American No.2 Olivia Fiechter joined compatriot Amanda Sobhy in the quarter-finals of the US Open following a 3-0 win over Egypt’s Salma Hany at Philadelphia’s Arlen Specter US Squash Center.
The World No.9 had been unable to beat Hany in their previous two matches on the PSA World Tour, but hit her targets with accuracy to complete a 13-11, 11-4, 11-7 victory after 38 minutes of action.
Fiechter, who reached the U.S. Open semi-finals back in 2021, will go up against 2017 champion Nour El Tayeb in the next round, with El Tayeb getting the better of England’s Lucy Beecroft.
“I’m not going to lie, that win was huge for me,” said Fiechter after the match.
“I put in a really hard summer training block and I’ve had some good performances, but I’ve also had some not so good performances this year and I’m trying to find that balance and blend with some changes I made this summer while incorporating my natural game.
“That’s the first time I’ve beaten Salma [Hany], I knew it was going to be really challenging, she’s a great player and I’m really happy with that performance. I feel like I’m moving the best I’ve ever moved thanks to the work over so many years, but particularly this summer I definitely put a lot of work into it.”
Gina Kennedy moved into the last eight for the first time after edging Rowan Elaraby in their third round clash 12-10 in the fifth.
In the men’s event, defending champion Diego Elias sealed his spot in the last eight after storming to a 3-0 win over England’s Nathan Lake.
It was part of several 3-0 wins on the day.
Results – Men’s Third Round (Bottom Half): 2023 U.S. Open
[4] Paul Coll (NZL) bt Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) 3-0: 11-3, 11-9, 11-9 (59m) [6] Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt Raphael Kandra (GER) 3-0: 12-10, 11-5, 11-7 (35m) [5] Marwan ElShorbagy (ENG) bt Adrian Waller (ENG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-7 (34m) [2] Diego Elias (PER) bt Nathan Lake (ENG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-2, 11-2 (34m)Draw – Men’s Quarter-Finals (Top Half): To Be Played October 11th
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v Miguel Rodriguez (COL) [8] Tarek Momen (EGY) v [3] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG)Draw – Men’s Quarter-Finals (Bottom Half): To Be Played October 12th
[4] Paul Coll (NZL) v [6] Mazen Hesham (EGY) [5] Marwan ElShorbagy (ENG) v [2] Diego Elias (PER)Results – Women’s Third Round (Bottom Half): 2023 U.S. Open
[4] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt Lucy Beecroft (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-5 (22m) [8] Olivia Fiechter (USA) bt Salma Hany (EGY) 3-0: 13-11, 11-4, 11-7 (38m) [7] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bt Rowan Elaraby (EGY) 3-2: 5-11, 11-7, 11-8, 8-11, 12-10 (71)