Women's semi-finals:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [4] Natalie Grainger (USA) 11-9, 11-5, 11-8 (32m)
[2] Natalie Grinham (NED) bt [8] Alison Waters (ENG) 9-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8 (51m)
But Dutch hopes of success in the women's $53,500 WISPA World Tour Gold championship were kept alive when second seed Natalie Grinham avenged the defeat of her older sister Rachael by beating England's Alison Waters to reach her first Dutch Open final as a Dutch player.
Grinham made a slow start in the first semi-final of the day, but once she got into her stride the 30-year-old - who became a Dutch national in February - always looked the likely winner against the British National Champion.
Like Pilley, Grinham had to recover from a game down before beating Waters, the eighth seed, 9-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8 in 51 minutes to reach the 31st WISPA final of her career, and her fourth this year.
"My legs felt heavy at the start, I really wasn't enjoying that first game, getting beaten," Grinham told the tournament website www.dutchopensquash.nl afterwards. "She has a beautiful stroke, and her volley is so good, she can hit so many winners. If you put it loose you just have to hope she hits the tin."
In the final, the 2003 and 2004 champion will face defending champion Nicol David, whose speed of movement and shot proved too much for Natalie Grainger, the fourth seed from the USA who twice came so close to taking a game but just fell short.
David, the world number one from Malaysia, won 11-9, 11-5, 11-8 to record her tenth successive win over Grainger since 2003 - and reach the 45th Tour final of her career, and the ninth in a row!
