World Junior Championship runner-up Youssef Soliman and England’s
Millie Tomlinson emerged victorious in the Jersey Squash Classic,
PSA M5 & W5 tournaments after claiming respective wins over Michael
Harris and Hania El Hammamy in their final fixtures.
Soliman, the current World No.126, has been in sensational form of
late, with two consecutive PSA World Tour title wins leading into
this tournament and he maintained his blistering momentum with
straight wins over wildcard Matthew Sidaway, Ondrej Uherka and top
seed Matthew Hopkin to reach the final.
Harris, meanwhile, was unseeded coming into the event, but showcased
his title-challenging credentials from the outset after upsetting
fellow Englishman and second seed Ashley Davies. Subsequent
victories over Sam Ellis and Rui Soares then saw him advance to the
final where he was pitted against the in-form Soliman.
Soliman always had the slight edge as the 19-year-old’s mobility and
short game caused Harris problems.
He pulled away from the middle of the first game, quickly
established a winning lead in the second, and recovered from 7-4
down to take the third game and the title, courtesy of an 11-6,
11-8, 11-8 victory.
"I'm really thrilled to win another PSA title," said Soliman.
"It hasn't been easy, we both had some really tough matches to get
to the final. I think I played well and put him under pressure but
he was dealing with it well so I was glad to be able to win that in
three. I have one more tournament to go, in Kent, so I hope to
finish the season with another good performance and maybe a win.
"It’s been a really good week, well organised and I've enjoyed my
stay in Jersey."
The inaugural Women’s tournament was won by Tomlinson after she
managed a straight games win against 15-year-old Egyptian El Hammamy.
World No.47 Tomlinson was aiming for back-to-back PSA World Tour
titles after winning last month’s GillenMarkets Irish Squash Open
and she took a crucial one-game lead by a narrow 11-9 margin to
seize the early initiative.
She kept up the pressure in the second and third games as she
accelerated to an 11-9, 11-5, 11-3 triumph in 37 minutes to become
the first ever Women’s Jersey Classic champion and claim a seventh
career PSA World Tour title.
"It's always tough playing Egyptians these days," said Tomlinson.
"It was a good match though, it was really tough to keep ahead of
her. Thanks to everyone for their support."
Top seed Matthew Hopkin and World Junior Champion Youssef Soliman
will face off in a nail-biting semi-final encounter in the Jersey
Squash Classic, PSA M5 tournament after respective wins over Yuri
Farneti and Ondrej Uherka.
Title favourite Hopkin was made to work hard for his last four berth
after he was pushed all the way to five games by Italy’s Farneti.
The momentum of the match shifted throughout an up and down fixture
with neither player able to maintain a sustained period of
dominance.
With the scores tied up at two games apiece, Farneti began to fade
in the decider and Hopkin took full advantage, moving on to claim an
11-3, 8-11, 15-13, 3-11, 11-7 triumph to reach the next round.
“I was feeling relaxed after winning the first quickly,” said Hopkin.
“But he played smart, mixed up the pace and changed his game tactics
after each game. I've got a few things to fix for tomorrow.”
Soliman, meanwhile, recovered from a game down to dispose of Uherka
– a win that sees him remain on course to lift a third consecutive
PSA World Tour title after recent successes at the TRAC Oil & Gas
North of Scotland Open and Christchurch Vets Ipswich Open.
Rui Soares will face off with unseeded Englishman Michael Harris in
the other semi-final fixtures after they rose to wins against Nick
Mulvey and Sam Ellis, respectively.
French qualifier Laura Pomportes continued her comeback from a
ten-month injury lay off to defeat number four seed Georgina Kennedy
in the last eight stage of the Women’s Jersey Squash Classic, PSA W5
tournament – ensuring she will be the only qualifier to perform in
the semi-finals.
Pomportes, a former World No.51, raced to a 2-0 lead, before
conceding the third to a resurgent Kennedy, who was aiming to reach
a second successive PSA World Tour semi-final.
However, Pomportes redoubled her efforts and coped with the pressure
well to repel Kennedy’s efforts at a comeback and close out the
victory in four.
“It's my first PSA tournament after almost a year out with injury,”
said World No.214 Pomportes.
“I knew that she's a good upcoming player, and she made it very
tough after I played well in the first two games.”
Pomportes will aim to maintain her superb return from injury against
the in-form top seed Mille Tomlinson in the semi-final, after the
24-year-old from England dispatched qualifier Rachael Chadwick.
15-year-old Egyptian Hania El Hammamy and South Africa’s Alexandra
Fuller will also meet in the semi final after they cruised through
the quarter final stage with 3-1 wins over Eleanor Epke and Nadia
Pfister, respectively.
World No.200 Michael Harris avenged his semi-final defeat to fellow
Englishman Ashley Davies in last year’s Jersey Squash Classic to
reach the quarter-final of the 2016 instalment of the PSA M5
tournament.
