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13/08/2021
Manchester Open 2021
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Manchester Open 2021
Men's Draw
09-13 Aug
Manchester, England, $85k |
ROUND TWO
10 Aug |
QUARTERS
11 Aug |
SEMIS
12 Aug |
FINAL
13 Aug |
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[1] Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY)
11-8, 11-6, 12-10 (42m)
[WC] George Parker (ENG) |
Marwan Elshorbagy
8-11, 9-11, 11-1, 11-7, 12-10 (58m)
Abdulla Al-Tamimi |
Marwan Elshorbagy
11-4, 11-8, 11-5 (46m)
Diego Elias |
Diego Elias
12-10, 11-6, 11-6 (59m)
Joel Makin |
Abdulla Al-Tamimi (QAT)
11-9, 1-11, 11-8, 11-7 (48m)
[5] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) |
[8] Omar Mosaad (EGY)
12-10, 4-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-4 (71m)
[9/16] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) |
Omar Mosaad
11-5, 11-7, 11-6 (32m)
Diego Elias |
[3] Diego Elias (PER)
10-12, 11-6, 11-8, 11-8 (52m)
Patrick Rooney (ENG) |
[4] Joel Makin (WAL)
9-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-5 (56m)
[9/16] Adrian Waller (ENG) |
Joel Makin
7-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-6, 12-10 (82m)
Mazen Hesham |
Joel Makin
11-6, 7-11, 3-11, 11-4, 12-10 (81m)
Youssef Ibrahim |
[7] Mazen Hesham (EGY)
11-8, 6-11, 11-5, 11-5 (53m)
Lucas Serme (FRA) |
[6] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY)
11-6, 11-6, 11-3 (40m)
[9/16] Declan James (ENG) |
Mohamed Abouelghar
11-9, 11-5, 11-3 (39m)
Youssef Ibrahim |
Youssef Ibrahim (EGY)
15-13, 11-3, 11-9 (50m)
[2] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) |
[1] Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY) bye
[WC] George Parker (ENG) bt [9/16] Greg Lobban (SCO) 11-5, 11-6, 11-3
(36m)
Abdulla Al-Tamimi (QAT) bt [9/16] Borja Golan (ESP) 14-12, 11-5, 11-4
(35m)
[5] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) bye
[8] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bye
[9/16] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) bt Tom Richards (ENG) 11-3, 11-9, 11-1 (30m)
Patrick Rooney (ENG) bt [9/16] James Willstrop (ENG) 11-4, 11-5, 11-8
(36m)
[3] Diego Elias (PER) bye
[4] Joel Makin (WAL) bye
[9/16] Adrian Waller (ENG) bt Youssef Soliman (EGY) 7-11, 11-6, 11-6,
7-11, 11-9 (85m)
Lucas Serme (FRA) bt [9/16] Daryl Selby (ENG) 11-4, 11-7, 11-5 (40m)
[7] Mazen Hesham (EGY) bye
[6] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) bye
[9/16] Declan James (ENG) bt Alan Clyne (SCO) 6-11, 11-6, 11-2, 11-7
(86m)
[9/16] Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) bt Mohamed Elsherbini (EGY) 11-6, 11-7,
12-10 (39m)
[2] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bye |
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Manchester Open 2021
Women's Draw
09-13 Aug
Manchester, England, $85k |
ROUND TWO
10 Aug |
QUARTERS
11 Aug |
SEMIS
12 Aug |
FINAL
13 Aug |
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[1] Hania El Hammamy (EGY)
11-5, 11-7, 11-4 (25m)
Rachel Arnold (MAS) |
Hania El Hammamy
11-4, 11-4, 11-1 (28m)
Tinne Gilis |
Hania El Hammamy
11-5, 14-12, 11-1 (37m)
Emily Whitlock |
Hania El Hammamy
11-5, 11-9, 11-7 (39m)
Sarah-Jane Perry |
[7] Tinne Gilis (BEL)
11-6, 11-8, 13-11 (36m)
[9/16] Danielle Letourneau (CAN) |
[9/16] Emily Whitlock (WAL)
11-9, 11-13, 11-4, 11-4 (40m)
[8] Nadine Shahin (EGY) |
Emily Whitlock
11-4, 12-10, 11-4 (34m)
Coline Aumard |
[9/16] Coline Aumard (FRA)
8-11, 11-5, 5-11, 11-9, 11-5 (58m)
[4] Joshna Chinappa (IND) |
[3] Tesni Evans (WAL)
11-8, 11-7, 11-8 (36m)
Lisa Aitken (SCO) |
