KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian squash queen Datuk Nicol David cruised past her first hurdle in the 2015 British Open by defeating Tesni Evan from Wales 11-2, 11-4, 7-11, 11-9 at the University of Hull in England, Tuesday.
“An exciting match with Tesni today and I managed to win 3-1. Playing Emma Beddoes in the 2nd round on Thursday. Nice to have Malaysian students cheering on here,” Nicol said in her Facebook posting.
Based on the competition’s official website http://allambritishopensquash.com, the defending champion will face Emma Beddoes of England in the second round.
Emma earned her spot when Natalie Grinham of the Netherlands withdrew from the competition due to health reasons.
Earlier, Malaysian number three, Delia Arnold, a tournament qualifier, stunned fifth-seed Alison Waters from England in straight sets 11-8, 11-5, 11-4 in just 35 minutes to clinch her spot.
Delia will meet Hong Kong’s Annie Au in the next round which will be held today at 6pm local time (at 1am Malaysian time, Thursday).
In the men’s category, Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan was shown the exit by second seed Gregory Gaultier of France, losing 6-11, 6-11, 13-15. --BERNAMA