Nicol crashes out of San Francisco Open

PETALING JAYA: Nicol David’s quest for the San Francisco Open title came to a disappointing end in the quarter-finals.

In a tense battle that saw both players playing hard for every point, Nicol failed to get the better of England’s Laura Massaro and went down 11-9, 9-11, 9-11, 7-11.

After narrowly winning the first game, Nicol could not find her killer instinct and her challenge eventually fizzled out. Just last month, the world No. 9 crushed Massaro at the China Open 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 to advance into the quarter-finals.

Massaro will play Egyptian top seed Raneem El Welily in the semi-finals. Raneem defeated another Englishwoman Alison Waters 11-3, 11-6, 12-10 in the quarters.

The shock of the day was produced by Hong Kong’s Annie Au when the eighth seed stunned Camille Serme of France 5-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7, 11-6 in a close battle.

Waiting to battle her for a place in the final is defending champion Sarah-Jane Perry of England, who took out New Zealand’s Joelle King 7-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-6.