Hong Kong Hat-Tricks For Shabana & David

World number ones Amr Shabana and Nicol David secured their third successive titles in Hong Kong with victories over the second seeds in today's finals of the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open.

Shabana beat Australia's world champion David Palmer in the semi-finals of the men's $120,000 PSA Super Series Platinum event. And, after winning back-to-back titles over the past two weeks at the Saudi International and Qatar Classic, the 28-year-old from Cairo extended his winning streak to 15 matches with a 10-11 (1-3), 11-3, 11-6, 11-10 (3-1) victory in 61 minutes over Gregory Gaultier, the world No3 from France.

"I'm very happy to win here in Hong Kong for the third time. It was a tough match, Greg is a great player and he never gives up," Shabana told www.squashsite.co.uk.

"I'm very happy with the way I'm playing now, I think I'm at my peak, I just hope I carry on playing as good for the worlds later this month."

Nicol David continued the form which she showed last week by winning the Qatar Classic in Doha - putting behind her the disappointment of a second round exit in the World Open in Madrid. The 24-year-old from Malaysia defeated England 'giant-killer' Vicky Botwright in the semi-finals - then stormed to a 9-3, 9-5, 10-8 win over Australian Tour rival Natalie Grinham in a 58-minute final.

"It's just nice at the moment to be getting the results again," said David. "I've felt good all this week and last, and I just went in today to play my best. This is my last tournament of the year so I went in hoping for a good finish, especially after winning in Qatar last week.

"Three-nil doesn't show how intense the match was, Natalie's a strong fighter, you just have to keep going and hope to get the win."

Men's Final:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 10-11 (1-3), 11-3, 11-6, 11-10 (3-1) (61m)

Women's Final:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [2] Natalie Grinham (AUS) 9-3, 9-5, 10-8 (58m)