| |
|
US Open 2021
Men's Draw
01 - 06 Oct
Philadelphia, USA, $150k |
Round Two
02 Oct |
Round Three
03 Oct |
Quarters
04 Oct |
Semis
05 Oct |
Final
06 Oct |
[1] Ali Farag (EGY)
11-5, 11-5, 11-5 (37m)
[9/16] Saurav Ghosal (IND) |
Ali Farag
11-5, 11-3, 10-12, 11-7 (65m)
Mazen Hesham |
Ali Farag
11-5, 11-7, 16-14 (64m)
Joel Makin |
Joel Makin
11-9, 5-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8 (83m)
Tarek
Momen
|
Tarek
Momen
5-11, 5-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-3 (91m)
Mostafa Asal
|
[9/16]
Mazen Hesham
(EGY)
8-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-5 (60m)
[9/16] Gregoire Marche (FRA) |
Sébastien Bonmalais
(FRA)
8-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-9 (70m)
[9/16] Omar Mosaad (EGY) |
Sébastien Bonmalais
11-6, 6-11, 11-5, 11-9 (61m)
Joel Makin |
[9/16]
Joel Makin
(WAL)
13-11, 14-12, 11-8 (59m)
[6] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) |
James Willstrop
(ENG)
9-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-8 (47m)
[5] Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY) |
James Willstrop
11-9, 7-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-3 (63m)
Mohamed Abouelghar |
James Willstrop
11-7, 11-13, 11-6, 11-9 (48m)
Tarek
Momen |
[9/16]
Mohamed Abouelghar
(EGY)
11-4, 7-11, 11-3, 11-5 (35m)
Nicolas Müller (SUI) |
Patrick Rooney
(ENG)
7-11, 7-11, 11-2, 11-5, 13-11 (66m)
Auguste Dussourd (FRA) |
Patrick Rooney
8-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-7 (43m)
Tarek
Momen |
[4]
Tarek Momen
(EGY)
11-4, 11-8, 11-4 (31m)
Ramit Tandon (IND) |
[3]
Paul Coll
(NZL)
11-6, 11-8, 11-5 (42m)
Victor Crouin (FRA) |
Paul Coll
11-2, 11-3, 11-3 (35m)
Youssef Ibrahim |
Paul Coll
11-8, 9-11, 11-5, 11-7 (103m)
Mostafa Asal |
Mostafa Asal
11-7, 11-8, 3-11, 2-11, 12-10 (96m)
Diego Elias
|
Karim El Hammamy (EGY)
4-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9 (66m)
[9/16]
Youssef Ibrahim
(EGY) |
Baptiste Masotti
(FRA)
6-11, 11-1, 11-8, 11-9 (56m)
Greg Lobban (SCO) |
Baptiste Masotti
10-12, 11-7, 5-11, 11-7, 11-3 (77m)
Mostafa Asal |
[8]
Mostafa Asal
(EGY)
11-6, 11-4, 14-12 (49m)
Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) |
[7]
Diego Elias
(PER)
11-3, 11-5, 11-5 (32m)
Adrian Waller (ENG) |
Diego Elias
11-2, 11-4, 10-12, 12-10 (48m)
Raphael Kandra |
Diego Elias
5-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-1 (45m)
Mohamed Elshorbagy |
Raphael Kandra
(GER)
11-9, 5-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5 (58m)
Vikram Malhotra (IND) |
Youssef Soliman
(EGY)
11-2, 12-10, 11-2 (36m)
Cesar Salazar (MEX) |
Youssef Soliman
11-8, 12-10, 9-11, 11-6 (61m)
Mohamed Elshorbagy |
[9/16] Eain Yow Ng (MAS)
12-10, 11-6, 5-11, 12-10 (48m)
[2]
Mohamed Elshorbagy
(EGY) |
Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA) bt Arturo Salazar (MEX) 3-1: 5-11, 11-7, 11-2,
0-0 retired (29m)
James Willstrop (ENG) bt Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 (34m)
Nicolas Mueller (SUI) bt [WC] Faraz Khan (USA) 3-1: 11-8, 4-11, 11-4,
11-9 (50m)
Patrick Rooney (ENG) bt Bernat Jaume (ESP) 3-0: 11-5, 11-7, 11-8 (32m)
Auguste Dussourd (FRA) bt Borja Golan (ESP) 3-2: 6-11, 11-5, 11-9, 7-11,
11-5 (68m)
Ramit Tandon (IND) bt Lucas Serme (FRA) 3-1: 10-12, 11-9, 11-6, 11-9
(75m)
Victor Crouin (FRA) bt [WC] Timothy Brownell (USA) 3-1: 11-4, 4-11,
11-5, 11-4 (43m)
Karim El Hammamy (EGY) bt Alan Clyne (SCO) 3-2: 9-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-6,
11-9 (80m)
Greg Lobban (SCO) bt Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) 3-1: 11-7, 7-11, 11-3, 11-2
(56m)
Baptiste Masotti (FRA) bt Leonel Cardenas (MEX) 3-1: 11-8, 9-11, 11-4,
11-6 (45m)
Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) bt Nathan Lake (ENG) 3-1: 8-11, 11-5, 11-6,
11-8 (60m)
Adrian Waller (ENG) bt Ben Coleman (ENG) 3-1: 11-9, 10-12, 11-9, 11-8
(65m)
Vikram Malhotra (IND) bt Tom Richards (ENG) 3-1: 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 12-10
(49m)
Raphael Kandra (GER) bt Todd Harrity (USA) 3-2: 4-11, 11-3, 11-5, 7-11,
