RESULTS: Women's Seoul Open Squash Championship, Seoul Plaza, Seoul, South Korea
1st round:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [Q] Latasha Khan (USA) 9-3, 9-1, 9-2 (30m)
[8] Alison Waters (ENG) bt Rebecca Chiu (HKG) 9-2, 10-8, 9-0 (21m)
Shelley Kitchen (NZL) bt [3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) 9-3, 9-4, 1-9, 9-7 (50m)
Jenny Duncalf (ENG) bt [5] Vicky Botwright (ENG) 4-9, 9-4, 9-3, 7-9, 9-6 (86m)
[7] Laura-Jane Lengthorn (ENG) bt [Q] Elise Ng (HKG) 9-3, 9-7, 9-4 (33m)
[4] Tania Bailey (ENG) bt [Q] Kasey Brown (AUS) 9-1, 9-2, 9-3 (42m)
[6] Madeline Perry (IRL) bt Eun Ok Park (KOR) 9-3, 9-2, 10-8 (30m)
[2] Natalie Grinham (AUS) bt [Q] Sharon Wee (MAS) 9-2, 9-0, 9-0 (21m)
Unseeded New Zealander Shelley Kitchen produced an outstanding upset on the opening day of the Women's Seoul Open Squash Championship when she despatched Australia's former world number one Rachael Grinham, the No3 seed, in four games in the first round of the inaugural WISPA Gold event in the South Korean capital Seoul.
The 27-year-old from Auckland had beaten Grinham earlier in the month at the same stage in the Kuwait Open - and was keen to demonstrate that this was no 'one-off' as she secured her 9-3, 9-4, 1-9, 9-7 victory in 50 minutes.
"I had played well against her in Kuwait and I just wanted to do well again," said Kitchen, winner of the bronze medal in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Australia. "I wasn't thinking about winning or losing, just to show that my win there was not a fluke."
Kitchen was not the only shock winner on the first day - and meets fellow non-seed Jenny Duncalf in the quarter-finals on the all-glass court in Seoul Plaza. Avenging a straight games defeat she received in last week's Qatar Classic in Doha, Duncalf battled for 86 minutes - and fought back from 3-6 down in the decider - to overcome England team-mate Vicky Botwright, the fifth seed, 4-9, 9-4, 9-3, 7-9, 9-6 in an impressive display.
"At 6/3 down in the fifth, it was not looking good," conceded the 24-year-old British National Champion from Harrogate in Yorkshire. "So I thought I'd just keep it in play and wait for her errors. I didn't want to force anything."
There will be an all-English quarter-final when No7 seed Laura-Jane Lengthorn takes on England No1 Tania Bailey, the fourth seed. Lancastrian Lengthorn put in a powerful performance to beat Hong Kong qualifier Elise Ng 9-3, 9-7, 9-4, while Lincolnshire lass Bailey ended Australian qualifier Kasey Brown's hopes in a 9-1, 9-2, 9-3 defeat.
Second seed Natalie Grinham made up for the surprise failure of her older sister Rachael by cruising to a 9-2, 9-0, 9-0 victory over Malaysian qualifier Sharon Wee. The 29-year-old Queenslander is expected to meet another Malaysian in the final.
Favourite Nicol David, the 23-year-old from Penang who has beaten the younger Grinham in the last four WISPA World Tour finals in which she has appeared, brushed aside US qualifier Latasha Khan 9-3, 9-1, 9-2.
Quarter-final line-up:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) v [8] Alison Waters (ENG)
Shelley Kitchen (NZL) v Jenny Duncalf (ENG)
[4] Tania Bailey (ENG) v [7] Laura-Jane Lengthorn (ENG)
[2] Natalie Grinham (AUS) v [6] Madeline Perry (IRL)