KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 — Rachel Arnold upset top seed Rowan Elaraby of Egypt at the 39th Malaysian Open Squash Championships here today to set up an all-Malaysian final in the women’s category.
The third-seeded Rachel won 11-4, 11-7, 9-11, 11-7 in her semi-final match at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil.
In the final tomorrow, she will meet teammate and second seed Low Wee Wern, who disposed of fourth seed Vanessa Chu of Hong Kong 11-5, 4-11, 11-2, 11-8.
In the men’s division, former world junior champion Ng Eain Yow has moved closer to claiming his first international title after storming into the final.
The world number 37, who is still looking for a breakthrough this season, defeated unheralded Portuguese player Rui Soares 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 in the semi-finals.
The former two-time British Junior Open winner, however, will face a daunting task in the final tomorrow as he will be up against world number 28 Nicholas Mueller of Switzerland.
Mueller, the second seed, booked his place in the final after edging third seed Youssef Soliman of Egypt 8-11, 11-5, 12-10, 11-9 in the other semi-final match.
“Definitely, it was a tough game in the last two sets as Soares gave me a tough fight. He played five sets in the last two matches and I knew physically he was a little bit tired, but I’m happy to pull off another victory,” Ng told reporters after the match.
“For me, Nicholas is a great player, and I have met him and lost in three sets in the qualifying round of Windy City Open early last year, but this time around, I have come as a much better player. For tomorrow’s final, I just have to be confident and focused on my game rather than my opponent,” said the Kuala Lumpur-born player.
Semi-final results:
(Notes: [ ] denotes seedings and Malaysian unless stated)
Men:
[2] Nicholas Mueller (SWI) bt [3] Youssef Soliman (EGY) 8-11, 11-5, 12-10, 11-9 [4] Ng Eain Yow bt Rui Soares (POR) 11-5, 11-7, 11-7
Women:
[2] Low Wee Wern bt [4] Vanessa Chu (HKG) 11-5, 4-11, 11-2, 11-8 [3] Rachel Arnold bt [1] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) 11-4, 11-7, 9-11, 11-7. — Bernama