11-4 (55m)
Cesar Salazar (MEX) bt Shahjahan Khan (USA) 3-1: 11-3, 4-11, 11-3, 11-5
(34m)
Youssef Soliman (EGY) bt Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-4
(35m)
|
US Open 2021
Womens Draw
01 - 06
Oct
Philadelphia, USA, $150k |
Round Two
02 Oct |
Round Three
03 Oct |
Quarters
04 Oct |
Semis
05 Oct |
Final
06 Oct |
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
11-6, 11-6, 11-5 (23m)
Tong Tsz-Wing (HKG) |
Nour El Sherbini
11-2, 11-6, 11-7 (21m)
Nadine Shahin |
Nour El Sherbini
11-5, 11-3, 11-4 (24m)
Melissa Alves |
Nour El Sherbini
8-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-7 (59m)
Hania El Hammamy
|
Hania El Hammamy
9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-3 (74m)
Nouran Gohar |
[9/16]
Nadine Shahin
(EGY)
11-9, 13-11, 4-11, 11-9 (45m)
[9/16] Olivia Clyne (USA) |
Melissa Alves
(FRA)
11-8, 11-8, 11-6 (43m)
Lucy Turmel (ENG) |
Melissa Alves
11-8, 11-2, 11-6 (27m)
Georgina Kennedy |
Georgina Kennedy
(ENG)
11-7, 11-6, 11-1 (25m)
[8] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) |
[6]
Joelle King
(NZL)
14-12, 11-7, 11-4 (32m)
Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) |
Joelle King
11-3, 11-4, 11-6 (27m)
Joshna Chinappa |
Joelle King
11-2, 11-8, 11-7 (39m)
Hania El Hammamy |
[9/16]
Joshna Chinappa
(IND)
11-2, 11-7, 11-3 (20m)
Anna Serme (CZE) |
Nada Abbas
(EGY)
11-1, 11-2, 12-10 (29m)
[WC] Marina Stefanoni (USA) |
Nada Abbas
9-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-4 (53m)
Hania El Hammamy |
[3]
Hania El Hammamy
(EGY)
11-4, 13-11, 11-6 (35m)
Lisa Aitken (SCO) |
[4]
Amanda Sobhy
(USA)
11-4, 11-2, 11-9 (23m)
Lee Ka Yi (HKG) |
Amanda Sobhy
11-1, 8-11, 11-3, 8-11, 11-9 (43m)
Olivia Fiechter |
Olivia Fiechter
11-5, 11-5, 11-8 (37m)
Nele Gilis
|
Olivia Fiechter
11-5, 11-2, 11-3 (32m)
Nouran Gohar
|
Olivia Fiechter
(USA)
11-6, 11-4, 11-5 (20m)
Donna Lobban (AUS) |
[9/16]
Nele Gilis
(BEL)
11-8, 11-7, 11-5 (41m)
[9/16] Tesni Evans (WAL) |
Nele Gilis
11-7, 17-19, 12-10, 11-3 (56m)
Hollie Naughton |
[9/16]
Hollie Naughton
(CAN)
11-5, 19-17, 11-7 (36m)
[7] Salma Hany (EGY) |
[5]
Sarah-Jane Perry
(ENG)
12-14, 8-11, 12-10, 12-10, 11-9 (58m)
Zeina Mickawy (EGY) |
Sarah-Jane Perry
11-4, 1-11, 11-3, 9-11, 11-4 (45m)
Emily Whitlock |
Sarah-Jane Perry
11-7, 11-6, 11-7 (39m)
Nouran Gohar |
Emily Whitlock
(WAL)
9-11, 11-5, 11-0, 11-0 (31m)
Farida Mohamed (EGY) |
[9/16]
Alison Waters
(ENG)
11-6, 11-8, 11-9 (30m)
Tze Lok Ho (HKG) |
Alison Waters
11-4, 11-8, 11-5 (33m)
Nouran Gohar |
[9/16] Sabrina Sobhy (USA)
11-9, 11-7, 11-4 (28m)
[2]
Nouran Gohar
(EGY) |
Tsz-Wing Tong (HKG) bt Julianne Courtice (ENG) 3-2: 7-11, 5-11, 11-8,
11-6, 12-10 (59m)
Lucy Turmel (ENG) bt Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG) 3-1: 11-5, 11-6, 7-11, 11-4
(35m)
Melissa Alves (FRA) bt Sana Ibrahim (EGY) 3-0: 11-4, 11-7, 11-6 (23m)
Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bt Haley Mendez (USA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-1 (23m)
Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) bt [WC] Lucie Stefanoni (USA) 3-1: 11-5,
11-3, 9-11, 11-2 (26m)
Anna Serme (CZE) bt Milou van der Heijden (NED) 3-2: 11-9, 3-11, 14-12,
6-11, 12-10 (55m)
Nada Abbas (EGY) bt Menna Nasser (EGY) 3-0: 11-2, 11-5, 11-3 (23m)
[WC] Marina Stefanoni (USA) bt Danielle Letourneau (CAN) 3-0: 11-6,
11-2, 11-6 (21m)
Lisa Aitken (SCO) bt Ineta Mackevica (LAT) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-4 (23m)
Ka Yi Lee (HKG) bt Alexandra Fuller (RSA) 3-2: 11-6, 1-11, 2-11, 11-6,
11-2 (36m)
Olivia Fiechter (USA) bt Menna Hamed (EGY) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-8 (29m)
Donna Lobban (AUS) bt Nicole Bunyan (CAN) 3-2: 8-11, 11-6, 6-11, 11-7,
11-5 (53m)
Zeina Mickawy (EGY) bt Jana Shiha (EGY) 3-2: 9-11, 11-6, 11-5, 10-12,
11-3 (40m)
Farida Mohamed (EGY) bt Jasmine Hutton (ENG) 3-2: 6-11, 14-12, 13-11,
8-11, 11-7 (57m)
Emily Whitlock (WAL) bt Mayar Hany (EGY) 3-0: 11-3, 11-6, 11-5 (21m)
Tze Lok Ho (HKG) bt Coline Aumard (FRA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-2 (32m)
