King holds off Turmel Comeback
Joelle King (right) takes on Lucy Turmel (left)
New Zealand’s Joelle King got day four under way as she held off a spirited comeback from England’s Lucy Turmel to advance to the quarter finals.
King, the World No.6, battled to a five-game victory over USA’s Olivia Clyne in the previous round and needed to battle again today against World No.26 Turmel, who was appearing in the third round of this event for the second time.
The Kiwi controlled the early part of the contest, switching the ball from side to side and attacking well into the front of the court when the opportunity presented itself.
King collected a pair of 11-7 wins to build up a two-game advantage. But Turmel showed her fighting spirit and took the next two games 12-10, 11-1 to level the match at 2-2.
King led all the way through the fifth game though and stepped up the pace of her hitting to win the game 11-8 and secure her quarter final place.
“Obviously we have to say congrats to Lucy, I was 2-0 up and 7-4 and relaxed just a little bit, and as they say it’s not over until the fat lady sings,” said King.
“She kept fighting and just didn’t go away. She had an tough game with Jaz [Hutton] in round two, and to come back like that is amazing
“I haven’t been playing my best squash and I had a good week last week, and I think all players are the same. When you have a good week, you don’t want to go out early in the next event, so I’m just happy to get through two tough five setters to get to the quarters.”
Result
[5] Joelle King (NZL) bt Lucy Turmel (ENG) 3-2: 11-7, 11-7, 10-12, 1-11, 11-8 (64m)
Dessouky wins all-Egyptian battle
Fares Dessouky celebrates his victory
An exciting all-Egyptian battle was next up on the all glass court at the University Club of Chicago. No.8 seed Fares Dessouky was up against talented compatriot Mazen Hesham.
Hesham started the better of the two, taking advantage of a slow start from Dessouky to take the opening game 11-7. Dessouky game to life after the break and started to get in front of Hesham, working the ball short to great effect and took the next two games to lead 2-1.
Hesham responded in typical style in the fourth game and produced several outrageous winners to test the movement of his younger opponent. Hesham ran out to a 10-6 lead and converted the game ball at the first time of asking to set up a fifth and final game.
A slightly scrappy fifth game was close throughout. Dessouky got himself in front late on in the game and converted his second match ball to reach the quarter finals.
“Mazen is one of the most talented players on tour. I have so much respect for him,” said Dessouky.
“We’ve been competing since we were very young and I’m happy today that I won, I felt he was the better player at times and I got a little lucky at the end I think.
“I’m just enjoying every match, happy to be back here again competing on this court. I’m trying to find my way again and happy to be in the quarters.”
Result
[8] Fares Dessouky (EGY) bt Mazen Hesham (EGY) 3-2: 7-11, 11-8, 11-5, 6-11, 11-8 (66m)
Kennedy makes maiden platinum quarter final
Georgina Kennedy celebrates her victory.
Two of the most athletic players in the female game took to the court next as England’s Georgina Kennedy took on Belgian No.1 Nele Gilis for a place in the quarter finals.
The match featured great attritional play from both players as they jostled for position in the middle of the court. Gilis managed to pin Kennedy in the back corners early in the first game and converted 11-9 to take the lead.
Despite Kennedy equalising at 1-1, the allies remained extremely close and hard-fought. Gilis managed to get her nose in front at the end of a crucial third game and closed it out 11-8 to put one foot in the quarter final.
To be expected, Kennedy responded strongly to force a decider. It was the Englishwoman who held tough in a nail-biting fifth game, using her immaculate length to squeeze errors from Gilis and after 78 minutes, secured her first platinum event quarter final.
After the match, Kennedy was full of praise for her Belgian opponent.
“All credit to Nele, it’s so difficult to get a point of her. She forced so many errors from me just because I didn’t know how to win points against her sometimes.
“I’m really pleased with myself for focusing on my game at 8-4 down. I didn’t want to give that game away the way it was going but all credit to her because that was a game ad a half.
“Last year I was just watching SquashTV and hoping to be at these amazing events and to be in the quarters is just way beyond my expectations.”
Result
Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bt Nele Gilis (BEL) 3-2: 9-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-3, 11-8 (78m)
Makin flies through to the quarters
Joel Makin
The last match of the afternoon session on day four saw No.7 seed Joel Makin move through to the quarter finals, beating former World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad in 74 minutes.
Makin’s showcased his trademark intensity from the start, not giving the talented Egyptian any time to settle into a rhythm. Taking the first game 11-4, Makin looked strong and sharp moving into game two.
‘The Baby-faced Assasin’ responded however and showcased his skill and ball control to force Makin into some extreme movements, taking the second game 11-9. Despite the amazing accuracy continuing for Gawad, Makin’s court coverage was too much for the Egyptian. Makin closed out a tight third game to lead 2-1.
Further explosive movement set up numerous opportunities for Makin in a fast-paced fourth game. Gawad tried his best to get in front of the Welshman and impose his own game but Makin was simply too strong on the day and closed the game out 11-8 to move to another quarter final.
“I’m really happy with that,” said Makin.
“I was doing a lot of work in the middle of the third game and had to cover a lot of the court. He started to get into his rhythm and when he’s playing like that he’s so difficult to stop. I just had to close it down and take my chances.
“I need to get a win. I’ve been getting close now. I’ve got wins against all these guys now and I need to put it together in the same week and get to the later stages.”
