PETALING JAYA: S. Sivasangari roared back from the brink to capture her second title of the year at the Grasshopper Cup in Zurich on Sunday (April 26).
The third seed Sivasangari was down 1-2 but clawed her way back up to beat second seed Satomi Watanabe of Japan 15-13, 5-11, 5-11, 11-7, 11-8 in a 62-minute final at the Zurich Main Station.
It was world No. 6 Sivasangari’s third gold-level title following the London Squash Classic in 2024 and the Australian Open last month in Brisbane.
Sivasangari had unfinished business in Zurich after last year’s edition where she had ended up as the runner-up to Egypt’s Nouran Gohar.
With the superb win, the Malaysian has extended her head-to-head lead against Watanabe with seventh win in eight meetings.
A day ago, Sivasangari was drawn in a longer duel against Egypt’s Amina Orfi in the semi-finals, with her staging a similar comeback in the match lasting 82 minutes.
She won 11-7, 5-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5.
The win against the 18-year-old Orfi was particularly significant as it ended Sivasangari’s six-match losing streak against the world No. 3.
Sivasangari has only won once in their previous nine encounters, which came at the Hong Kong Football Club final in 2023.
"I love Zurich, and I love the crowd here. It reminds me of the London Classic with so many ‘come on Sivas’ and everyone cheering for me," said the 27-year-old.
"The crowd is great. I love this event."
RESULTS
Women
Final: S. Sivasangari (Mas) bt Satomi Watanabe (Jpn) 15-13, 5-11, 5-11, 11-7, 11-8.
Semi-finals: S. Sivasangari (Mas) bt Amina Orfi (Egy) 11-7, 5-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5; Satomi Watanabe (Jpn) bt Georgina Kennedy (Eng) 11-7, 11-5, 11-7.