|
Finals
Asal and Gohar Capture U.S. Open Titles
Egyptian
duo Mostafa Asal and Nouran Gohar are the 2021 U.S. Open presented
by Truist champions after they overcame compatriots Mostafa Asal and
Hania El Hammamy, respectively, on a thrilling finals night at
Philadelphia’s Arlen Specter US Squash Center.
20-year-old Asal has become the youngest ever U.S. Open champion
after launching a monumental comeback from two games down to capture
his first PSA World Tour Platinum title.
It brings an end to a gruelling tournament for Asal, who battled
through a 103-minute fixture against World No.3 Paul Coll in the
quarter finals, a 96-minute humdinger with Diego Elias in the semi
finals and a 91-minute title decider with Momen.
The
World No.10 was second best for the first two games but found a new
lease of life in the third and fourth games to draw level,
overturning a championship ball in the latter. Asal’s mental
strength was unwavering in the decider as he retrieved ball after
ball to claim a stunning 5-11, 5-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-3 victory.
“I don’t believe the feeling," said Asal after his sixth PSA title.
"I have all the respect for Tarek, he was 2-0 up and I think it was
a great battle today. I’ve been having so many 3-2s in the last
couple of days and I cannot believe it until now. I was having
problems before the tournament, whether I would enter or if I
couldn’t, but I managed to win the title.
“I
want to thank everyone, my coaches, my physios, mentally for me to
be able to recover after all of these matches is something
unbelievable. Lastly, I want to thank US Squash and the PSA, Lee
Beachill [PSA Chief Operating Officer] and everyone behind this
tournament. Thank you guys for having us again and I can’t wait for
the next event for this tournament.”
Meanwhile, Gohar has captured back-to-back U.S. Open titles after
coming back from a game down to beat World No.6 Hania El Hammamy
9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-3 in 74 minutes.
Gohar
- who overturned a 2-0 deficit and a match ball against compatriot
Nour El Tayeb to win the 2019 U.S. Open - found herself a game down
and 9-4 behind after a rampant start from her opponent.
But a change in tactic from the 24-year-old saw her go on the
offensive, and the momentum shifted in Gohar’s favour as she moved
on to claim a seventh successive win over El Hammamy. It is Gohar’s
second successive Platinum title after winning the CIB Egyptian Open
in September and her 12th PSA title overall.
“I can’t really believe it, but it seems like I have to always be
down in the final of the U.S. Open,” said Gohar afterwards.
“Last
year I was match ball down, this year thankfully I was only 1-0 and
9-4 down. I just wanted to stick around most of the time, and I’m
just glad with the way I dealt with it. I felt I was the most
experienced today, so that made a huge difference.
“I’ve been in these situations before against the top players… I
think what made the difference is that I just wanted to stick to my
game plan and adapt a little bit. I played better, I thought about
it more and that made the difference today. I think many matches,
many losses, were in the back of my mind, so I just took the
experience and was trying to execute it today.”
Gohar and Momen take home $19,000 in prize money for their efforts
in Philadelphia this week, while Momen joins Gohar and Ali Farag in
qualifying for the season-ending CIB PSA World Tour Finals, which
will take place in Cairo in June, 2022.
|
Semi
Finals
Asal Beats Elias at U.S. Open to Reach First
Platinum Final
Egypt’s
World No.10 Mostafa Asal will line up in the final of a PSA World
Tour Platinum event for the first time in his career after he came
through a brutal five-game thriller against Peru’s Diego Elias in
the semi finals of the U.S. Open presented by Truist, which is
taking place in the brand new Arlen Specter US Squash Center in
Philadelphia this week.
