MARTIN BRONSTEIN REPORTING FROM MADRID SPAIN
SECOND ROUND OCTOBER 24
KITCHEN DUMPS NICOL IN HUGE UPSET
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| Shelley Kitchen attacked with power and focus (Fritz Borchert photo:© 2007) |
In the biggest upset for many months, Shelley Kitchen of New Zealand, presently ranked 11 in the world, knocked out the reigning world champion Nicol David in a five match thriller that had onlookers on tenterhooks until the very last point of the 69 minute battle. Her departure was a huge shock; it is the first time in 36 events that she has failed to reach the quarter-finals of a tournament.
Kitchen put in a storming performance, one that will give her the confidence to get back into the top ten, and one that will be remembered for a long time. She started the match in overdrive and was powering the ball as though time was running out. David is a notorious slow starter and Kitchen’s onslought caught her napping. There was nothing she could do about this blitzkreig and Kitchen zipped the world champion 9-0 inside eleven minutes.
In the second game Kitchen continued where she left off and Nicol showed sure signs of nerves as she snatched at shots and tried volleying at the wrong time. Her length was wanting badly and even on those rare occasions when she had Kitchen out of position, her drives died before the short line and Kitchen was back in the rally. Kitchen’s was the perfect strategy and one which would have given an on-form David problems, but she was not on form and is still troubled by nerves before a match. This is a player with huge national pressure, being one of the highest profile sports personalities in Malaysia. Sometimes the pressure simply too much.
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