Nicol’s hat-trick bid

By S. SIVABALAN

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s top women’s squash player Nicol David is buoyant about her chances of winning a third CIMB Malaysian Open title despite coming off a three-month break. The qualifying tournament starts today at the Kuala Lumpur Squash Centre in Jalan Duta followed by the first round of the main event at the same venue.

The subsequent rounds will be played at the The Curve Shopping Centre in Mutiara Damanasara, Petaling Jaya from Thursday. World number one Nicol was the first local winner in 27 years when she triumphed in 2005 and successfully defended her title last year.

The tournament will be her first since taking a break after the Seoul City Open in April this year. “The three-month break was used to plan for the second half of the year. I used it to analyse what else I can do to further fine-tune my game,” said Nicol who has won 19 World Tour titles thus far.

Besides concentrating on training, Nicol also went on the Women’s International Squash Players’ Association (Wispa) World Tour to South America with Australian’s Rachael Grinham, the world number three and former great Sarah Fitz-Gerald. The 23-year-old, however, feels it will be a level playing field at the Malaysian Open, where she is the the top seed, since all the other top players will also be coming off a three-month break. “I will see how it goes during the Malaysian Open, hopefully it all comes together,” said Nicol, who will play compatriot Tricia Chuah in the first round on Wednesday. Nicol is also not overly concerned that her 43-match unbeaten streak was broken by Australian Natalie Grinham in the final of the Seoul City Open.

“I did not even know how many matches I had won consecutively until someone told me. I feel that it’s not all about setting records, it’s more about training hard and hoping for a good performance when you play against other players. “If the unbeaten streak happens again then it will be something to look forward. I will be ready for anything and I will continue to learn,” added Nicol. The other Malaysians – Sharon Wee, Delia Arnold, Low Wee Wern, Low Wee Nee, Lim Yoke Wah and Siti Munirah Jusoh – will have to compete in the qualifyiers.

Source: The Star, 23-July-2007