HONG KONG, Dec 4: Malaysia’s Nicol David became the first Asian woman to win the World Open squash on Sunday, while Amr Shabana from Egypt took back the men’s title he first won in 2003.

David, 22, overcame top-seeded Australian Rachael Grinham 8-10, 9-2, 9-6, 9-7 to grab her fourth major accolade of 2005.

David lost the first game as she struggled to adapt to cool conditions that made it harder to get the unresponsive ball to the back of the court. It was not until she hit the ball higher on the front wall that her length improved.

After that, she began to dominate, though Grinham fought back bravely from 2-7 to 7-7 in the final game before losing out.

There was a minor controversy in the men’s final in which Shabana became the first two-time winner since Jansher Khan more than a decade ago.

Shabana overcame David Palmer, the 2002 champion 11-6, 11-7, 11-9 but ink from the logo on his racket darkened the ball and made it harder to see.

This prompted the Australian to repeat complaints made by England’s Peter Nicol who lost to Shabana in a semifinal.

The women’s final was also notable for some strange incidents.

Sighting the ball was not always easy and Grinham completely missed one of David’s serves. There was also a little crack near the backhand corner of the court which caused the ball to shoot alarmingly thrice.

There was a testing delay at 6-6 in the third game when Grinham came out of the court and challenged the referee before he came to the correct “let” decision.

There was an even longer and more bizarre delay just three points into the match, when both players complained about the slippery surface. Grinham got hold of a broom herself from a cleaner and starting brushing the floor.—AFP