Nicol David faces surprising defeat
Nicol David suffered her most surprising defeat in 4 years when she lost her British Open title.
HULL (AFP) - World number one Nicol David suffered her most surprising defeat in four years when she lost her British Open title with a second successive defeat against England s Laura Masssaro.
David was beaten 11-4, 3-11, 12-10, 11-7 by the tenacious and loudly supported world number two, who thus repeated her win over the Malaysian in Kuala Lumpur earlier this year.
It was a shock defeat for David s and first in a major event since her British Open loss to Ireland s Madeline Perry in 2009 and raised the question of how much longer the 29-year-old will hold on to top spot.
The record-breaking seven-time world champion looked on course to win the globe s oldest title for a fifth time when she went 10-7 ahead in the pivotal third game, only for three game points to slip away amidst the drama which included a broken racket string and a penalty point.
"I was watching Laura too much," said David "She was playing very well. Sometimes things don t go your way, and all these girls are getting stronger. "I gave her a little window and she took it. But I will be back."
Massaro s win made her the first home female winner of the famous title since 1991, a statistic which apparently caught her by surprise.
In cool conditions, getting in front of the opponent and volleying became even more important than usual. When Massaro did that more in the first game, and David did it more often in the second, each won the games one-sidedly.
The third was a dogfight, which David looked likely to win when she earned herself three successive game points. But Massaro saved the first with a fierce boast, angled off the forehand side wall, and the second with a tight wall-clinging backhand drive.
Before the third David broke a string and had to change rackets, which appeared crucial, as it caused a minute s delay and allowed time for both players to compose themselves.
When she reached game ball there was a traffic problem near the front which prompted the referee to award a let, only for Massaro to make an appeal to the video review system and get the decision overturned.
The resulting penalty point got her the game 12-10 and changed the psychology of the match.
The final shot saw David put a volley down, and soon Massaro was in tears at the impact of her success, which reversed the result of the World Open final at Grand Cayman in December.
David slumped in a chair, was comforted by her psychologist, and displayed characteristic good grace amidst her disappointment. "Laura made things difficult for me. All fairness to her - she deserved it," David said.
The men s final, between Ramy Ashour, the world champion from Egypt, and Gregory Gaultier, the former British Open champion from France is scheduled for later in the day.
