Sohby
Claims Her Biggest PSA Title At Texas
Open United
States No.1 Amanda Sobhy claimed her 15th and biggest PSA title
after she defeated England's Victoria Lust in straight-games to lift
the J Warren Young Memorial Texas Open title.
World No.13 Sobhy made it a hat-trick of victories at the Texas Open
following wins last season and in 2015 after she downed Lust to take
home the PSA World Tour Bronze tournament.
Number two seed Sobhy had been in strong form all week, not dropping
a single game throughout the entire tournament and defeating the
likes of compatriot Olivia Fiechter and Egypt's Nadine Shahin en
route to the final.
World No.14 Lust, on the other hand, had downed former World No.1
Rachael Grinham in the semi-finals to advance, however, Sobhy proved
too much for her in the final as the American powered to an 11-4,
11-2, 11-5 in just 23 minutes to claim her seventh straight win over
the Englishwoman.
“Texas has a great place in my heart,” said 25-year-old Sobhy
following her victory.
“I remember coming back here as a 15 year old as one of my first
tournaments on the tour and I still love it now, not just because I
have won the title several times. The Dallas community is smaller
than some but they still show great support.
“I don't think the match could have gone any better. The past few
times me and Lusty have played it was a battle and I barely won, but
today and all week I have been feeling really relaxed and have been
enjoying my game.
“I just went out there and tried to enjoy myself as much as possible
and I think it showed in my squash and my movement too was very
free-flowing.
“I'm really pleased to win it for a third time and defend my title
that I won in Houston last year. This is my biggest title to date
and I haven't won one since the Texas Open last year.
“It's always nice to get a win and I saw this tournament as an
opportunity to win. We actually had our US Nationals on the same
weekend and so I was heavily debating whether to play the US
Nationals or this event, but I saw this as an opportunity to get a
tournament win and get that breakthrough in the rankings, so I'm
very pleased that it paid off.”
Sohby
& Lust to Meet In Texas FInal US
No.1 Amanda Sobhy and England’s World No.14 Victoria Lust will line
up in the final of the J Warren Young Memorial Texas Open after
coming through their respective semi-final fixtures with 3-0 wins at
the T Boone Pickens YMCA in Dallas.
Sobhy will compete in the final of the PSA World Tour Bronze
tournament for a second year in a row as she kept her 100 per cent
record going at this year’s tournament as she eased past fellow
American Olivia Fiechter, winning 11-5, 11-8, 11-8 in 28 minutes.
Fiechter has played at a level far above her current ranking of
World No.52 this week as she claimed scalps against World No.10
Tesni Evans and World No.29 Hollie Naughton to book a place in her
biggest ever semi-final on the PSA Tour.
But her match against roommate and close friend Sobhy was a step too
far for the New York-based 23-year-old as she went down in straight
games.
“Liv’s been playing really well all week, I think she’s a little bit
tired and I know she was maybe feeling a bit because I’ve been
rooming with her the past few days,” said Sobhy.
“It was a good match regardless, and I’m really happy for her that
she got into the semis of a $50k. I was able to win in three, which
preserved my body, and I’ll go into the finals relatively fresh.
“Things are coming together nicely, I’ve played Lusty a couple of
times this season, and we always have good matches. I know what I’m
in for, she knows what she’s in for, so it will be a good match
tomorrow, I’m sure.”
Lust ended Australian legend Rachael Grinham’s run as she overcame
the former World Champion by an 11-8, 11-2, 11-4 score line.
42-year-old Grinham, a former World No.1, stunned World No.6
Sarah-Jane Perry in five games 24 hours previously, but she came up
against an immovable object in Lust in the semi-finals as the
English player booked her place in the biggest PSA Tour final of her
career.
“The match went well, I think maybe Rachael is a little bit tired
from yesterday, she had a hard match, but the first game was very
tough,” Lust said.
“I’m feeling pretty good [for the final] I’ve managed to keep my
court time down, so hopefully the body is well for tomorrow.”
Grinham
Rolls Back Years To Beat
Top Seed Perry Australian
veteran Rachael Grinham rolled back the years to claim a stunning
victory over top seed Sarah-Jane Perry to reach the semi-finals of
the J Warren Young Memorial Texas Open, PSA World Tour Bronze
tournament in Dallas.
42-year-old Grinham – the 2007 World Champion – took a shock
two-game lead against World No.6 Perry, but the chance of a major
win looked to have escaped her as the tournament’s top seed came
back to draw level at 2-2.