Tesni Evans
11-7, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8 (53m)
Nele Gilis |
Tesni Evans
8-11, 11-5, 14-12, 11-9 (59m)
Sarah-Jane Perry |
[6] Nele Gilis (BEL)
11-2, 11-3, 11-7 (28m)
Haley Mendez (USA) |
[9/16] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS)
11-7, 11-7, 11-3 (27m)
[5] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) |
Sivasangari Subramaniam
11-3, 11-9, 12-10 (34m)
Sarah-Jane Perry |
Jasmine Hutton (ENG)
11-6, 11-5, 11-3 (25m)
[2] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) |
[1] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bye
Rachel Arnold (MAS) bt [9/16] Alexandra Fuller (RSA) 11-9, 11-6, 11-3
(24m)
[9/16] Danielle Letourneau (CAN) bt Ineta Mackevica (LAT) 11-5, 11-2,
11-7 (21m)
[7] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bye
[8] Nadine Shahin (EGY) bye
[9/16] Emily Whitlock (WAL) bt Cindy Merlo (SUI) 11-6, 11-1, 11-3 (25m)
[9/16] Coline Aumard (FRA) bt Rachael Chadwick (ENG) 11-3, 11-2, 11-7
(31m)
[4] Joshna Chinappa (IND) bye
[3] Tesni Evans (WAL) bye
Lisa Aitken (SCO) bt [9/16] Donna Lobban (AUS) 8-11, 4-11, 11-6, 11-8,
11-4 (53m)
Haley Mendez (USA) bt [9/16] Milou van der Heijden (NED) 5-11, 11-8,
11-9, 9-11, 11-7 (50m)
[6] Nele Gilis (BEL) bye
[5] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) bye
[9/16] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) bt Nicole Bunyan (CAN) 11-7, 11-7,
11-8 (27m)
Jasmine Hutton (ENG) bt [9/16] Lucy Turmel (ENG) 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 (35m)
[2] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bye |
 Final
El Hammamy and Elias Capture Manchester Open Titles
 Egypt’s
Hania El Hammamy and Peru’s Diego Elias are the 2021 Manchester Open
champions after they beat England’s Sarah-Jane Perry and Welshman Joel
Makin to win the PSA World Tour Silver event at the National Squash
Centre earlier tonight.
El Hammamy, the women’s World No.7, had lost to Perry in front of her
home crowd when she surrendered a 2-0 lead to the England No.1 at the
CIB PSA Black Ball Squash Open back in December.
However, she was in scintillating form tonight in Manchester as she
outclassed her opponent, and she has now lifted her seventh PSA title
following her 11-5, 11-9, 11-7 victory over World No.6 Perry.
 “I’m
so happy and relieved with that win,” said El Hammamy.
“I think it was obvious that I was so angry in my play. I was so eager
and hungry. That’s not because I wanted revenge against SJ but a lot of
stuff in my mind that I want to prove to myself.
“It felt like I just wanted to prove to myself that this is what I’m
capable of. I’m really glad I managed to perform like this and push,
even when I was leading and SJ found her way back in the second game, I
kept fighting and didn’t want to let it go easily.”
 Peru’s
Diego Elias also put in a performance to remember as he overcame World
No.10 Joel Makin to win the men’s trophy, his eighth PSA title, in only
his second PSA event of the season following a seven-month spell on the
sidelines due to a hip injury.
Makin has spent over 450 minutes on court over the past two weeks
throughout both this tournament and last week’s British Nationals -
which he won at this very venue - and he pushed Elias all the way to a
tie-break in the opening game.
But Elias converted and drained Makin’s energy over the course of the
next two games with some well-constructed rallies, and he was duly
awarded with an 12-10, 11-6, 11-6 victory in 59 minutes.
 “I’m
really happy to be here and it’s my first win on SQUASHTV, so I’m
happy,” said Elias.
