PHOTO ALBUM
Finals
[2] Nouran Gohar 3-1 [1] Nour El Sherbini 11-8, 11-9, 10-12, 11-7 (51m)
[1] Ali Farag 3-0 [4] Diego Elias (Per) 11-4, 11-8, 11-4 (39m)
World No.1 Ali Farag delivered a flawless performance to defeat current World Champion Diego Elias in straight games and win his first title of the season, dropping just one game across the tournament.
World No.4 Elias had dominated Farag with a sublime straight-games performance at the Qatar Classic earlier this month, but from point one, Farag looked to right the wrongs from that day, striking the perfect balance between extending the rallies but finishing off his opportunities at the front of the court whenever they arrived.
The top seed was rewarded with some cheap errors from the racket of Elias after a number of lengthy, testing exchanges in the first game, with Farag racing into a 7-0 lead and taking a one-game advantage after 14 minutes of play.
Elias began to free up the arm at the beginning of the second, being more proactive in the middle of the court and attempting to match Farag’s width with as much volleying as possible. ‘The Peruvian Puma’ took a 7-4 lead with some impressive squash, but Farag responded with a run of four clean winners to move back into a slender lead.
From there, the momentum was all with the top seed, with Farag running away to double his advantage in the match by an 11-7 scoreline.
Despite Elias taking an early 3-1 lead in the third, Farag was still dominating the battle for the ’T’ and moving his opponent across the four corners of the court to great effect. From this early third-game deficit, it was one-way traffic for Farag, with the Egyptian winning 10 of the next 11 points to capture the 2024 U.S. Open title.
What Farag Had To Say…
After the match, Farag said: “I didn’t watch the match back from Qatar. One thing that I pride myself on is putting up a fight whenever I lose, and in Qatar I didn’t think I did that, so that was very disappointing.
“It questions your hunger, it makes you doubt yourself. And this week, even against Youssef Ibrahim, I was still doubting myself when I lost a game. That win though gave me a lot of confidence going into the match yesterday with Mazen and today with Diego.”
The winning moment 🤩@NouranGohar claims her first title of the 24/25 season here in Philadelphia at the Comcast Business U.S. Open 🇺🇸#USOpenSquash pic.twitter.com/X9X1cSaF4K
— PSA Squash Tour (@PSASquashTour) October 26, 2024
"I was very p*ssed off!" 👀@NouranGohar shares how she felt when she lost *that* third game in the U.S. Open final 😅#USOpenSquash pic.twitter.com/FB9ASevHBq
— PSA Squash Tour (@PSASquashTour) October 26, 2024
Semis
[1] Nour El Sherbini 3-2 [4] Olivia Weaver (Usa) 11-3, 7-11, 11-6, 2-11, 11-4 (56m)
[1] Ali Farag 3-0 [5] Mazen Hesham 11-7, 11-9, 11-1 (38m)
[2] Nouran Gohar 3-1 [3] Hania El Hammamy 11-3, 6-11, 11-7, 11-9 (56m)
[4] Diego Elias (Per) 3-0 Aly Abou Eleinen 11-7, 12-10, 11-9 (45m)
World No.1 and defending champion Nour El Sherbini held off a superb performance from U.S. No.1 Olivia Weaver to advance to the final in five games.
El Sherbini, who arrived into the match with a perfect 10-0 head-to-head record against Weaver, was tested all the way through the 56-minute encounter, eventually advancing to the Platinum-level final by an 11-3, 7-11, 11-6, 2-11, 11-4 scoreline.
El Sherbini started the match in sublime form, jumping on any mid-court balls into the front corners with deadly accuracy. In particular, El Sherbini found joy when Weaver’s width wasn’t on point, with the top seed winning a number of points with a forehand volley into the front right corner.
After a post-game debrief with coach Rodney Martin, Weaver’s tactical changes were evident, with the American keeping the ball off El Sherbini’s forehand volley and pushing the Egyptian deeper in the court with a far better width.
