Top seed Amanda Sobhy claimed her sixth WSA title in the $10,000 Women’s National Capitol Open in Maryland, USA.
The recently crowned US National Champion breezed through the opening rounds against Jacqueline Barnes of Australia and Amanda Landers-Murphy of New Zealand. The 18-year-old Harvard student then faced a sterner challenge from No6 seed Miranda Ranieri of Canada, who despite forcing a tie-break situation in the third game, was unable to stem Sobhy’s progression.
Sobhy faced No2 seed Misaki Kobayashi of Japan in the final who, unlike her opponent, had a tougher time in progressing through the draw. She dispatched Brazilian Thaisa Serafini in the first round in 20-minutes, but was made to work hard for her quarter-final win against Welsh teenager Tesni Evans, doubling her time on court compared to the previous match.
Facing No4 seed Samantha Cornett of Canada in the semi-final, Kobayashi dropped a game after holding a 2-0 lead, but was able to see off the challenge in 30-minutes.
Sobhy’s form is a clear indication of the bright future ahead of her, as earlier in the year the unseeded teen reached the semi-finals of the Cleveland Classic, before claiming her first national title against five-time winner Natalie Grainger.
Sobhy dominated the final in Maryland, and took just 20-minutes to dispatch the Kobayashi threat in straight games. She later tweeted on her win: “So happy to win my 6th WSA Tour title. It has been a great run this season and can’t wait for the summer tournaments to start!”
Final:
[1] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt [2] Misaki Kobayashi (JPN) 11-3, 11-9, 11-5 (20m)Semi-finals:
[1] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt [6] Miranda Ranieri (CAN) 11-5, 11-4, 13-11 (25m) [2] Misaki Kobayashi (JPN) bt [4] Samantha Cornett (CAN) 11-6, 11-6, 7-11, 11-5 (30m)Quarter-finals:
[1] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZL) 11-4, 11-4, 11-3 (18m) [6] Miranda Ranieri (CAN) bt [3] Sina Wall (GER) 11-3, 4-11, 12-10, 11-6 (34m) [4] Samantha Cornett (CAN) bt [Q] Stephanie Edmison (CAN) 13-11, 11-4, 6-11, 11-4 (35m) [2] Misaki Kobayashi (JPN) bt Tesni Evans (WAL) 11-7, 7-11, 11-7, 11-8 (40m)1st round:
[1] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt Jacqueline Barnes (AUS) 11-3, 11-4, 11-4 (17m)Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZL) bt [5] Olivia Blatchford (USA) 10-12, 11-2, 13-15, 11-5, 11-8 (54m)
[3] Sina Wall (GER) bt [Q] Nayelly Hernandez (MEX) 8-11, 13-11, 11-5, 11-8 (34m) [6] Miranda Ranieri (CAN) bt [Q] Alexandra Norman (CAN) 12-10, 5-11, 11-6, 11-8 (39m) [Q] Stephanie Edmison (CAN) bt [8] Ahn Eun Chan (KOR) 4-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-9 (34m) [4] Samantha Cornett (CAN) bt [Q] Celia Allamargot (FRA) 11-4, 11-4, 11-9 (23m)Tesni Evans (WAL) bt [7] Nouran El Torky (EGY) w/o
[2] Misaki Kobayashi (JPN) bt Thaisa Serafini (BRA) 11-4, 11-3, 11-5 (20mins)