“I’m really happy with this tournament, I think it’s going to give me a
lot of confidence. I was struggling with injuries, I had a problem in my
hip at the start of the year, and I’m just really happy to be back
playing here.
“I want to thank everyone who helped me get back to playing like this.
First of all my dad, who was with me when I couldn’t even walk after the
last tournament of last year. He was with me for two months just
watching TV and trying to do little thing with my hip. All the people
who helped me in Florida, too. My fitness coach and physio. I also want
to thank Jonathon [Power, his coach] who’s been helping me a lot with my
game.”
El Hammamy and Elias take home over $12,000 each in prize money, while
they will both be in action at the Allam British Open, which will take
place in Hull’s Allam Sport Centre between August 16-22.
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Semi
Finals
Peru’s Elias Ousts Top Seed ElShorbagy as Manchester Open
Finalists are Decided
 Peru’s
World No.8 Diego Elias has ended an 18-month wait for a PSA final after
he overcame top seed Marwan ElShorbagy to reach the title decider of the
2021 Manchester Open held at the National Squash Centre.
Lima-based Elias, 24, had won seven of his previous eight matches
against ElShorbagy and extended his winning run over the World No.5 to
six successive matches following an 11-4, 11-8, 11-5 victory in 46
minutes. Elias will now compete in his first PSA final since the Motor
City Open in February, 2020.
“I felt pretty good today, I had a good game plan and the court was
bouncy, so I didn’t want to make any errors,” said Elias.
“It feels good to have a big win after so long. I came back from the
World Championships, I played okay, but I feel like my game is coming
back now.
“I had a really good length today. The balls were really tight to the
wall, I was moving well and I haven’t felt this good in a while. I’m
happy it was 3-0.”
Elias will take on Welsh No.4 seed Joel Makin in the title decider after
he dug deep to end the giant-killing run of Egypt’s Youssef Ibrahim with
an 11-6, 7-11, 3-11, 11-4, 12-10 victory.
World No.18 Ibrahim had been in red-hot form this week after beating
both No.2 seed Karim Abdel Gawad and No.6 seed Mohamed Abouelghar. Makin
- who won the British Nationals on this very court a week ago tomorrow -
found himself 2-1 down as 344 minutes of on-court action over the past
two weeks looked to be taking its toll.
But he tapped into his energy reserves and stayed mentally resilient to
draw level, before grinding out a victory in the fifth game to reach his
first PSA final since the Open de France in September, 2019.
 “That
was tough, he was hitting stuff from everywhere," said Makin.
"There was a patch in the fifth where there was not much I could do, he
was diving across and hitting backhand crosscourt nicks, backhand drops,
they were all going in and then four went down in a row at the end. You
keep trying to force him behind you and make some errors."
England No.1 Sarah-Jane Perry and top seed Hania El Hammamy will go
head-to-head in the women’s final after they both beat Welsh opposition
in Tesni Evans and Emily Whitlock.
It will be a repeat of December’s CIB PSA Black Ball Squash Open - where
Perry came back from two games down to win her biggest title to date -
and World No.6 Perry secured her place in the title decider here in
Manchester after beating 2019 runner-up Evans 8-11, 11-5, 14-12, 11-9.
 “Kudos
to Tesni there, she just doesn’t go away, she’s an absolute fighter and
probably the gutsiest competitor out there,” Perry said.
“I thought I’d just found my rhythm in the fourth game and – boom – it
was 9-9. I had to play two really good shots there to close that out,
and I’m feeling quite relieved right now.”
El Hammamy will now look to avenge that Black Ball Open defeat after she
beat Whitlock 11-5, 14-12, 11-1 to join Perry in reaching her first
Manchester Open final.
 “I’m
definitely looking for revenge after being 2-0 up in the Black Ball Open
and then losing in five,” El Hammamy admitted.
“She beat me in my home crowd, so hopefully I can beat her in hers.
Hopefully it’s going to be a good one against SJ.”
The Manchester Open finals take place tomorrow (August 13) and play
starts at 18:00 (GMT+1). Action from the National Squash Centre will be
broadcast live on
SQUASHTV
and the
official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour
(excluding Europe & Japan), while court three will be streamed worldwide
on SQUASHTV and Facebook.