A display of super shot-making from World No.31 Grinham saw her rack
up points in the decider though as the claimed a narrow 11-9 victory
to complete a shock victory.
“It’s still kind of sinking in,” said Grinham afterwards.
“Even winning in the first round of a $50k for me at the moment is
great. I haven’t had that many good results because there are a lot
of good players out there at the moment. Even though I haven’t felt
like I’ve been playing badly, you’re still losing to a lot of
lower-ranked players, and I think it hits your confidence a bit.
“I felt good getting through that first round match [against Egypt’s
Menna Nasser], but I didn’t have expectations to beat SJ. I wanted
to give it a good shot and play as well as I could. I know she
wasn’t at her best today, but personally I’m really happy that I was
playing really well, and I feel like I’m in good shape.”
She will play England’s Victoria Lust for a place in the final after
No.4 seed Lust beat Belgium’s Tinne Gilis 11-2, 11-9, 11-9 in 49
minutes. After a comfortable victory in game one, Lust was made to
work hard for the win in the final two games, but her speed and
retrieval abilities helped her come through to win in straight
games.
“It feels really good, it was a solid, 3-0 win and you can’t do
better than that really,” Lust said.
“I’ve been to Dallas twice before, it’s a hugely popular tournament,
and it’s always great coming back, everyone is so friendly and
welcoming.”
The other semi-final fixture will be contested by two US hopes as
World No.50 Olivia Fiechter continued her superb run to overcome
Canada’s Hollie Naughton by a 3-1 margin.
Fiechter scalped World No.10 Tesni Evans in the previous round, and
the New York-based 23-year-old won again in front of vocal support
as she booked a place in her first Bronze semi-final.
“It feels amazing, last time I played Hollie was at the U.S. Open
when I was 15 and we had a battle then too,” said Fiechter.
“I knew she was playing incredible squash, so I was going to have to
bring my ‘A’ game tonight. I was trying to think about the squash
and not about who I was playing, and fortunately I was able to
deliver a great performance tonight. I’m really happy.”
Defending champion and US No.1 Amanda Sobhy will take on Fiechter in
the semis. The World No.13 from Boston beat Egypt’s Nadine Shahin
3-0 in 22 minutes.
Sobhy said: “I’m happy to win in three, I’m trying to preserve my
body because I feel quite old these days. I know Nadine is a feisty,
up-and-coming Egyptian, so it was crucial to come out strong in
every game.
“I’m very happy I did that because playing in a normal court is very
bouncy, and it’s not really my style. I’m happy with my front court
game and with the way I negated her attacks.
“We [Sobhy and Fiechter] just had a training camp in Florida last
week, this week we’re sharing [rooms], we shared in Chicago
together, so we’re spending every waking second with each other.
I’ve been lending her clothes because she’s been doing better than
expected, I’ve been lending her protein bars, electrolytes and
giving her advice. But no more, that’s done, game face on!”
You can follow the live scores from the tournament
here.
Fiechter
Stuns Evans in Round Two United
States World No.52 Olivia Fiechter caused a huge upset to down World
No.10 Tesni Evans in round two of the J Warren Young Memorial Texas Open
PSA World Tour Bronze event, held in Dallas.
23-year-old Fiechter claimed a huge scalp over Welshwoman Evans as she
played an intelligent game to oust the British National champion out of
the draw at the first hurdle.
The two players had never met before on the PSA World Tour and could not
have had more contrasting records going into the encounter, with Evans
playing in her 254th PSA match and Fiechter in her 33rd.
The American took a 2-0 lead thanks to two wins on the tie-break, before
Evans came back in the third to reduce the deficit. However, it was
Fiechter who was able to hold on to close out a 12-10, 12-10, 8-11, 11-6
victory in 54 minutes.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” said Fiechter following her big win.
“I’m beyond excited! I knew it would be a tough match against Tesni, who
is a top 10 player, but I knew I just had to go out there push her for
the win which I managed to do.”
Fiechter will now take on Canada’s Hollie Naughton for a place in the
semi-finals.
The World No.29 overcame Egypt’s World No.35 Nada Abbas to advance in
Dallas and book her place in the last eight.
Naughton took the opening game, before then being forced to come back
from 2-1 down, including an 11-0 defeat in the third game, to win by an
11-7, 8-11, 0-11, 11-6, 13-11 scoreline in 51 minutes.
“It was an interesting match the whole way through,” said 24-year-old
Naughton.
“It was quite up and down. I think sometimes you just have to win ugly
and after that third game – it couldn’t really get worse from there –
so, you need to get out there and get stuck in and play squash. Stop
thinking about making everything perfect and just win ugly and fight and
play my game.
