Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam took out No.7 seed Satomi Watanabe of Japan to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in a fast-paced encounter at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. She’ll face fourth-seeded Egyptian Amina Orfi in the quarter-finals.
Also through to the quarters are Youssef Ibrahim and Victor Crouin, with Ibrahim defeating Egyptian compatriot and “younger brother” Kareem El Torkey and Crouin overcoming French compatriot Baptiste Masotti.in the quarter-finals.
Among the players joining the Malaysian in the quarters are home favourite Joel Makin of Wales, World No.1s Nouran Gohar and Mostafa Asal of Egypt, and Belgium’s Tinne Gilis who ended the hopes of wildcard Saran Nghiem. Also through to the quarters are Youssef Ibrahim and Victor Crouin, with Ibrahim defeating Egyptian compatriot and “younger brother” Kareem El Torkey and Crouin overcoming French compatriot Baptiste Masotti.
Match reports below today’s results
Women’s Round Three :
[1] Nouran Gohar (Egy) 3-0 Marina Stefanoni (Usa) 11-4, 11-4, 11-4 (24m)
[5] Tinne Gilis (Bel) 3-0 [wc] Saran Nghiem (Eng) 11-1, 11-9, 12-10 (29m)
[9/16] Siva Subramaniam (Mas) 3-1 [7] Satomi Watabane (Jpn) 11-9, 11-9, 4-11, 11-4 (45m)
[4] Amina Orfi (Egy) 3-0 [9/16] Nada Abbas (Egy) 11-4, 11-4, 11-8 (36m)
Men’s Round Three :
[1] Mostafa Asal (Egy) 3-0 Miguel Rodriguez (Col) 11-4, 11-4, 11-4 (27m)
[9/16] Youssef Ibrahim (Egy) 3-1 [LL] Kareem El Torkey (Egy) 12-14, 11-7, 11-5, 11-6 (56m)
[9/16] Victor Crouin (Fra) 3-0 Baptiste Masotti (Fra) 11-4, 13-11, 11-8 (56m)
[4] Joel Makin (Wal) 3-0 [9/16] Dimitri Steinmann (Sui) 11-5, 11-4, 11-4 (55m)
Match Reports :
Tinne ends Saran’s Wildcard run | Ibrahim survives explosive El Torkey test | Gohar steamrollers Stefanoni
Asal takes down Rodriguez | Orfi gets revenge against Abbas | Makin downs Steinmann in attritional match
Siva earns maiden BO quarter-final spot | Crouin beats Masotti in all-French affair
Tinne ends wildcard Saran’s run
[5] Tinne Gilis (Bel) 3-0 [wc] Saran Nghiem (Eng) 11-1, 11-9, 12-10 (29m)
In the opening match of the day, Belgian’s Tinne Gilis ended the run of home wildcard Saran Nghiem to become the first player to reach the quarter-finals of the GillenMarkets British Open.
World No.57 Nghiem has enjoyed her time on court this week, taking down Hong Kong, China’s Ka Yi Lee in round one and Canada’s Nicole Bunyan in the second round to earn a shot at Gilis today.
In the opening game, it looked like the match would be a step too far for the 21-year-old, with World No.6 Gilis in fine form as she cruised through game one 11-1 in just seven minutes.
Nghiem settled into the contest in game two though, competing far better despite Gilis edging it 11-9.
Game three was an entertaining affair, with both players showing real moments of quality as they attacked the front of the court.
Nghiem had opportunities to force a fourth game when she went game ball up at 10-9, but could not find that crucial final point, and Gilis was able to get the job done in straight games with a 12-10 victory.
“Saran has been playing really well. She’s caused two upsets this tournament and I knew she was going to give it her all today, because she had nothing to lose. And she definitely did. She didn’t make it easy for me at all. I’m just happy that I managed to stay calm and focus on my own game and get the win today.”
