David & Grinham Renew Rivalry In Seoul Final

Two of the greatest rivals on the WISPA World Tour will meet in the final of the Women's Seoul Open after world number one Nicol David and Rachael Grinham, the world number three, survived contrasting semi-finals in the $60,000 squash event in its second year in the South Korean capital Seoul.

David, the 24-year-old top seed from Malaysia, battled to a 10-8, 9-7, 9-5 win in 44 minutes over England's Alison Waters, the No7 seed.

Waters had game ball at 8-4 in the first and had a strong lead in the second: "I was disappointed to lose 3/0 after being well up in the first two - it was annoying not to get a game," said the 24-year-old from London. "While I was patient in the rallies and put it in short when it seemed right, Nicol played the big rallies better than I did and that is what I need to work on."

Second seed Grinham, the Cairo-based World Open champion from Australia, took out another English opponent - but the 31-year-old needed four games and 61 minutes to defeat eighth seed Laura Lengthorn-Massaro 6-9, 9-6, 9-4, 9-5.

"Considering that I very nearly pulled out on the first day, I was pleased to win the first match," said the Queenslander who has been having physiotherapy treatment every day for a back twinge. "Getting through the quarters (against former world champion Vanessa Atkinson) was my best result of the year! And now I have made my seeding and picked up a few ranking points. It's about time I did this year," added Grinham.

The two finalists have competed in 86 WISPA Tour finals between them - David having won 27 out of 41, and Grinham 27 from 45! Furthermore, this will be the pair's 25th clash since first meeting in the final of the Milo Open in Malaysia in April 2000.

Semi-finals:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [7] Alison Waters (ENG) 10-8, 9-7, 9-5 (44m)
[2] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [8] Laura Lengthorn-Massaro (ENG) 6-9, 9-6, 9-4, 9-5 (61m)