For more information on the 2021 Manchester Open, visit the
tournament website or follow the PSA
World Tour on
Twitter,
Facebook and
Instagram.
|
Quarter Finals
ElShorbagy Fights Back to Avoid Al Tamimi Upset at
Manchester Open
 Top
seed Marwan ElShorbagy overturned a 2-0 deficit and came back from match
ball down to avoid a shock defeat against World No.38 Abdulla Mohd Al
Tamimi earlier today at the National Squash Centre as he progressed to
the semi-finals of the Manchester Open.
The World No.5 looked destined to exit the PSA World Tour Silver event
at the quarter-final stage after a scintillating performance from Al
Tamimi saw the Qatari No.1 make things incredibly uncomfortable for
ElShorbagy on court as he dazzled the spectators with some superb
winners throughout.
However, it was like two different players walked onto court for the
third game as the momentum shifted completely in ElShorbagy’s favour.
The 28-year-old dictated the tempo as he came back to take two games
without reply, before keeping Al Tamimi at bay when match ball down in
the fifth to win by an 8-11, 9-11, 11-1, 11-7, 12-10 scoreline.
“Abdullah played very well today, he had a great tactic in the first two
games,” said ElShorbagy.
“I wasn’t expecting it to be honest, I was expecting him to go shorter
sooner than that and I should have been smarter, knowing that he can
play differently. His coach in the US is smart and knows how to play
against me, I guess. I should probably have thought about that tactic he
would play, my brother does that really well against me, so I should
have expected it a bit, but I’m really happy with how I came back after
that.
“I told myself I have to fight. Nick [Matthew] and Danny [Massaro]
haven’t seen me play here in a very long time, so I didn’t want to lose
in the first match after a long time. It’s good, I’m happy to have both
of them here, and I was looking at Danny and he was giving me that look
[telling me] to breath and giving me confidence.”
ElShorbagy will line up against Peruvian No.3 seed Diego Elias for a
place in the title decider after Elias dispatched 2015 World
Championship runner-up Omar Mosaad in straight games.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s World No.18 Youssef Ibrahim has continued his
incredible form so far at this tournament after he followed up his round
two upset of No.2 seed Karim Abdel Gawad with a 3-0 dismantling of No.6
seed Mohamed Abouelghar.
Ibrahim will compete in the semi-finals of a PSA World Tour Silver event
for the first time in his career after the unseeded 22-year-old - who is
a senior at Princeton University - completed a spectacular 11-9, 11-5,
11-3 victory against World No.12 Abouelghar to continue his
giant-killing form at this year’s tournament.
 “I’m
very happy that I’ve managed to get scalp after scalp,” said Ibrahim.
“I’m the underdog in each match. I never beat Abouelghar in practice and
he’s so strong in tournaments too, so it’s a big win for me. I’m happy
with the way I played every game and played the crucial points well.”
Ibrahim will play Welsh No.4 seed Joel Makin - who won the British
Nationals on this court last week - for a place in the final, with Makin
battling to a 3-2 victory over Egypt’s Mazen Hesham in a captivating
82-minute battle.
 The
women’s top seed - World No.7 Hania El Hammamy - kept her title
challenge on track with a dominant victory against Belgium’s Tinne Gilis,
winning 11-4, 11-4, 11-1 in just 28 minutes.
The Egyptian was firing on all cylinders and gave her opponent no time
to attack as she cruised through to the last four, where she will take
on Wales’ Emily Whitlock, who downed France’s Coline Aumard in
impressive style.
“I think I played really well today, I’m so happy with my performance,”
El Hammamy said.
“Playing against Tinne is never easy, playing the Gilis family is not
easy. I played [Tinne’s sister] Nele in the last tournament and this one
against Tinne. It’s tough to be playing against someone who is improving
constantly.”
Also through to the next round is England No.1 Sarah-Jane Perry, who
will take on 2019 Manchester Open runner-up Tesni Evans for a place in
the final after they captured respective wins against Sivasangari
Subramaniam of Malaysia and Nele Gilis, respectively.
Perry lost to Evans in the quarter-finals of this event two years ago
and is anticipating a difficult match tomorrow night.
