Gohar And Farag Secure
J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions Crowns
After a week of incredible action at the epic Grand Central Terminal
in New York City, Egypt’s Nouran Gohar and Ali Farag have secured
the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions titles, after beating USA’s
Amanda Sobhy and Peru’s Diego Elias, respectively, in the finals on
Saturday evening.
The women’s final saw World No.1 Nouran Gohar take on World No.4
Amanda Sobhy, with the pair facing off for the second time in as
many months, after they came up against each other in the semis of
the Allam British Open at the start of April.
The American started strongly, winning five of the first six points,
but ‘the Terminator’, who already had six titles to her name in the
2021-2022 season, fought back, and played at a slightly slower pace
than normal, disrupting the game somewhat to take the first 11-7.
World No.4 Sobhy dug in once again in the second, but Gohar once
again proved too much to handle as she pulled out some of her best
squash from the week so far to double her advantage before
comfortably converting the third, 11-3. She now has seven titles
this season, including a first J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions
crown.
“It sounds awesome [to be champion], you guys [the crowd] are really
fair!” Gohar said after the final.
Nouran Gohar in action in the final
“I thought no-one would clap for me because Amanda is the favourite,
but everyone is unbelievable and has been all week. Thank you for
coming and supporting us.
“It feels really good to win the title. I’m over the moon, I’ve
wanted this title for so long, it’s one of the best venues that you
can play at and I really wanted to add my name on a prestigious
trophy like this one. I wanted it badly and I thought this year
seemed like a good year for me so why not take it.
“Having a big entity like J.P. Morgan sponsoring the event is huge
for the sport and I’m very proud of this and proud to be part of
such a big event. US squash has great female players playing right
now and it’s good for our sport. I’ve always loved to play in Egypt
because it’s my home, but since I moved here the US has been
treating me really well.”
Three years on from claiming a first title in New York City, World
No.2 Ali Farag doubled up at the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions
with a victory over Peru’s World No.5 Diego Elias in a pulsating
four-game final, in which the pair played some incredible squash.
The first game was a marathon 27 minutes, with both men saving
multiple game balls before it came to a conclusion. Elias saved four
of them, but at the fifth attempt, Farag was able to take the game
16-14. The second game then went the way of the ‘Peruvian Puma’
11-9, to level the contest.
Ali Farag (black) and Diego Elias (grey) in action
during the final in New York City
It looked as though the World No.5 might have been able to sneak
ahead in the third as the two continued to trade blows, however,
accuracy from Farag at the crucial moments proved to be the
difference as he once again edged into the lead before comfortably
converting the fourth to clinch the PSA World Tour Gold title.
“I’m over the moon, the ToC is one of the biggest titles you want to
win,” the World No.2 said.
“I got to World No.1 on this court for the very first time, so I’ve
got nothing but great memories. New York is always a great city to
come back to, the vibe, there’s a lot of familiar faces. This crowd
is extremely knowledgeable.
“Thanks to John Nimick [Tournament Director] and his Squash Engine
team for the great job they’ve done and the challenges they’ve had
to face with omicron and everything. I have missed it, the ToC is
one of the tournaments you really look forward to and this time I’ve
got my parents and my aunt watching as well, so I’m really happy to
lift this trophy in front of them.
“Diego, we played an incredible match. It was very physical, very
technical, required a lot of skill and stamina, I think it had
everything in there and it was played in good spirit as well. It
wasn’t easy.”
Following on from the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions will be
the biggest event on the sport’s calendar, with the PSA World
Championships taking place in Cairo from May 13-22. All the action
from Cairo will be streamed live on
SQUASHTV, with the later stages of the tournament being shown on
broadcasters around the world.
Amanda Sobhy celebrates after reaching the final
of the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions
USA’s World No.4 Amanda Sobhy got the better of Egypt’s World No.7
Salma Hany, coming back from a game down to win in five, sending the
home crowd into raptures as she advanced to the finals of the J.P.
Morgan Tournament of Champions finals under the iconic chandeliers
of Grand Central Terminal in New York City.
Sobhy had won all six of her previous meetings on the PSA World Tour
with the Egyptian, and was aiming to continue that 100% record here.
In a competitive first game, the momentum shifted several times with
both players hitting quality lines to the back of the court and
hitting clinical winners to the front. Hany saved two game balls at
10-9 and 11-10 on her way to securing the opening game 13-11 and
shock the home crowd.
