David–Grinham rivalry

A young female squash player in white, stretching out to get her racket under a low ball, on a blue court with yellow markings, in front of a large, out-of-focus crowd behind glass.
Nicol Ann David in action on the sixth day of the 2009 Hong Kong Open.

The squash players Nicol David (Malaysia) and Natalie Grinham (Netherlands) have a long rivalry. They have met 32 times during their careers, with David leading their overall head-to-head series 25–7. Natalie is David's most frequent opponent on tour. 16 of their matches have been in tournament finals, including two in the World Open tournament. The World Open 2006 final between David and Natalie is dubbed to be one of the greatest in the Women's World Open history.[1]

The longest match between the duo is in the 2007 CIMB Kuala Lumpur Open; which saw David go on to win in a five set match that lasted in 102 minutes. David won 6–9, 9–3, 9–6, 7–9, 9–6.[2] On 27 September 2009, in the $118,000[3] 2009 Women's World Open final,[4] David won the match in four sets 3–11, 11–6, 11–3, 11–8 to become only the third player in the history of the championships to win four titles, alongside Australia's Sarah Fitz-Gerald and New Zealander Susan Devoy.[3]

List of all matches

No. Date Tournament, Location Round Winner Score Length (H:MM)[a] David Natalie WISPA
1. 2000 Finnish Open, Finland Quarter-final David 5–9, 7–9, 9–7, 9–2, 10–8 Unknown 1 0 Yes
2. 2000 YTL Open, Malaysia Quarter-final David 10–8, 10–8, 5–9, 1–9, 9–7 Unknown 2 0 Yes
3. 2001 KL Open, Malaysia Quarter-final Natalie 9–4, 9–5, 9–1 Unknown 2 1 Yes
4. 2001 Macau Open, Macau Quarter-final David 7–9, 2–9, 9–7, 9–4, 9–4 Unknown 3 1 Yes
5. 2003 Dutch Open, Netherlands Semi-final Natalie 9–7, 3–9, 9–3, 9–7 Unknown 3 2 Yes
6. 2003 Qatar Classic, Qatar R16 Natalie 9–2, 7–9, 9–0, 9–4 0:50 3 3 Yes
7. 2004 Qatar Classic, Qatar Quarter-final Natalie 9–6, 6–9, 9–0, 9–0 0:51 3 4 Yes
8. 2004 World Open, Malaysia Semi-final Natalie 9–3, 9–7, 2–9, 9–10, 9–7 1:27 3 5 Yes
9. 2005 British Open, England Final David 9–6, 9–7, 9–6 0:55 4 5 Yes
10. 2005 Carol Weymuller Open, United States Final David 5–9, 9–6, 9–4, 9–3 1:00 5 5 Yes
11. 2006 KL Open, Malaysia Semi-final David 4–9, 3–9, 9–2, 9–2, 10–9 1:03 6 5 Yes
12. 2006 Commonwealth Games, Australia Semi-final Natalie 9–10, 9–7, 4–9, 9–6, 9–3 1:25 6 6 No
13. 2006 British Open, England Semi-final David 9–3, 9–3, 9–5 0:57 7 6 Yes
14. 2006 World Open, Ireland Final David 1–9, 9–7, 3–9, 9–5, 9–2 1:35 8 6 Yes
15. 2007 KL Open, Malaysia Final David 6–9, 9–3, 9–6, 7–9, 9–6 1:42 9 6 Yes
16. 2007 Kuwait Open, Kuwait Final David 9–6, 10–8, 2–9, 9–1 1:33 10 6 Yes
17. 2007 Qatar Classic, Qatar Final David 9–7, 2–9, 9–7, 9–2 1:09 11 6 Yes
18. 2007 Seoul Open, South Korea Final Natalie 9–4, 9–4, 9–0 0:43 11 7 Yes
19. 2007 Singapore Masters, Singapore Final David 9–6, 9–5, 9–5 0:54 12 7 Yes
20. 2007 Hong Kong Open, Hong Kong Final David 9–3, 9–5, 10–8 0:58 13 7 Yes
21.[b] 2008 Apawamis Open, United States Final David 9–1, 9–6, 6–6 ret 0:45 14 7 Yes
22. 2008 KL Open, Malaysia Final David 9–4, 9–2, 9–2 0:35 15 7 Yes
23.[c] 2008 Malaysian Open, Malaysia Final David 11–1, 11–4, 11–6 0:31 16 7 Yes
24. 2008 Dutch Open, Netherlands Final David 11–9, 11–9, 11–4 0:55 17 7 Yes
25. 2008 Qatar Classic, Qatar Final David 11–7, 11–3, 11–9 0:29 18 7 Yes
26. 2009 Seoul Open, South Korea Semi-final David 11–4, 11–6, 11–8 0:36 19 7 Yes
27. 2009 World Games, Taiwan Final David 11–6, 11–8, 11–6 0:38 20 7 No
28. 2009 Malaysian Open, Malaysia Semi-final David 11–6, 15–13, 12–10 0:46 21 7 Yes
29. 2009 Singapore Masters, Singapore Final David 11–9, 11–8, 11–9 0:40 22 7 Yes
30. 2009 World Open, Netherlands Final David 3–11, 11–6, 11–3, 11–8 0:51 23 7 Yes
31. 2011 Cayman Islands Open, Cayman Islands Quarter-final David 11–4, 8–11, 11–8, 11–4 0:47 24 7 Yes
32. 2011 World Open, Netherlands Semi-final David 11–9, 11–4, 11–6 0:44 25 7 Yes
Legend
WISPA Platinum Series
WISPA Gold Series
WISPA Silver Series
WISPA Tour Series
Others

Notes

  • a H represents hour while MM represents minutes.
  • b Natalie Grinham switched allegiance to the Netherlands from March 2008 onwards.
  • c WISPA tournament uses PAR scoring from 21 July 2008 onwards.

References

  1. ^ "Nicol David fights to the death for her second World Open title". Squashtalk.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
  2. ^ "Big win for Abbas, Nicol wins another thriller". Squashsite. March 17, 2007. Archived from the original on March 10, 2009. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Nicol David Wins Fourth World Open Title". SquashInfo. September 27, 2009. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  4. ^ Cubbins, Steve; Gommendy, Framboise (September 27, 2009). "Nicol still the Queen". Squashsite. Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. Retrieved March 14, 2010.