The streak stands at 15 - that's the number of matches Nicol David has won in a row in the Singapore Masters. And if the Malaysian world No1 makes it 16 tomorrow, she would claim the fourth title that her fans in Singapore would want her to do.

The 26-year-old from Penang took on sixth seed Madeline Perry in their first meeting since the 11 times Irish champion defeated her for the first time at last year's British Open.

And David showed yet again why she is the hardest player to beat on the WISPA Tour by beating Perry in four games - coming through 11-7 in the first game before dropping the second 11-3. A change of tactics saw the title-holder regain control and win the next two games comfortably, 11-4, 11-6.

Whereas her fans in Singapore almost expect her to cakewalk her way past ANYONE, the Malaysian knows better. And she treats every single opponent with the respect they deserve, and therefore does not let up even for a single minute.

"These girls are good, and they will capitalise on any chances, so I have to keep it tight and work the ball around the court consistently," said David, now in her 61st Tour final and aiming for her 20th consecutive match win of the year in the final. "Especially with this point-a-rally scoring system, you cannot take it easy at all."

Perry felt she could repeat her British Open win: "I thought I had the chance when I took that game. Even when Nicol slowed the game down, I was in front and volleying, and able to get the points. But in the next two games, she kept me to the back of the court and that made things a lot harder.

"I'm pleased with how I played here, I'm happy with my movement, and can head to the Australian Open feeling positive about my squash," concluded the world No7 from Belfast.

One streak was broken today when, for the first time since the tournament started in 2007, there will not be a Grinham in the final. With Natalie, the 2009 and 2007 finalist, now a proud mother of a two-month old baby boy, it was left to older sister Rachael to keep the streak going.

A semi-final appearance was the best Rachael could manage, going down in five games to England's Alison Waters. But the 33-year-old saw plenty of positives despite the loss.

"I felt better here compared to last week when I lost in the first round. It's always tough against Alison and whenever I could get her out of the 'T', I was in there," Grinham said. "I got a bit excited in the fifth game, when for my shots too soon, and after dropping a few quick points, things just spiralled out of control."

As for Waters, she's glad to be back to her best after two months on the sidelines with tendinitis in her Achilles.

"I'm moving well again and there were lots of retrieving in the game against Rachael. I had match balls in the fourth game, and was in control in the fifth. It's really good to get a tough match to prepare for the final," said the third seed.

The 26-year-old Londoner is enjoying the best year of her career, with two Tour title wins from three final appearances - and has only lost two matches, both to David.

The Malaysian world number one stayed patient throughout the 40-minute encounter, working long rallies to her advantage and making her Australian opponent work just a little harder to keep up.

At times it was almost brutal as David kept her mistakes to the minimum and never allowed Brown to get comfortable in the four-side glass court at Leisure Mall

Brown was magnanimous in defeat: "Nicol is just super quick around the court. I had a game plan in mind but didn't execute it properly. She wasn't giving much away at all throughout the match, even when I was trying to slow the game down.

"At times it felt like I had to win the rallies several times over just to get a point!" added the 24-year-old from New South Wales.

The victory sets up an intriguing semi-final for David against Northern Ireland's Madeline Perry, who ended Annie Au's Singapore run 9-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-4.

Ten months ago, the Penangite suffered one of her four defeats in 2009 to Perry in the quarter-finals of the British Open.

But David is not about to let memories of the 76-minute match in Manchester play on her mind: "I bounced back quickly from that defeat and went on to win the World Open right after that. Right now, I'm feeling fit and am staying focused for the next match," said David.

The other semi-final will be between second-seeded Rachael Grinham and England's Alison Waters, the third seed.

Waters survived a third game wobble to beat France's Camille Serme in four in the first meeting between the two in 18 months. And eighth seed Serme saw positives despite losing: "I have improved a lot in the last year, and I always want to meet the higher-ranked player to see how much I've closed the gap with them."

Commenting on the match with Londoner Waters, the Frenchwoman added: "I had a bad start in game four, and that put a stop to my comeback."

And, whilst the first three editions of the Singapore Masters final have been won by David, they have invariably featured one of the Grinham sisters. World No3 Rachael made sure that could still happen after despatching WISPA President Natalie Grainger in 20 minutes.