Despite taking the second game in convincing fashion, Sobhy found
herself trailing at 2-1 after an extremely tight third game went the
way of the Egyptian. Similar to the first game, the scoreline
remained neck and neck throughout as the game reached a tiebreak yet
again. In a topsy turvy end of the game, Hany’s drops from the back
of the court were both her downfall and saviour. After a couple of
errors, she then hit two winners to take the third 15-13 and hold
the 2-1 advantage in the contest.
Sobhy regrouped however and with the help of the New York crowd
completely dominated Hany in the fourth game, so much so that the
Egyptian couldn’t even register a point. Sobhy delivered the ‘bagel’
to win 11-0 and set up a decider. She then got ahead early in the
fifth and final game by moving onto Hany’s attacks quickly and
running a straight drop in tight to the wall. As well as this was
working, Hany found an alternative approach and started to fire the
ball deep and straight with plenty of pace to drag Sobhy into the
back corners. Sobhy earned the first match ball of the contest and
took the match at the first time of asking on a stroke decision.
“I don’t know what happened in this match, I’m kind of just blanked
right now,” said Sobhy.
“It was nip and tuck the whole way through, apart from the fourth, I
wish every game was like the fourth. But I’m just so happy that the
last call was a stroke, we finally know the referee rules, and that
stayed a stroke because that was anybody’s game and I’m just so
relieved to be through and in the finals tomorrow.
“I think she does really well when the momentum is broken up, every
time she went to the towel she won the next point, I’m not sued to
opponents taking injury breaks so I just tie to keep my composure
and stay pumped up and keep the momentum going but she came back
really strong, I told myself to chase every ball and if you’re going
to go out then go out on your terms and just relax and play.
“I’m just going to go and rest and recover and talk to my coach
about a game plan for tomorrow and I played her in the British and
got smoked pretty badly so I don’t think I could do much worse but
I’m just looking forward to redeeming myself and playing in front of
a packed house.”
Sobhy will play the tournament’s top seed, and World No.1, Nouran
Gohar, in the final of the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions,
after the Egyptian defeated another home favourite, in Olivia
Fiechter, in a four-game battle, holding off a comeback from the
American to advance.
In the men’s semi-finals, Peru’s World No.5 Diego Elias had to dig
deep and give it everything he had to come from behind in his match
with India’s World No.17 Saurav Ghosal, fighting back from a game
down to win in five, after 70 minutes of high-octane action.
Diego Elias celebrates after his win over Saurav
Ghosal
This was the pair’s fifth meeting on Tour, but their first since
2018, and it was the ‘Peruvian Puma’, who claimed his first major
title back in October at the Qatar QTerminals Classic, who started
strongly, blowing the Indian away in the first game, taking it 11-3.
However, Ghosal then fought back, with some incredible play, moving
Elias around the court in both the second and third games, as he
turned the match on its head to lead 2-1. That momentum did not
continue, though, with the World No.5 winning the first five points
of the fourth game, and he went on to take it to send the match into
a decider.
Unfortunately for the 35-year-old Indian, he was unable to live with
the pace that Elias brought in the fifth and final game, with the
Peruvian eventually taking the victory in the contest after 70
minutes of high-octane action. He will now face Ali Farag in
tomorrow’s final.
“Saurav is playing amazing this week, I think he was struggling with
an injury a couple of months ago, but now he is back at his best, he
is always tough to play and I am just very happy to be through,” the
Peruvian said.
“It was very tough physically. Every time you play Saurav, he is
very fit and it is always long rallies. I am just happy I could keep
running and keep pushing, and I am just happy to be in the final.
“I watched a little bit [of Ali Farag’s win over Mazen Hesham]. He
is looking great, we always play great matches, so I need to recover
and get ready for tomorrow!”
The finals of the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions will take
place at Grand Central Terminal on Saturday evening, with action
getting underway at 19:00 (GMT-4). All the action from both finals
will be shown live on
SQUASHTV and broadcasters around the world.
USA’s Olivia Fiechter and India’s Saurav Ghosal both mounted
incredible comebacks to overcome the challenges of Egypt’s Rowan
Elaraby and Youssef Ibrahim, respectively, to make it into the
semi-finals of the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions at the iconic
Grand Central Terminal in New York City.
