A bitter pill to swallow

Nicol’s semi-final exit signals she’s still a work in progress

PETALING JAYA: Nicol David’s (pic) British Open semi-final loss is without doubt a bitter pill to swallow.

The world No. 7 struggled to find her rhythm against world No. 8 Sarah-Jane Perry of England and succumbed to an 8-11, 11-7, 11-13, 7-11 defeat at the Airco Arena in Hull on Saturday.

It’s the third straight year that Nicol, a five-time British Open winner, has fallen in the semi-finals.

Saturday’s loss was in stark contrast to the form that she displayed in the straight-sets win over world No. 2 Camille Serme of France in the quarter-finals on Friday.

Now, it’s back to the drawing board for the 33-year-old who had appeared to be on a comeback trail after winning the Ciudad de Floridablanca Open in Colombia earlier this month.

National head coach Peter Genever, however, believes that Nicol is still in the progress of developing a “Plan B” to scale greater heights again.

“Overall Nicol did well this week especially to beat Camille in three sets,” said Genever from Hull.

“The semi-final was tough because Sarah- Jane played exceptionally well and deserved the win. Sarah-Jane controlled the tempo of the game and did well enough to restrict the opportunities for Nicol.

“But Nicol’s still a work in progress in developing her game. It was evident with the way she played against Camille. Players are constantly trying to improve their fundamental skills and Nicol’s no different.

“She’s still highly motivated to improve in all aspects of her game. It’s fair to say she has a great deal more to offer as shown by the win in Colombia and the semi-final showing at the British Open,” added Genever.

Nicol has two weeks to recharge herself before heading to Egypt to compete in the Women’s World Championship from April 5-14.

Meanwhile, the 26-year-old Perry will take on Laura Massaro, 33, in the first all-England British Open final since 1991.

The men’s final will be a battle between two oldies with 36-yearold Nick Matthew of England facing 34- year- old Gregory Gaultier of France.