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MADRID - Australian Rachael Grinham eased to a 9-4, 10-8, 9-2 victory over her younger sister Natalie to win gold at the World Open squash championship.
The 30-year-old added the world gold to the British Open title she won in Manchester last month, in an open-air all-glass court in front of the Royal Palace in the Spanish capital.
Third seed and former world number one Rachael was quicker to find her form and easily took the first game but was forced to work harder in the second. Second-seeded Natalie, the three-times Commonwealth Games gold medallist, was getting into her stride but struggled to deal with her opponent's agility around the court.
Rachael fought back to level at 8-8 and took the second game with a volley after a series of drops.
Natalie lost her composure in the third, committing a series of errors, and allowed Rachael to move into an 8-1 lead. Rachael failed on her first match point, but secured the title on the second.
It was the first time the sisters had met in the World Open final but, for Natalie, it was the third time she had to settle for silver.
World No 1 and top seed Nicol David of Malaysia had lost to New Zealand's Shelley Kitchen in the second round in one of the biggest upsets in the event's history.
- Reuters
