Nicol David & Natalie Grinham Line Up For Fourth Successive Final In Doha

The world's top two women squash players will meet in their fourth successive WISPA World Tour final when Nicol David and Natalie Grinham line up for the climax of the Qatar Classic, the fourth WISPA Gold event of the year at the Khalifa Squash Complex in Doha.

Egyptian teenage sensation Ramy Ashour has also booked himself a place in the men's final of the PSA Super Series Platinum championship, where the 19-year-old winner of last week's Kuwait Open will face Australia's World Open champion David Palmer.

Nicol David, the world number one from Malaysia, extended her unbeaten run against England's Tania Bailey in the semi-finals, but it took the favourite 52 minutes to overcome the fourth seed 9-7, 9-4, 9-0.

"She played well, especially in the second game," David told www.squashsite.co.uk afterwards. "My focus was a bit on and off in the second, but I just hung in there and started hitting the ball better. I stepped it up a notch in the third, volleying more and making sure she had to work from behind me.

"It's nice to be in the final here for the first time," added the 23-year-old from Penang, now one win away from her tenth successive international title.

The other semi-final revealed the latest chapter in the sibling rivalry between Australia's Natalie Grinham and Rachael Grinham - who first clashed on the WISPA Tour six years ago and were now meeting for the 14th time, with the head-to-head tally being 8-5 in older sister Rachael's favour.

In her third win this year, Natalie further reduced the gap - recovering from a game down to win 3-9, 9-3, 9-3, 9-3 in 45 minutes.

"In the first game she was putting all her lobs in and I was getting frustrated because I couldn't run around and get everything back - she was controlling it," explained Natalie Grinham.

"I had to change my game-plan, and it started working. I just hope I can have as good a day tomorrow."

Rachael added: "I'm not disappointed how I played, it was much better than last time, I felt pretty focused and on my game."

The first men's semi-final saw third seed Ashour facing England's Nick Matthew for the first time. The 'boy wonder' from Cairo, with two PSA Super Series titles under his belt already this year, fought back from a game down to take a 2/1 lead over the 26-year-old No5 seed from Sheffield.

But Matthew, the British Open champion, dug deep - and save two match-balls in the fourth to force the match into a fifth game. And it was neck-and-neck throughout the decider until Ashour clinched victory with a 6-11, 11-9, 11-7, 10-11 (0-2), 11-8 scoreline after 82 minutes.

"I was feeling good in the fourth and had match-balls, but once I lost that it became edgy. I made a few errors and he took advantage. The fifth could have been anyone's," conceded Ashour.

Matthew was far from downhearted: "I think I played pretty well there, and one positive I can take from the match is that I know I can play better. I thought I might have the game to rattle him, which I did, but he came back well and handled the pressure very well.

"I've got a lot of respect for him - he's doing something no-one's done for a long time. But we're going to have a lot of matches and I'm not going to lie down to him."

In the final match of the day, second seed David Palmer overcame a first game deficit to despatch Egypt's surprise quarter-finalist Wael El Hindi, the No10 seed, 10-11 (1-3), 11-5, 11-7, 11-9 in 72 minutes.

"He's a tricky player, he always tries to slow the pace down and it's hard to get into a rhythm against him," admitted Palmer, now in his 44th career PSA Tour final.

"I'm looking forward to playing Ramy again. I beat him a while ago when he was a junior, but he's beaten me twice since. I lost quite badly in Toronto but I'm in better shape than I was then so I'll be looking for a game-plan to keep him under control."

Men's semi-finals:
[3] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [5] Nick Matthew (ENG) 6-11, 11-9, 11-7, 10-11 (0-2), 11-8 (82m)
[2] David Palmer (AUS) bt [10] Wael El Hindi (EGY) 10-11 (1-3), 11-5, 11-7, 11-9 (72m)

Women's semi-finals:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [4] Tania Bailey (ENG) 9-7, 9-4, 9-0 (52m)
[2] Natalie Grinham (AUS) bt [3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) 3-9, 9-3, 9-3, 9-3 (45m)