Home hopes face tough ties in second round
By MARINA DE JUAN GALLACH – Squash Mad Correspondent
American hopefuls Olivia Blatchford Clyne and Sabrina Sobhy won through to the second round of the Cleveland Classic and set up some challenging battles against higher-ranked opponents.
Sobhy recovered from a slow start to beat Ineta Mackevica from Latvia in five games and faces a challenging contest against the top seed, Nour El Tayeb of Egypt who will be looking to improve on her runner’s up finish in the Carol Weymuller Open at Heights Casino in Brooklyn.
Blatchford Clyne overcame Anna Serme (Czech Republic) in straight games and now meets England’s Victoria Lust, who is the No.8 seed in this high quality tournament.
Canada’s Hollie Naughton, like Sobhy, also had to battle back from a two-game deficit against the hugely promising Ali Loke of Wales before winning in the fifth game, having rescued a match ball in the third. Hollie’s reward is a massive challenge against No.2 seed Joelle King from New Zealand.
England’s Sarah-Jane Perry and Alison Waters, seeded three and six, meet Egyptian pair Menna Hamed and Mayar Hany in the second round.
Sabrina Sobhy (USA) v Ineta Mackevica (LAT) 10-12, 12-14, 11-5, 11-2, 11-6
Ineta got off to a good start volleying the ball and taking advantage of opportunities. In the third game, Sabrina found her length and created more opportunities that led her to victory.
Farida Mohamed (EGY) v Jessica Turnbull (AUS) 11-6, 11-6, 11-9
Both players hit the ball clean and with good length. Farida gave herself the edge by- , being a little bit more aggressive, hunting the volley in important stages of the match.-
Menna Nasser (EGY) v Nadia Pfister (SUI) 11-2, 11-5, 9-11, 11-5
Menna dominated the T during the first 2 games, forcing Nadia to hit some errors. Nadia managed to turn the tables in the fourth. The quality of Menna’s squash went high to lead her way to the victory.
Nadine Shahin (EGY) v [WC] Marina De Juan Gallach (ESP) 11-2, 11-7,11-7
Nadine started really well, taking advantage of the lack of length in Marina’s game. Even though Marina was more competitive during 2nd and 3rd games, that was not enough to take Nadine out of her way to victory.
Menna Hamed (EGY) v Salma Youssef (EGY) 11-5, 11-9, 11-8
Competitive match between two players ranked only three positions apart. Menna got off to a really good first game. Even though Salma raised her game in the second and third games, Menna managed to stay mentally strong during three straight games.
Mayar Hany (EGY) v Sarah Cardwell (AUS) 11-5,11-4, 11-7
Mayar took better care of her opportunities by being aggressive in the front of the court and managed to win in three games.
Olivia Blatchford Clyne (USA) v Anna Serme (CZE) 11-8, 11-5, 11-4
A very accurate and sharp Olivia cruised her way to victory in three straight games.
Hollie Naughton (CAN) v Ali Loke (WAL) 9-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-5, 11-8
Very good start of the game in Ali’s side, who went 2-0 up with a match ball in the third game. Ali used good variation, breaking Hollie’s rhythm. Hollie dug in mentally and physically strong and came back to win in five
PSA $51,250 Women’s Cleveland Classic 2020, Cleveland Racquet Club, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
First Round:
[1] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bye
[9/16] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) bt Ineta Mackevica (LAT) 10-12, 12-14, 11-5, 11-2, 11-6
[9/16] Farida Mohamed (EGY) bt Jessica Turnbull (AUS) 11-6, 11-6, 11-9
[7] Salma Hany (EGY) bye
[5] Joshna Chinappa (IND) bye
[9/16] Menna Nasser (EGY) bt Nadia Pfister (SUI) 11-2, 11-5, 9-11, 11-5
[9/16] Nadine Shahin (EGY) bt [WC] Marina de Juan Gallach (ESP) 11-2, 11-7, 11-7
[4] Annie Au (HKG) bye
[3] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bye
[9/16] Menna Hamed (EGY) bt Salma Youssef (EGY) 11-5, 11-9, 11-8
[9/16] Mayar Hany (EGY) bt Sarah Cardwell (AUS) 11-5, 11-4, 11-7
[6] Alison Waters (ENG) bye
[8] Victoria Lust (ENG) bye
[9/16] Olivia Blatchford Clyne (USA) bt Anna Serme (CZE) 11-8, 11-5, 11-4
[9/16] Hollie Naughton (CAN) bt Ali Loke (WAL) 9-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-5, 11-8
[2] Joelle King (NZL) bye
Second Round:
[1] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) v [9/16] Sabrina Sobhy (USA)
[7] Salma Hany (EGY) v [9/16] Farida Mohamed (EGY)
[5] Joshna Chinappa (IND) v [9/16] Menna Nasser (EGY)
[4] Annie Au (HKG) v [9/16] Nadine Shahin (EGY)
[3] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) v [9/16] Menna Hamed (EGY)
[6] Alison Waters (ENG) v [9/16] Mayar Hany (EGY)
[8] Victoria Lust (ENG) v [9/16] Olivia Blatchford Clyne (USA)
[2] Joelle King (NZL) v [9/16] Hollie Naughton (CAN)Â
Results courtesy of Squash Info (www.squashinfo.com). Pictures courtesy of Cleveland Racquet Club