On playing her 300th match on tour, she said: “I’m getting old! I should appreciate and realise it a lot more that I’m standing here right now playing the quarter-final of the British Open
“I would never have imagined doing this when I was a little kid. I just wanted to try and go pro and give it a go, standing here right now and I’m just trying to realise it and live in the present moment instead of thinking ahead. I’m very proud and happy that I’m at this point right now. I definitely want to keep building and keep improving, but right now I’m really, really happy and proud of myself.”
Ibrahim survives “explosive” test against “younger brother” El Torkey
[9/16] Youssef Ibrahim (Egy) 3-1 [LL] Kareem El Torkey (Egy) 12-14, 11-7, 11-5, 11-6 (56m)
In the second match of the day, “lucky loser” and World No.52 Kareem El Torkey tested World No.12 Youssef Ibrahim in an entertaining encounter that pitted coach against protege.
El Torkey had enjoyed a dream run in Birmingham. After being brought back into the competition as a “lucky loser” following a defeat in the qualifying event, El Torkey has grabbed the opportunity with both hands, defeating Yahya Elnawasany in round one and Sam Todd in round two.
The 20-year-old had spoken ahead of today’s match – his sixth of the tournament already – of his respect for Egyptian compatriot Ibrahim, who has helped coached El Torkey and been a mentor figure to him at their home club.
Any fears that the younger Egyptian’s game may have been tempered by respect for his mentor were quickly quashed, though, with El Torkey’s ultra-high-tempo play style disrupting Ibrahim’s rhythm as the World No.52 took a shock lead via a 14-12 win.
Ibrahim was able to weather the storm in the second game, though, with ‘the Gunslinger’s’ elite racket skills on full display as he levelled 11-7.
Ibrahim took advantage as El Torkey tired in game three, with the older Egyptian moving into the lead for the first time with an 11-5 win, before completing the job with an 11-6 victory after a series of thrilling attacking rallies.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it, I didn’t enjoy that one bit! Kareem and I have been playing in the same club for about 15 years, he’s like a younger brother to me and there’s a lot of emotions,” Ibrahim said afterwards.
“It was hard and I couldn’t get too aggressive with my attitude; I was a little flat but goodness me! He’s such a good up-and-coming player. He’s super explosive and incredibly athletic. There’s not many players who can do that for 50-60 minutes. I’m happy to get the win, but look out for this guy in the coming tournaments!”
Defending champion Gohar steamrolls Stefanoni
[1] Nouran Gohar (Egy) 3-0 Marina Stefanoni (Usa) 11-4, 11-4, 11-4 (24m)
Defending champion Nouran Gohar’s title defence continues to gather steam after the World No.1 crushed USA’s World No.29 Marina Stefanoni in just 24 minutes.
Gohar had come through a tough 50-minute bout with England’s Jasmine Hutton in the second round, but looked far happier on court today, blasting past Stefanoni 11-4 in game one.
The American, who had beaten Mariam Metwally and Lucy Turmel in 3-1 wins to reach this stage, could do little to halt Gohar’s progress in the subsequent games, with Gohar taking them both 11-4, too, to earn a quarter-final match against Tinne Gilis.
I have huge respect for Marina. She’s such a good athlete, very talented and fair – and she’d made it onto the Olymipc social channels with her trick shots so she obviously has really good hands. I had to be up for it and sharp from the beginning.
I’m glad I found my targets early in the match and it’s a good performance to build for the rest of the event.
It was a long season, but I can’t complain. It’s longer especially if you’re reaching finals – it’s a good problem to have but I need to keep an eye on the body and do extra effort off court to keep myself fresh physically and mentally, too.
Watchful Asal takes down 2018 champion Rodriguez
[1] Mostafa Asal (Egy) 3-0 Miguel Rodriguez (Col) 11-4, 11-4, 11-4 (27m)
In the last match of the afternoon session, defending champion and World No.1 Mostafa Asal booked his spot in the quarter-final with a watchful win over 2018 British Open champion Miguel Rodriguez.
