Fresh from jetlag and sporting a new appearance, Nicol David, Malaysia's unstoppable world No 1, will attempt to win her third successive Hong Kong Open this week.Amr Shabana, the men's top-ranked Egptian, will also begin his quest for a third-straight title in the $145,000 event, the third-richest purse on the PSA Tour.
Two former men’s champions are also in the men’s draw – France’s 2004 winner Thierry Lincou is seeded to reach the quarter-finals for the fifth time, and David Palmer, the fifth seed from Australia, is looking for his sixth successive semi-final berth since winning the trophy in 2001.
Lincou’s first round opponent is India’s Saurav Ghosal – one of three Asians to make it through today’s qualifying finals – while Palmer takes on England's Chris Ryder.
With 11 successive Tour titles under her belt since November 2007, David has notched up 48 matches without defeat – and will be looking to chalk up her half-century in the second round. The 25-year-old from Penang faces New Zealand’s Jaclyn Hawkes in the opening round.
But David will face stiff opposition from a number of quarters – led by the Australian-born sisters Rachael and Natalie Grinham, seeded two and three, respectively, and Natalie Grainger, the fourth seed from the USA.
Hong Kong celebrated two notable victories in the women’s qualifying finals when Joey Chan beat top qualifying seed Latasha Khan 11-6, 6-11, 11-5, 6-11, 11-3, and Elise Ng battled to a 56-minute 11-6, 11-8, 3-11, 6-11, 18-16 win over New Zealander Kylie Lindsay.
Chan and Ng join Annie Au, Christina Mak and 13th seed Rebecca Chiu to provide the biggest ever local main draw entry in the history of the women’s event.
With the Abu Dhabi Open postponed next month, the tournament has given the players extra incentive to perform on the world stage ahead of squash's richest event, the Saudi Open in mid-December.
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