AFTER four years as host to the CIMB Kuala Lumpur Open, the curtains went down on Berjaya Times Square as the venue for a tournament Nicol David has largely made her own.
Tournament organisers will be looking for an alternative venue to host the KL Open as the glitzy shopping mall on Jalan Imbi will be unavailable next year as plans are afoot to construct escalators where the squash glass court has taken residence every March for the last four years.
But far from getting the perfect parting gift which another Nicol victory would have provided, organisers were left embarrassed as the tin which marks the bottom line of the front wall collapsed several times during the women’s final in front of a watching Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir.
While Nicol was diplomatic when asked if the disruptions — the tin fell three times during play — led to her defeat to 31-year-old American Natalie Grainger, it was obvious to all it left the World No 1 a little irritated.
“My focus was up and down and she just took control of the match when she needed to. There were a lot of distractions, it equally distracted us both, but we just tried to keep playing,” said Nicol, 25, after the match.
Nicol herself attempted to patch the tin back in place the third time it caved in before tournament deputy organising chairman Steven Kwan and his helpers rushed in with cellophane tape in hand to stick the tin back to the wall.
The five-time KL Open champion would never have guessed her 56-match unbeaten run would end in such a manner as, upon resumption of play, Nicol lost her focus and promptly conceded the next five points from 5-4 up in the third game to go 2-1 down.
While Nicol came roaring back in the fourth, World No 4 Natalie used her experience to great effect as she stunned the partisan home crowd into silence by reeling off the last five points of the deciding game.
In hindsight, Nicol’s first defeat on home soil since 2006 would have come as a relief as the burden of maintaining her winning run was lifted off her shoulders.
It was the second time she had gone unbeaten for 50-odd matches in her career on the Wispa Tour and no one would bet against Nicol going on another long winning run.
As Natalie warned after registering her first win over the world champion in 13 meetings, Nicol would be back stronger and many more battles lay ahead.
Nicol would return to Amsterdam to confer with her coach Liz Irving and dissect every aspect that led to her defeat.
While it was not vintage Nicol — the Penang-born player admitted to an “up-and-down” performance — there really was nothing wrong with her game.
It just so happened she ran into a player who was in better form — Natalie played and won her third tournament of 2009 whereas Nicol was making her season debut.
In fact, Nicol delivered her best performance of the week in the semi-finals against former world champion Rachael Grinham of Australia when her array of strokes and court coverage were brought to the fore.
The ingredients remain firmly in place for Nicol to embark on another record breaking run.
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