Swedish Open: Pallikal loses to Naude in semifinal

Indian Dipika Pallikal's dream run in the Swedish Squash Open came to an end as she lost to Annelize Naude of Netherlands in straight frames in the semi-final in Linkoping.

Pallikal, who was seeded third in the $6,200 WISPA World Tour event, lost 9-11, 8-11, 12-14 in 30 minutes to second seeded Naude last night at Linkoping Sporthall court.

It was an evenly contested match where India's No 2 Pallikal stretched the first and third game to tie-breakers before committing undue errors which eventually resulted in her exit.

On her way to semi-final, Pallikal had beaten unseeded local Lovisa Forstadius 11-1, 11-1, 11-0 in 20 minutes in the first round, while in the quarter-final match, she got better off eighth seeded France's Maud Duplomb 11-4, 11-4, 11-9.

In an all-Dutch final, top seeded Vanessa Atkinson defeated Naude 9-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-6 to lift the title for the first time.