UPDATE: NICOL WINS!

4.50pm - Fresh off the press (squashsite.co.uk) - Nicol David (Mas) bt Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy) 11-4, 11-7, 11-7

Fram of squashsite.co.uk writes:

Omneya played extremely well. She was patient, found a good balance between tight drives, hard hitting cross court, and stunning drop shots. In other words, she played as well as she’s been playing all week.

Only difference - and everybody who have ever played or see Nicol play will know exactly what I’m talking about – today, everything kept coming back, and with a vengeance. The shots that Omneya found today, I’m not sure that many players in the world could have picked up, kept finding Nicol’s racquet, again, and again, and again.

Nicol, now five-time winner of the Hongkong Open, has this to say about the match:

"Omneya is famous for her shots and her superb feel of the ball. I had to make sure I was preventing her from playing her shots!

"We were both playing at a very fast pace, and we were hitting the ball quite well, but I must say I’m quite surprised to win 3-0, I got to pretty much everything, but although the score might not reflect it, we always have great battles, and today was no exception."

Syabas, Wondergirl!

In the men's final, Egypt's Amr Shabana beat Gregory Gaultier of France 11-8, 9-11, 11-3, 5-2 (retired; knee injury). Amr's win also makes him a five-time winner at the Open.

ORIGINAL POST:

Keep your fingers crossed, folks. This evening at 3.50pm, Nicol David will take to the squash court in the final of the Hongkong Squash Open.

Yesterday the darling of women's squash defeated Laura Massaro in straight games. It didn't come easy partly because of a faster, bouncier and brighter court. But you can't keep a champion down so it seems. Nicol, four-time defending champion and current World No.1, won the series 11-6, 11-5 and 12-10 in 41 minutes.

"The glass court was new for both of us, and she started seeing the ball earlier than I did. I started getting a feel for it and got my timing towards the end of the game, and she made a few errors which helped me back in," said the Penangite.

Nicol will face sixth-seed Omneya Abdel Kawy who defeated Rachael Grinham in the other semifinal.

All the best, Nicol. Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia is solidly behind you.

All pictures / SquashSite