NICOL DAVID EYES BRITISH OPEN 2012

PETALING JAYA: World No. 1 Nicol David is set to have a fairly easy run in her pursuit of a fourth British Open title in London from May 12-20.

The British Open is the oldest squash tournament in the world dating back to the early 1920s and carries as much prestige as the World Open.

However, the tournament was cancelled after the 2009 edition due to financial constraints and has only found its way back into the calendar this year.

With squash not part of the London Olympics, the British meet has attracted almost all the top players in the world, including Nicol.

The three-time champion – in 2005, 2006 and 2008 – is certainly hungry to add to her collection after falling short three years ago to Madeline Perry in the quarter-finals.

Nicol is certainly in top form having won all three tournaments she has competed in thus far – the World Series Finals, Cleveland Classic and the KL Open last month.

She will take on a qualifier in the first round and should advance to face 11th seed Samantha Teran of Mexico in the second round.

The Penangite, who has a 7-0 winning record against Teran, who is her sparring partner, should proceed to the last eight where she is likely to meet old rival Rachael Grinham of Australia.

It is in the semi-finals where Nicol will probably face her biggest test as she could be up against third seed Laura Massaro, who will be backed by a strong home crowd.

Coincidentally, Massaro is somewhat of a bogey player for Nicol as she was the only one to beat the six-time world champion twice last year.

National No. 2 Low Wee Wern is in the bottom half of the draw and will face the dangerous Alison Waters in the first round.

If the 13th seeded Wee Wern pulls off a win over Waters, who is making a comeback following a year-long layoff due to injury, she should face KL Open finalist Annie Au of Hong Kong in the second round.

The other Malaysian women in the fray are national No. 3 Delia Arnold, who faces world No. 2 Jenny Duncalf in the first round, and Siti Munirah Jusoh, who will start from the qualifiers.

The other strong contenders for the title are veteran Madeline Perry of Ireland and Egyptian duo Raneem El Weleily and Nour El Sherbini.

In the men’s event, the evergreen Ong Beng Hee is the sole Malaysian in the main draw following national No.1 Mohd Azlan Iskandar’s injury setback.

Beng Hee will face young Tom Richards in the first round and a win should pit him against former world No.1 Nick Matthew of England in the second round.