Reigning
World Champions Mohamed ElShorbagy and Raneem El Welily claimed silverware on
finals night at the FS Investments U.S. Open Squash Championships after they
defeated Germany’s Simon Rösner and World No.1 Nour El Sherbini, respectively,
at Philadelphia’s Drexel University.
2017 runner-up ElShorbagy captured his third U.S. Open title after the World
No.1 twice recovered from a game down before putting in a superb fifth-game
display to overcome World No.5 Rösner by an 8-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-8, 11-4 margin
in the men’s final.
The 27-year-old Egyptian, who lost to World No.2 Ali Farag in last year’s final,
had beaten Rösner in all 14 of their previous encounters on the PSA Tour and he
weathered some attacking squash from the German to extend that record, lifting
the 34th PSA Tour title of his career - and his first of the season - in the
process.
“I
need to give credit to Rösner, he played amazing throughout the whole week,”
said ElShorbagy.
“I’m pleased we had a fair battle. I’m pleased to win my third U.S. Open title,
I lost last year and I was a bit disappointed, but I lost to the better player
and had no regrets.
“This year, I wanted to come and try and do one match better and luckily I was
able to do that and it came together this week.”
Meanwhile, El Welily has become U.S. Open champion for the first time after a
scintillating display from the World No.2 saw her beat fellow Egyptian Nour El
Sherbini in straight games to improve on last year’s runner-up finish.
The top two women in the world had met 18 times on the PSA Tour - with both
players enjoying nine wins apiece coming into tonight’s match - while they
contested six finals during the 2017/18 season.
And a superb display of attacking squash from El Welily saw her dominate the
encounter to win in just 33 minutes, with an 11-6, 11-9, 11-8 victory seeing her
etch her name into the prestigious trophy for the first time, while she has also
closed the gap between herself and El Sherbini in the battle for the World No.1
spot.
“Last
year I made it to the final and couldn’t quite make it to the end," said El
Welily after lifting the 19th PSA Tour title of her career.
“I’m very glad that I managed to make it one [step] further this time. The U.S.
Open has been one of the titles that I have always loved and a title that I have
wanted to win for a long time now.
“It’s definitely a special moment for me. Nour has had a great week and has
played really well and I look forward to many more matches this season. I’m sure
she will come back fighting and they will be good battles. Hopefully I can get
back to World No.1, it’s my dream and I will continue to fight for it.”
ElShorbagy and El Welily will both take home prize money totalling $22,800 each,
while they have become the first players to qualify for the season-ending PSA
World Tour Finals.
The PSA World Tour Finals features both a men’s and women’s tournament and
brings together the reigning PSA World Champions and all seven PSA World Tour
Platinum title winners, with any remaining places being allocated to the highest
ranked players on the PSA World Tour Finals Leaderboard.
Germany’s
World No.5 Simon Rösner will be the only non-Egyptian to appear in the finals of
the FS Investments U.S. Open Squash Championships event after he brought an end
to World No.2 Ali Farag’s title defence with an immaculate performance on
semi-finals day at the PSA World Tour Platinum event held at Philadelphia’s
Drexel University.
Farag made history last year when he took the men’s title shortly after wife
Nour El Tayeb had prevailed in the women’s final, meaning they became the first
husband and wife in sporting history to lift the same major sports title on the
same day.
But the Egyptian, who toppled World No.7 Gregory Gaultier in a 74-minute epic
yesterday, failed to capitalise on a one-game lead against his opponent today as
Rösner responded in stunning fashion to claim a 4-11, 11-8, 11-3, 11-6 triumph
which sees him become the first German male to reach the final of the U.S. Open.
“I was able to play my attacking squash and I’m very pleased and relieved with
my performance," said Rösner.
“It seems like the U.S. is good for me. It has a lot to do with how comfortable
you are and how the place is treating you. After not making the semis before and
now reaching the final, it is huge for me.
“Life is treating me well at the moment, so I just want to continue on that wave
and play my best squash in the final tomorrow.”
Paderborn-based Rösner, who will appear in his biggest PSA Tour final since he
won the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions in January, is set to face World
No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy in the title decider after the two-time U.S. Open
champion also came back from one game down en route to beating World No.8 Paul
Coll.
A clinical display from Coll saw the New Zealander go a game up before pulling
ahead to 7-3 in the second, but 27-year-old ElShorbagy dug into the mental
reserves which have helped him to dominate the PSA Tour in recent years as he
came back to win it 7-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-6.
“I’ve
reached my fourth U.S. Open final in the last five years,” said Egypt’s
ElShorbagy.
“I have great memories here, this is the tournament that got me to World No.1
four years ago and I come back here every year having those great memories. I’m
really happy to be back in the final, I lost it here last year and I was
disappointed, but I lost because my opponent was the better player."
ElShorbagy has won all 14 of his matches against Rösner on the PSA Tour and will
look to improve on last year’s runner-up finish at this event.
There is guaranteed to be a new name etched onto the women's trophy after World
No.1 Nour
El Sherbini and World Champion Raneem El Welily claimed respective wins over
World No.4 Camille Serme and World No.12 Tesni Evans to set up a final showdown.
El Sherbini, a U.S. Open runner-up in 2014 and 2016, lost to Serme in the latter
of those finals but made amends today as she too overturned a one-game deficit
to claim the win in four games.
"I’m really glad I won today, they were long rallies and all the games were
close so I’m really happy to be through to the final," El Sherbini said.
“It would mean a lot [to win the tournament], the U.S. Open is one of the
biggest tournaments and I would really love to put my name on the trophy. It’s
the third final for me and hopefully it is going to be the one."
Meanwhile, El Welily will appear in the final of this tournament for a second
successive year after she came through a testing encounter with Welsh
giant-killer Tesni Evans, who had upset World No.5 Joelle King and World No.8
Sarah-Jane Perry to become the first ever Welsh U.S. Open semi-finalist.
Evans played some incredible squash throughout the 64-minute battle and took the
first game as she kept the nerves at bay to unsettle the World No.2. But despite
a tenacious display from the 25-year-old, El Welily soon found her range and was
able to claim victories in each of the next three games to book her place in the
final at Evans’ expense.
“Tesni
played really well and all credit to her for pushing me all the way and
fighting," said El Welily.
“Winning the U.S. [Open] title is definitely something I would love to do, but
it’s not going to be easy. It’s definitely more difficult playing against Nour,
she is a very good friend and we play against each other a lot. Playing any
Egyptian girl is usually more difficult mentally."
The two Egyptians will meet for the 19th time on the PSA Tour, with the current
head-to-head record locked at nine wins apiece. The pair met in six finals last
season, with El Sherbini claiming four wins to El Welily’s two.
Both the men's and women's winner will claim $22,800 in prize money and will
qualify for the season-ending PSA World Tour Finals.
The finals of the U.S. Open will begin at 17:00 local time (GMT-4) on Saturday
October 13 and both matches will be broadcast live on SQUASHTV (Rest of World),
Eurosport Player (Europe only), and other major broadcast channels, including BT
Sport, beIN Sports, Fox Sports Australia and Astro.
Welsh
World No.12 Tesni Evans and Germany’s World No.5 Simon Rösner became the first
players from their respective nations to reach the semi-finals of the FS
Investments U.S. Open Squash Championships after an enthralling evening of
squash at Philadelphia’s Drexel University.
Evans, the Welsh No.1, had never beaten Perry in any of their six previous
meetings on the PSA Tour, while Perry got the better of her opponent in the
semi-finals of the Commonwealth Games singles event on the Gold Coast earlier
this year.
But inside Drexel University’s Daskalakis Athletic Center, Evans put in a
magnificent performance as she fought back from a 2-1 deficit to finally get a
win over the World No.8 which sees her become the first Welsh player since coach
David Evans in 2000 to reach the last four of a major PSA Tour event.
“I’m really pleased with my performance today,” said World No.12 Evans.
“I’m a very proud Welsh person anyway, so it makes me really happy that I can
break records as much as I can. I’m so happy that I’m the first one to do it at
this event and I hope there are many more after me.
“I’ve only played one tournament before this and I wasn’t quite sure where my
level was at, but to beat two world-class players in three days is an amazing
achievement. It’s one of my favourite events that I have been to. I love the
place, I stay with a really good family and I feel really good here.”
Evans will take on World Champion Raneem El Welily for a place in the title
decider after the Egyptian dismantled England No.1 Laura Massaro in straight
games, winning 11-7, 11-2, 12-10.
El Welily was a losing finalist at this tournament in 2012 and 2017 and will
look to extend her unbeaten run over Evans to six matches as she bids to reach
the final of this tournament for a third time.
“It
was 3-0 but as you can see from the scoreline it was close, especially in the
third," El Welily said afterwards.
"Laura was really getting me all around the court. Maybe I played safe a little
bit, maybe I wanted to win too much so that put a bit of pressure on me, but
overall I’m very happy to come out as the winner today and it was a good match."
Rösner became the first German player to reach the last four of this tournament
courtesy of a masterclass 3-0 victory over World No.6 Miguel Angel Rodriguez.
A
breathtaking performance from the Paderborn-based 30-year-old saw him down
Colombia’s Rodriguez by an 11-9, 11-6, 11-5 margin and he will line up against
defending champion Ali Farag for a place in the final.
“I feel amazing,” said Rösner.
“I’m really happy with my performance, especially tactically today. I needed to
slow down the pace every once in a while, get into the corners better and I
think I managed to do that by chipping it up high in the air from the left-side
corner to the right-side corner, and after that I was able to counter-attack."
Farag, who won this title alongside wife Nour El Tayeb in 2017, earned his place
in the last four of this tournament for a second successive year after he
outlasted three-time champion Gregory Gaultier after 74 minutes of intense
squash.
Despite sporting a significant amount of strapping on his right knee,
35-year-old Gaultier tested Farag throughout the fixture and twice took a
one-game lead, but the unrelenting pressure from World No.2 Farag eventually
took its toll as the Egyptian powered to a fifth-game victory.
“I
have to give a huge amount of respect to Greg,” said Farag.
"I’m glad I had Nour [El Tayeb] in my corner, who kept telling me to keep
pushing and that I would find a way somehow. I don’t know how I did it, but it
just happened and I’m so relieved to be in the semi-finals again."
The semi-finals of the U.S. Open will take place from 17:00 local time (GMT-4)
on Friday October 12. Fixtures will be shown live on SQUASHTV (Rest of World),
Eurosport Player (Europe only), and other mainstream broadcast channels such as
BT Sport, beIN Sports, Fox Sports Australia and Astro.
New
Zealand’s World No.8 Paul Coll became the first male Kiwi since the 1990s to
reach the semi-finals of a major PSA Tour event after he claimed a massive 3-2
win over World No.3 Tarek Momen at the FS Investments U.S. Open Squash
Championships, PSA World Tour Platinum event.
The pair played out a gladiatorial 96-minute battle at Philadelphia’s Drexel
University which saw some punishing rallies put both players through their paces
as Coll twice recovered from a game down to set up a decider.
With the drama reaching a crescendo inside the Daskalakis Athletic Center, Coll
and Momen both squandered match balls until a no let was given against Momen on
the second of Coll’s match balls. That sent the player from New Zealand through
to the semi-finals of this tournament for the first time, with Coll winning by a
6-11, 11-8, 5-11, 11-7, 13-11 scoreline.
“It feels amazing," said Coll.
“Tarek is a great player and he’s so fast, but I felt that I really found my
game more in the fourth and fifth. There were a few edgy shots in the fifth, but
I got a $300 parking fine earlier today so that was a bit of extra motivation to
pay that off.
“I’ve been working hard on my game, so I’m just excited to see where I am
against the best in the world."
Coll
will take on World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy in the next round after he overcame
World No.9 Mohamed Abouelghar in straight games to reach the semi-finals of this
tournament for the fifth time in succession.
Abouelghar had defeated 2016 World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad in clinical
fashion in the previous round but found the tin with too much regularity against
ElShorbagy, with the higher ranked Egyptian putting in a composed display and
profiting off a series of errors from his opponent to book his place in the
semi-finals.
“He’s a great player but I just wanted to go on court with him today and I
wanted to show him that how he won the last tournament [the China Open], he
needed to do a 100 times better today," ElShorbagy said.
“When it comes to those end games you have to be fearless and you have to show
your metal and I showed that at the end of the second game when he came back at
me. I’m really happy and proud of my performance today."
2016
women’s U.S. Open champion Serme will go head-to-head with World No.1 Nour El
Sherbini in a repeat of that final after they claimed respective victories over
United States No.2 Amanda Sobhy and World No.30 Yathreb Adel.
Serme became the first female French player in history to win the U.S. Open when
she beat El Sherbini in the final two years ago and the 29-year-old sent out a
real statement of intent today as she hit her targets to perfection against
Sobhy to emerge victorious by an 11-5, 11-8, 11-7 margin.
“The crowd were cheering a lot for Amanda today,” said World No.4 Serme
afterwards.
“I just tried to stay focused and even I’m surprised with my game today. I hit
really good targets and I’m just really happy."
El Sherbini, who defeated Adel in straight games, leads the head-to-head record
10-8 against Serme, but the French player did end a four-match losing streak to
the World No.1 in the semi-finals of last month’s J.P. Morgan China Open.
“I think I played really well,” said El Sherbini.
“She [Adel] has been playing really well all week, she beat Nouran [Gohar] and
has been in good form. No one knows how long we have been playing against each
other, we are the same age and have been playing since we were five years old.
She is really tough to play against and I’m really happy with my performance
today."
The quarter-finals of the U.S. Open continue tomorrow (Thursday October 11) at
17:00 local time (GMT-4) and the action will be shown live on SQUASHTV (Rest of
World) and Eurosport Player (Europe only).
World
No.12 Tesni Evans overturned a two-game deficit against New Zealand’s Joelle
King at Philadelphia’s Drexel University earlier today to book her place in the
quarter-finals of the prestigious FS Investments U.S. Open Squash Championships.
Evans had beaten Commonwealth Games gold medalist King in their last meeting
during May’s Allam British Open, but she found herself down in the opening two
games after a bright start from King, with Evans struggling to contain the World
No.5.
However, a virtuoso fightback from Evans saw her play some spell-binding squash
as she took control and she came back to record a 7-11, 12-14, 11-9, 11-7, 11-5
victory which will see her take on World No.8 Sarah-Jane Perry for a place in
what would be a first ever PSA World Tour Platinum semi-final for the
25-year-old from Rhyl.
"I was getting completely outplayed for the first two games, she had me
everywhere and was all over me, so something had to change," Evans said
afterwards.
“I tried to change my game a little bit and luckily it paid off in the end.
“I’m not going to lie, if you look at the head-to-head [against Perry] then I’m
not looking very good. I’ve never beaten her before but it’s another opportunity
to have another go. I’m really looking forward to the quarter-finals and I will
give it everything in that match.”
Perry earned her quarter-final place courtesy of a comfortable 3-0 victory over
India’s Joshna Chinappa, while there were also wins for England’s Laura Massaro
and last year’s runner-up Raneem El Welily, with the duo seeing off Malaysia’s
Nicol David and United States No.1 Olivia Blatchford, respectively,
World
No.7 Massaro and eight-time World Champion David have contested an enthralling
rivalry over the past 13 years and were meeting for the 34th time on the PSA
Tour, with David leading the head-to-head record 23-10 coming into the match.
It was their third meeting of the season - with both players taking a win apiece
before today - but Massaro prevailed by a 12-10, 11-8, 7-11, 8-11, 11-7 margin
despite squandering a two-game advantage.
“Before the fifth, [three-time World Champion] Nick Matthew came over to me and
said ‘you need to get your body language up, you’ve got to hit the ball the way
you know you can hit it and it comes down to whether you want it or not’," said
Massaro, who will play El Welily for a place in the last four.
"Sometimes it just needs to be simplified like that and I just went on there and
tried to fight, [there were ] a few more fist pumps and I just tried to get
myself moving and that transferred into how snappy I was. It was tight but I’m
just happy to get over the line in the end.”
In
the men’s tournament, World No.2 Ali Farag continued the defence of the title he
won alongside wife Nour El Tayeb last year as he overcame Welshman Joel Makin in
straight games.
World No.33 Makin tested Farag at times during the fixture and even forced him
into a tiebreak in the second game, but the player from Egypt was able to close
the win out by an 11-5, 13-11, 11-5 scoreline and he will play three-time U.S.
Open champion Gregory Gaultier in the next round.
“I’m delighted,” said Cairo-born Farag.
“You can see how hungry he is, he never gives up on any ball and never gives you
any cheap points, which is great to see. On court with him it is never easy and
being 9-2 up in third he still caused me problems. I think the second game was
crucial, I think if he had have won that then the dynamics of the match would
have changed and I got away with a 3-0 win."
Gaultier will aim to end a four-match losing streak against the Egyptian in
their quarter-finals match, and he earned his place in the last eight after
beating Farag’s compatriot Zahed Salem 3-1.
“I
didn’t play amazing squash,” Gaultier said afterwards.
“It’s the first time I have played on this court and it was quite difficult, the
ball moves quite fast, I just needed to get my mark and find my length. I was
judging my game all the time and couldn’t get my short game [working], but at
the end of the day I did what I had to do, just win, and that’s all I care
about."
The other men’s quarter-final on the bottom half of the draw will be contested
by Germany’s World No.5 Simon Rösner and Colombia’s World No.6 Miguel Angel
Rodriguez after they enjoyed respective wins over England’s George Parker and
Mexico’s Cesar Salazar.
The quarter-finals of the U.S. Open begin at 18:00 local time (GMT-4) on
Wednesday October 10 and the action will be shown live on SQUASHTV (Rest of
World), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and DAZN (Japan).
United
States No.2 Amanda Sobhy completed an astonishing comeback from two games down
to eliminate defending FS Investments U.S. Open champion Nour El Tayeb in round
three of the PSA World Tour Platinum tournament held at Philadelphia’s Drexel
University.
Sobhy, a former World No.6, had spent 10 months on the sidelines due to an
achilles injury before making her comeback at January’s J.P. Morgan Tournament
of Champions, and she showed signs that she is approaching the level she was at
before that injury with a stunning display after a slow start.
World No.3 El Tayeb’s historic win alongside husband Ali Farag at last year’s
U.S. Open saw them become the first married couple in sporting history to lift
the same major title on the same day, and she looked full of confidence as she
hit an array of winners to take a two-game lead.
However Sobhy, cheered on by the American crowd, responded brilliantly and
forced El Tayeb onto the back foot as she hit perfect lines into the back
corners, while she was just as clinical at the front of the court to complete a
9-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-6 triumph which will see her take on France’s
Camille Serme for a place in the semi-finals.
“It’s a special win for me,” said New York-born Sobhy
“I was thinking about this match since the summer. I know how good she is and
she won it last year, but I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. I
narrowly lost to her in five at the British [Open] and I knew that I’m right
there with the top three still, but I just need to break through and I’m so
pleased with how I fought back today, and having my whole support team here is
huge for me and a big confidence booster.
“It’s amazing to be back here. I missed it last year, I was down here but it was
a really rough time for me with my progress just being stalled and I was really
hopeless at that time. Coming back here, it’s the biggest and most prestigious
tournament in the US and I did my rehab in Philly, so it is a second home for
me."
Serme avenged her defeat to Annie Au at the Oracle NetSuite Open two weeks ago
with a 3-0 win over the World No.11 this time around, while World No.1 Nour El
Sherbini continued her strong start to the tournament with a victory over World
No.9 Alison Waters by the same scoreline.
“I
had to work hard,” said 22-year-old El Sherbini.
“Alison has been playing really well since last season. Last time we played I
beat her 3-2 and it wasn’t an easy match. I knew today was going to be tough and
it wasn’t an easy 3-0."
El Sherbini will clash with compatriot Yathreb Adel in the next round after the
World No.30 followed up a second round upset over World No.7 Nouran Gohar with
another surprise win over World No.15 Salma Hany in five games.
In
the men’s tournament, World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy took a step closer to the
final after he defeated Indian No.1 Saurav Ghosal in an entertaining 51-minute
battle.
ElShorbagy, who fell to Farag in last year’s final, dropped just five points in
the opening game but was tested by a resurgent Ghosal in the next two games and
required a tie-break victory in the second, before he edged the third to
complete the win by an 11-5, 16-14, 11-9 scoreline.
“With Saurav it’s always a tough match,” said ElShorbagy.
“Our matches are always very tight and very difficult. He always knows how to
move me around the court, so I knew from the first point that I had to be sharp
and on my toes and I’m really happy with how I won that crucial second game. In
the third game he made a comeback and I’m just glad that I closed it out in the
end."
The in-form Mohamed Abouelghar stands between ElShorbagy and a place in an
eighth successive PSA Tour semi-final after a sublime performance from the World
No.9 saw him down fellow Egyptian Karim Abdel Gawad in straight games.
Abouelghar has started the season brilliantly, winning his biggest PSA Tour
title last month at the J.P. Morgan China Open, and he dismantled 2016 World
Champion Gawad, claiming an 11-8, 11-9, 12-10 margin to earn his place in the
last eight.
“I
had a disappointing second-half last season,” said Abouelghar.
“I knew a change had to be made and luckily it has worked out sooner than
expected. I would say that was my finest performance today and I had to be at my
best to beat someone like Karim."
Elsewhere, World No.4 Tarek Momen and World No.8 Paul Coll claimed wins against
England’s Declan James and Egypt’s Omar Mosaad, respectively, and they will go
head-to-head in the quarter-finals.
Third round action continues tomorrow at 12:00 local time (GMT-4) on Tuesday
October 9 and all matches will be broadcast live on SQUASHTV (Rest of World),
Eurosport Player (Europe only) and DAZN (Japan).
Defending
FS Investments U.S. Open champions Ali Farag and Nour El Tayeb got their title
defences under way with victories in round two of the PSA World Tour Platinum
event held at Philadelphia’s Drexel University.
Farag and El Tayeb etched their names into the history books at last year’s
tournament as they became the first married couple in sporting history to win
the same major sports title on the same day - and World No.2 Farag began his
title assault at the 2018 instalment with a 3-0 win over Switzerland’s Nicolas
Mueller.
“It’s never easy to start off against Nicky,” said Farag.
“He’s a very tricky player and he’s very dangerous at the front of the court, so
I had to keep my metal and keep it deep in the corners because I know that if I
leave it at the front then I can’t really read him because he’s got all of those
trick shots.
“One or two of those games could have gone either way, so I’m happy to get off
with a 3-0 win."
Farag will take on Welshman Joel Makin for a place in the quarter-finals after
he toppled Frenchman Mathieu Castagnet, while World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy
began his tournament with a comfortable 3-0 victory over United States men’s
No.1 Todd Harrity.
ElShorbagy, a two-time U.S. Open champion, lost out to Farag in last year’s
title decider, but he laid down a marker for the rest of the tournament as he
downed training partner 11-6, 11-4, 11-4 Harrity in just 27 minutes.
“I
really love playing here,” said reigning World Champion ElShorbagy, who fell to
Farag in the Oracle NetSuite Open final earlier this week.
"I have played in three finals here and won twice. This is also where I got to
World No.1 in 2013 when I won the tournament, so I have good memories here and I
really hope that I can keep that momentum going and hopefully I play another
good event here.”
ElShorbagy will play World No.11 Saurav Ghosal in the third round, where he will
be joined by fellow Egyptians Tarek Momen and Karim Abdel Gawad, who defeated
former World No.1 James Willstrop and Greg Lobban, respectively.
In the day’s longest match, World No.20 Declan James came back from 2-0 down to
defeat fellow Englishman Adrian Waller in a marathon 101-minute spectacle and
his reward is a third round matchup with 2016 World Champion Gawad.
World No.3 El Tayeb dispatched India’s Dipika Pallikal Karthik in straight games
in the women’s tournament and she will line up against United States No.2 Amanda
Sobhy in round three after she defeated England’s Victoria Lust 3-1.
“Lusty
and I have played a lot of times,” said former World No.6 Sobhy.
“We know each other’s game and I know how deadly she can be, but I was looking
forward to getting into a solid match. She played really well so I really had to
step up and play at that top level and I’m happy to win and move onto the next
round."
The leading American in the women’s game - World No.16 Olivia Blatchford - is
also through to the last 16 after taking out England’s Emily Whitlock in four
games and she will take on World Champion Raneem El Welily, who overcame the
experienced Rachael Grinham.
“Emily
is a great player,” said Blatchford following her victory.
“Our rankings are pretty much the same, so it’s completely evenly matched. She
came out firing and it was all super close and to be playing Raneem in the next
round here is awesome."
World No.1 Nour El Sherbini began her tournament with victory over Hong Kong’s
Joey Chan to set up a third round meeting with World No.9 Alison Waters, while
World No.11 Nicol David and World No.6 Laura Massaro - who have five U.S. Open
titles between them - will meet for the third tournament in a row and the 34th
time on the PSA Tour after respective wins over Australia’s Donna Lobban and
England’s Millie Tomlinson.
World No.8 Sarah-Jane Perry also won on day two as she defeated Egypt’s Nada
Abbas and she will play India’s Joshna Chinappa in the next round as she looks
to follow up the Oracle NetSuite Open title that she won earlier this week.
The third round of the U.S. Open begins at 12:00 local time (GMT-4) on Monday
October 8 and the action will be shown live on SQUASHTV (Rest of World),
Eurosport Player (Europe only) and DAZN (Japan).
United States duo Amanda Sobhy and Todd Harrity made winning starts to the FS
Investments U.S. Open Squash Championships as they downed Hong Kong’s Tong Tsz-Wing
and Australia’s Cameron Pilley, respectively, on day one of the PSA World Tour
Platinum event taking place at Philadelphia’s Drexel University.
Boston-based
Sobhy missed out on an appearance at last year’s tournament due to an achilles
injury, but she looked eager to make up for lost time in a dominant performance
against her opponent today as she powered to an 11-3, 11-9, 11-1 victory in just
24 minutes, and she will take on England’s Victoria Lust in the next round.
“I missed out last year and that was probably one of the lowest times for me and
so just to be back here is huge,” said Sobhy afterwards.
“I love this venue. I ended up having to move down to Philly for five weeks
during my rehab, so it is like a second home for me now and I know that whenever
I’m here I’m in good hands.”
Sobhy
was the only one of four female US players to prevail in round one, with her
compatriot and tournament wildcard Reeham Sedky falling to capitalise on a
two-game lead against Egyptian World No.19 Hania El Hammamy.
Sedky, the World No.68 who currently attends the University of Pennsylvania, was
on fire in the opening two games as her hard-hitting style enabled her to catch
El Hammamy off guard and she looked destined to earn a second round berth at
this tournament for the first time after going 2-0 up.
But she eased off slightly in the third and El Hammamy was able to gain a
foothold in the match, with the Egyptian taking the next three games without
reply to complete the comeback.
“I had to fight and dig in on every point,” said El Hammamy, who will play
France’s Camille Serme next.
“I said I’m not going to give up. I played against her at the end of last season
and was 2-0 down and came back to 2-2 but then lost, so I said this time was
going to be different and I wasn’t going to let it go."
Elsewhere in the women’s event, United States No.3 Haley Mendez surrendered a
one-game advantage against Egypt’s Nadine Shahin, while Olivia Fiechter, the
other women’s wildcard, went down against Australia’s Donna Lobban.
A trio of American players competed in the opening round of the men’s event,
with Harrity, Christopher Gordon and Andrew Douglas all in action, and Harrity
made it a night to remember as he claimed his biggest ever victory on the PSA
Tour with a 3-2 win over World No.23 Pilley.
Harrity,
the World No.48 from Wayne, completed a brilliant fightback from two games down
to defeat the Australian and will line up against training partner and World
No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy in the next round.
“Obviously he is just coming back from injury so I noticed he wasn’t moving
well,” said Harrity following his win.
“But sometimes that’s the hardest thing to cope with because it’s something else
to think about and distract you from just playing.
“I wasn’t really feeling my shots and I was trying too hard to expose his
movements, but I’m really proud that I didn’t let my nerves get the best of me
and ground it out to get the win."
Gordon saw his tournament come to an end against England’s Declan James, while
Douglas went down to France’s Mathieu Castagnet in straight games.
“Credit
to him because he is a great player and a fighter and he showed me right up
until the last point that the match wasn’t over,” said 31-year-old Castagnet.
“I had to put a lot of effort in to get the win. I love this tournament, I love
the crowd. I have so many good memories, I have been number six in the world
here and I’m trying to get back to that form and reach the top 20 again and who
knows, maybe the top 10."
Meanwhile, Spain’s former World No.5 Borja Golan exited the tournament after
retiring due to injury in his match with Adrian Waller.
A heavy lunge from Waller during the final point in their clash caused some
damage to the court floor, meaning the following two matches scheduled for the
glass court - which is situated in Drexel University’s Daskalakis Daskalakis
Athletic Center - were moved to the side courts while the issue was fixed.
The side courts also played host to one of the day’s biggest upsets when
England’s World No.49 George Parker overcame World No.35 Mazen Hesham in five
games to set up a second round meeting with Tsz Fung Yip.
Second round action gets under way at 12:00 local time (GMT-4) on Sunday October
7, when 2017 winners Ali Farag and Nour El Tayeb begin their tournaments as they
aim to replicate the form that saw them become the first married couple in
sporting history to lift the same major sports title on the same day last year.
The action will be shown live on SQUASHTV (Rest of World), Eurosport Player
(Europe only) and DAZN (Japan).
United States duo Amanda Sobhy and Todd Harrity made winning starts to the FS
Investments U.S. Open Squash Championships as they downed Hong Kong’s Tong Tsz-Wing
and Australia’s Cameron Pilley, respectively, on day one of the PSA World Tour
Platinum event taking place at Philadelphia’s Drexel University.
Boston-based Sobhy missed out on an appearance at last year’s tournament due to
an achilles injury, but she looked eager to make up for lost time in a dominant
performance against her opponent today as she powered to an 11-3, 11-9, 11-1
victory in just 24 minutes, and she will take on England’s Victoria Lust in the
next round.
“I missed out last year and that was probably one of the lowest times for me and
so just to be back here is huge,” said Sobhy afterwards.
“I love this venue. I ended up having to move down to Philly for five weeks
during my rehab, so it is like a second home for me now and I know that whenever
I’m here I’m in good hands.”
Sobhy was the only one of four female US players to prevail in round one, with
her compatriot and tournament wildcard Reeham Sedky falling to capitalise on a
two-game lead against Egyptian World No.19 Hania El Hammamy.
Sedky, the World No.68 who currently attends the University of Pennsylvania, was
on fire in the opening two games as her hard-hitting style enabled her to catch
El Hammamy off guard and she looked destined to earn a second round berth at
this tournament for the first time after going 2-0 up.
But she eased off slightly in the third and El Hammamy was able to gain a
foothold in the match, with the Egyptian taking the next three games without
reply to complete the comeback.
“I had to fight and dig in on every point,” said El Hammamy, who will play
France’s Camille Serme next.
“I said I’m not going to give up. I played against her at the end of last season
and was 2-0 down and came back to 2-2 but then lost, so I said this time was
going to be different and I wasn’t going to let it go."
Elsewhere in the women’s event, United States No.3 Haley Mendez surrendered a
one-game advantage against Egypt’s Nadine Shahin, while Olivia Fiechter, the
other women’s wildcard, went down against Australia’s Donna Lobban.
A trio of American players competed in the opening round of the men’s event,
with Harrity, Christopher Gordon and Andrew Douglas all in action, and Harrity
made it a night to remember as he claimed his biggest ever victory on the PSA
Tour with a 3-2 win over World No.23 Pilley.
Harrity, the World No.48 from Wayne, completed a brilliant fightback from two
games down to defeat the Australian and will line up against training partner
and World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy in the next round.
“Obviously he is just coming back from injury so I noticed he wasn’t moving
well,” said Harrity following his win.
“But sometimes that’s the hardest thing to cope with because it’s something else
to think about and distract you from just playing.
“I wasn’t really feeling my shots and I was trying too hard to expose his
movements, but I’m really proud that I didn’t let my nerves get the best of me
and ground it out to get the win."
Gordon saw his tournament come to an end against England’s Declan James, while
Douglas went down to France’s Mathieu Castagnet in straight games.
“Credit to him because he is a great player and a fighter and he showed me right
up until the last point that the match wasn’t over,” said 31-year-old Castagnet.
“I had to put a lot of effort in to get the win. I love this tournament, I love
the crowd. I have so many good memories, I have been number six in the world
here and I’m trying to get back to that form and reach the top 20 again and who
knows, maybe the top 10."
Meanwhile, Spain’s former World No.5 Borja Golan exited the tournament after
retiring due to injury in his match with Adrian Waller.
A heavy lunge from Waller during the final point in their clash caused some
damage to the court floor, meaning the following two matches scheduled for the
glass court - which is situated in Drexel University’s Daskalakis Daskalakis
Athletic Center - were moved to the side courts while the issue was fixed.
The side courts also played host to one of the day’s biggest upsets when
England’s World No.49 George Parker overcame World No.35 Mazen Hesham in five
games to set up a second round meeting with Tsz Fung Yip.
Second round action gets under way at 12:00 local time (GMT-4) on Sunday October
7, when 2017 winners Ali Farag and Nour El Tayeb begin their tournaments as they
aim to replicate the form that saw them become the first married couple in
sporting history to lift the same major sports title on the same day last year.
The action will be shown live on SQUASHTV (Rest of World), Eurosport Player
(Europe only) and DAZN (Japan).
Defending
men’s champion Ali Farag will get his title defence under way at the FS
Investments U.S. Open Squash Championships with a mouth-watering fixture
against New Zealand’s World No.10 Paul Coll at the PSA World Tour
Platinum tournament taking place at Drexel University’s Daskalakis
Athletic Center between October 6-13.
Farag made history last year in Philadelphia when he claimed his biggest
ever title on the PSA Tour just moments after wife Nour El Tayeb had
lifted the women’s title, meaning the pair became the first married
couple in sporting history ever to win the same major sports title on
the same day.
Harvard-graduate Farag receives a bye into the second round at this
year’s tournament as a result of the new PSA Tour structure - which came
into effect on August 1 - but he’ll have a stern test right from the off
as he faces the dangerous Kiwi Coll, who reached the final of the J.P.
Morgan China Squash Open last week.
The men’s draw will be lit up by some incredible second round fixtures,
with 2007 runner-up James Willstrop taking on World No.4 Tarek Momen,
World No.5 Simon Rösner lining up against Peru’s World No.11 Diego Elias
and World No.3 Marwan ElShorbagy playing England No.1 Daryl Selby.
Top seed Mohamed ElShorbagy will get his tournament off to a start
against either Australia’s Cameron Pilley or local hero Todd Harrity,
while his opposite number in the women’s draw, two-time runner-up Nour
El Sherbini, will play either Hong Kong’s Joey Chan or Belgium’s Tinne
Gilis in round two.
World No.3 El Tayeb is drawn on the same side of the draw as El Sherbini
and is seeded to meet her fellow Egyptian in the semi-finals. The
25-year-old begins her title defence against either India’s Dipika
Pallikal Karthik or Canadian Danielle Letourneau.
World Champion Raneem El Welily is the number two seed in the women’s
game and she is seeded to meet New Zealand’s Joelle King in the last
four as the Egyptian aims to improve on last year’s runner-up finish.
The tournament’s wildcards comprise of Christopher Gordon and Andrew
Douglas in the men’s event, who will take on England’s Declan James and
France’s Mathieu Castagnet, respectively.
The women’s wildcards are US Nationals runner-up Reeham Sedky and Olivia
Fiechter, who will look forward to respective fixtures against Egypt’s
Hania El Hammamy and Australia’s Donna Lobban.
In addition to the $338,000 prize fund - which will be split equally
between the men’s and women’s draw for a sixth year in a row - a place
at the PSA World Tour Finals will also be up for grabs, with both the
men’s and women’s winners guaranteeing their places at the season-ending
tournament.
Action from the glass court situated in the Daskalakis Athletic Center
will be shown live on SQUASHTV (Rest of World) and Eurosport Player
(Europe only), while the semi-finals and finals will be shown live by
major broadcasters around the world, including BT Sport, beIN Sports,
Fox Sports Australia and Astro.
The FS Investments U.S. Open Squash Championships will become the first PSA
World Tour Platinum tournament to take place under the new PSA tour structure
when the world’s best players descend on Philadelphia's Daskalakis Athletic
Center between October 6-13.
The U.S. Open is one of the most pioneering tournaments on the PSA Tour,
becoming the first major squash tournament to commit to equal prize money in
2013, and this year’s tournament will feature its largest ever prize purse with
$338K up for grabs across both 48-player draws.
World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy - the 2014 and 2016 champion - leads the men’s
field which contains former winners such as defending champion Ali Farag and
three-time winner Gregory Gaultier.
Farag’s memorable win over ElShorbagy last year came shortly after wife Nour El
Tayeb beat World Champion Raneem El Welily to lift the women’s title - meaning
they became the first married couple in sporting history ever to win the same
major sports title on the same day.
El Tayeb and El Welily are joined in the women’s draw by the likes of World No.1
Nour El Sherbini, 2016 winner Camille Serme, 2015 victor Laura Massaro and
three-time winner Nicol David.
U.S. interest in the women’s draw comes in the form of World No.14 Olivia
Blatchford, World No.18 Amanda Sobhy, World No.43 Haley Mendez and wildcards
Reeham Sedky and Olivia Fletcher.
Wayne-native World No.49 Todd Harrity features in the men’s draw along fellow
Americans Andrew Douglas and Christopher Gordon, who take the wildcard spots.
The
qualification for the PSA World Tour Finals hots up at the U.S. Open with both
the men’s and women’s champions automatically guaranteeing their place at the
season-ending tournament.
History The
U.S. Open Squash Championship began on New Year’s Day, 1954, at the
University Club of New York City, and literally changed the sport of
squash overnight. The event, first run as a hardball tournament for the
top amateur and professional players in the world, crowned its first
champion, Henri Salaun, a French-American amateur player. At the end of
the four-day event, Open director Ned Bigelow presented Salaun the $500
grand prize. Salaun’s victory over Hashim Khan in the finals graced the
front pages of major newspapers, including the New York Times, the New
York Herald Tribune, and the Washington Post, all of which were filled
with photographs of the Open. New York was abuzz with the excitement.
The Open remained in New York for the next two years but, from 1957 to
1965, the event crisscrossed the country, quickly becoming a prominent
tournament in the world of professional squash. It was hosted in
Detroit, Pittsburgh, Hartford, Indianapolis, and Atlantic City, and
returned to the University Club of New York in 1963, only to be shuttled
off to Buffalo and then Wilmington the following years. During these
early years, the Open was dominated by the presence of the Khan family.
Hashim Khan won three titles between 1956 and 1963, while his relative,
Roshan Khan, also won three titles in the same decade.
In 1966 the U.S. Open merged with the Canadian Open, forming the North
American Open, which remained a hardball event. In the 1970s and 80s the
Khans continued to overwhelm the squash scene. Sharif Khan made fifteen
straight North American finals appearances from 1968 to 1982, winning
twelve of those titles. All in all, the Khan family owns a combined
twenty-nine U.S. Open and North American Open Championships. The U.S.
Open was reborn, once again as a hardball event (while the North
American Open ran separately), in 1983 when Howie Rosenthal promoted the
event. Both the 1983 and 1984 U.S. Opens were held at the Yale Club of
New York with American great Mark Talbott winning in 1983 and falling to
Jahangir Khan in the 1984 final.
In 1985, Tom and Hazel Jones, who were managing the title at that time,
made the decision to switch the event from a hardball to a softball
tournament. Jones moved the Open out to San Francisco and was one of the
first to experiment with the 17-inch tin and 15-point scoring format
(which was later adopted world-wide for softball events in 1989), where
the Open was received very well.
In 1986, Jones moved the Open to Houston, and the following year the
venue was switched to the Palladium Night Club in New York City where a
brand new, imported portable court from Europe was set up on the dance
floor. The Open achieved enormous success that year and has continued to
thrive amongst an eager American audience, where players from across the
world, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Pakistan, and
France have all claimed championships.
In the late 1990s, US SQUASH acquired the rights to the trademark and
has been managing the championship into a world-class event ever since.
Defending men’s champion Ali Farag will get his title defence under way
at the FS Investments U.S. Open Squash Championships with a
mouth-watering fixture against New Zealand’s World No.10 Paul Coll at
the PSA World Tour Platinum tournament taking place at Drexel
University’s Daskalakis Athletic Center between October 6-13