Egyptian Yathreb Adel, 18, takes London title at Cumberland Club
By HOWARD HARDING – Squash Mad Correspondent
Egyptian teenager Yathreb Adel cruised through the Women’s London Open field to clinch the WSA Tour 5 squash title at Cumberland Lawn Tennis Club in the England capital without dropping a game.
The third-seeded 18-year-old from Cairo – who is studying at the University of Roehampton in London – claimed her surprise place in the final after dismissing England’s No.7 seed Leonie Holt in the semis.
A marathon battle decided the other semi-final when Millie Tomlinson – the English wild card who removed top-seeded Australian Tamika Saxby in the previous round – went down in 68 minutes to Belgian Nele Gilis, the fourth seed.
Adel was in sparkling form in the final, dropping just a single point in the opening game before battling through the next two to overcome Gilis 11-1, 11-8, 11-9 in 40 minutes to win her first Tour title of the year – but the seventh of her career.
“Thrilled to win the London Open today,” Adel told her Twitter followers. “I want to thank @Phil_Rushworth for coming down today and @sportroehampton for the endless support #UR.”
Women’s London Open, London, England
1st round:
Jessica Davis (ENG) bt [2] Thaisa Serafini (BRA) 12-10, 15-13, 11-5 (45m)
[7] Leonie Holt (ENG) bt [Q] Ekaterina Marusan (RUS) 11-5, 11-7, 11-4 (27m)
[3] Yathreb Adel (EGY) bt [Q] Tessa ter Sluis (NED) 11-9, 11-1, 11-6 (30m)
[5] Linda Hruzikova (SVK) bt Alison Thomson (ENG) 12-10, 11-9, 10-12, 8-11, 11-9 (76m)
[6] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bt [Q] Camille Lanier (USA) 11-6, 11-5, 11-4 (25m)
[4] Nele Gilis (BEL) bt Taylor Flavell (AUS) 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 11-4 (45m)
[WC] Millie Tomlinson (ENG) bt [8] Roxanna Keshavarz (ENG) 11-3, 11-5, 11-3 (30m)
[1] Tamika Saxby (AUS) bt [Q] Marina de Juan Gallach (ESP) 11-4, 11-3, 11-9 (33m)
Quarter-finals:
[7] Leonie Holt (ENG) bt Jessica Davis (ENG) 11-5, 11-9, 11-2 (20m)
[3] Yathreb Adel (EGY) bt [5] Linda Hruzikova (SVK) 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 (29m)
[4] Nele Gilis (BEL) bt [6] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) 11-2, 11-1, 11-5 (24m)
[WC] Millie Tomlinson (ENG) bt [1] Tamika Saxby (AUS) 11-7, 11-7, 11-8 (36m)
Semi-finals:
[3] Yathreb Adel (EGY) bt [7] Leonie Holt (ENG) 11-3, 11-2, 11-8 (20m)
[4] Nele Gilis (BEL) bt [WC] Millie Tomlinson (ENG) 7-11, 11-6, 10-12, 11-9, 11-4 (68m)
Final:
[3] Yathreb Adel (EGY) bt [4] Nele Gilis (BEL) 11-1, 11-8, 11-9 (40m)
Picture courtesy of WSA