Asal has already established himself as one of the sport’s finest
players after winning his first major PSA title in July’s CIB PSA
World Tour Finals, and the 20-year-old will have the chance to add
the U.S. Open trophy to his collection after beating World No.8
Elias by an 11-7, 11-8, 3-11, 2-11, 12-10 scoreline.
It looked as if Elias would have the distinction of becoming the
first Peruvian Platinum finalist after he battled back from two
games down to level. Asal looked spent physically, but the Egyptian
summoned whatever strength he had left to fight back from 7-2 behind
and then two match balls down to seal his place in the title
decider.
"This is a wonderful place to play and a wonderful court,” said Asal
afterwards.
“I’m thankful I came through today and played this amazing match,
it’s been a pleasure to play in front of the US crowd. I came into
this tournament with a bit of an injury in my shoulder, and I’ve
been trying to fix it in since San Francisco
.
“I’m going to recover now and play some FIFA to relax a little bit.
I have confidence that I can win the tournament tomorrow, I did
before at the World Tour Finals.”
Asal will take on World No.4 Tarek Momen in tomorrow’s final after
the Egyptian defeated Welshman Joel Makin to reach his first U.S.
Open final.
Makin caused one of the tournament’s biggest upsets when he overcame
defending champion Ali Farag in the quarter finals, but he was
unable to get the better of Momen, who battled to an 11-9, 5-11,
11-8, 7-11, 11-8 victory. Both Momen and Asal will now aim to win
their first Platinum titles, and Momen will look to avenge his
defeat to Asal at the Oracle NetSuite Open a fortnight ago.
“He’s
unreal, he never gives up, it’s one of the best qualities he has,
and I don’t think anyone on tour has this quality, the way he fights
despite being extremely tired and fatigued is just unreal," said
Momen.
"The way he was fighting kept me going, I was thinking ‘Look at what
he’s doing, look how hard he’s pushing, you need to push hard as
well'. I think he just lifted me up today... I’m really proud with
how I fought today, the fourth and fifth games were super tough."
The women’s title decider will see World No.6 Hania El Hammamy line
up in her first U.S. Open final opposite the defending champion
Nouran Gohar following respective wins against World No.1 Nour El
Sherbini and USA’s Olivia Fiechter.
El Hammamy found herself a game down after a strong start from El
Sherbini, who is a three-time runner-up at this tournament. However,
El Hammamy stepped it up in the second game and punished El Sherbini
as the match went on, eventually emerging victorious courtesy of an
8-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-7 triumph.
“It
would mean a lot [to win the U.S. Open title],” El Hammamy said.
“I’ve never reached anything in this tournament, I used to lose in
the first or second round. I’m loving the new venue, it’s amazing,
I’m loving the court, the atmosphere, and the crowd is amazing.”
Gohar ended US hopes at the tournament after overcoming the
country’s No.3 player Olivia Fiechter 11-5, 11-2, 11-3.
Fiechter was appearing in her maiden Platinum semi-final after
causing a major shock against compatriot and World No.3 Amanda Sobhy
in the third round. But she was put to the sword in a dominant Gohar
display, and the Egyptian will now aim to capture back-to-back U.S.
Open titles.
"I
have great memories of two years ago, it was amazing,” Gohar said.
“Having the crowd today, even if most of the time they were cheering
against me, I love it. I love having a great crowd watching and
enjoying the game. It makes me feel really happy, and I really
appreciate what I’m doing on court.”
The 2021 U.S. Open finals will be held at 19:00 (GMT-4) tomorrow
(October 6). All of the action will be
SQUASHTV.
Coverage
from courts 14 and 15 will be shown live on the
PSA SQUASHTV YouTube
channel and the
official Facebook page of the
PSA World Tour.
For tickets and more information on the 2021 U.S. Open, visit the
tournament’s official website or follow on
Twitter,
Facebook &
Instagram.
|
Quarter
Finals
Makin and Elias Stun Top Seeds Farag and ElShorbagy at U.S. Open
Welshman Joel Makin and Peru’s Diego Elias have sent top seeds Ali
Farag and Mohamed ElShorbagy out of the 2021 U.S. Open presented by
Truist at the quarter finals stage after two massive performances at
the Arlen Specter US Squash Center earlier today.
Makin, the World No.9, had never taken more than a game in three
previous defeats to World No.1 Ali Farag but put in an almost
flawless performance to reach the semi finals of the U.S. Open for
the first time and end Farag’s title defence.
Farag had been in red-hot form after winning both the CIB Egyptian
Open and the Oracle NetSuite Open in September, but he never had a
moment to settle against the 26-year-old from Pembrokeshire, with
Makin completing an 11-5, 11-7, 16-14 victory to cause a big upset
at the PSA World Tour Platinum event.
“I
was frustrated coming into it, I’ve lost in too many quarter finals
now and I’m not happy staying around there,” Makin said.
