CIMB KL Open Squash Championships, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Women's semi-finals:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) 9-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8 (34m)
[4] Natalie Grainger (USA) bt [8] Laura Lengthorn-Massaro (ENG) 9-11, 11-4, 11-7, 6-11, 11-6 (51m)
Hopes of a Malaysian on the winner's podium were well-and-truly kept alive in the women's $53,000 WISPA World Tour Gold event when Penang queen Nicol David, the favourite, beat Australian rival Rachael Grinham 9-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8.
Fresh from a six-week training spell in Australia with former world number one Sarah Fitz-Gerald, David is making her 2009 Tour debut in KL - and expected to win her country's capital city open crown for the sixth time.
"I am trying to get my momentum going for this year, but it is tough as all the girls are out to get me," admitted the 25-year-old after her sixth win in a row over Grinham. "I am just watching my back and trying to stay on the ball."
In the 49th WISPA final of her career, David will meet another long-time Tour rival: Natalie Grainger, the fourth seed from the USA, ended the run of England's surprise semi-finalist Laura Lengthorn-Massaro, beating the eighth seed 9-11, 11-4, 11-7, 6-11, 11-6 in 51 minutes.
"I finished the fourth really strongly and managed to get a few tactics straight in my head," said Lengthorn later. "But Natalie came out too strong, a little too strong. She is so precise that it is tough mentally and physically."
Grainger, the WISPA President who is looking for her third title this year, has reached a significant milestone in her illustrious career: The 31-year-old from Greenwich is celebrating her 40th Tour final appearance.