 “It
was really nice to see her [Evans] playing some really good squash
today,” Perry said.
“She’s a very good friend of mine, she’s had a lot of things going on in
the past year or so and the most recent was a bit of a niggle. It’s
great to see her back from that and playing some good squash, but
hopefully I can stop her from doing that, which is the goal.”
The semi-finals of the Manchester Open take place tomorrow (August 12)
and play starts at 17:30 (GMT+1). Action from the National Squash Centre
will be broadcast live on
SQUASHTV
and the
official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour
(excluding Europe & Japan), while court three will be streamed worldwide
on SQUASHTV and Facebook.
For more information on the 2021 Manchester Open, visit the
tournament website or follow the PSA
World Tour on
Twitter,
Facebook and
Instagram.
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Round
2
Ibrahim Sends No.2 Seed Gawad Out of Manchester Open
 World
No.18 Youssef Ibrahim has claimed only his second ever win over a top 10
player as he eliminated No.2 seed Karim Abdel Gawad in round two of the
Manchester Open, PSA World Tour Silver event currently taking place at
the National Squash Centre.
Both players have struggled with fitness during 2021 - Ibrahim suffering
a knee injury, while Gawad’s ongoing problems with plantar fasciitis
have ravaged his season - but it was the lower-ranked Egyptian who
emerged victorious with a 15-13, 11-3, 11-9 victory in 50 minutes.
Ibrahim has climbed into the top 20 this season, and his win over former
World No.1 Gawad sees him continue a fine campaign that has also seen
him upset current World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy back in November’s Qatar
Classic.
“I feel very happy, Karim and I train with the same coach – Omar Abdel
Aziz - and he’s one of the people that was my idol, along with [Amr]
Shabana, that I’ve followed since I was very young,” said Ibrahim.
“He’s the guy that played the best squash on tour, he’s the guy that I
watched the most, and that’s a bit of an advantage because I know how he
plays and he hasn’t seen me play that much. I will take that as an
advantage, but we play a lot in practice as well. He’s unbelievably
talented and we play a similar style, I’m left-handed but we are both
very attacking.
“I had a really bad injury since the beginning of the year, I wasn’t
able to train properly or get strength and conditioning because I had a
really bad knee injury, so I wasn’t giving it 100 per cent. Thankfully
before Chicago, my knee was fine and my body was fine, so I was able to
get a few months of good physical training.”
Ibrahim will line up against fellow Egyptian Mohamed Abouelghar next,
while Qatar’s Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi will also battle for a place in the
semi-finals after he dispatched No.5 seed Miguel Rodriguez following a
lengthy 48-minute battle.
 “Miguel’s
a really experienced player, one of the fittest guys on tour,” Al Tamimi
said.
“I like the way he plays, he likes to open the court and play the
angles, which is how I like to play, too, but today I had a gameplan to
stick to basic squash and tried to counter when he opened the court. The
strategy worked for most of the match, I totally lost concentration in
the second game… but I was really happy to get it back in the third and
fourth.”
World No.38 Al Tamimi will play top seed Marwan ElShorbagy next after he
defeated wildcard George Parker, while Peru’s Diego Elias extinguished
English hopes with a 3-1 win against Patrick Rooney. Elias will play
Omar Mosaad following the former World Championship runner-up’s 3-2 win
against Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng, while Welshman Joel Makin and Egypt’s
Mazen Hesham will go head-to-head in the other men’s semi-final.
Two of the top eight seeds also fell in the women’s event as No.4 seed
Joshna Chinappa and No.8 seed Nadine Shahin lost out to France’s Coline
Aumard and Wales’ Emily Whitlock, respectively.
It was an emotional victory for Aumard, who has suffered through an
eight-month spell on the sidelines due to a foot injury and had to deal
with being away from her family due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 “Am
I dreaming? I don’t know. I felt good before the tournament started. I
was just in a happy zone for the last two weeks. I believe in myself and
I am so pleased I won, it was a massive battle,” Aumard said.
“I am just super happy. I will try to focus for tomorrow, but for now, I
just want to enjoy it. I wish I could go and give them [family and
friends in the crowd] a massive hug, but I will have to wait until I can
go home. Thanks so much for coming to watch me and I love you.”