Both men had endured difficult round two matches to reach today’s clash, with Egypt’s Asal admitting to have been “lucky” in a 3-2 win over England’s Jonah Bryant on Sunday, while Colombia’s Rodriguez incredibly saved four match balls in his 88-minute clash with England’s Patrick Rooney yesterday.
The extra day’s rest seemed to have benefitted Asal, who looked far fresher than his 39-year-old opponent today.
The newly-crowned world champion played a very careful brand of squash in today’s contest, playing a composed and low risk game to test Rodriguez’s legs.
The tactic paid dividends, with the 24-year-old in control throughout the contest as he earned a comfortable 11-4, 11-4, 11-4win in 27 minutes.
“I knew from the beginning that I had the edge because he played 90 minutes yesterday at 39 years of age. Full credit to him, there’s no way I could do it. Maybe James Willstrop did it I guess, but full credit to him. To reach these rounds at 39 shows how great a player he is. I adore Miguel; he’s a big asset for the tour and we all love Miguel! No one doesn’t love Miguel!
He’s amazing. We don’t want him to leave and I hope he has a few years more. It’s been a pleasure to play him, I played him when I was 14 years old and I remember he was so kind. Full credit to him.
“James Willstrop is pushing me every time. He’s like Pep Guardiola to me!”
Orfi gets her revenge over Abbas
[4] Amina Orfi (Egy) 3-0 [9/16] Nada Abbas (Egy) 11-4, 11-4, 11-8 (36m)
In the first match of the evening session, 17-year-old World No.4 Amina Orfi got her revenge over Egyptian compatriot Nada Abbas.
Three weeks ago, Abbas stunned Orfi in the PSA World Championships as the World No.12 fought back from 0-2 down to record a 3-2 win in the third round.
Orfi let her squash do the talking today, throwing down the gauntlet with a quick-fire 11-4 win in the opening game. The 17-year-old had played immaculate squash in game one and made a strong start to game two, opening up an early lead.
Abbas tried to move Orfi around the court, but could not consistently force the No.4 seed off ‘the T’ and errors crept in to her game, with Orfi taking full advantage to double her lead with another 11-4 win.
Abbas was better able to assert herself in the beginning of game three and took an early lead. With the scores at 6-6, however, Orfi regained the momentum, upping the pace to throw Abbas’ reading of the game as she completed her revenge in straight games.
“After the World Championship defeat I talked to my parents and coaches and I thought to myself ‘Well I’ve already lost the chance of making it to the late stages of the World Champs and if I don’t want that to happen again I need to not focus on that and just enjoy playing.’
“Of course revenge was what I wanted in the back of my mind, but I just took it point by point.
“It’s my first time being the ‘hunted’ player on the pro tour and now there are just four people ahead of me and so now everyone is chasing me, but I just have to play my game and not focus on being the seeded player. It’s something I have to work more on that going into next season.”
‘I’m not going to reinvent the wheel!’ Makin happy with play style
[4] Joel Makin (Wal) 3-0 [9/16] Dimitri Steinmann (Sui) 11-5, 11-4, 11-4 (55m)
British No.1 and World No.4 Joel Makin reached his second consecutive British Open quarter-final after overcoming Swiss World No.18 Dimitri Steinmann in a hard-fought encounter.
Despite playing a combined 687 matches on the PSA Squash Tour, the pair had never contested a professional match against each other before today.
The Welshman, a long-term local to Birmingham and University of Birmingham graduate, took the initiative early on, spending the majority of the opening game in front of Steinmann and forcing the Swiss No.1 into long, lung-busting rallies and desperate scrambling recoveries.
After taking the 23-minute first game 11-5, Makin doubled his lead after dominating the second 11-4.
Steinmann started game three more brightly, upping the tempo and volleying more to get the ball past Makin more consistently.