The pair’s last meeting came at the Allam British Open last month,
with the American winning in straight games on that occasion,
Elaraby ensured the same scoreline wasn’t replicated as she took the
first game in 14 minutes, 12-10. The rallies were extremely close
between the two, with Elaraby using her trademark attacking play to
continually trouble the American at the front of the court and
despite forcing a tiebreak, Fiechter couldn’t stop the Egyptian from
converting.
The American had a huge mountain to climb after she lost the second
game but she stuck to her task and straightened up her play from the
back of the court to limit the attacking opportunities of her the
Egyptian. This tactic started to frustrate Elaraby with errors
started to come into her game. Fiechter not only took the third
game, but also continued her momentum to force a fifth and final
game, winning both the third and fourth by an 11-8 scoreline.
The American ran out to a strong 4-1 lead in the fifth game but back
came Elaraby and in the blink of an eye, the World No.8 found
herself 8-6 up. For the second day in succession, Fiechter had to
save a match ball, and after doing so, she then won the next two
points to claim a stunning victory, sending the home crowd into
raptures at Grand Central Terminal.
“I’m a little tired, I’m lost for words,” Fiechter said after her
epic victory.
“I knew Rowan would be out for revenge, I got the better of her when
we played in the British Open about a month ago. I knew she’d come
out firing, I definitely had a slow start and she was playing well
and everything seemed to be running away from me. I told myself to
try and relax and keep retrieving balls and my goal in the match was
to just get in front as much as possible and volley and I think I
got better as the match went on. I’m at a loss for words.
“Fortunately with my sports psychologist, Danny Massaro, we’ve been
working on trying to stay positive and predict positive things, even
in moments where things are running away from me and I’m feeling
that I’m not hitting my targets, I can turn it around and play the
match of my life. I’m not sure it was tonight but I’m just relieved
that I could find a way through.
“It’s so hard to believe, when I’ve played this event in the past
I’ve barely made the draw and just to be able to play on this court
and to be able to come out and play again tomorrow and to try and
book my place in the final is just incredible.”
Fiechter will now play Egypt’s Nouran Gohar in the semi-finals,
after the World No.1 defeated Canada’s Hollie Naughton. The other
women’s semi-final will see another battle between USA and Egypt,
with World No.4 Amanda Sobhy and World No.7 Salma Hany set to meet
on Friday evening in New York City.
In the men’s event, World No.17 Saurav Ghosal reached his biggest
PSA semi-final since 2019 after a magnificent performance saw him
take out Egypt’s Youssef Ibrahim under the chandeliers of Grand
Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall.
Saurav Ghosal
It was the pair’s first meeting on the PSA World Tour and
35-year-old Ghosal – who has recently suffered with an abductor
injury which saw him miss out on the Allam British Open – made the
better start of the two. He had the superior line and length,
meaning he was able to starve Ibrahim of the ball in the centre of
the court, which is where the Egyptian is often at his deadliest.
The exciting squash continued into the second and third game. In the
former, Ibrahim was able to level up after finally unleashing the
attacking squash for which he is known and in the latter, he was
tested to the max by his opponent but just managed to get his nose
ahead to take a 2-1 lead. He was all at sea in the fourth game
though and was outplayed by Ghosal, who controlled proceedings and
moved the Egyptian into all four corners of the court to send the
match into a decider.
The fifth game certainly didn’t disappoint, with both players going
toe-to-toe in front of a sell-out crowd. And it was Ghosal who
managed to hold his nerve to get a massive win over the line and he
will take on Peru’s Diego Elias for a place in the final on Friday
evening.
“It means so much, this is my 11th time here and I hadn’t gotten
this far,” said Ghosal.
“I’ve been putting a lot of work in and it’s good to see it come to
fruition. For it to come fruition at somewhere like Grand Central
Terminal is brilliant, I’m super happy.
“I don’t think you can call Youssef an up-and-coming player anymore,
he’s chopping people that are much higher up. He’s playing at such a
high level, it’s so difficult to play him. I had to be super
disciplined in my head to execute the plan that David Palmer, who
has been coaching me, had put together.
“He’s going to be around for a really long time entertaining a lot
of people around the world. I’m just glad that today we had such a
good match and hopefully we can have a few more before I walk into
the sunset.”
Elias made his way through to the last four after beating French
No.1 Gregoire Marche, while the other men’s semi-final on Friday
evening will see an all-Egyptian battle, and a repeat of the Houston
Open final, as World No.2 Ali Farag takes on World No.8 Mazen Hesham.
The semi-finals of the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions will take
place on Friday, May 6, with the action starting at 17:00 (GMT-4).
The action will be streamed live on
SQUASHTV and on broadcasters around the world.
USA’s Olivia Fiechter survived a huge battle, saving match ball en
route to a fifth-game victory over Malaysia’s Sivasangari
Subramaniam, to reach the quarter finals of the J.P. Morgan
Tournament of Champions, a PSA World Tour Gold level tournament
being held at Grand Central Terminal in New York City.
Fiechter had won a thrilling five-game contest at the Cincinnati
Gaynor Cup in February and repeated the trick in New York amidst a
cracking atmosphere inside Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall.
It was a match in which the American had to draw on her fighting
spirit as well as her accuracy with a racket, particularly with an
impressive Subramaniam managing to engineer a match ball opportunity
in the fourth game after coming back from a game down.
The Malaysian will perhaps consider herself unfortunate to receive a
no let decision when match ball up, which was immediately followed
by an error and then a well-constructed rally from Fiechter to draw
level at two games apiece. And it was the American who had the bit
between her teeth in the decider as she dominated proceedings,
closing out an 11-9, 8-11, 6-11, 12-10, 11-5 victory in 54 minutes
to reach the last eight.
“The last time we played I think she had a few match balls in the
fourth as well, so when you’ve done it before it definitely adds to
that self belief in those hard and challenging moments,” said
Fiechter.
“She’s such an incredible player, she was pounding the ball so
severely and for a while I was just trying to weather the storm. I
have so much respect for her, she’s playing at Cornell while playing
on the tour and I couldn’t have done that when I was at Princeton.
Now she’s at her highest ranking of 20, so I’m at a loss that I was
able to find a way to win, especially in front of this crowd. She
had an incredible junior career, so she’s always been a player to
watch. Now we’ve played twice and I’m sure we’re going to play many
more times once she graduates.
“It’s definitely a strange feeling [being seeded] because the last
two times I played this event I barely got into the draw. The fact
I’m playing my first match on day four is a little strange. When I
was eight years old I came up to the ToC and it was the first
professional tournament I went to with my first coach Bill Lane, and
I sat up in these stands all day long.
“There’s something magical about this court and it’s been a lifelong
dream to play on here. To do it in front of my family, friends and
loved ones is extremely special.”
Fiechter will now face Egypt’s Rowan Elaraby in the last eight of
the Gold level competition. She will be joined in the quarter finals
by another American, in Olivia Clyne, after the World No.22 defeated
Frenchwoman Melissa Alves in four games in her first match of the
competition.
In the men’s draw, Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez faced a tricky task
against France’s Auguste Dussourd, who had made the last 16 after
defeating a higher-ranked compatriot in Baptiste Masotti, but came
through in an exciting four-game contest.
Miguel Rodriguez (fore) on court against Auguste
Dussourd
The pair were meeting for the first time on the PSA World Tour, and
Rodriguez quickly got settled on the court at Grand Central
Terminal, and found himself two games to the good, delighting the
crowd with his unique style of play. Dussourd pulled a game back but
suffered a knee injury after some contact with the Colombian at the
start of the fourth game. Following the delay, Rodriguez found his
game once again, and went on to win in four to advance to the last
eight.
“This is my 15th time at the TOC, I’m very glad and happy,” said
Rodriguez.
“I was so pumped for the match. I had to wait three days, I’m
feeling great, this year has been amazing for me, very busy and I
have accomplished many goals in this period so I’m just grateful for
the opportunity to be here and win again.
“I think I stayed on his pace in the third, in the first and second
games I was playing my plan A and I was picking up the pace and
controlling and in the third one I was playing too much on the
backhand side and with the same rhythm so he got some confidence so
I had to pick up the pace and play faster in the fourth.”
Rodriguez will now face top seed Ali Farag, after he defeated
England’s James Willstrop in a battle of former World No.1s.
Frenchman Gregoire Marche and Egypt’s Youssef Ibrahim were the other
two men to make it through to the quarter finals on day four in New
York City.
France’s Victor Crouin overcame 2017 champion Karim Abdel Gawad in
an exciting contest to make it into the quarter finals of the J.P.
Morgan Tournament of Champions, his second appearance in a Gold
level quarter final in 2022.
France’s World No.23 Victor Crouin is into a second PSA World Tour
Gold level quarter final, after he got the better of 2017 champion
Karim Abdel Gawad to reach the last eight of this year’s J.P. Morgan
Tournament of Champions at Grand Central Terminal in New York City.
The Frenchman also made the last eight of the GillenMarkets Canary
Wharf Classic earlier this year, where he defeated World No.1 Paul
Coll en route to the quarter finals. Here, in New York City, he
started his week with a win over England’s Nathan Lake, before
taking on former World No.1 Karim Abdel Gawad in the second round on
Tuesday afternoon.
It was the pair’s first meeting on the PSA World Tour, and Gawad,
who typically starts slow, was dominated by his French opponent in
the first game. The Frenchman kept the ball straight and tight,
giving the 2017 Champion no angles to work his usual magic and after
just seven minutes, Crouin took the lead 11-4.
The second game was a closer contest, as Gawad started to create
more and more attacking opportunities to test the movement of Crouin.
The former World Champion earned the first game ball but Crouin
quickly equalised to force a tiebreak. Crouin took the game 13-11 to
double his lead.
Despite Gawad securing the third game 11-7. Crouin kept his
consistency up and rushed the Egyptian into making several unforced
errors and finding winners of his own in the fourth game. The
strong, composed movement from Crouin was making Gawad search a
little deeper for his winners, which he was unable to find. After
squandering a match ball at 10-9, the Frenchman regrouped to take
the next two points and book his place in the last eight.
“I’ve watched Karim for many years and I remember watching him at
the World Championships in Egypt, where he nearly lost in the first
round and then basically chopped everybody else,” the Frenchman
said.
“I knew it would be tough, I’ve never played against him and
usually, when I play someone for the first time it takes me a few
matches to get the right tactic and play my game. Usually, my
strength is my consistency, I’ve beaten almost all the players
ranked below me and not beaten many people ranked above me. Like I
beat Paul Coll and Gawad today but have lost to some up and coming
players, but still ranked below me, so I’ve just been trying to
figure out what’s going on, I need to keep winning those matches but
also get my consistency back.
“It’s hard to know what to do when you’re two up against Karim, you
feel like you’re playing well and you want to play even better but
after losing the third I tried to tell myself to not change anything
and keep it on his backhand and play a three-quarter game and try to
avoid that front left corner and every time I hit off the back wall
it went over there and I thought ‘Damn you’re going to be in
trouble’ and usually I was, but I was just trying to win one point
at a time.”
There was also a seeding upset in the women’s draw as well, with
Egypt’s Nada Abbas overcoming compatriot, and the No.7 seed, Nadine
Shahin, in five games to reach the quarter finals of the J.P. Morgan
Tournament of Champions for the first time in her career.
Nada Abbas
The last two meetings between the two had gone all the way to a
five-game conclusion, with Shahin winning both times, the latest at
the Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family in February.
In a tightly contested first game, Shahin pulled ahead at the start
of the game to lead 5-2. Abbas started to put her game together
however and by exposing the technique of her compatriot, Abbas took
the first game at the third time of asking 13-11. Abbas carried her
form into the second game and continued to pile the pressure onto
Shahin in the front right corner. The World No.16 utilised her
backhand boast to great effect and forced errors from Shahin’s
racket to take the game 11-7.
Shahin showed her fighting qualities, however, and managed to
disrupt the rhythm Abbas had settled into, moving her younger
opponent into all four corners of the court and took the third and
fourth games 11-7, 12-10 to set up yet another five-game encounter.
Abbas started the better of the two in the fifth game, but Shahin
wasn’t going away without a fight. The higher seed set herself up
with a game ball at 10-9 to complete the comeback, but after three
well-constructed rallies, Abbas claimed her first win over Shahin in
62 minutes winning 12-10 in the fifth game.
“I’m really happy to get through, me and Nadine have played twice
this season and it was so close today but I’m just so glad I could
get the win today,” Abbas said after the win.
“I’m feeling okay. I’m looking forward to the next match and I’m
looking forward to be playing on this beautiful court once again.”
Elsewhere on the third day, USA’s Amanda Sobhy delighted the home
crowd to advance to the quarter finals, while Egypt’s Rowan Elaraby
and Salma Hany both came through tough battles to make the last
eight.
The second round comes to a conclusion on Wednesday, May 3, with
action starting at 12:00 (GMT-4). All eight matches will be streamed
live on
SQUASHTV, while the semi-finals and finals will be shown by
PSA’s broadcast partners.
Auguste Dussourd celebrates his first round win at
the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions
France’s Auguste Dussourd overcame the challenge of
compatriot Baptiste Masotti to advance through to the second round
of the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions in New York City, winning
a match at a PSA World Tour Gold level event for the first time in
his career.
This was only the second meeting on Tour between the pair, with
Masotti having claimed the only win back in 2016. This clash, which
came on the glass court at Grand Central Terminal, saw the World
No.21 come out strongly once again, and he took the first game 11-8
to hold the lead in the contest.
He went on to hold a 10-7 lead in the second game, but Dussourd, who
sits 18 places below his fellow Frenchman in the World Rankings,
saved three game balls before going on to win it 12-10. Dussourd
then fought back from 8-4 down in the third as well to move into the
lead of the contest for the first time.
The fourth game followed a much similar pattern, with the World
No.39 coming from behind once more, claiming the victory with a
second tie-break win in the match, to defeat Masotti for the first
time, and to also win a match at a PSA World Tour Gold level event
for the first time as well.
“It’s the best venue I have played in my life,” said Dussourd.
“I was so happy to get in [to the draw] and to get the win for the
first time I am here. I will have one day to enjoy [the win] and
then I’ll think about the next match.
“I will maybe watch this match once to see what I did right and did
wrong, then after that I will focus on the next match against a top
player.”
Elsewhere, another Frenchman in Victor Crouin made it through to the
second round after getting the better of England’s Nathan Lake.
While Egypt’s Youssef Ibrahim downed Switzerland’s Dimitri Steinmann
to advance to the last 16.
However, the pair will do battle for the second time in three days,
as following the late withdrawal of Mostafa Asal due to a positive
pre-flight COVID-19 test, the Swiss No.2 was drawn out as the ‘Lucky
Loser’, and will take the place of the Egyptian in the last 16. He
will face Youssef Ibrahim again on Wednesday evening.
In the women’s event, England’s Lucy Turmel secured her first event
victory at the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions, as she battled
her way past Hong Kong’s Tze Lok Ho, going all the way to a deciding
game at Grand Central Terminal.
Lucy Turmel
The pair did battle in Boston in January, with the Englishwoman
winning 3-0 on that occasion, but this time, it was far from easy.
She led twice in the contest, after winning both the first and third
games, but the Hongkonger was able to level the match on both
occasions. Eventually, after 71 minutes, Turmel completed the
victory, and she will now face Canada’s Hollie Naughton in the
second round.
“I’m just really happy,” said Turmel.
“Matches like that are sometimes the most rewarding because I felt
quite flat in several parts, I’m just happy to win.
“After I lost that fourth I just really concentrated on trying to
get the ball into the back, ironically that created more lets. It
was the right gameplan in the end because I could see she was tiring
and it gave me the openings at the front.”
After having a back problem during her practice hit in the morning,
Canada’s Danielle Letourneau was able to battle past Czech No.1 Anna
Serme in the opening match of the day’s play, with Malaysia’s
Sivasangari Subramaniam and Frenchwoman Melissa Alves being the
other two women to advance on day two in New York City.
The second round of the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions gets
underway on Tuesday, May 3, with play starting at 12:00 (GMT-4). All
the action from Grand Central Terminal will be streamed live on
SQUASHTV, while the semi-finals and finals will be shown by
PSA’s broadcast partners.
Tiimothy Brownell celebrates his first round
victory at the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions
After winning the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions
Challenger on Saturday evening to qualify for the event, Hong Kong’s
Chan Sin Yuk and USA’s Timothy Brownell both continued their
incredible runs in New York, each saving multiple match balls to
book their spots in the second round of the PSA World Tour Gold
level J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions.
Hong Kong’s Yuk defeated Egypt’s Kenzy Ayman in the Challenger final
to make the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions, and her first round
match rounded off the opening day’s play at the Gold level
tournament, as she took on another Egyptian in World No.36 Zeina
Mickawy.
The Hongkonger took the opening game on a tie-break 13-11, but found
herself 2-1 behind after losing both the second and third games to
the Egyptian, the latter also coming on a tie-break, 12-10.
The fourth game was a show in itself, with Yuk having to save seven
match balls in the process to stay in the contest. She saved the
first at 10-9 down, before saving a further six in the tie-break.
Yuk eventually won it after 20 minutes of action 21-19, before then
going on to win the deciding game 11-5 to advance to the
semi-finals. She will now face World No.7 Salma Hany no Tuesday
afternoon.
“I was just thinking about getting this game [the fourth] and all
the cheering was making me want to fight more,” said the World
No.43.
Chan Sin Yuk (right) and Zeina Mickawy (left) on
court in New York
“I’m going to have a light squash session [tomorrow] and recover
well.”
Meanwhile, after USA’s Brownell got the better of Egypt’s Aly Abou
Eleinen in the Challenger 10 level final on Saturday, he took on
another Egyptian in the form of Karim El Hammamy in the opening
round of the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions at Grand Central
Terminal.
The first three games were all extremely tight, with neither player
able to get on a clear run of points. The Egyptian claimed the first
on a tie-break 12-10, with the next two being split evenly, with El
Hammamy holding a 2-1 lead in the contest. Brownell fought back to
take the fourth quickly, to send the match into a decider, with the
home fans getting behind their favourite.
The fifth and deciding game of the match would go all the way to a
tie-break, as the American came back from 10-8 down, saving two
match balls in the process. He won four consecutive points to turn
the game around, winning it 12-10 to the crowd’s delight. Brownell
will now face Indian No.1 Saurav Ghosal in the second round on
Tuesday afternoon.
“My mum is one of the brightest squash minds on the planet and she
doesn’t get the credit she deserves, so for me to come out here and
do this is just one small thing to show what an incredible woman,
coach, player, everything she is,” Brownell said.
“This is what I love to do. I look out and see a lot of people I
love in the crowd. Who wouldn’t want to do this?
“We’re doing a lot of good work at US Squash over at the National
Centre. I’m a testament to it, I showed up nine months ago and I
think [Ong] Beng Hee [US Squash Head National Coach] just had to
laugh at me. To come out and get a win on the glass court is a
dream, but we’re just getting started.”
The J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions continues on Monday, May 2,
with a ten-match slate of first round action starting at 11:00
(GMT-4). All the action will be streamed live on
SQUASHTV, while the semi-finals and finals will be shown by
PSA’s broadcast partners.
The J.P Morgan Tournament of Champions returns to the PSA World Tour
as a Gold event and starts on Sunday, May 1 from the glass court at
the famous Grand Central Station in New York.
World No.2 and reigning World Champion Ali Farag is the No.1 seed
for the men’s event and will be aiming to win his second title in
New York after claiming his first title in 2019 after coming from
2-0 down to beat Mohamed ElShorbagy.
A strong challenge will come from the US Open Champion, Mostafa Asal
and Qatar Classic Champion, Diego Elias. Asal has reached at least
the semi-finals in seven of his last eight events and will be
determined to capture another major title on US soil. Elias is yet
to make it past the quarter final stage at the Tournament of
Champions but enters the tournament as the No.3 seed.
‘Colombian Cannonball’ Miguel Rodriguez will be returning to the
tournament for his 15th appearance at the event, first appearing in
the 2006 draw. His best run in the tournament came in 2015 when lost
out to Nick Matthew in the semi-finals after beating former champion
Gregory Gaultier in the round before. Rodriguez receives a bye in
round one and will play the winner of an all-French battle between
Baptiste Masotti and Auguste Dussourd in round two.
World No.1 Nouran Gohar leads the women’s draw for the first time in
her career but is yet to capture the coveted title. ‘The Terminator’
has picked up three titles so far in 2022 and will be looking to add
this event to her impressive collection.
The No.2 seed for the tournament is home favourite Amanda Sobhy. The
USA No.1 reached the final in 2016, losing out to current World
Champion Nour El Sherbini. Sobhy reached the semi-finals of the
British Open in her last outing on the PSA World Tour and will be
looking to replicate that form to excite the New York crowd.
Play starts at 12:00 (GMT-5) with six matches opening the tournament
including two qualifiers from the J.P Morgan Tournament of Champions
Challenger 10 event. The two winners of the event will face Egyptian
duo Karim El Hammamy and Zeina Mickawy in round one on Sunday, with
a further eight round one matches taking place on Monday.
