Tournaments

BritOpen Update: David Downs Kawy to Reach Last Four

25 March 2016

#PSAWorldTour

Five-time winner Nicol David secured her semi-final berth in the Women’s 2016 Allam British Open, PSA World Series tournament, after coming through a difficult fixture with Omneya Abdel Kawy to win 3-1.

Malaysian icon David built up an emphatic 11-4 victory in the opener and looked set to press on to dominate the fixture but a resilient Kawy battled back and and converted a third game ball in game two to level proceedings in Hull’s Airco Arena.

David came out with a purpose in game three and raced to a 5-2 lead, however Kawy put up a fight and pushed her all the way, saving a game ball to tie the scores at 10-10.

World No.2 David responded by improving the tightness and length of her shots and she held her nerve to take the game 12-10, before a masterful performance full of sublime skill and deft touches in the fourth saw David safely through to a triumphant 11-4, 12-14, 12-10, 11-2 victory – setting up a semi-final meeting with World No.5 Nour El Sherbini against whom she has lost to on the last three occasions.

“I started off really well and I felt good out there on court.” said David.

“I think she was still getting into the feel of the court and in the second and third she was just giving it her all with nothing to lose. I was playing a good game, maybe I stepped back slightly for some of the tighter shots and, after that, I knew I had to force my game so I got tighter and deeper and got the crucial points when I needed them most to put it all together at the end. For me, I’m just glad to win it.

“I’m definitely going in there and learning from my past experience. I am going in stronger, sharper and I am ready to fire on. The British Open is a special event but, for me right now, I’m not so focused on the winning, I’m just looking forward to my next match tomorrow and I’m focusing on that.”

Result – Quarter-Final: Women’s Allam British Open 2016
[2] Nicol David (MAS) bt [6] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) 3-1: 11-4, 12-14, 12-10, 11-2 (46m)

By James Hall

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