After opening up an early 4-0 lead, Weaver managed to keep herself ahead on the scoreboard throughout the remainder of the game to level proceedings after 22 minutes of play. The contrasting levels of accuracy in the second game were highlighted by the five errors coming from El Sherbini’s racket compared to Weaver’s zero.
In trademark fashion, El Sherbini bounced back from the second-game defeat superbly, regaining her accuracy and looking to twist and turn Weaver and force the No.4 seed into a series of tough movements. The 28-year-old raced into a 5-1 lead and never looked in doubt of regaining her lead in the match, moving 2-1 up with some sublime attacking squash.
After the faultless squash El Sherbini delivered in the third game, not even Weaver would have predicted the seven-minute fourth game that would follow. The U.S. No.1 raced into a 8-0 lead to the astonishment of the crowd within the Arlen Specter US Squash Center and made no mistake of converting the one-sided fourth to send the match to a decider.
El Sherbini wasn’t to be denied a spot in her sixth career U.S. Open final though, catching Weaver off guard with a blitz of winners early in the fifth and never letting her opponent back in the match. ‘The Warrior Princess’ moved through to take the fifth game 11-4 and record her 19th straight win on the PSA Squash Tour.
Nour said
“I feel the crowds are a good thing, to be honest. I never take it as a negative thing, I try to take it as a positive. I try to say [in my head] that they are supporting me and not her!Reflecting on a few lapses in concentration throughout the match, she added: “I think it is something that I still need to work on, to be honest. I tried to focus until the end of the fifth game, to be honest, and not lose focus. I’m not always like this in tournaments, but this week I am. That is definitely something I can work on.
“I don’t like watching my matches back. I know it’s not a good thing. I can talk with Greg and my team, but I won’t watch it myself. I am just going to focus on tomorrow’s match now.”
Current World Champion Nouran Gohar stretched her winning run over long-time rival Hania El Hammamy to five matches after a supreme four-game victory saw her advance to the final.
In what was the pair’s 26th meeting on the PSA Tour, it was Gohar who triumphed over the World No.3 by an 11-3, 6-11, 11-7, 11-9 scoreline to set up yet another meeting with Nour El Sherbini in a Platinum-level title decider.
Gohar flew out of the blocks in her traditional style, hitting powerfully down both wings and pushing El Hammamy deep in the court. The more pressure El Hammamy was put under, the more inclined the 24-year-old was to attempt winners from deep in the court, hitting six errors on her way to falling a game behind.
Gohar’s dominance was short-lived though, with El Hammamy looking a different player at the start of the second, improving her accuracy and showing far more confidence with her hitting into the front of the court. ‘The Leopard’s’ immaculate movement was also notable, limiting Gohar to zero winners as she brought the match level with a second game 11-6 victory.
As the ball began to soften up in the third, the momentum began to swing back in Gohar’s favour, with ‘The Terminator’ finding a number of straight low winners at the front of the court.
From 5-3 down in the third, Gohar won eight of the next ten points to claim the crucial third game. By the end of this third, the sporadic nature of El Hammamy’s squash was evident, with the World No.3 having hit 15 errors compared to Gohar’s four.
The fourth game followed a similar pattern to the third, with El Hammamy taking an early 5-2 lead but Gohar coming through stronger in the latter stages of the game. The match continued to get ever more scrappy, with both players vying for dominance of the ’T’, but it was Gohar who eventually edged this battle, claiming back-to-back strokes to advance to the title decider in Philadelphia.
Nouran said
“Hania is such a fighter and it is always so tough playing against her. I’m very happy with the way I dealt with it. I’m just pleased with the way I dealt with the match. The most important thing is finding a way to win.“I mean, until the last three matches I wanted to keep it the same way. But I hadn’t spent much more than 30 minutes on any of my other matches. After two games today, it was close to the 30-minute mark, and I needed every single bit of Oxygen I could get, so I had to take it off.
