Darwish and David claim KL titles

Top seeds Karim Darwish and Nicol David became the KL Open champions for 2011 as both completed straight-game victories in their finals against Mohamed El Shorbagy and Madeline Perry respectively.

For David it was her eighth KL final and third title in a row, while for Darwish it was a second successive appearance in the final, improving on his runners-up spot last year.

“I knew it would be a tough match. I’ve lost to her once before and I did not want to let her confidence take over the game," David told Bernama.

“It looks like an easy game but it wasn’t. I had to work extra hard to not let her play the game. I really made an extra effort,” said Nicol after receiving the trophy from the Yang di-Pertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir.

For her win, Nicol pocketed US$8,550 (RM27,360) while Madeline as the runner-up took home US$5,850 (RM18,720).

Her next tournament after the Kuala Lumpur Open will be the Cayman Island Open from April 5-9.

“I can’t think of the competition right now because I am still trying to focus on my match and play my best squash out there,” said the newly crowned 2010 Sportswoman of The Year who will be back to train under the guidance of Liz Irving in Amsterdam, Holland.

“It was one of my best matches in KL. I’ve never won the title before.  Shorbagy is among the top players now. His game was very attack-oriented and I had to work extra hard to win the match,” said Darwish