The in-form World No.3, ranked two places higher than Grinham, had not beaten her Australian rival in their previous four meetings and started cautiously, conscious of her opponent’s determination to gain revenge for David's earlier defeat of Natalie’s older sister Rachael, the World No.1 and defending champion, in the previous round.
Grinham, the fourth seed, fought valiantly after losing the first game, but despite leading 7-5 in the second game and 6-0 in the third, was unable to resist the persistence of her petite opponent who piled on the pressure to claim her 9-6 9-7 9-6 win and her maiden British Open title.
“I played my best and that was all I could do” said the 27-yearold Queenslander. “Nicol played well, with hardly any errors. I’m disappointed not to win, but not disappointed with my effort.”
Delighted to have won the world’s most prestigious title, the 22- year-old from Penang explained: “My semi-final win against Rachael gave me extra confidence. It was a close match and I really had to hang in there - it feels so good.”
In her semi-final match against the Australian defending champion, David was forced to recover from 2-1 down to beat the top seed 3-9 9-7 7-9 9-4 9-1 in 69 minutes.
“When Rachael starts off so strongly, it’s hard to break up her rhythm” said the Malaysian. “Then I started to play my game and as she stepped back a bit, I was able to push-on.”
Despite being downcast after her semi-final exit, Rachael Grinham refused to acknowledge that pressure of a third successive title played on her mind: “Sometimes first round matches can be a bit nerve-wracking, but by the time you get to the semis you’re well into the tournament. I just couldn’t play my game and in the decider I didn’t seem to get a chance – Nicol was really chopping the ball in” added the World No.1.
Younger sister Natalie ensured the family name was present in the women’s final after beating England’s Tania Bailey 10-8 9-1 9-2. Bailey had reached the semi-finals after a tough battle with qualifier Alison Waters, who in her previous round had recorded a career best 9-7 9-2 9-3 triumph over World Champion and World No.2 Vanessa Atkinson.
English qualifier Laura-Jane Lengthorn had also registered a career best win ensuring English interest in all four women's quarter-finals when she upset USA’s fifth seed Natalie Grainger, the reigning US Open Champion.
Final:
[3] Nicol David (MAS) bt [4] Natalie Grinham (AUS) 9-6, 9-7, 9-6