GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands: Nicol David extended her record of World Open titles to seven from eight finals Friday night with a balanced performance and great patience to beat English third seed Laura Massaro.
The Malaysian heroine’s 11-6 11-8 11-6 victory silenced critics who had suggested younger rivals were closing the gap on the 29-year-old champion.
Massaro forced many long rallies and even led 7-5 in the second game, but David responded well to the important moments, which followed.
She mixed containment with well-timed drops and lightning-quick changes of direction that prevented her opponent from getting a crucial foothold in the match.
The outcome was that David only dropped one game throughout the entire tournament, but she had to focus harder and for longer in the final than in any of her four other encounters.
Her relief and joy at surviving the perpetual pressure of expectations yet again was smilingly obvious.
She held her head in both hands, then placed her hands high on the court, and finally caressed the ball affectionately against a wall before allowing herself to accept that no more was required of her racket.
Then her words reflected the frequent struggle between doubt and self-confidence.
“I can’t believe it,” she said. “I just can’t believe it.
“I am just so pleased with my match. Laura pushed me every point. There was no point where I could let up because she was just on it every point. She played a very good match.” David knew the danger well as Massaro is one of the few players to have beaten her twice. However, she did so last year and, although the challenger has improved further since then, the champion at her best has too, perhaps just as much.
Two of the most crucial moments came when David got back to 7-7 in the pivotal middle game and then nosed ahead to 8-7 with a disputed point.
The leveling rally saw brilliantly nimble retrieves from David, plus some patient backhand wall straight driving with a tight little backhand drop to finish it.
That was followed in the next rally by a marginally mistimed backhand drive by Massaro, which caused the ball to come away from the wall and resulted in her slightly impeding David.
A penalty stroke was awarded, Massaro’s video review appeal failing to get the decision overturned.
David pushed hard to capitalize, offered a rare fist pump when she broke through to a two-game lead, and was quickly five points up in the third and motoring away.
“I am a little bit disappointed with that,” said Massaro, who had saved a match point in a long and hard semi-final with Raneem El Weleily, the second-seeded Egyptian, and may have paid a price in the third game of the final.
“It was just a few points here and there and that’s all the difference,” she said. “The middle of the games were so crucial and that’s what I have to work on.
“It’s still pretty rare that she is beaten. We are still training hard and improving and she’s rising to the challenge.” To do that well as she moves through her 30th year, David may need to select peaks more carefully for the tournaments she really wants to win.
But at her best, she is still too fine an athlete and too steady a rallyer for everyone, even during her moments of doubt. Her high profile among the all-time greats is likely to rise yet further.
Nicol David wins seventh squash world title
Nicol David wins seventh squash world title
Al-Qadsiah victory over Al-Khaleej tightens Saudi Pro League title race
- Brendan Rodgers’ side now sit fourth on 43 points, four behind league leaders Al-Hilal
- Points dropped by Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli on Monday blow the title race wide open
RIYADH: Matchday 20 of the Saudi Pro League concluded after what was arguably the most dramatic week of the season, both on and off the pitch.
Monday saw the winter transfer window come to a close with late twists — most notably the transfer of Karim Benzema from Al-Ittihad to Al-Hilal — alongside the highly anticipated clash between Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli. While all eyes were on that fixture, Al-Qadsiah quietly continued their unbeaten run with a 1-0 victory over Al-Khaleej, extending it to 10 matches.
With the campaign now beyond its halfway point, there is no telling who will become champion come end of the season. As things stand, Al-Hilal sit top with 47 points, followed by city rivals Al-Nassr on 46 points. In third place, Al-Ahli on 44 points, with Al-Qadsiah just behind on 43.
Al-Qadsiah’s win was anything but easy, however. Under Brendan Rodgers, one-goal victories had previously only come against against heavyweights such as Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad. Games against Al-Riyadh, Al-Fayha, Al-Hazem and Al-Najma — all in the bottom half of the table — were won by two goals or more.
Giorgos Donis’ Al-Khaleej presented a different challenge. Finding themselves in the upper mid-table this season thanks to stellar performances from the likes of Giorgos Masouras, Joshua King and Kostas Fortounis, it was never going to be easy for Al-Qadsiah, even in the absence of Fortounis due to injury.
It seemed like the flurry of games finally took its toll on the Knight of the East, with stars Julian Quinones and Musab Al-Juwayr looking fatigued. In the 38 days since Rodgers took charge at Al-Qadsiah, the side have played 10 matches, with five more to come in the next 23 days.
Despite 18 attempts at goal, only one came to fruition. A through ball to Quinones in the 41st minute was squared to Mateo Retegui, who finished into an open net to score the only goal of the game.
Al-Qadsiah didn’t sit back for the remainder of the game, prompting Al-Khaleej to take advantage of the spaces in behind the wing-backs to launch their own offence. Saudi national team centre-back Jehad Thekri was repeatedly left exposed, but backup goalkeeper Ahmed Al-Kassar did his best to prevent Al-Khaleej from finding an equaliser.
Despite being the week which saw the title race tighten to just four points between first and fourth, this was the second-lowest scoring Saudi Pro League matchday in history, with just nine goals across the nine games. None of the 18 teams were able to score more than one goal, with half the sides going goalless this round.
Elsewhere, just minutes away at E’GO Stadium, Al-Ettifaq managed to secure a valuable 1-0 victory against this campaign’s surprise package Al-Taawoun, after a 71st minute strike from Georginio Wijnaldum.
Meanwhile, Al-Kholood ended their streak of 18 games without a draw by grabbing a point in a 0-0 draw against Damac. The point for both sides was enough to see them end the round outside the relegation zone; Al-Kholood in 14th with 16 points and Damac in 15th with 12.
Saudi Pro League action returns on Thursday, with Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal continuing their title charges against Al-Hazem and Al-Okhdood respectively. Friday will feature the game of the round, with Al-Nassr welcoming Al-Ittihad at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh.
