Matthew, David triumph at squash World Open

Englands Nick Matthew and Nicol David of Malaysia lived up to their number one seedings to win the mens and womens titles respectively at the squash World Open on Sunday.Matthew, the first Englishman ever to win a World Open squash title, denied Gregory Gaultier of France in a final of great fluctuations, high emotions, and repeated controversy.Earlier, David achieved a record sixth World Open title by outplaying world number two Jenny Duncalf of England 11-2, 11-5, 11-0 in slightly less than half an hour with her most devastating performance yet in a world final.Matthews 6-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-5 victory handed him the title for the second time.When the 31-year-old Yorkshireman trailed by a game and 1-3 it seemed he was slipping into trouble, but he painstakingly pulled back the deficit during some fiercely prolonged rallies and some refereeing decisions which upset Gaultier.Several of these caused the crowd to boo loudly and eventually Gaultier lost his patience telling the British official: You never hesitate to give a no let against me, a comment which gained him a code violation warning.The man from Aix-en-Provence was also afflicted by an ankle injury at 6-8 in the third game, which caused him to lose nine of the next ten points after taking a three-minute injury break.But Matthew had been magnificent -- physically resilient, tactically flexible, and once again mentally very strong. In the last 16 he had had to recover from two games down against the local hero, Laurens Jan Anjema.Earlier, the speed of David was exceptional as usual, but the 28-year-old, who is now based in Amsterdam, added to it immaculate driving, incisive front court play and an almost error-free performance which was irresistible.It was my best performance, without doubt, she said. I didnt expect anything. I wanted this so badly, but it was a whole different experience out there this time.Everything just came together, and at the right time. It was at another level. It was a World Open final, and it was the world title and I didnt want anyone to touch that trophy.David had been helped surpass Sarah Fitz-geralds record of five world titles by the Australian herself, who sometimes trains and practises with her.The world title is so huge for me, but even so I would trade all of my world titles for an Olympic gold medal, added David, who is an ambassador for squashs bid to get into the 2020 Games.