David becomes Goliath Richard Eaton reported on Nicol Davids superb win in Belfast

Nicol David sounded a bit surprised. One hour and 36 minutes? she said. I think that may be the longest match Ive ever played.

Her five-game win over Nicol David in Belfasts elegant Ulster Hall was certainly the longest match of the 2006 Championships and longest womens world final of all.

Of course, statistics can be misleading. The length of a match sometimes indicates little and can even obscure its essence. But the 96 minutes played by the top-seeded titleholder from Malaysia and the Commonwealth champion from Australia revealed important truths about both.

It was protracted because of the notable tactical plan which Grinham employed, and the competence with which she executed it, not just because the players happened to be well matched.

READ MORE: The match which defined Nicol David and her garlanded squash career

Grinham set out to hit the ball harder and lower than usual, denying David many chances to volley and setting up a struggle for charge of the centre of the court, a battle of line and length, speed and stamina. She had devised the place because of the manner in which David had been dominating the womens game, with an unbeaten run of more than 30 matches, and it produced tough line and length rallying, characteristic of the mens game a couple of decades ago. 

Grinham stuck to the these tactics admirably admirably because it required guts and they earned her a lead of a game and a 7-5, and got her to within striking distance of winning the match in the fourth game,. It was only from 7-5 in the fourth that David took charge, and the victory was more a triumph for her developing mental strength than her developing style.

It is a matter of opinion, however, whether or not it was good to watch. Some newcomers thought it was repetitive; aficionados tended to find it mesmerising, What is certain is that it was uncommon in the womens game. 

Maybe no longer. Grinham failed only because she grew slightly more tired than the best athlete in womens squash. She nevertheless succeeded in finding a way to combat the sports outstanding woman. She herself regarded her loss as a success which may have an interesting bearing on future encounters between the two.

It had all been so intense that David was frozen, unable to leave the court at the end and her beaten opponent graciously to help her away. I got so emotional, she said. I didnt realise how much pressure I was under until the end, and then it hit me.

Though David made impressive strides in 2006, Grinham was accelerating not too far by the end of it. It helped that the world No.4 is based in Amsterdam. She and her Dutch husband-coach Tommy Berden were well placed to observe how David was adding to her game, working with that greatest of all drive-volleyers, Sarah Fitz-Gerald.