World title wide open as champion suffers shock defeat

New Zealand's Shelley Kitchen earned the greatest win of her career yesterday, beating reigning champion Nicol David in five games in the Women's World Open 2007.

With the Malaysian world number one out of contention, the tournament - being held this year in Madrid - is thrown wide open ...

Reports suggest that Kitchen took the game aggressively to the Malaysian star early on, with the first game a ruthless 9-0. The next game followed suit, with the champion coming back in the third and forth to force a decider.

The draw for the remaining rounds leaves Kitchen, the Grinham sisters, England's Jenny Duncalf and Tania Bailey, previous finalist Natalie Granger, previous winner Vanessa Atkinson and the rising Egyption star Omneya Abdel Kawy battling for the biggest prize in women's squash.

Either of the Australian Grinham sisters must be favourite now to take the title, with my money on Commonwealth champion Natalie - a player who seems to rise to the big occassion.

Women's World Open 2007