Top seed Kanzy Emad El Defrawy lifted her second PSA World Tour
title in her last three events after sweeping to a 3-1 victory over
Japan’s Misaki Kobayashi in the final of the Richmond Open, PSA W10
tournament.
El Defrawy had been in scintillating form in the build up to the
final and had scythed through the field without losing a single
game. Kobayashi, meanwhile, downed Kelsey Engman and Georgina Stoker
in four, before following that up with a straight games dismantling
of Egypt’s Nouran El Torky.
The first game between El Defrawy and Kobayashi was an even affair
with both players aiming to volley at every opportunity and use
their drop shots to great effect.
El Defrawy managed to take the first game but the Egyptian found
herself pegged back by a dominant Kobayashi in game two after the
World No.38 began to utilise some deceptive boasts which tested El
Defrawy’s superb athleticism.
El Defrawy responded by upping the pace as she rattled off a number
of powerful drives to force some errors from Kobayashi and she moved
on to take the next two games without reply, wrapping up an 11-7,
9-11, 11-2, 11-8 triumph in 55 minutes to lift her first PSA World
Tour title of 2016.
The top three seeds in the 2016 Richmond Open, led by title
favourite Kanzy Emad El Defrawy, all secured their semi-final berths
after easing past their quarter-final opponents in the PSA W10
tournament.
El Defrawy looked supremely confident during her encounter with
Marie Stephan and played an aggressive, fast-paced brand of squash
to unsettle the Frenchwoman’s rhythm and rack up an 11-3, 11-5, 11-9
victory to seal her place in her first PSA World Tour semi-final of
2016.
There, she will meet a fellow Egyptian, 18-year-old Hana Ramadan,
after the World No.101 continued her stunning form in this
tournament with a victory over Indian qualifier Sachika Balvani.
Ramadan exhibited an array of attacking shots at the front of the
court which paid immediate dividends as she powered to the win in
straight games.
Meanwhile, Japanese number two seed Misaki Kobayashi downed
England’s Georgina Stoker to move into the last four and she will
line up against Nouran El Torky, who defeated Anna Kimberley.
Egypt’s Kanzy Emad El Defrawy secured her place in the quarter-final
of the Richmond Open, PSA W10 tournament with a straightforward 3-0
triumph over Mexican qualifier Karla Urrutia Gomez in the opening
round.
Top seed El Defrawy, who is renowned for her athletic prowess and
exciting style of play, had the better of a closely-fought first
game before blitzing to victories in the second and third for the
loss of just a solitary point in each.
The World No.37 claimed an 11-9, 11-1, 11-1 win in straight games to
set up a quarter-final encounter with France’s Marie Stephan who saw
off Finnish qualifier Emilia Soini in four.
Second seed Misaki Kobayashi remains on course to meet El Defrawy in
the final after she defeated home player Kelsey Engman 3-1.
Kobayashi romped to victory in game one and, a second game reversal
aside, held firm to complete the victory and seal her place in the
last eight where she will meet Georgina Stoker, who recovered from
2-0 down to beat Low Wee Nee.
Nouran El Torky is also through after a routine 3-0 win against
Diana Garcia and her reward is a quarter-final clash with Anna
Kimberley with the Englishwoman downing Colombia’s Catalina Pelaez
to progress.
Indian qualifier Sachika Balvani and 18-year-old Egyptian Hana
Ramadan will face off in the other quarter-final fixture thanks to
respective wins over Reyna Pacheco and Nikki Todd.
Malaysia’s Low Wee Nee came up with the biggest upset in the final
qualifying round of the Richmond Open, PSA W10 tournament after
prevailing in five games against top qualifying seed Nabilla Ariffin.
Low, sister of former World No.5 Wee Wern, made less unforced errors
than her opponent in a mixed match and her patience proved to be the
difference between the two, with the Malaysian eventually claiming
an 11-9, 8-11, 11-4, 4-11, 12-10 win to reach the opening round of
the main draw.
Low is set to line up against Georgina Stoker for a place in the
quarter-final as she participates in her first PSA World Tour main
draw of 2016.
Emilia Soini will join Low in the main draw after she downed
Jennifer Pelletier in a confident three-game salvo and she fill play
France’s Marie Stephan in round one.
Meanwhile, Mexico’s Karla Urrutia Gomez required five games to
defeat Jenny Haley, recovering from seeing her 2-1 lead shattered to
close out the victory and set up a difficult first round meeting
with title favourite Kanzy Emad El Defrawy.
Sachika Balvani was the other victor in the final round of
qualifying thanks to her win over Alicia Rodriguez and she is
rewarded with a fixture against Reyna Pacheco.
