Mueller & Kitchen Claim KL Crowns

Switzerland's Nicolas Mueller and New Zealander Shelley Kitchen emerged triumphant in the NSC Series No1 after contrasting finals at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

Unseeded Mueller, the former European junior champion from Zurich who is ranked 116 in the world, brought to a climax an impressive run in the $10,000 PSA Tour event which included a defeat of the top seed in the semi-finals.

The 19-year-old dropped the first game against Kuwaiti qualifier Abdullah Almezayen in the final, but came back strongly to take the next two games.

At 0-5 down in the fourth, 21-year-old Almezayen was forced to concede the match due to injury - leaving Mueller to claim a 13-15, 11-5, 11-9, 5-0 (ret.) victory after just 23 minutes.

It was Mueller's second successive win on the PSA Tour after claiming his maiden Tour title at the Russian Opportunities Fund Championship in Moscow in December,

The final of the women's $16,000 WISPA World Tour event saw the top two seeds battle for the title.

And firm favourite Shelley Kitchen, the world No13 from Auckland, had to work hard to get the better of Hong Kong's rising star Annie Au, needing 59 minutes to beat the world No21 13-11, 11-7, 5-11, 11-9.

The success ends a lengthy title drought for Kitchen, who had not won a title in over 12 months. The KL crown brings up career title number 13 for the 29-year-old in her maiden Tour event of the new year.

Men's final:
Nicolas Mueller (SUI) bt [Q] Abdullah Almezayen (KUW) 13-15, 11-5, 11-9, 5-0 ret. (23m)

Women's final:
[1] Shelley Kitchen (NZL) bt [2] Annie Au (HKG) 13-11, 11-7, 5-11, 11-9 (59m)