“I brought a lot of intensity into the match and I took it to him. I
don’t want the match to be us saying ‘great shot’ and clapping each
other’s shots, I wanted to take it to him, get across the middle and
dominate the court.
“He got quite a few [decisions] wrong in crucial stages and that’s
going to happen in sport. I had to deal with it as best as I could,
it probably wasn’t the best squash I played after that because it
was stop-start, but I was up for it, it didn’t effect me, and I was
trying to get on top. There were a couple of errors but then I came
back from 10-7, and I’m happy with how I did that.”
Makin will take on World No.4 Tarek Momen - the highest ranked
player left in the tournament - in the semi-finals after the
Egyptian ended the fairy tale run of England’s James Willstrop who,
at 38 years of age, was the oldest man ever to reach the quarter
finals of a major PSA event.
The other semi final will pit Elias against World No.10 Mostafa Asal
following their respective wins over World No.2 ElShorbagy and World
No.3 Paul Coll.
Elias was under huge pressure for the opening game and a half, but
after the Peruvian fought through to take the second, ElShorbagy’s
energy levels soon nose-dived. There was no let up from Elias as he
powered through the third and fourth games to seal the win.
“I’m
happy to win, but I think this was the worst match we’ve played
together,” Elias said.
“I could see he wasn’t moving that well and I was a bit nervous at
the start, I didn’t know if I should start putting pace on the ball
because he’s good at that, or try to play smart. In the first game
he was playing really smart, hitting the perfect shots and I got a
bit frustrated.”
Asal made it three wins out of three over Coll after winning the
longest match of the tournament so far at a gruelling 103 minutes.
Tonight’s results mean that there will be a new name on the men’s
trophy come the night of the final.
Meanwhile, the home crowd at the Specter Center will have a USA
player to cheer on, on semi finals night as the country’s No.3 -
Olivia Fiechter - beat Belgium’s Nele Gilis in straight games to
reach her first Platinum semi final.
Fiechter stunned close friend and USA No.1 Amanda Sobhy in the
previous round to reach her maiden Platinum quarter-final and,
buoyed by passionate home support, put in a magnificent performance
to beat Gilis 11-7, 11-6, 11-7.
“I
was trying to enjoy the moment in front of my home crowd and at this
new centre they’ve built for American players,” said Fiechter.
“I don’t think I could be more pleased with that performance.
Throughout the day you go through moments when you’re hanging out in
your hotel room and you’re trying not to think about it, but
obviously you’re trying to prepare for it and get yourself ready. I
was trying to take it point by point and focus on my game plan. I
knew if I thought about the situation and the moment too much then
things could unravel quickly.”
Fiechter will take on defending champion Nouran Gohar for a place in
the title decider, with World No.2 Gohar beating England’s
Sarah-Jane Perry 3-0.
“I
was up for it and against SJ you have to play your best to be able
to win 3-0 for sure,” said Gohar.
“[Playing a U.S. player in the semi final] is very exciting. When
you have the crowd cheering for anyone, it’s great for our sport and
is great for the game. I’ve had this in Egypt and I’m really excited
to see it. It happened a few times with Amanda, but to have a new
player with the home crowd is great for the sport and I’m very
excited for tomorrow.”
World No.1 Nour El Sherbini and World No.6 Hania El Hammamy will
contest the other women’s semi-final following respective wins
against France’s Melissa Alves and New Zealand’s Joelle King.
The semi finals will take place tomorrow (October 5) and play will
begin at 18:00 (GMT-4). All of the action will be shown live on
SQUASHTV.
Coverage
from courts 14 and 15 will be shown live on the
PSA SQUASHTV YouTube
channel and the
official Facebook page of the
PSA World Tour.
For tickets and more information on the 2021 U.S. Open, visit the
tournament’s official website or follow on
Twitter,
Facebook &
Instagram.
|
Third
Round
Fiechter Stuns Fellow American Sobhy to Reach
U.S. Open Quarters
USA
No.3 Olivia Fiechter claimed a stunning victory against the
country’s No.1 player Amanda Sobhy in front of passionate home
support at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center to reach the quarter
finals of the U.S. Open presented by Truist.
It’s the first time in her career that Fiechter has reached the last
eight of a prestigious PSA World Tour Platinum event. There was a
packed house at the Specter Center as fans flocked in to watch the
two Americans do battle and Sobhy - playing at a career-high No.3
ranking and boasting a 3-0 head-to-head win record over Fiechter on
the PSA World Tour - was the heavy favourite coming into the clash.
However, Fiechter played some of the best squash of her career to
defeat the recently-crowned Oracle NetSuite Open champion by an
11-1, 8-11, 11-3, 8-11, 11-9 scoreline and she will take on Nele
Gilis for a place in the semi finals.
“I’m trying to process it one second at a time," Fiechter said.
“Amanda and I play at least once a week, every week, especially
since she moved to Philly. I knew I was getting closer in practice
matches, and I’ve been feeling really good on court this week. I was
feeling optimistic and thought that if I played my best squash I had
a shot, but I wasn’t foreseeing it would be that close.