“I thought that as long as I wasn’t too close to my opponent, I would be safe. It was a big risk, but that shows how much I wanted to win today. I had to take the risk of breaking my nose one more time.”
World No.1 Ali Farag booked his spot in the final after a masterful three-game victory over World No.5 Mazen Hesham in Philadelphia. Farag, a two-time champion at the U.S. Open, proved too strong for the ‘The Black Falcon’ as he claimed an 11-7, 11-9, 11-1 win on the all-glass court inside the Arlen Specter US Squash Center.
Despite a quick-fire start from Hesham, which saw the Egyptian race into a 6-2 lead with some trademark attacking play, Farag cut a cool figure and stuck to his pre-game tactics. The top seed stretched out a number of rallies beyond the 90-second mark in a clear attempt to wear down Hesham physically.
From 6-2 down, Farag claimed seven straight points to take the opening game, with Hesham calling for the physio in the game break.
Expecting a reaction from Hesham, Farag picked up the pace at the start of the second game, looking to use the front of court more often and being more proactive from his position on the ’T’. Although this initially worked for the World No.1 as he moved into a 7-2 lead, three straight errors from his racket allowed Hesham a brief window of opportunity, with the No.5 seed clawing his way back to 8-7 down.
A double bounce retrieval from Hesham, only picked up on after a video review from Farag, proved crucial to give the Egyptian a two-point buffer, and he made no mistake of doubling his advantage in the match soon after.
The tight second-game victory seemed to break the resolve of Hesham in the third, with Farag’s supremely accurate hitting helping him into an insurmountable lead. The 2023 runner-up moved to match ball after 37 minutes of play and advanced to the final at the first time of asking.
Ali said…
“You’re going to have to accept that you’re going to be outplayed by Mazen for certain patches of the match. You’ve got to remember, though, that it’s a marathon. I knew that if I kept my stamina and my mental resilience for long periods of the match, I would stand a good chance of winning today.“I had to pick my punches. I didn’t want to be passive but, at the same time, I had to be very careful of when I went short. It’s a weird mix of not being passive but also stretching the rallies out.”
Quarters
[5] Mazen Hesham 3-2 [3] Paul Coll (NZL) 5-11, 11-9, 2-11, 11-5, 11-4 (64m)
[1] Ali Farag 3-1Youssef Ibrahim 11-7, 9-11, 11-7, 12-10 (59m)
Aly Abou Eleinen3-1 [2] Mostafa Asal 11-7, 11-13, 11-9, 11-9[1] Nour El Sherbini 3-2 [8] Rowan Elaraby 9-11, 11-1, 11-2, 11-13, 11-8 (60m)
[4] Olivia Weaver (USA) 3-1 Fayrouz Aboelkheir 8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-5 (42m)
[3] Hania El Hammamy3-1 [7] Tinne Gilis (BEL) 11-6, 11-8, 11-8 (34m)
[2] Nouran Gohar 3-0 [5] Nele Coll (BEL) 11-4, 11-5, 11-5 (32m)
🚨 SHOCK RESULT 🚨
Unseeded @AEleinen has knocked World No.2 Mostafa Asal OUT of the Comcast Business U.S. Open 😮
The Egyptian is into his first-ever Platinum semi-final 🔥
Watch on SQUASHTV 👉 https://t.co/KaHKlKXHIa#USOpenSquash pic.twitter.com/LWQCW6b0xm
— PSA Squash Tour (@PSASquashTour) October 25, 2024
World No.13 Aly Abou Eleinen claimed the biggest win of his career to date after stunning World No.2 Mostafa Asal to reach the semi-finals. The unseeded Egyptian, a former University of Pennsylvania squash star, advanced to his maiden Platinum semi-final on the PSA Squash Tour following a sensational 11-7, 11-13, 11-9, 11-9 victory over ‘The Raging Bull’ inside the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.