"It was never going to be a long match with Natalie," said Grinham. "She always goes for her shots and even if we went to five games it would be quick."

Looking ahead to her encounter with Waters, the 33-year-old Queenslander said: "Alison creamed me in our last three or four matches, and she's in pretty good form. So I'm in for another tough match tomorrow.

"I'm still getting back to full match fitness having not played tournaments since April, and lasted one match in Malaysia last week," added the former world number one.

The Australian's quick wins over Grainger, and Singapore's Pamela Chua in round one, would hardly have given her the workout she needed.

"Maybe I'll practice with Nicol tomorrow morning seeing as Alison's likely to get her hits with Perry!"

The 21-year-old twice came back from a game down to push the match to a fifth game. In the decider, Au got herself to the brink of victory at 10-6 before nerves took over. Fourth seed Abdel Kawy took three straight points to narrow the score to 10-9 but that was as close as the Egyptian got as Au took the winning point to record her first victory over a top 10 player.

"It was Au's first competitive meeting with the enigmatic player from Cairo, and one which she did not wish for, given her dismayed reaction last night after being drawn to face Omneya," commented an event spokesman.

"But that's all forgotten now as the 2008 WISPA Young Player of the Year continues to consolidate her position as Hong Kong's leading player, with veteran Rebecca Chiu set to retire after November's Asian Games in Guangzhou, China."

Offering a rare smile, Au explained: "I was nervous in the first game and could not catch Omneya's shots. But I told myself not to give up and just concentrate and play a good game."

The left-hander's quarter-final assignment does not get easier - as she will face Madeline Perry, the sixth seed from Ireland who despatched Malaysia's Low Wee Wern in four games.

Hong Kong Squash Association Head Coach Tony Choi is pleased with Au's continued progress: "Annie's had a good lead-up before this tournament with wins last month in Kuwait and France, so she is physically and mentally in tune. There was really no pressure on her facing a top ten player like Omneya and I'm happy she managed to pull off the win."

No joy, though, for Chiu as she went down tamely to England's third seed Alison Waters in straight games, while second seed Rachael Grinham ended the home challenge by outclassing Singapore wildcard Pamela Chua.

For Chua, who is heading back to California soon to resume her Mathematical and Computational Studies at Stanford University, the 18-minute workout emphasised the difference between her, a varsity player, and Grinham, a full-time touring professional and a former world number one and world champion.

"Rachael is very skilful and has a wide array of shots," said Chua. "I found it hard to work out where the next shot was coming from!"

Grinham, though, was complimentary: "There were no easy points - Pamela was in the rallies and I couldn't let up for a minute," said the 2007 World Open champion. "She moves and hits well but she's got to play more of these matches to get used to the intensity."

WISPA President Natalie Grainger came through a dramatic 45-minute battle with Malaysia's Delia Arnold. The 33-year-old fifth seed fought back from two games down to win a match that got a little testy towards to end.

"I haven't played that much lately, so it was a matter of finding the right shots and getting the fluidity back, and even adjusting to seeing the ball early," said the US-based former world number one. "I'm really pleased to be able to come back into the game with a change of tactics, and simply hitting the ball a little deeper."

Grainger will meet Grinham next in a battle of the former world number ones.

The pick of the first round matches saw France's Camille Serme taken to five games by Australian Donna Urquhart. The stunning match turned into a real battle of wills between two supremely fit and highly athletic players.

World No10 Serme breezed through the first two games before handing back the advantage to a determined Urquhart, ranked eight places below her. The Frenchwoman's concentration seemed to flit in and out but she managed to stay focused long enough to win 11-8 in the fifth and set up a meeting with Waters.

Australia's Kasey Brown started proceedings at Leisure Park in Kallang with a four-game win over trans-Tasman rival Jaclyn Hawkes. And the name of her opponent was confirmed seven matches later in the day's final tie featuring world No1 Nicol David against Egypt's Raneem El Weleily.

Nicol is the draw at this annual tournament where she is adopted as a local by Singaporean fans. And the distinguished Malaysian she gave them a scare by dropping her first game 8-11 to El Weleily. The 26-year-old from Penang duly sharpened her focus - and her game - to motor through to the final eight.