 Aumard
and Whitlock will do battle for a place in the semis and, speaking after
the match, World No.23 Whitlock said: “I feel good. It was a bit of a
slog at the back of the court, but I feel fit. Once I got off after each
game it was like a clean slate, so I just thought: start as you mean to
go on and if you have an 8-2 lead, finish it.”
“I carried on throughout instead of letting it get close again.”
No.1 seed Hania El Hammamy got her tournament off to a winning start
with a comfortable victory against Malaysia’s Rachel Arnold, and she
will take on Belgium’s Tinne Gilis in the last eight, while home
favourite Sarah-Jane Perry beat compatriot Jasmine Hutton to ensure she
will play Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam in the next round.
2019 runner-up Tesni Evans is also through after downing Scotland’s Lisa
Aitken in straight games, and her quarter-final opponent will be Gilis’s
older sister - Nele - following her win against USA’s Haley Mendez.
The quarter-finals of the Manchester Open take place tomorrow (August
11) and play starts at 12:00 (GMT+1). Action from the National Squash
Centre will be broadcast live on
SQUASHTV
and the
official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour
(excluding Europe & Japan), while court three will be streamed worldwide
on SQUASHTV and Facebook.
For more information on the 2021 Manchester Open, visit the
tournament website or follow the PSA
World Tour on
Twitter,
Facebook and
Instagram.
|
|
Round
1 Rooney Beats Mentor and Former World No.1
Willstrop as Manchester Open Begins
 England’s
World No.40 Patrick Rooney ended a three-match losing streak against
mentor and former World No.1 James Willstrop as the Manchester Open, PSA
World Tour Silver event got under way today at the National Squash
Centre.
Rooney, who resides in Manchester, has a close relationship with
Willstrop and both players were coached by Willstrop’s father - Malcolm
- before his sad passing in May of this year following a battle with
cancer.
The 24-year-old is celebrating a career-high ranking of No.40 this
month, and his performance against Willstrop - who turns 38 later this
week - showed that he has the potential to make a charge up the rankings
in the future, with an 11-4, 11-5, 11-8 victory sending him through to
the last 16.
“We’ve been kind of having a coach-player relationship recently,” said
Rooney.
“It was a bit weird today, but the reason I said ‘finally’ afterwards
was because I’ve got this mental block when I play him I think. I give
him a lot of respect, so I tried to not do that today and I was fully
immersed today and I wanted to win really bad.
“It felt different today and like I was fully focused the whole time,
and I was never not in the moment and never not on court. I knew I had
to be so disciplined to do what I’ve just done, I was a lot more
disciplined than I’ve ever been to keep it going for all three games, so
I’m pretty pleased with that.”
Rooney - who will take on No.3 seed Diego Elias next - will be joined in
the second round by compatriot George Parker, who was in fine form to
beat the higher-ranked Scotsman Greg Lobban.
Parker, the World No.39, has been in decent form recently after making
it to the third round of the PSA World Championships as well as the
semi-finals of last week’s British Nationals, and the tournament
wildcard kept it up to defeat World No.28 Lobban by an 11-5, 11-6, 11-3
scoreline.
 “I
was in control, I’m not going to say I’m going to be like that when I’m
struggling and when I’m down,” said Parker, who will face top seed
Marwan ElShorbagy in the next round.
“When I’m in control, I can play like that but when I’m under pressure
and things aren’t going my way that’s when I start to get a bit
aggressive and a bit erratic. When I’m in control like that, I normally
play good squash.”
Parker’s fellow Englishman - World No.21 Adrian Waller - is also through
to the last 16 after an 85-minute match against Egypt's Youssef Soliman
went to five games. There were also wins for the likes of Declan James
and Youssef Ibrahim, who will take on Egypt’s Mohamed Abouelghar and
No.2 seed Karim Abdel Gawad, respectively.
In the women’s event, World No.44 Jasmine Hutton claimed her first win
on the PSA World Tour since 2019 as she beat her higher-ranked
compatriot Lucy Turmel 3-0 after an immaculate performance.