“I think it’s great. It’s my first time here, I haven’t played Texas
before, it’s great to have more of these bronze, silver and gold level
tournaments, especially with the change of draw sizes – it really makes
it more crucial to take advantages of the opportunities at this level
and kick on to get those points for my ranking. I’m super happy to get
to another win and get to another quarter-finals of a 50k this year.”
Elsewhere, United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy took just 23 minutes to
defeat the Czech Republic’s Anna Serme by an 11-3, 11-5, 11-2 scoreline.
She will now face Egypt’s Nadine Shahin for a place in the semi-finals
after the Egyptian defeated United States’ Haley Mendez, 4-11, 11-8,
13-11, 11-2.
You can follow the live scores from the tournament
here.
Gilis
Upsets Seedings To Reach Quarter Finals Belgium’s
World No.43 Tinne Gilis overcame number six seed Netherlands’ Milou van
der Heijden to advance to the quarter-finals of the J Warren Young
Memorial Texas Open in Dallas, United States.
21-year-old Gilis went 2-0 up and was then forced to hold off a comeback
from the Dutch player as she pushed proceedings to a tight fifth, which
Gilis was then able to close out by an 11-4, 11-9, 7-11, 11-13, 11-8
scoreline in 65 minutes.
She will now face England’s World No.14 Victoria Lust for a place in the
last four after the 29-year-old defeated Finland’s Emilia Soini 11-8,
11-7, 11-3 in 22 minutes.
The other quarter-final match from the top-half of the draw will see
England’s top seed Sarah-Jane Perry take on former World No.1 and former
World Champion Rachael Grinham.
Perry took just 19 minutes to despatch Welshwoman Ali Loke by an 11-7,
11-5, 11-5 margin. Meanwhile, Grinham was pushed all the way to
five-games to secure her place in the last eight after coming from a
game down to defeat Egypt’s Menna Nasser, 6-11, 11-3, 14-12, 8-11, 11-4
in 51 minutes.
The remainder of the round two matches will take place this evening when
number two seed and defending champion Amanda Sobhy is in action against
Czech Republic’s Anna Serme. Wales’ World No.10 Tesni Evans will take on
USA’s Olivia Fiechter, Canada’s Hollie Naughton will face Egypt’s Nada
Abbas and Egypt’s Nadine Shahin comes up against home hope Haley Mendez.
You can follow the live scores from the tournament
here.
United
States home hopes Haley Mendez (right) and Olivia Fiechter both secured
their places in round two of the J Warren Young Memorial Texas Open
after 3-0 wins over Netherlands’ Tessa ter Sluis and Malaysia’s Weenee
Low, respectively.
The PSA Bronze tournament is hosted alternatively in Dallas and Houston
every year, with this year’s instalment held in Dallas, and is the
second oldest women’s professional squash tournament to be held in the
United States.
Action on day one saw home hopes Mendez and Fiechter both complete
comfortable victories to move into the second round. World No.45 Mendez
defeated Ter Sluis by an 11-2, 11-8, 11-3 scoreline, while World No.52
Fiechter took 17 minutes to defeat Low 11-6, 11-3, 11-1.
Mendez and Fiechter will now face Egypt’s World No.33 Nadine Shahin and
Wales’ World No.10 Tesni Evans, respectively in round two.
Meanwhile, Welshwoman Ali Loke will face top seed England’s Sarah-Jane
Perry for a place in the quarter-finals after she defeated Colombia’s
World No.74 Catalina Pelaez in a tight five-game encounter. Loke was
forced to come from behind twice as she eventually closed out a 5-11,
12-10, 9-11, 11-8, 11-2 win.
Czech Republic’s Anna Serme will take on defending champion and USA No.1
Amanda Sobhy in the second round after she conquered Canada’s Nicole
Bunyan in five-games. Serme was forced to hold off a comeback from the
Canadian to secure an 11-5, 11-13, 11-7, 11-13, 11-6 in a tough
52-minute battle.
Elsewhere, England’s former World No.2 Jenny Duncalf went down in
straight-games to Egypt’s World No.68 Menna Nasser who will now face
former World No.1 Rachael Grinham for a place in the last eight.
There was also joy for Belgium’s World No.43 Tinne Gilis and Finland’s
World No.66 Emilia Soini, who defeated Egypt’s Salma Youssef and
Switzerland’s Nadia Pfister on the opening day of action. Ties against
Netherlands’ Milou van der Heijden and England’s Victoria Lust await
Gilis and Soini, respectively.
