Grinhams To Contest Monte Carlo Final

Australian sisters Natalie Grinham and Rachael Grinham, ranked two and three in the world, will meet in the final of the Women's Monte Carlo Classic in their first clash since contesting the final of the World Open seven weeks ago in Madrid.

Top seed Natalie Grinham - the younger of the pair, based in the Netherlands - despatched England's No5 seed Laura Lengthorn-Massaro 9-0, 9-0, 9-6 in 37 minutes to take a place in the final without dropping a game.

Last year's champion, now in her 27th WISPA World Tour final, was clearly not only focussed on reaching the climax for the financial return. "Half the reason I play this event is to win some Fred jewellery and I am really happy that I will now!" said Grinham junior. Both the winner and runner up receive fine items from the Fred of Paris range.

Rachael Grinham, based in Cairo, faced Egyptian Omneya Abdel Kawy, the third seed who is also based in her country's capital. After dropping the first game, Grinham senior went on to claim a 4-9, 9-2, 9-4, 9-6 victory after 47 minutes.

Abdel Kawy was disappointed with the result, but will have every opportunity to get to know her opponent's game even better soon. "We hardly ever practiced together before, but we did almost every day last week. I want to train with Rachael more, as I think that she will improve my squash," added the 22-year-old.

On the match itself, Kawy said: "Rachael started slowly, hitting the tin, as she sometimes does, and I saw my opportunity. But later she changed it and put me under pressure."

Rachael Grinham is celebrating her 45th appearance in a WISPA World Tour final - and her seventh Tour meeting with her sister this year!

Semi-finals:
[1] Natalie Grinham (AUS) bt [5] Laura Lengthorn-Massaro (ENG) 9-0, 9-0, 9-6 (37m)
[2] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [3] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) 4-9, 9-2, 9-4, 9-6 (47m)