World No.5 Tinne Gilis held off a stirring fightback from Tesni Murphy to reach the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions quarter-finals for the first time in her career, winning 3-2 in 70 minutes at Grand Central Terminal in New York.
Gilis, the No.5 seed this week and a close friend of Murphy’s away from the court, looked well set for a straight-games victory after taking two well-contested opening games.
The momentum of the match, though, switched hands dramatically early in the third after Gilis rolled her ankle when lunging towards the front right corner, with the physio subsequently called onto the court.
🤯 This is just superb! @tesnimurphy with this beautiful finish to take the first game to a tie-break!
Catch all the action live on @SquashTV 📺#TOCSquash pic.twitter.com/Qs6JNZcEIb
— PSA Squash Tour (@PSASquashTour) January 26, 2025
Murphy took full advantage by piling on the pressure with some terrific squash after the resumption of play and forcing a deciding game to the delight of those within the packed-out Grand Central Terminal.
But it would ultimately be Gilis who progressed to the last eight of the Platinum-level event, moving away from 7-6 in the fifth to take the match after 70 minutes of pulsating action.
“There was not one second where I felt confident in this match,” Gilis admitted after the match.
“Every time I play Tesni you never know what’s going to happen. I’ve played her so many times and not once was I confident that I was going to win, not once.
“All credit to her, I couldn’t get into my game because I was under pressure the whole time and that’s because she’s been playing such good squash, such good quality. I’m so happy that I managed to win though.”
Elsewhere on day three in New York, World No.4 Paul Coll avenged his shock defeat to Victor Crouin at last year’s J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions, delivering a high-quality performance to battle past the Frenchman in three games.
Coll, who fell to an inspired Crouin in the quarter-finals of this event 12 months ago, turned the tables on the World No.12 to seal an 11-8, 11-8, 12-10 victory and set up a last-eight tie with Gregoire Marche, who will be competing at this stage of a Platinum event for the first time since 2021.
Results: Men’s Second Round (Top Half)
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt Abdulla Al-Tamimi 3-1: 12-10, 7-11, 11-7, 11-6 (41m)
[8] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) bt Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) 3-1: 11-8, 11-8, 2-11, 11-8 (49m)
Gregoire Marche (FRA) bt Baptiste Masotti (FRA) 3-0: 11-8, 11-8, 11-5 (39m)
[4] Paul Coll (NZL) bt Victor Crouin (FRA) 3-0: 11-8, 11-8, 12-10 (62m)
Results: Women’s Second Round (Top Half)
[1] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt Amanda Sobhy (USA) 3-0: 11-9, 11-9, 11-8 (40m)
[8] Amina Orfi (EGY) bt Nele Gilis-Coll (BEL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-9, 11-8 (64m)
[5] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bt Tesni Murphy (WAL) 3-2: 14-12, 11-9, 3-11, 10-12, 11-6 (70m)
[4] Olivia Weaver (USA) bt Sana Ibrahim (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 11-3 (29m)
Draw: Men’s Second Round (Bottom Half: To Be Played January 26)
[3] Diego Elias (PER) v Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY)
Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) v [5] Joel Makin (WAL)
[7] Tarek Momen (EGY) Fares Dessouky (EGY)
Timothy Brownell (USA) v [2] Mostafa Asal (EGY)
Draw: Women’s Second Round (Bottom Half: To Be Played January 26)
[3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) v Nada Abbas (EGY)
Jasmine Hutton (ENG) v [6] Georgina Kennedy (ENG)
[7] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) v Malak Khafagy (EGY)
Georgia Adderley (SCO) v [2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY)