The Windy City Open 2026 presented by the Walter Family continued this afternoon with four top-half round two matches taking place from the University Club of Chicago.
Tinne Gilis was able to stage an incredible comeback against Indian No.1 Anahat Singh in a five-game thriller. Gilis, who was beaten by Singh 3-0 at the Canadian Women’s Open in the quarter-finals, was able to prevent history repeating itself – working her way back from 2-0 down.
The Belgian No.1 struggled to get the best of Singh in the opening two games, losing 11-6, 11-9 within 20 minutes. However, momentum began to shift for the European No.2 in the third game, with Singh picking up an ankle injury that persisted for the rest of the tie.
With issues growing for the 17-year-old, Gilis was able to capitalise and take control of the contest, winning the third 11-4 in five minutes. After winning the third, Gilis seemed to have a boost of confidence for the rest of the tie, as she quickly continued in the same fashion, claiming the fourth 11-6.
Moving into the fifth, traffic seemed to be only going one way for the former World No.5 Gilis, as she went on to book her place in the quarter-finals, where she will play against the World No.1 Hania El Hammamy.
Following the tie, Gilis said: “I had nothing to lose anyway, I was down and out for the first two games, she was dominating me she was playing really well, I just didn’t really know what to do, and in that third all I wanted to do was fight back and don’t give her the match too easy.
“I changed my tactic, and I changed my mindset and just went for it and I am just really happy that I found the fire to comeback from 2-0 down and that is what I am most proud of today.
“I just went for it at every opportunity, and yes, I am happy that I just have my fire back and this is just a little push that I needed and I am ready for the next one.”
Elsewhere, the evening’s play opened with World No.1 Hania El Hammamy securing her place in the quarter-finals after beating England’s Lucy Beecroft 3-0, moving one step closer to winning her maiden Windy City Open. However, El Hammamy’s route to the quarter-final wasn’t made easy, as Beecroft pushed the No.1 seed to the limit in the opening two games. However, the current World No. 1 was able to shake off any potential threats, responding well to the pressure and winning the third game comfortably, 11-2.
The first men’s match of the evening saw World No.1 Mostafa Asal take on Abhay Singh. Asal had only faced the India No.1 once before, at the Milwaukee Hong Kong Squash Open in December, and he replicated the same scoreline, winning 3-0. Despite the best efforts from the Indian No.1, it proved no match for Asal, who progressed to a second consecutive Windy City Open quarter-final.
In the final match of the evening, the Chicago crowd was spoiled to an incredible five-game thriller that saw Jonah Bryant launch an oustanding comeback against Joel Makin. In the all-British second round tie – which proved to be a battle of stamina and endurance over a 101 minutes – saw multiple three minute rallies become a regular occurence, with the World No.5 taking a two game lead after 53 minutes of play.
However, this proved to be only the start of the drama with Bryant securing a signature victory over the British No.1 – winning the third game in 21 minutes. After winning the third, Bryant led a determined performance to overcome his opponent in the next two games, winning 11-7, 11-5.
“I’m very happy to get through,” Bryant admitted after the match.
“I think we played a high-quality match. Joel’s had a really bad injury recently. His first tournament back. He’s clearly struggling so I won’t take it as a full-merit win. I’m pleased to get the result.
“I’m looking forward to [to playing Mostafa Asal]. The man of the moment. I’ll try to get stuck into him, or at least do better than I did last time. I’m looking forward to it.”
The current World No.14 will now return on Sunday, where he will be set to face off against the World No.1 Mostafa Asal.
The bottom-half second round matches get underway tomorrow at 12:00 (GMT-6) live on SQUASHTV.
Results: Men’s RD2 (Bottom-Half)
[1] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt. Abhay Singh (IND) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 11-7 (43m)
Jonah Bryant (ENG) bt. [5] Joel Makin (WAL) 3-2: 8-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-5 (101m)
Results: Women’s RD2 (Bottom-Half)
[1] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt. Lucy Beecroft (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-7, 11-2 (29m)
[7] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bt. Anahat Singh (IND) 3-2: 6-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-4 (49m)