi-finals:*
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [Q] Joelle King (NZL) 11-8, 11-6, 5-11, 8-11, 11-7 (83m)
[2] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) bt [4] Laura Massaro (ENG) 7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 10-12, 11-4 (60m)
