Unseeded Egyptian duo Fayrouz Aboelkheir and Youssef Ibrahim delivered the first major shocks of the Comcast Business U.S. Open Championships 2024 as they both fought from behind to defeat No.6 seeds Georgina Kennedy and Karim Abdel Gawad respectively in five games.
Aboelkheir, who recently defeated Kennedy in five games at Paris Squash, replicated those heroics at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center as she came from 2-1 down, saving three match balls in the fourth game, to advance to the second round of the Platinum-level event.
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In a back-and-forth encounter that saw several swings in momentum, it was Aboelkheir who delivered her best squash in the pressure moments, eventually taking victory by an 11-7, 4-11, 9-11, 14-12, 11-5 scoreline.
After the match, the 18-year-old said: “I’m really happy to be through today. Gina is such a hard player to come up against; she’s so quick around the court and had match balls in the fourth game.
“I just think about it [being match ball down] in a very easy way. You’re already losing, so you have nothing else to lose. You can just go for your shots a lot more in those moments.”
Meanwhile, in the men’s event, World No.17 Ibrahim battled back from 2-0 down to defeat former World Champion Gawad in an entertaining five-game duel on one of the two side courts in use in Philadelphia.
Ibrahim, 25, won the 89-minute contest by an 8-11, 10-12, 11-9, 12-10, 12-10 scoreline, saving a match ball in the fourth game, to record his second victory over Gawad from three meetings on the PSA Tour.
Elsewhere, World No.1s Nour El Sherbini and Ali Farag both safely booked their spots in the second round, while defending champion Paul Coll got his title defence underway with victory over Nicolas Mueller.
Results: Men’s First Round – U.S. Open Championships 2024
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt Baptiste Masotti (FRA) 3-0: 12-10, 11-5, 11-6 (33m)
Patrick Rooney (ENG) bt Spencer Lovejoy (USA) 3-1: 12-10, 10-12, 11-5, 11-6 (48m)
Youssef Soliman (EGY) bt Gregoire Marche (FRA) 3-1: 11-8, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5 (60m)
Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) bt [6] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) 3-2: 8-11, 10-12, 11-9, 12-10, 12-10 (89m)
[5] Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt Salim Khan (USA) 3-0: 11-2, 11-6, 11-7 (23m)
Joel Makin (WAL) bt Nathan Lake (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 11-6 (42m)
Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) bt Ramit Tandon (IND) 3-1: 4-11, 11-7, 14-12, 11-9 (52m)
[3] Paul Coll (NZL) bt Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 3-0: 11-3, 11-7, 11-3 (28m)
Results: Women’s First Round – U.S. Open Championships 2024
[1] Nour ElSherbini (EGY) bt Jasmine Hutton (ENG) 3-0: 13-11, 11-6, 11-4 (34m)
Melissa Alves (FRA) bt Lucy Beecroft (ENG) 3-2: 7-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-4, 12-10 (58m)
Satomi Watanabe (JPN) bt Rachel Arnold (MAS) 3-0: 12-10, 11-8, 11-4 (29m)
[8] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) bt Amina Orfi (EGY) 3-0: 12-10, 11-6, 11-3 (38m)
Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) bt [6] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) 3-2: 11-7, 4-11, 9-11, 14-12, 11-5 (61m)
Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt Tomato Ho (HKG) 3-2: 11-9, 11-6, 9-11, 12-14, 11-7 (66m)
Katie Malliff (ENG) bt Lucy Turmel (ENG) 3-1: 11-5, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5 (46m)
[4] Olivia Weaver (USA) bt Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY) 3-0: 11-3, 11-4, 11-3 (21m)
Draw: Men’s First Round – To Be Played October 20
[4] Diego Elias (PER) v Auguste Dussourd (FRA)
Abdulla Mohd Al-Tamimi (QAT) v Miguel Rodiguez (COL)
Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA) v Raphael Kandra (GER)
Leandro Romiglio (ARG) v [8] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG)
[7] Tarek Momen (EGY) v Dimitri Steinmann (SUI)
Timothy Brownell (USA) v Aly Abou Eleinen (EGY)
Fares Dessouky (EGY) v Iker Pajares (ESP)
Eain Yow Ng (MAS) v [2] Mostafa Asal (EGY)
Draw: Women’s First Round – To Be Played October 20
[3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) v Menna Hamed (EGY)
Hollie Naughton (CAN) v Hana Ramadan (EGY)
Malak Khafagy (EGY) v Emily Whitlock (WAL)
[WC] Marina Stefanoni (USA) v [7] Tinne Gilis (BEL)
[5] Nele Coll (BEL) v Amanda Sobhy (USA)
Sana Ibrahim (EGY) v Salma Eltayeb (EGY)
[WC] Lucie Stefanoni (USA) v Georgia Adderley (SCO)
Tesni Murphy (WAL) v [2] Nouran Gohar (EGY)