Nour El Sherbini hoping HK Open can help in quest to emulate Malaysian legend Nicol David
The Egyptian world number one says she hopes to hang on to the top spot as long as possible
World number one Nour El Sherbini says she is struck with awe by the achievements of Nicol David and is hoping tournaments such as the Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open will help her emulate the Malaysian’s success.
But she knows it won’t be easy, with David holding the world No 1 spot for 109 straight months from August, 2006 and 112 months in total.
“I have been the world number one close to two years and it’s already so hard that I always feel the pressure. I don’t know how she did that for such a long period of time,” said El Sherbini of David, who won the Hong Kong Open 10 straight times from 2006 to 2015.
“David has done a lot for the sport and is a squash legend. Of course I want to be like her to occupy the top spot for that long and that’s what I am working on. But I think it’s harder than before to do the same thing.
“There are a lot of challenges these days for players if they want to dominate as all the top 10 players are so difficult to beat and everyone is improving their game physically and mentally.”
