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]
Nicol Ann David in action on the sixth day of the 2009 Hong Kong Open.
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]
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
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.
^ "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 .
^ "Big win for Abbas, Nicol wins another thriller" . Squashsite . March 17, 2007. Archived from the original on March 10, 2009. Retrieved March 16, 2010 .
^ a b "Nicol David Wins Fourth World Open Title" . SquashInfo. September 27, 2009. Retrieved March 23, 2010 .
^ Cubbins, Steve; Gommendy, Framboise (September 27, 2009). "Nicol still the Queen" . Squashsite . Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. Retrieved March 14, 2010 .