Result
[7] Joel Makin (WAL) bt Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) 3-1: 11-4, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8 (74m)
Sobhy delights home crowd as she battles past Evans
Amanda Sobhy
As the crowd continued to grow, USA No.1 Amanda Sobhy was in action to secure her place in the quarter finals of the Windy City Open as she confidently beat Wales’ Tesni Evans in straight games.
A strong start from Sobhy was too much for Evans in the opening game and the American took it 11-8. Sobhy continued to work Evans throughout the second game, hunting the volley and by using a short, compact swing stretched Evans into the front corners from which she couldn’t recover.
Evans started to force opportunities in the third game and struggled to stop the momentum of the No.4 seed. Sobhy earned herself 2 match balls at 10-8 but the trademark fighting spirit of Evans burst through as she won four points in a row to force a fourth game.
The momentum of Evans was unstoppable. With a renewed vigour about her, she started to hit aggressively to both the front and back and took the game 11-9 to set up a decider. Sobhy got back to her length hitting early in the fifth game and converted the game at the first time of asking 11-8 to delight the home crowd and move through to the quarters.
Sobhy had this to say after her match:
“Before the match I was joking that I would continue the trend of my 5 set matches never going over the hour mark. I saw the finish line when I was up in the third, she came back in full force and she came back with full force but at the end of the day I’m through and I’m just happy about that.
“Thank you for reminding me of my abysmal head to head with Joelle, but my one win against her was here so let’s make it lucky number two. She’s a fierce competitor so I’m thankful for the rest day tomorrow and happy to be in the quarters.”
Result
[4] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt Tesni Evans (WAL) 3-2: 11-8, 11-8, 10-12, 9-11, 11-8 (64m)
Momen Moves Past Mosaad
Tarek Momen (right) takes on Omar Mosaad (left)
World No.5 Tarek Momen continued his title challenge with a 3-0 victory over former World No.3 Omar Mosaad.
Momen dominated both the first and the third games as he it a number of accurate winners, combined with a number of errors from ‘The Hammer of Thor’.
The second game was an anomaly as Mosaad came out firing, but Momen was able to reel him in during a victory that will see him move through to the last either, where he will take on No.8 seed Fares Dessouky for a place in the semi finals.
“Who would have thought that out of all the players in a long day, I would be the one who would play the short match,” said Momen.
“I know Framboise [Gommendy] will be giving me a comment on that when I talk to her. It’s always been special because Omar is my oldest friend and oldest rival on tour. In our junior career we were the same age so we used to compete against each other all the time.
“When I play Omar it’s a different match than any other player on the tour, we go way back with more than 20 years of competition, so today was a special day. I’m very happy how I came out at the beginning of the match. The second game was littered with errors from both of us but he stepped it up.
“I was very happy to sneak that one out in the end. Unfortunately for him, in the third he made a few errors which gave me a big lead and I couldn’t recover from that.”
Result
[4] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt Omar Mosaad (EGY) 3-0: 11-2, 11-9, 11-1 (33m)
Gohar storms into the last eight
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The final women’s match of the day’s play saw World No.2 Nouran Gohar despatch India’s Joshna Chinappa to reach the quarter finals.
A slow start from Chinappa was brutally taken advantage of by Gohar as she showed no mercy winning the first game 11-0.
A more competitive Chinappa tried to extend the rallies and force Gohar into some difficult movements early in the second game but It was to no avail however as Gohar went from strength to strength to run away with the second game 11-5.
Chinappa’s confidence was growing in the match and the Indian No.1 earned herself a 6-4 lead by hitting harder to the back of the court and volleying more. Gohar stepped up the pace from this moment and ran through to win the game 11-8 and close the match out 3-0 in 30 minutes.
“I knew Joshna was one of the most dangerous players on the tour,” admitted Gohar.
“She has great hands and we always have tough matches. I think we played last a few years ago and today I tried to just feel good on court and not give her many chances.
“I want to be World No.1 more than anything, but I’m not trying to think about it too much. I’ve been No.1 before so I don’t have the pressure of really wanting it. I’m thinking more about trying to improve my game and get good results and the ranking will take care of itself.
“Gina is not up and coming anymore as she’s proved herself beating other top 10 players. We played recently in Cincinnati but that was on a traditional court so I’m looking forward to seeing how the match will be on a glass court.”
Result
[2] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt Joshna Chinappa (IND) 3-0: 11-0, 11-6, 11-8 (30m)
Coll confidently moves into last eight
Paul Coll and Adrian Waller shake hands
World No.2 Paul Coll closed out day four of this year’s Windy City Open as he defeated England’s Adrian Waller to advance to the quarter finals.
The New Zealander dominated the early exchanges between the two and settled into his rhythm to take the game 11-6.
Adrian Waller tried his best to get in front of Coll and use his reach to move ‘Superman’. Coll was too strong however and used his movement to attack the tall Englishman.
Coll confidently captured the second and third games 11-7, 11-6 playing structured squash to pin Waller deep in the back corners to set up numerous attacking opportunities. Coll has now set up a quarter final match up with No.7 seed Joel Makin.
“I wanted a good, solid performance. Last on and it’s a long day, I just tried to stay switched on and focused and execute my game plan from the first to the last rally. So I’m very happy.
“I like keeping the ball warm, if the ball goes cold then people can hit winners easier and it’s quite hard so I prefer a warm ball to make sure that you have to use good squash to win.
“We both have similar games, we both love the physical side of it, I think kits going to be a good clean battle. It’s going to be long and physical but looking forward to it.”
Result
[2] Paul Coll (NZL) bt Adrian Waller (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-8 (30m)