Local hope Annie Au reaches the last four at Hong Kong Squash Open
Diminutive ace too strong for towering second seed Laura Massaro of England
The diminutive Annie Au Wing-chi pulled off a David-and-Goliath act with a 3-1 win over towering second seed Laura Massaro of England at the Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Hong Kong Open on Friday.
The 1.55-metre Hong Kong ace showed great courage and skill as she wrapped up the quarter-final tie in 50 minutes, winning 11-6, 11-5, 9-11, 11-9 over her 1.73-metre opponent at the Squash Centre in Admiralty.
It is the second time Au, now ranked 16th in the world, has reached the penultimate stage of the US$220,000 tournament after losing two years ago in the semi-finals to world number one Nicol David of Malaysia.
I had been planning to finish a school assignment tonight, but now I have to prepare for the next match
"I never expected to reach the semi-finals, never," said a delighted Au, who has had an up-and-down year, clinching the Asian championships title in May but also losing to an unseeded mainlander in the East Asian Games in October.
"I had been planning to finish a school assignment tonight, but now I have to prepare for the next match," she said after her win.
Au's world ranking has dropped from a career high of sixth in mid-2012, but in front of a packed Squash Centre, she seemed back to her best, controlling the match after building a two-game lead. She should have sealed victory in the third, but Massaro, who defeated world number one David in a sensational British Open final in May, dug deep to pull one back 11-9.
Massaro had a couple of exchanges with the referee over a number of calls, but Au was not affected, keeping focused on the match and displaying accurate shots to send the second seed home.
