Atkinson & Grinham Junior To Contest World Open Final

Vanessa Atkinson, the third seed from the Netherlands, and Natalie Grinham, the fourth seed from Australia, will meet in the final of the KL Women's World Open Championship after contrasting 'upsets' in today's semi-finals at the National Squash Centre in Kuala Lumpur - the Dutch No1 crushing world No1 Rachael Grinham in her most comprehensive defeat of the year, and the younger Grinham sister beating the local darling Nicol David in a dramatic 87-minute marathon judged by many to have been one of the best women's matches of all time.

It was their seventh meeting of the year, but while Rachael Grinham had the upper hand 4-2 before today, it was Atkinson who had the most recent advantage, having beaten the world's best player in straight games in last week's Qatar Classic in Doha.

In KL, the seven times Dutch champion outplayed and outran Grinham. Atkinson's drives were deep, cross courts wide and volleys tight, not allowing Grinham much time at the 'T' at all. Having been forced in the back of the court most of the time, Atkinson was in total control and needed only 22 minutes to book a place in her first World Open final after a 9-0 9-2 9-2 victory.

"This is probably one of the best matches I've played in a very long time," said a delighted Atkinson afterwards.

The entire Malaysian nation was behind the world number six Nicol David, the 21-year-old from Penang who is being described as the country's best-known sportswoman. After establishing a 2/0 lead with some flawless squash in the first game, followed by a close encounter in the second, Natalie Grinham was surprised by Nicol who made a strong comeback to win the third convincingly.

David, the sixth seed, was forced to save a match-ball in the fourth after long and exhausting rallies with the Australian. At 8-9 down, David needed just one hand to close the game and force the decider. The Malaysian squandered a 4-0 lead in the fifth for Grinham to go on to seal the match 9-3 9-7 2-9 9-10 9-7.

David, close to tears, said afterwards: "Of course I'm disappointed, I really wanted this. But Natalie played a great game too."

Jahangir Khan, formerly the greatest of the men's world champions and now President of the World Squash Federation, suggested he could not remember a better women's match. "It was fast and strong, full of incident and skill, and exciting until the very last rally," he told www.squashnow.com. "It will be hard for the final to equal it."

Semi-finals:
[3] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt [1] Rachael Grinham (AUS) 9-0, 9-2, 9-2 (22m)
[4] Natalie Grinham (AUS) bt [6] Nicol David (MAS) 9-3, 9-7, 2-9, 9-10, 9-7 (87m)