KUALA LUMPUR: Nicol David's run of 11 consecutive CIMB Malaysian Open women's finals came to a stuttering end with defeat to Egypt's Raneem El Weleily at the Nu Sentral Mall here today.
An eight-time winner of the tournament, Nicol was stunned by World No 3 El Weleily 7-11, 11-6, 11-8, 13-11 in 52 minutes as a packed gallery watched on in disbelief.
El Weleily ensured an Egyptian will win the women's title for only the second time in tournament history after her compatriot Nour El Tayeb upset 10th-seeded American Amanda Sobhy 11-9, 11-9, 11-3.
"It's of course disappointing to lose in the semi-finals but she's not the World No 3 for nothing," said Nicol, who turns 31 on Tuesday, and prior to today's defeat had made the Malaysian Open final every year since 2003, winning eight times.
"She did not give me a chance to play my shots. She controlled the rallies really well and fair play to her. She deserved to win."
With the tournament being staged at KL Sentral for the first time, Nicol had hoped her return to Malaysia for the first time since March's World Championship in Penang would be a happy one after winning gold at the Commonwealth Games.
But just as another Egyptian, Nour El Sherbini had upset seven-time world champion Nicol in her home state, so did El Weleily repeat her shock 2012 Malaysian Open final win over the World No 1.
Nicol trailed at the start of every game and though she rallied to win the first from 3-6 down, she could not cope with El Weleily's better court coverage and precise shots.
Nicol saved one match point in the fourth game with a front-court drop but wasted a chance to force a fifth game when holding a 11-10 lead.
A backhand volley error then gave El Weleily only her third victory in 16 meetings against Nicol, who will defend her Hong Kong Open title next week.