Nicol's title defence off to a flyer

NICOL David (pic) got her bid for a fourth consecutive Malaysian Open title underway at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil yesterday but not before overcoming a minor scare. The World No 1 saved two game points in the third game against a tenacious Rebecca Chiu of Hong Kong in a first round clash before booking her place in the quarter-finals with a 11-5, 11-5, 13-11 win in 20 minutes. Rebecca appeared set to extend Nicol into a fourth game when she led 10-8 but Nicol found her range of strokes in time to set up a meeting with Omneya Abdel Kawy of Egypt today. "She got her composure together and hit good shots. My focus was up and down but I just kept to my game and forced her into mistakes. It was nice to get the first round out of the way and get to the glass court tomorrow (today)," said Nicol after her first match... [read full story]