KUALA LUMPUR — Defending champion Nicol David and world No. 1 Laura Massaro marched into the quarterfinals of the World Squash Championship in Malaysia Wednesday with confident second-round wins.
Malaysia's David, who has dominated the sport over the past decade, defeated Alison Waters of England 11-9, 11-3, 11-5 to keep alive her hopes of a ninth world title.
David had to battle from behind to overtake former champ Rachel Grinham of Australia in five games a day earlier, but looked sharper Wednesday against Waters, buoyed by a boisterous home crowd.
After taking the first two games with little fuss, David found herself behind 1-5 in the third.
But she roared back with 10 straight points to secure the match.
"You just need to be on from every point and I was just feeling that today," said David, the second seed and world No. 5.
David is one of the game's all-time greats and is the most accomplished sporting champion yet produced by Malaysia, where she is a national icon — her matches this week have been played at the Nicol David Arena.
She has already won a record eight world championships but has seen her game falter lately, surrendering her world No. 1 rank last September after a dominant nine-year run.
The two top seeds remained on course for an eventual clash as Massaro dispatched India's Joshna Chinappa in clinical fashion, 11-3, 11-6, 11-3.
"I just wanted to make a fast start and be positive from the beginning," said Massaro, who won the world championship in 2013.
Massaro will next face Egyptian sixth-seed Omneya Abdel Kawy, while David will meet Kawy's compatriot Nour El Sherbini. Kawy defeated Delia Arnold of Malaysia 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8 and El Sherbini of Egypt beat Annie Au of Hong Kong 11-5, 11-6, 6-11, 11-3.
Also, third-seeded Raneem El Welily of Egypt and seventh-seeded Amanda Sobhy of the United States set up a quarterfinal meeting with contrasting wins.
El Welily, who last year ended David's record nine years at the top of the world rankings, beat Joelle King of New Zealand 11-9, 11-5, 12-10. Sobhy defeated Nour El Tayeb of Egypt 11-0, 11-7, 4-11, 7-11, 12-10.
Elsewhere, Camille Serme of France beat Sarah Jane-Perry of England 11-5, 11-7, 11-6, and eighth-seeded Nouran Gouhar of Egypt defeated Nadine Shahin of Egypt 11-5, 11-6, 11-4.
David is seeking to win the PSA World Championship on home soil in Malaysia for the first time after falling short twice before.
No world championship was held in 2015 after the event was suddenly called off in December amid controversy, with its previous promoter claiming that security concerns in Malaysia prevented it being staged.
Malaysian officials, however, denied any security threat and accused the promoters of a ploy to secure more financial support. — Agencies
