El
Defrawy Eases to Silverware at Martha Jefferson Open
Kanzy Emad El Defrawy stormed to victory over Hollie Naughton in the
final of the Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital Open, PSA W10
tournament to capture her first PSA World Tour title of the year.
The Egyptian downed compatriot Amina Yousry to achieve her final
berth while Naughton notably overturned a 2-0 deficit to defeat
second seed Deon Saffery in the quarter-final before blitzing past
Mayar Hany in the last four.
El Defrawy was in imperious form throughout the final and hit a
number of superb shots as she took an early advantage with an 11-2
triumph in the first.
Naughton was under the cosh in the second as well with El Defrawy
refusing to give her any time on the ball as she doubled her lead,
dropping just a solitary point in the process.
A comeback appeared to be on the cards in the third as Naughton came
out all guns blazing, dipping into her repertoire of shots with a
multitude of fine drops and low cross court efforts. However, El
Defrawy held her off to see out an 11-2, 11-1, 11-5 victory to win
her first ever PSA W10 crown.
“This is the biggest PSA World Tour title I've won thus far,” said
El Defrawy.
“I'm very pleased with the way I played today. I went out there with
a solid focus and the mindset to go out and do my best as well as
enjoy the game. The key to my win today was to remain cool, calm and
collected on court.
“My performances throughout the tournament weren’t my best so I'm
certainly pleased with how today went and that I managed to do it in
three. I now have the confidence to continue moving onwards and
upwards and I'm looking forward to what lies ahead. These facilities
in Charlottesville are incredible, those that get to play here on a
regular basis are very lucky.
“The whole atmosphere surrounding the tournament was superb and made
playing that much more fun.”
The first round of the Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital Open, PSA W10
event saw top seed Kanzy Emad El Defrawy move into the quarter-final
with an assured victory over Marie Stephan in Charlottesville,
United States.
El Defrawy cruised through in straight games with her trademark
dives and unorthodox shots at the forefront. The World No.37 dipped
into a number of efforts from her repertoire, utilising some strong
drives with well-crafted drop shots to establish her rhythm and
claim an 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 victory.
The Egyptian will take on Canadian Nikki Todd in the next round
after she defeated compatriot Melina Turk 3-0.
Third seed Maria Toorpakai Wazir progressed into the quarter-final
after a comfortable three game win over Thaisa Serafini. Wazir
played an almost perfect short game, causing Serafini to make a
number of errors, and her reward is an encounter with Amina Yousry
thanks to her victory over 42-year-old Latasha Khan.
Wildcard Chanel Erasmus was unable to cause an upset as she lost out
to Colombia’s Catalina Pelaez. The fourth seed took the match in
three and will face Mayar Hany after she beat Nadia Usenko.
Elsewhere, Hollie Naughton advanced safely after beating Diana
Garcia in three. Naughton will play second seed Deon Saffery, who
just beat Reyna Pacheco. The Welshwoman eventually wore down her
opponent sufficiently to end the match with a 3-1 triumph.