“She’s one of my closest friends on tour, she’s been a mentor to me
since I’ve gone pro, she’s been like a big sister to me and has
given me so much advice. She’s at a career-high ranking of World
No.3 right now and she’s been playing well. To get a win over a top
10 player is another level you have to go to, so I’m over the moon.”
France’s Melissa Alves will be another Platinum quarter final
debutant after he she got the better of England’s Georgina Kennedy
with an 11-8, 11-2, 11-6 victory in 27 minutes. The World No.27 will
now take on World No.1 Nour El Sherbini in the last eight, with El
Sherbini beating fellow Egyptian Nadine Shahin.
"She’s
the best player in the world and there’s no pressure for me against
her,” Alves said.
“I’m excited for a big fight again. I’m ready to play on the big
stage now and am just excited. If I start strong and keep the rally
and the momentum, anything can happen. Why not tomorrow?”
Reigning champion Nouran Gohar continued her title defence with a
win against Alison Waters, and she will take on No.5 seed Sarah-Jane
Perry next after she beat Welsh player Emily Whitlock in her second
five-game battle of the event. New Zealand’s Joelle King and Egypt’s
Hania El Hammamy were the other women’s winners in round three.
In the men’s event, former World No.1 James Willstrop has made
history as the oldest man ever to reach a major PSA quarter-final
following the 38-year-old’s stunning 3-2 victory over World No.15
Mohamed Abouelghar.
Willstrop, currently ranked at No.31 in the world, claimed a major
upset against World No.5 Marwan ElShorbagy in the previous round and
his ball control was impeccable once again as he set up a last eight
clash with former World Champion Tarek Momen.
“It’s
just great, I love playing and I try and keep myself in shape,”
Willstrop said.
“I haven’t played these level of matches in three days for a long
time. I can’t expect too much of myself. I just love it, this is a
great tournament, I don’t know how longer I’ll be able to do this
sort of stuff, so I’ll just get stuck in.”
Meanwhile, World No.3 Paul Coll and World No.10 Mostafa Asal will
renew their rivalry after respective wins over Karim El Hammamy and
Baptiste Masotti.
Asal has won both of their previous matches on the PSA World Tour
and received both praise and criticism on social media for his
exuberant celebrations, which saw him tear off his shirt both times
in jubilant scenes.
“Paul
is a very nice person and I have all the respect for him and what
he’s achieved in the last couple of years," Asal said.
“As Mohamed ElShorbagy and Ali Farag have said, he’s a really nice
guy outside of the court and inside the court. I’m sorry about my
celebrations, but I was in front of my country and in front of my
home and I was getting excited every time. It’s always been a
pleasure to play with him because I think he’s a legend of his
country and the rest of the world.”
Defending champion Ali Farag got the better of compatriot Mazen
Hesham in his third round fixture and he will take on Welshman Joel
Makin, who defeated France’s Sebastien Bonmalais. Three-time U.S.
Open champion Mohamed ElShorbagy will take on Peru’s Diego Elias in
the other men’s quarter final after they completed wins over Youssef
Soliman and Raphael Kandra, respectively.
The quarter finals will take place tomorrow (October 4) and play
will begin at 17:30 (GMT-4). All of the action will be shown live on
SQUASHTV.
Coverage
from courts 14 and 15 will be shown live on the
PSA SQUASHTV YouTube
channel and the
official Facebook page of the
PSA World Tour.
For tickets and more information on the 2021 U.S. Open, visit the
tournament’s official website or follow on
Twitter,
Facebook &
Instagram.
|
Second
Round
Willstrop Claims ElShorbagy Scalp in Round Two of
U.S. Open
38-year-old
Englishman James Willstrop rolled back the years as
he achieved a hugely impressive 3-1 victory over
World No.5 Marwan ElShorbagy at Philadelphia’s Arlen
Specter Squash Center to reach the third round of
the U.S. Open presented by Truist.
World No.31 Willstrop, a former World No.1, has this
month dropped to his lowest World Ranking since
November 2003 but proved that class is permanent as
his impeccable ball control was too much for
ElShorbagy to handle.
The Yorkshireman closed out a 9-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-8
victory in 47 minutes to ensure that he will take on
Egypt’s Mohamed Abouelghar for a place in the
quarter-finals.
“I feel in shock a bit at the minute,” Willstrop
said after the match.
“I haven’t been anywhere near that level really. I
think experience counts for a lot, but he’s a great
champion. I thought the way he played today and
handled himself [was great].
“It’s not easy being on the wrong end of it. I was
playing well and he just handled himself so well at
the end there, really lost in a champion’s way and I
admire that, he was a top man today.”
ElShorbagy wasn’t the only seeded player to bow out
of the men’s event in round two as his compatriot
Karim Abdel Gawad - the No.6 seed - suffered a 3-0
defeat to World No.9 Joel Makin.
Makin will take on Sebastien Bonmalais next after
the World No.58 upset World No.20 Omar Mosaad to
reach the third round of a PSA World Tour Platinum
event for the first time in his career.