Opening play on day one will be World No.24, Sabrina Sobhy taking on
England’s Millie Tomlinson. The pair last met in 2015 with Tomlinson
scoring a 3-0 victory over Sobhy at the CSC Delaware Open. Sobhy
reached the last 16 in the last Tournament of Champions in 2020 and
will be looking to replicate that form again this year.
Global streaming coverage is provided by
SQUASHTV, while the semi-finals and finals will be shown by
PSA’s broadcast partners.
The draws for the 2022 J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions (ToC)
have been announced, as the PSA World Tour Platinum event returns to
New York’s iconic Grand Central Terminal between January 13-21
following a COVID-enforced hiatus.
The tournament sees 96 of the world’s top squash players battle it
out under the chandeliers of Grand Central Terminal’s picturesque
Vanderbilt Hall, where they will do battle for a $360,000 prize
fund, which is split equally across the men’s and women’s events.
In the men’s draw, top seed and World No.1 Ali Farag will be hoping
to recapture the crown from his compatriot, World No.3 Mohamed
ElShorbagy. Farag, who claimed his only ToC title in 2019, begins in
round two against fellow Egyptian Youssef Soliman and is seeded to
meet 2020 runner up Tarek Momen in the semi-final, before a
potential final showdown with New Zealand’s No.2 seed Paul Coll.
Coll, who this month became the first male Kiwi since 1987 to reach
the world’s top two, goes into the tournament aiming to be only the
second non-Egyptian to win the men’s title since 2012. Coll begins
against Egypt’s Mohamed Abouelghar in round two and is seeded to
meet ElShorbagy in the last four.
Flying the flag for home fans will be Shahjahan Khan, Todd Harrity,
Christopher Gordon and Jamie Ruggiero. World No.37 Khan plays in his
first ToC, while World No.42 Harrity will be hoping to advance
beyond the second round for the first time.
For wildcards Gordon and Ruggiero, ranked World No.65 and World
No.222 respectively, tough opening round matches against Spain’s
Borja Golan and England’s Declan James await.
In the women’s draw, Egyptian World No.1 and three-time champion
Nour El Sherbini is favourite to claim the honours, having lost in
the final of the last edition to France’s Camille Serme.
Potentially awaiting El Sherbini in the semi-final is the U.S.A’s
World No.3 Amanda Sobhy. Sobhy, a runner up in 2016, will be
determined to go deep in the competition after a last 32 finish in
2020.
Elsewhere, World No.2 Nouran Gohar will head to New York looking to
capture her first ToC title. The 24-year-old will no doubt take
optimism from her form on U.S. courts in 2021, having won the DAC
Pro Squash Classic in Detroit and the U.S. Open in Philadelphia, as
well as making the final of the World Championships in Chicago.
Alongside Sobhy, home fans will be cheering on World No.11 Olivia
Clyne, World No.13 Olivia Fiechter, World No.26 Sabrina Sobhy and
World No.38 Haley Mendez.
There is one final place up for grabs in the women’s draw, with
France’s Marie Stephan and England’s Lily Taylor set for a playoff
the day before the event as they compete for the right to join
Canada’s Nicole Bunyan as a wildcard. The winner of that bout will
face Belgium’s Tinne Gilis in the first round.
Global streaming coverage is provided by
SQUASHTV, while the semi-finals and finals will be shown by
PSA’s broadcast partners.
The Professional Squash Association (PSA) and Squash Engine, Inc.
have announced today that the 2022 J.P. Morgan Tournament of
Champions, set for January 13-21 at New York's Grand Central
Terminal, has been postponed until May 1-7, 2022.
Tournament owner and promoter John Nimick said: "With the health and
safety of all of our attendees, players, officials and staff as our
highest priority, we have made the difficult decision to postpone
the 2022 J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions. The current surge of
coronavirus cases in New York City prevents us from safely welcoming
thousands of squash fans and visitors to our Vanderbilt Hall venue."
Information on the tournament's new schedule and ticketing plan will
be available soon. Previously purchased tickets will be honoured.
In 1995, the Tournament of Champions was one of the first
events to be staged in Vanderbilt Hall when the venue was
made available for public use. The 83-year-old tournament
celebrates its 20th anniversary in Grand Central in 2017.