The 22-year-old lost to World No.30 Turmel in their only previous
meeting - which came two years ago - but there was no stopping Hutton
today as she prevailed 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 to set up a second round clash
with England No.1 and British Nationals winner Sarah-Jane Perry.
 “I
have had a few matches on the glass this last week, but I wasn’t overly
pleased with how I performed against Tez [Evans, in the British
Nationals], so I wanted to make sure that I played better this time,”
Hutton said.
“I feel like I have got my mojo back, I have lost a lot of matches, I
don’t think I have won a match this season, so to come out and be really
strong was really good. I’m really happy with it.”
Scotland’s Lisa Aitken also sprang an upset as she fought back from two
games down to get the better of World No.24 Donna Lobban, winning 8-11,
4-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-4 to ensure she will play 2019 runner-up Tesni
Evans in the next round.
 “I
think the turning point had to be when I was 2-0 down,” said Aitken.
“Something had to change there and it was just a quick refocus on
tactics. I was opening up the court far too early. I knew I wanted to
attack into the front of the court, but I didn’t really get that reward.
I wasn’t really building the rallies well enough to take it in. At 2-0
down I knew I had put some work into her, I felt great, built the
rallies, then attacked.”
France’s Coline Aumard beat the other English player in action - Rachael
Chadwick - and will take on No.4 seed Joshna Chinappa next, while
Malaysia’s Rachel Arnold will take on top seed Hania El Hammamy after
beating South Africa’s Alexandra Fuller in straight games.
Round two of the Manchester Open takes place tomorrow (August 10) and
play starts at 12:00 (GMT+1). Action from the glass court at the
National Squash Centre will be broadcast live on
SQUASHTV
and the
official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour
(excluding Europe & Japan), while court three will be streamed worldwide
on SQUASHTV and Facebook.
For more information on the 2021 Manchester Open, visit the
tournament website or follow the PSA
World Tour on
Twitter,
Facebook and
Instagram.
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Preview
Marwan ElShorbagy and El Hammamy Headline Manchester
Open Draws
The draws for the men’s and women’s Manchester Open, PSA World Tour
Silver tournament, have been released with the tournament set to take
place at Manchester’s National Squash Centre between August 9-13.
Previous winners of the event include New Zealand’s Joelle King, Egypt’s
Nour El Tayeb and Egypt’s Mohamed ElShorbagy, following the introduction
of a men’s event last September after the inaugural women’s tournament
took place in 2019.
Egyptians Marwan ElShorbagy and Hania El Hammamy will headline the men’s
and women’s line-ups respectively this time around in Manchester, as two
new champions are guaranteed following the release of the draws.
ElShorbagy, along with the other top eight seeds, receives a bye into
the second round where he will face either England’s George Parker or
Scotland’s Greg Lobban as he looks to follow in older brother,
Mohamed’s, footsteps by getting his hands on the title.
The World No.5 has tough competition on his side of the draw with the
likes of Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez, Peru’s Diego Elias and compatriot
Omar Mosaad all possibly standing in his way en route to the final.
At the opposite end of the draw is former World No.1 and World Champion
Karim Abdel Gawad. His first match will see him face either Youssef
Ibrahim or Mohamed ElSherbini as he looks to get his hands on his first
title of the season. In the bottom half of the draw with him are Wales’
Joel Makin and Egyptians Mazen Hesham and Mohamed Abouelghar.
Along with Makin, there is strong home interest in the men’s draw in
Manchester with former World No.1 James Willstrop, Declan James and
Patrick Rooney all looking to make an impact at the PSA Silver event.
Meanwhile, the women’s draw is led by World No.5 El Hammamy, with the
likes of English No.1 Sarah-Jane Perry, Wales’ Tesni Evans and India’s
Joshna Chinappa all included in the high-quality draw.
El Hammamy will begin her tournament against either Malaysia’s Rachel
Arnold or Low Wee Wern depending on the outcome of their round one
clash, while a potential meeting with India’s World No.10 Chinappa
awaits in the semi-finals.
At the opposite end of the draw, Perry will get under way against either
compatriot Julianne Courtice or Jasmine Hutton. Her side of the draw
could see a battle of the Brits ensue in the semi-finals with Welshwoman
Evans seeded to meet her in the last four.
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