Eleinen, 24, started the match in confident fashion, moving impeccably on the all-glass court and winning the length battle down both side walls on his way to a one-game lead.
Despite Asal stealing the momentum of the match after claiming a tense second-game tie-break, Eleinen regathered himself impressively, continuing to get his tactics spot on by twisting the big frame of Asal into the back two corners before playing in short with deadly accuracy.
Asal, who was erratic in his hitting throughout the 72-minute encounter, squandered a 7-4 lead in the third to fall 2-1 down, before Eleinen pounced again from 6-1 down in the fourth.
Despite the magnitude of the occasion, there were few nerves in the arm of Eleinen, with the 24-year-old sealing the momentous victory from 9-8 down with a trio of scintillating winners into the front left corner of the court.
"I'm overwhelmed with joy!" 🥹@AEleinen reacts to his huge win over Mostafa Asal today at the U.S. Open 💪#USOpenSquash pic.twitter.com/2jBuJjC3UY
— PSA Squash Tour (@PSASquashTour) October 25, 2024
“I’m super proud of myself,” Eleinen said after the match. “I had an opportunity in the fourth and I took it. I’m just overwhelmed with joy right now.
“I’ve been working so hard this season. I’ve been on the other side of these results so many times against these top guys. Today, it was actually really tough when I was ahead – I didn’t want to start doubting myself. Last season, when I had those opportunities, I didn’t really go for them, and I told myself this season that I would back myself up and go for it.
“I’ve just got to recover now and keep it going in the semi-finals.”
World No.1 Nour El Sherbini survived an impressive performance from Rowan Elaraby to advance to the semi-finals, defeating the No.8 seed in five games. In a see-saw encounter between the two Egyptian players in Philadelphia, it was defending champion El Sherbini who eventually prevailed by a 9-11, 11-1, 11-2, 11-13, 11-8 scoreline.
El Sherbini flew out of the blocks on the all-glass court at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center, using her hold to great effect down both wings and easing into a 7-2 lead. However, Elaraby hung strong in the latter stages and showed impressive resilience to claw away at the lead and go on to clinch the opening game 11-9.
The first-game defeat only seemed to bring out a better El Sherbini in the second, with the top seed hunting the ball down aggressively and volleying whenever possible. Elaraby had few answers to this change in speed from El Sherbini and soon saw her lead in the match evaporate, with El Sherbini taking a five-minute second game 11-1 and an equally dominant third 11-2.
A change of ball at the start of the fourth game saw Elaraby fire her back into the contest, trading points with El Sherbini as she had in the first game. The 24-year-old showed impressive resolve to regain momentum in the match and move 10-8 up, but in typical El Sherbini fashion, ‘The Warrior Princess’ claimed three consecutive points to hold match ball on her racket.
This match ball came and went for World No.1 though, and Elaraby made no mistake when a third game ball came in her direction, hitting a perfect dying length in the backhand corner to force a decider.
The momentum changes continued in the fifth game, with El Sherbini powering into a 7-2 lead, but Elaraby once again refused to go down without a fight. The No.8 seed pulled her way back to 7-5 and later saved three match balls, but clinching her first career win over El Sherbini proved a step too far, with the defending champion advancing after exactly 60 minutes of play.
What El Sherbini Had To Say…
“I’m definitely happy to win this match. It was a difficult one for me; it was a bit of an up-and-down match and I’m really surprised that Rowan kept on going in the second and the third. In the fourth I thought I had it, and then it went to five, so I’m really happy to get the win.“I didn’t think that I was always doing the right things at the right times, and I felt a little lost at times. I wasn’t focusing on my game plan at times, but I just kept fighting on every point, and I’m so proud.”
World No.5 Mazen Hesham produced a scintillating spell of squash to fight back from one game down, 8-1 down in the second, to eventually overcome defending champion Paul Coll in five games at the Comcast Business U.S. Open Championships 2024.