“Gawad’s
obviously been in and out of form and with his body,
but that doesn’t make any difference to me,” Makin
said.
“He’s a class player when he’s on and is so
dangerous. I knew I had to be aggressive with him
and get across the middle and hit him off the ball,
get on top of him and I couldn’t let him play his
shots. I wanted to inject pace and be aggressive.
When I did that, I got on top of him.”
Defending champion Ali Farag got his title challenge
under way with a 3-0 win against India’s Saurav
Ghosal, and he will play fellow Egyptian Mazen
Hesham for a place in the last eight. No.2 seed
Mohamed ElShorbagy was also in action as he defeated
Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng to set up a third round clash
with fellow Egyptian Youssef Soliman.
In the women’s event, World No.7 Sarah-Jane Perry
completed a spectacular comeback against Egypt’s
World No.33 Zeina Mickawy, recovering from a 2-0
deficit and then overturning four match balls to
book her place in the last 16.
Following her 12-14, 8-11, 12-10, 12-10, 11-9
victory, Perry will line up against Wales’ Emily
Whitlock in the third round.
“I’m
not quite sure how I won that,” Perry said
afterwards.
“For patches I got in front, but I didn’t think I
was actually taking advantage, I was just trying to
keep pushing and pushing and [thinking] ‘come on,
you can do it’. When I'd saved those match ball in
the third and the fourth, I just kept saying in the
fifth ‘keep going, there’s a chance after those
games that she’s going to get edgy’. For a lot of
the match, there was zero edginess in anything she
was doing, and quite a lot in mine.”
Meanwhile, defending champion Nouran Gohar got her
title challenge under way with a comfortable 3-0 win
over USA’s Sabrina Sobhy and she will play England’s
Alison Waters in the next round.
“Usually
when you come back to a tournament it’s the same
venue and you’re only defending champion for one
year, not two,” said Gohar.
“In a way, I feel like it’s a different tournament.
It’s good in a way as it’s a fresh start, you have
good memories in the back of your mind, but you
don’t take it for granted.”
Perry’s compatriot, Georgina Kennedy, will appear in
the third round of a Platinum event for the first
time in her career after the World No.51 stunned
World No.10 Rowan Elaraby in just 25 minutes in the
day’s biggest upset. USA No.1 Amanda Sobhy also
appeared on day two, beating Hong Kong’s Ka Yi Lee
in straight games, while World No.1 Nour El Sherbini
beat Tsz-Wing Tong.
The third round begins tomorrow (October 3) at 12:00
(GMT-4). Action from Glass Court East and Glass
Court West will be shown live on
SQUASHTV.
Coverage
from courts 14 and 15 will be shown live on the
PSA SQUASHTV YouTube
channel and the
official Facebook page of the
PSA World Tour.
For tickets and more information on the 2021 U.S. Open, visit the
tournament’s official website or follow on
Twitter,
Facebook &
Instagram.
|
First
Round
Wildcard Stefanoni Claims Upset to
Reach U.S. Open Second Round
18-year-old
wildcard Marina Stefanoni claimed the biggest upset
on day one of the 2021 U.S. Open presented by Truist,
with the Stamford-based World No.71 overcoming World
No.19 Danielle Letourneau as the PSA World Tour
Platinum event made its debut at the brand new,
state-of-the-art Arlen Specter Squash Center in
Philadelphia.
Stefanoni, a sophomore at Harvard University, looked
like she could be on the verge of pulling off a
shock win from the outset as she dominated
proceedings and she will compete in the second round
of a Platinum event for the first time following her
11-6, 11-2, 11-6 triumph.
“I feel quite good after that win,” said Stefanoni,
who will play Egypt’s Nada Abbas next.
“Since coming back from COVID, my game has been a
bit off, but it’s been steadily improving, so I’m
glad it worked out and I’m trying to hit my targets.
“I love playing on glass courts, so to have my match
on the glass court today was something special, and
I’m hoping I can play on more glass courts in the
future. [The Specter Center] is beautiful and the
courts play really nicely. I’m really glad the U.S.
Open is here this year.”
USA
No.3 Olivia Fiechter was the other American to win
in round one after she completed a 11-6, 11-7, 11-8
victory against Egypt’s Menna Hamed. Fiechter, who
returned to the top 20 following the release of the
PSA World Rankings earlier today, will play
Australia’s Donna Lobban in the last 32.
“It’s [the Specter Center] incredible, I think the
biggest thing is having the girls and the guys here
on Team USA,” Fiechter said.
“We’ve been spread across the country for so long
and especially on the women’s side we have so many
top players. To be able to set that bar and to play
practice matches is incredible. Now [Ong] Beng Hee
is here, we’ve just got a strength and conditioning
coach, it’s all really coming together and it’s
every professional athlete’s dream to have a
facility like this.”
Elsewhere, England’s Georgina Kennedy progressed to
round two of a Platinum event for the first time as
she beat the higher-ranked Haley Mendez, while
Stefanoni’s younger sister, Lucie, bowed out at the
hands of Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam.
