Queen of the World Series

Nicol survives Perry good fight to land title

KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 1 Nicol David (pic) landed her maiden World Series Finals title after overcoming a tough fight from Ireland’s Madeline Perry at Queens Club in London yesterday.

The Penangite edged world No. 3 Perry 11-9, 11-9, 11-9 in a 40-minute battle.

It was the 57th Women’s International Squash Players Assocation (Wispa) title of Nicol’s career since she turned pro in 2000.

The success also capped a day of double delight for Malaysia as world No. 1 shuttler Lee Chong Wei won the Korea Open title after defeating his archrival Lin Dan.

And just like Chong Wei’s hard-fought victory, Nicol was also well stretched by her uncompromising opponent before prevailing.

Perry gained an upper hand in the first set, taking a 9-8 lead before committing several silly errors that cost her dearly.

The pattern was similar in the second set, with Perry 8-7 ahead at one point before her many unforced errors allowed Nicol to gain the advantage.

Nicol then proved why she is the world’s indisputable No. 1 in the third set. Trailing Perry again at 7-8, Nicol showed the true touches of a champion to deliver the points at the most crucial moments to nail the decider at 11-9.

Nicol’s win over Perry was also her second over the Irish player in three days at the competittion. On Friday, she won 11-6, 12-10 in a best-of-three match in the group stage. Nicol was also relieved to bury her new year ghost of 2010, where she was upset by England’s Laura Massaro in the final of the Cleveland Racquet Classic in Ohio in January.

The 28-year-old Nicol said Perry gave her a tough time in the final but she was glad to win in straight sets.

“I was made to work really hard by Perry as she took the lead in the first two sets.

“It was one tournament I was looking forward to playing and I’m happy to win my first World Series Finals title. This is the best thing I can hope for in the new year,” said Nicol, who is based in Amsterdam.

Meanwhile, World No. 8 Amr Shabana of Egypt continued his excellent form to win the men’s title by beating world No. 3 Gregory Gaultier of France 6-11, 12-10, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8 in a gruelling final lasting more than an hour.