No Nour sweat for Nicol
Sherbini’s long break will benefit World No. 1 at Weymuller Open
PETALING JAYA: Three-time world junior champion Nour El Sherbini’s decision to take a lengthy break will benefit world No. 1 Nicol David at the Carol Weymuller Open squash championship in New York from Oct 1-6.
The 17-year-old Egyptian, who created history by becoming the first player to win three world junior titles, has been hampered by a string of injuries.
World No. 3 and fellow Egyptian Raneem El Weleily revealed that Sherbini has decided to take the rest of the year off to recuperate.
“She’s had some injury problems with her right leg and it’s been bothering her for a while,” said Raneem.
“Sometimes it’s her hamstring, sometimes it’s her knee ... there is always something wrong.
“So, she will take a long break just to recover ... she will not compete in any more matches this year. It’s a loss, but hopefully she’ll return to full fitness soon.”
World No. 10 Sherbini’s absence means Nicol will now face Australia’s world No. 18 Donna Urquhart in the first round after a revised draw. Sherbini was initially drawn to meet Nicol in the opening round.
The 30-year-old Nicol, beaten by England’s Alison Waters in the quarter-finals last year, will certainly fancy her chances against the lanky Urquhart. She has a goodrecord against the Australian, having won all their three meetings last year. Nicol has also been boosted by her good form in the Malaysian Open where she beat Raneem to end her eight-month title drought.
If Nicol gets past Urquhart, she is likely to meet either India’s Dipika Pallikal or eighth seed Kasey Brown of Australia in the quarter-finals. Barring any upsets, Nicol is tipped for a fiery showdown with Raneem in the semifinals.
As for national No. 2 Low Wee Wern, she faces a qualifier in the opening round. The 23-year-old Penangite, who is seeded fifth, is tipped to face world No. 2 Laura Massaro of England in the last eight.