Makin, though, was soon able to adapt, and wore Steinmann down with some typically brutal rallies, complemented by some smart finishes at the front of the court as he brought the contest to a close with another 11-4 win.
“It was great, I love playing here! I’ve been here for 12 years now and it feels like home. People have been coming out and supporting, it’s great and I’ve loved the atmosphere here.”
On his play style, he said: “You can’t go short early against Dimi, he’s super fast and super fit so I just needed to keep it tight until the chances came later on. I’m not going to reinvent the wheel at this age, but I’m just going to keep adding to it!
Sivasangari Earns Maiden British Open Quarter-Final Spot
[9/16] Siva Subramaniam (Mas) 3-1 [7] Satomi Watabane (Jpn) 11-9, 11-9, 4-11, 11-4 (45m)
Sivasangari Subramaniam is into the quarter finals of the British Open for the first time following an impressive display against Satomi Watanabe.
Sivasangari, appearing in her fifth British Open, is into the last eight for the first time after downing Watanabe 3-1 in the penultimate match of the evening.
The Malaysian had never lost to Watanabe on the PSA Squash Tour, with their last meeting six years ago when Sivasangari overcame Watanabe to win the Australian Open.
The World No.9 played at a high tempo to open up a comfortable 8-4 lead, only for Watanabe to pull herself back to 9-9. Sivasangari’s sharp attacking play was enough to help her edge the first 11-9.
Sivasangari repeated that scoreline in the second to double her match lead over the World No.7, maintaining the high tempo she played at in the first. But four of her five game balls were saved by Watanabe.
The momentum shifted in Watanabe’s favour in the third, though, as the Japanese No.1 dominated while errors were flowing from Sivasangari’s racket for Watanabe to halve the deficit.
Sivasangari found her groove again in the fourth, with her attacking squash paying dividends for a 5-1 advantage and, despite a flurry of points from Watanabe, Sivasangari held her off to march on to the last eight.
“It feels great reaching the quarter finals of the British Open,” she said.
“I think last year I got El Sherbini in the first round and that’s a pretty tough draw. Satomi has been playing really well recently and we’ve played each other since we were 10/11 in juniors, we’re the same age and she’s a good friend as well.
“Today with my performance I’m really happy and I tried to focus on my game and focus on reaching the quarter finals of Platinums and making it further.”
Crouin topples Masotti in all-French battle
[9/16] Victor Crouin (Fra) 3-0 Baptiste Masotti (Fra) 11-4, 13-11, 11-8 (56m)
In the final match of the day Victor Crouin toppled Baptiste Masotti in the all-French showdown for a quarter-final berth.
The French duo were teammates at the recent European Team Championships as France were defeated in the final by England, and Crouin extended his unbeaten run over Masotti on the PSA Squash Tour to four matches.
Crouin overturned a 1-0 deficit a few weeks ago to down Masotti 3-1 at the World Championships in Chicago, as the World No.13 was very accurate and clinical to draw first blood with an 11-4 success.
The rallies lengthened between Crouin and Masotti during the second, as the latter squandered two game ball opportunities to restore parity. Crouin converted his sole chance to double his match lead.
Masotti came out firing in the third as he looked to get a foothold back in the contest, but the steadiness of Crouin kept him within touching distance of his French teammate. Crouin closed out the third 11-8 to advance to the last eight.
“I’ve been putting in some hard work at moment to play in these kind of matches and they want to get at me when we’re out there, the French guys, and it’s great because they’re pushing me to be even better every day,” he said.
“Every time I enter on court with them they have a game plan in place where they want to work on my weaknesses and that forces me to adjust and to try and get better and improve on those weaknesses and improve my strengths.
“It’s a healthy, competitive environment between us with all the French guys and it’s good to see him [Baptiste Masotti] healthy and fighting and not giving up. He’s playing better and better every time he steps on court with me and I need to keep improving otherwise I’m going to go down one day.
“It was an enjoyable battle, a good challenge and I got through in three which I’m really pleased about.”
