Women's 1st round:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt Vanessa Atkinson (NED) 11-4, 11-5, 11-8 (38m)
Kasey Brown (AUS) bt [6] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) 12-10, 11-5, 11-7 (33m)
[3] Natalie Grinham (NED) bt Delia Arnold (MAS) 11-5, 11-4, 11-8 (31m)
[8] Madeline Perry (IRL) bt [Q] Aisling Blake (IRL) 11-4, 12-10, 11-3 (35m)
[7] Laura Lengthorn-Massaro (ENG) bt [Q] Annie Au (HKG) 11-4, 3-11, 11-4, 11-4 (32m)
[4] Alison Waters (ENG) bt [Q] Samantha Teran (MEX) 11-2, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8 (48m)
[5] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) bt [Q] Camille Serme (FRA) 11-9, 11-8, 11-7 (34m)
[2] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) 11-13, 6-11, 11-2, 11-5, 11-5 (53m)
Australia's Kasey Brown stole the headlines in the women's $53,500 WISPA World Tour Gold event. The unseeded 23-year-old from New South Wales upset sixth-seeded Egyptian Omneya Abdel Kawy 12-10, 11-5, 11-7 - only days after the world No7 from Cairo clinched the bronze medal in the World Games in Chinese Taipei.
Brown now faces top seed Nicol David, the world number one and local heroine who has her sights on a fifth title in a row – after reaching her seventh successive final! The 25-year-old from Penang got her 2009 campaign off to a healthy start with an 11-4, 11-5, 11-8 victory over 2004 champion Vanessa Atkinson, the former world number one from the Netherlands.
In the other half of the draw, a trio of English players stand in the way of Australia's second seed Rachael Grinham reaching the final for the first time after five semi-final finishes since 2002.
Grinham recovered from a two-game deficit to beat France's Isabelle Stoehr 11-13, 6-11, 11-2, 11-5, 11-5 – and will now take on Jenny Duncalf, the fifth seed from England who defeated French qualifier Camille Serme 11-9, 11-8, 11-7.
The adjacent quarter-final will be an all-English affair between seventh seed Laura Lengthorn-Massaro and fourth seed Alison Waters. Both needed four games to get the better of their first round opponents – Lengthorn-Massaro overcoming Hong Kong qualifier Annie Au 11-4, 3-11, 11-4, 11-4, while Londoner Waters took 48 minutes to defeat Mexican qualifier Samantha Teran 11-2, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8.
Women's quarter-final line-up:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) v Kasey Brown (AUS)
[3] Natalie Grinham (NED) v [8] Madeline Perry (IRL)
[4] Alison Waters (ENG) v [7] Laura Lengthorn-Massaro (ENG)
[2] Rachael Grinham (AUS) v [5] Jenny Duncalf (ENG)