Davies recovered from a slow start to narrowly lose out in the first
game, then failed to convert a game ball in the second to hand
Harris a two-game advantage. A composed display from Harris in the
third saw him gradually pull away, and he closed out the win with an
11-8, 12-10, 11-6 margin of victory to reach his fourth PSA World
Tour quarter-final in a row.
“When I saw the draw, I thought about the opportunity for revenge
from last year,” admitted Harris.
“I think I dealt with the bouncy conditions better than Ash today.
It’s hard to get a rhythm when it’s like that, but I’m delighted to
finish that off in three.”
Harris is set to take on compatriot Sam Ellis in the last eight
after Ellis came back from a game down to beat fifth seed Tristan
Eysele.
Top seed Matthew Hopkin kicked off his tournament with a 3-1 victory
over qualifier Connor Sheen. Sheen took a shock one-game lead but
soon found himself pegged back by his Australian opponent, who will
go up against Italy’s Yuri Farneti for a place in the semi-final.
Farneti found himself 2-0 down against Bermuda’s Micah Franklin but
rallied brilliantly to storm back and take the win.
Portugal’s Rui Soares flirted with elimination during his fixture
with James Peach, and required five games to finally shrug off the
attentions of the tenacious Englishman. Peach’s countryman, Nick
Mulvey, lies in wait for Soares in the last eight after he beat
Oliviero Ventrice.
World Junior Championship runner-up Youssef Soliman and Ondrej
Uherka will make up the other quarter-final round match after they
managed wins over wildcard Matthew Sidaway and Robert Dadds,
respectively.
Number six qualifying seed Rachael Chadwick moved into the main draw
of the inaugural Women’s Jersey Squash Classic, PSA W5 tournament
with a superb straight games victory over Czech Republic’s Eva
Fertekova.
Chadwick dominated proceedings at the Jersey Squash & Racketball
Club and overpowered Fertekova to claim a main draw spot at a PSA
World Tour event for the fourth time in her career.
The World No.133, who reached her maiden PSA World Tour final last
month at the GillenMarkets Irish Squash Open, will take on fellow
Englishwoman Alison Thomson for a place in the quarter-final.
Elsewhere, Nia Davies from Wales recovered from letting a two-game
lead slip to beat France’s Elise Romba in five. Davies moves on to
do battle with title favourite Millie Tomlinson in the opening round
of the main draw.
“I was 2-0 up and nearly lost it,” said a relieved Davies.
“I just had to dig deep and I’m really pleased to win that fifth.”
Number one qualifying seed Julie Rossignol dispatched Sarah Mekhalfi
in an all-French encounter with a dominant 3-0 victory and her
reward is a main draw matchup with Switzerland’s Nadia Pfister. A
main draw withdrawal means that Mekhalfi has been granted lucky
loser status and she will go head-to-head with England’s Georgina
Kennedy.
Laura Pomportes will join her compatriots in the main draw after she
dropped just a handful of points in a comfortable win over Emma
Custance Baker, and she will face off against Australia’s Moana
Gray.
All but one of the final qualifying round fixtures in the Jersey
Squash Classic, PSA M5 tournament were won by Englishmen with James
Peach, Connor Sheen and Sam Ellis all securing victories to advance
to the main draw.
Peach, a 19-year-old from Doncaster, was appearing at just his
second ever PSA World Tour event and came through a
closely-contested encounter with Dutchman Roshan Bharos to reach the
next stage of the tournament. Peach went two games to the good but
was soon pegged back by Bharos, before the momentum shifted back in
his favour, allowing him to close out an 11-5, 11-8, 10-12, 8-11,
11-5 victory.
“That was really tough, but I’m delighted to make the main draw,”
said Peach.
The World No.309 will be aiming to reach his first ever PSA World
Tour quarter-final and goes up against Portugal’s Rui Soares as he
attempts to attain that goal.
Meanwhile, Sheen and Ellis were on red hot form to see off the
respective challenges of Gary Nisbet and Ahmad Al-Mudhar, with both
players earning the win in straight games.
Sheen has set up a main draw clash with top seed Matthew Hopkin,
while Ellis will line up against South Africa’s Tristan Eysele.
The only Englishman to miss out on a main draw berth was Bradley
Masters after he succumbed to a 3-2 defeat against Italy’s Oliviero
Ventrice, who was making his PSA World Tour debut. After a
breathless hour of play, which saw the scores delicately poised at
2-2, Masters surged into a 10-5 lead in the decider. But a
determined fightback from Ventrice saw him take seven points without
reply to claim the victory in 78 minutes and set up a main draw
fixture with Nick Mulvey.
“When I was 10-5 down, I told myself I didn’t come here to lose,”
Oliviero said.
“I just kept pushing and pushing and it finally paid off. After
being injured for a few months I’m really happy to get a win in my
first tournament and I’m looking forward to the main draw now.”
