Malaysia’s squash queen and world No.1 Nicol David had a sweet revenge over New Zealand’s Shelly Kitchen to advance to semi-finals of the British Open squash championship.

In the tournament held at Echo Arena in Liverpool this morning, Nicol beat Kitchen 7-9, 9-7, 9-5 and 9-2 in a thrilling 63-minute-match.

Nicol was beaten by the Kiwi in the second round of the World Open in Madrid, Spain, last year and was denied the medal in the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, in 2006.

“Every time we play, it is always tough. I know I’ve always got to work hard against her.

“She came out very strong and it took me a while to get use to the different court but I knew it was important not to lose the second game, so I had to get things going as soon as I could.
“She played really well and I had to work hard all the way through. I never got an easy opening throughout the whole match,” Nicol was quoted as saying in the tournament’s official website.

Nicol will meet Natalie Grainger of the United States. Natalie made it to the last four after edging out Briton Laura Lengthorn-Massaro in straight sets, 9-3, 10-9 and 9-6.

In yesterday’s quarter-finals, Nicol took just 37 minutes to outclass Irish qualifier Madeline Perry 9-0, 9-4, 9-4 to book a berth in the last eight.

The 24-year-old Penangite is bidding to regain the title she lost to Rachael Grinham of Australia last year.

However, Nicol will not be meeting either one of the Grinham sisters in the next round as Rachael, world No. 3, lost to homester, Jenny Duncalf, while Natalie (world No. 2) retired due to a strained thigh, paving the way for a qualifier, Isabelle Stoehr of France, to advance to the semi-finals.

In the men’s category, Mohd Azlan Iskandar went down to France’s Thierry Lincou in straight sets — 8-11, 7-11 and 8-11 in 50 minutes.

“I was a bit too keen. I didn’t let it flow. I was expecting too much of myself, maybe because we just had a big match. And that’s squash for you...when you think you are on top of it, you are not.

“I kept on telling myself to enjoy it but Lincou doesn’t let you enjoy it.

He makes you pay for every single rally.

“It looks like he did handle the situation better, not to mention that the court suits him. But this is my first quarter-finals of the British Open, which I got to by default and that’s doing nothing for my self-esteem. I’m gradually progressing,” said Mohd Azlan.

The men’s semi-finals will see Australia’s David Palmer playing against Egyptian Karim Darwish while homester James Willstrop will meet Lincou.