In the men’s event, the top two ranked USA players -
Shahjahan Khan and Todd Harrity - saw their
tournaments come to an end at the hands of Mexico’s
Cesar Salazar and Germany’s Raphael Kandra,
respectively.
Salazar got the better of Khan by an 11-3, 4-11,
11-3, 11-5 margin and he will take on Egypt’s
Youssef Soliman in the next round after Soliman beat
India’s Mahesh Mangaonkar.
“Today,
I’m happy with my performance because Shahjahan is
improving a lot,” Salazar said.
“He’s doing a good job in tournaments. I’m happy
with the victory. This is a fantastic place to play
squash and is great motivation for players who want
to come and play here.”
Meanwhile, Harrity came close to causing an upset
against Kandra as the World No.44 took the German to
a fifth game. Kandra moved through the gears though
to wrap up an 4-11, 11-3, 11-5, 7-11, 11-4 victory.
The World No.22 will take on India’s Vikram Malhotra
for a place in the third round.
“I came here quite prepared and I knew what to
expect playing a local player.
“He had a good start and I didn’t feel like I got
into it at all, so I just let it go at the end
because I was too far away. I started to focus on
the second game and I got into a flow. He broke
through in the fourth game and then it was more of a
mental game at the end of the day. I had a little
bit more mentally and physically, and I think that
made the difference today.”
The other two American men in action on day one -
wildcards Faraz Khan and Timothy Brownell - also saw
their events come to an end following respective
defeats to Switzerland’s Nicolas Mueller and
France’s Victor Crouin.
The second round begins tomorrow when defending
champions Ali Farag and Nouran Gohar join the fray.
Play gets under way at 12:00 (GMT-4) and action from
Glass Court East and Glass Court West will be shown
live on
SQUASHTV. Coverage
from courts 14 and 15 will be shown live on the
PSA SQUASHTV YouTube
channel and the
official Facebook page of the
PSA World Tour.
For tickets and more information on the 2021 U.S. Open, visit the
tournament’s official website or follow on
Twitter,
Facebook &
Instagram.
|
Preview
U.S. Open to Make Specter Center Debut in October
The 2021 U.S. Open presented by Truist will be staged in the new
state-of-the-art Arlen Specter US Squash Center for the first time between
October 1-6 when the world’s best players do battle in Philadelphia.
Housing 20 squash courts - including two showpiece glass courts as well as
high-performance training facilities - the Specter Center is the new
headquarters for US Squash, and the U.S. Open will be the first major squash
tournament to take place in the new complex, which will celebrate its Grand
Opening on October 2.
The U.S. Open returns to the PSA World Tour for the first time since 2019 after
a COVID-19 enforced absence from the tour last year and defending champions Ali
Farag and Nouran Gohar will line up in Philadelphia next month.
Farag is the top seed in the men’s draw and will take on India’s Saurav Ghosal
in round two ahead of prospective matches against Frenchman Gregoire Marche and
former World Champions Karim Abdel Gawad and Tarek Momen.
He is seeded to meet three-time U.S. Open champion Mohamed ElShorbagy in the
title decider. ElShorbagy will line up against Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng in the
last 32 and is seeded to face compatriot Youssef Soliman, Peruvian Diego Elias
and Allam British Open champion Paul Coll en route to the final.
Meanwhile, Gohar will go up against Egypt’s Rowan Elaraby in the second round of
the women’s event before a predicted third round clash with Yathreb Adel.
England’s Sarah-Jane Perry is set to meet Gohar in the quarter-finals before a
semi-final clash against No.3 seed Camille Serme.
World No.1 Nour El Sherbini - who is the reigning PSA World Champion and Allam
British Open champion - will play either England’s Julianne Courtice or Hong
Kong’s Tsz-Wing Tong in round two. From there, the Egyptian is predicted to face
USA No.2 Olivia Clyne, USA No.1 Amanda Sobhy and Egypt’s Hania El Hammamy on her
path to the title decider as she bids to win her first U.S. Open trophy.
There will be 11 U.S. players in the draw across the men’s and women’s events, a
record amount for the U.S. Open. The wildcard spots in the women’s draw are
taken up by the Stefanoni sisters, Marina and Lucie, who will play Canada’s
Danielle Letourneau and Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam, respectively.
Faraz Khan and Timothy Brownell are the men’s wildcards and they will compete
with Switzerland’s Nicolas Mueller and France’s Victor Crouin. $250,000 in total
player prize compensation will be up for grabs as will a qualification spot for
the season-ending CIB PSA World Tour Finals. The winners will earn their spot at
the showpiece event in Cairo next year.
The prize money will be split equally across the men’s and women’s events and
all of the action will be shown live on SQUASHTV, while the semi-finals and
finals will be shown live on the channels of contracted broadcast partners.
For tickets and more information on the 2021 U.S. Open, visit the
tournament’s official website or follow on
Twitter,
Facebook &
Instagram.
|
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. |
|
Round 1
01 OCT |
Round 2
02 OCT |
Round 3
03
OCT |
Quarters
04 OCT |
Semis
05 OCT |
Final
06 OCT |
|