Belgian top seed Nele Gilis overcame talented Egyptian youngster
Nada Abbas in straight games in the final of the Paderborn Open, PSA
W5 tournament to capture her second PSA World Tour crown of the
season.
Gilis, who recently appeared against World No.3 Raneem El Welily in
last month’s Allam British Open, was in scintillating form in the
build up to the final and claimed three successive 3-0 victories,
including a commanding win over sister Tinne in the quarter-final.
Meanwhile, 15-year-old Abbas was appearing in her maiden PSA World
Tour final thanks to strong wins over Switzerland’s Marija Shpakova,
English qualifier Rachael Chadwick and second seed Cyrielle Peltier.
However, the match against Gilis proved to be a step too far as the
20-year-old from Mol dictated the tempo of the 36-minute fixture,
dropping just two points in both of the opening two games as she
surged to an unassailable lead.
Abbas played some of her best squash in the third game but Gilis
responded with a mature display that belied her age as she recorded
an 11-2, 11-2, 11-9 triumph to double her PSA World Tour title
tally.
Belgian sisters Nele and Tinne Gilis are set to face off in the
latest instalment of their sibling rivalry after their first round
victories in the Paderborn Open, PSA W5 tournament saw both players
move into the last eight.
Nele, fresh off the back of a promising display against World No.3
Raneem El Welily in last month’s Allam British Open, came up against
Dutchwoman Tessa ter Sluis in her fixture. Ter Sluis put in a strong
performance full of vigour but was unable to match the pace that
Gilis played at and eventually succumbed to an 11-8, 11-2, 11-7
defeat in Gilis’s favour.
Meanwhile, Tinne initially fell a game behind to Switzerland’s Nadia
Pfister, but recovered impressively to take the win in three. The
Gilis sisters will play each other for the first time since
November’s London Open, with Nele being the victor on that occasion.
There was a big upset in store as local favourite and number three
Sina Wall crashed out to English qualifier Rachael Chadwick at her
home club. Chadwick took the opener and, despite a comprehensive
victory from Wall in game two, she pressed on to claim the scalp.
Egypt’s Nada Abbas will face Chadwick in round two after a routine
3-0 win against Marija Shpakova.
“I’m terribly disappointed,” said Wall.
“Somehow, I had difficulty dealing with the situation in front of my
own fans.”
Second seed Cyrielle Peltier almost suffered the same fate as Wall,
but managed to see out the match against Jessica Davis in five after
coming back from two games down.
Also booking their places in the second round were Enora Villard and
Alexandra Fuller, with victories over Marina De Juan Gallach and
Eleanor Epke, respectively.
