Malaysia’s Nicol David captured her fifth World Open title with another commanding performance as she beat local favourite Omneya Abdel Kawy in straight games in the final …
Kawy couldn’t get a foothold in the match until the second game which she led 3-0 and 6-3, but David was unruffled, and didn’t so much step it up as tighten it up – it was still the same controlled, unhurried game, but she looked less and less likely to lose a point.
The third was soon effectively decided with David taking leads of 3-1 and 7-2 before closing out the match.
So after 30 minutes David takes a record-equalling fifth World Open title, cruised through the tournament without dropping a game, and looks even more dominant than she has been for the last four year – worrying indeed for the rest, but what a gift she is for Malaysia.
“My focus was strong throughout the tournament, ” she said after the match. “I really wanted this. I didn’t want to let it slip.”
“”It’s amazing that I can do something that Sarah [Fitz-Gerald] has done, because she’s such a great player.”
David equals her sparring partners record
Richard Eaton reportsIt took only just over half an hour for David to win 11-5, 11-8 11-6 against the first Egyptian woman to reaach a World Open final, and there was only one brief phase in the middle of the match when the outcome seemed in doubt.
That was when Kawy’s great racket skills helped her carve out a 7-4 second game lead, but the champion responded immediately.
She did that by combining patient and high-paced rallying with well-chosen moments to make attacking ploys, most often with an accurate or clinging drop shot followed by a testing drive to the back.
“She’s helped me so much and – with my coach Liz (Irving) she’s been instrumental in what I have done. I will definitely work with her some more!”
Over the five days David’s performance suggested she was on another plane from all the other competitors – and she did so in an environment of the barest rock, clearest sea, and flawless sky as if the tournament were held on another planet.
Kawy fought to the end but it was too difficult for her to love with the physicality of David’s game, now supplemented with many more moments of creativity than she was once capable of.
Kawy pegged back a three point deficit to one with some deft angles and clever changes of direction, but from 5-4 David took five points in a row and drew confidence from winning the first game well.
The home hope then had her best phase, scoring four points with clever winners at the start of the second game, though the rallies were often still long, and that soon began to tell.
Kawy reached 7-4 with a drop which caught the sidewall nick perfectly, but within two minutes the match starte to tumble away from her.
David made a run of six points, three of them from Kawy hitting the ball down, and one from when the fourth seed struck the glass with the service return and not the ball.
This was though a good-tempered match, and a revealing one: David, who looked as though she had a couple of challengers breathing down her neck a year ago, now looks far ahead of the field.
At the end both players were showered with confetti., and David made a speech reminding everyone that the match was a repeat of their world junor final a decade ago.
“My focus was strong throughout the tournament, ” she said later when asked to evaluate. “I really wanted this. I didn’t want to let it slip.” There never seemed any chance of that.
Source:: http://www.sohosquareworldopen.com/2010/?p=1530

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