Hesham, who defeated World No.6 Joel Makin in the previous round, continued his superb run of form to progress to the last four of the Platinum-level event by a 5-11, 11-9, 2-11, 11-5, 11-4 scoreline.
As was the case in his previous match against Makin, Hesham was slow out of the blocks, with Coll taking control of the ’T’ and pushing high up the court whenever possible. Coll remained vigilant to ward off the attacks of ‘The Black Falcon’, forcing his opponent into hitting a number of high-risk attempted winners from the back of the court, a number of which failed to come off.
After taking a one-sided opener, Coll continued to dominate in a similar vein, racing into an 8-1 lead and looking in total control of the match. However, in a flash, Hesham found his A-game, firing in winners at will and disrupting the rhythm of Coll with his brilliant deception.
What a performance ❗️@Thesquashfalcon fights back from a 1-0, 8-1 down in the second, to record a first Tour win over defending @USOpenSquash champion Paul Coll 💪
Watch live on @SquashTV here ⤵️https://t.co/KaHKlKXHIa#USOpenSquash pic.twitter.com/BMlfWP31Mk
— PSA Squash Tour (@PSASquashTour) October 23, 2024
Points began to flow in Hesham’s direction and after drawing parity, ‘The Black Falcon’ went on to level the match when back-to-back strokes were awarded in his favour.
Order was resumed for Coll in the third game, with the New Zealander taking in a number of drop shots early on and testing the physicality of Hesham, which seemed to be an area of growing concern for the No.5 seed. After Coll raced into an early lead, Hesham seemed to have his eyes on the subsequent fourth game, recording just two points on the board in a rapid-fire five-minute game.
Coll’s momentum once again evaporated from nowhere at the beginning of the fourth, with Hesham’s unpredictable style of play helping him into a quick-fire 7-3 lead. Hesham continued to cause Coll severe issues, in particular down the backhand wing, forcing the match into a deciding game after 53 minutes of play.
Hesham continued to display his wide array of attacking skills early in the fifth, racing into a 4-1 lead. From there, ‘The Black Falcon’ wasn’t to be stopped, storming to match ball and sealing his spot in the semi-finals of the Platinum-level event after 64 minutes of all-out action at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center.
What Hesham Had To Say…
“Paul was doing really well in the first two games. I didn’t do much wrong; I just had to tell myself, OK, I need to get him away from the ‘T’ and just try to push him a little bit into the back corners. I knew I was better in the front corner, but actually today, he was very sharp in the front as well, and he was sticking to the front of the court.
“I had to kind of tell myself to hang in there in the second and just try to get more rallies in and try to get more winning shots going.
“As soon as I got like four or five points, I thought I was in it again and to just tried to push him and test him mentally. I think I did that really well for the rest of the match.”
Round Two
[1] Ali Farag 3-0 Patrick Rooney (ENG) 13-11, 11-6, 11-9 (40m)
Youssef Ibrahim 3-1 Youssef Soliman 9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-8 (56m)
[5] Mazen Hesham 3-0 Joel Makin (WAL) 11-9, 12-10, 13-11 (54m)
[3] Paul Coll (NZL) 3-0 Mohamed ElSherbini 11-4, 11-7, 11-3 (35m)
Aly Abou Eleinen 3-1 [7] Tarek Momen 7-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-8 (55m)
[2] Mostafa Asal 3-0 Fares Dessouky 11-4, 14-12, 11-8 (48m)[1] Nour El Sherbini 3-0 Melissa Alves (FRA) 11-8, 11-4, 11-5 (25m)
[8] Rowan Elaraby 3-2 Satomi Watanabe (JPN) 11-13, 10-12, 11-2, 11-3, 11-7 (64m)
Fayrouz Aboelkheir 3-1 Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) 11-6, 9-11, 13-11, 11-8 (44m)
[3] Hania El Hammamy 3-0 Hana Ramadan 11-5, 15-13, 11-4 (34m)
[7] Tinne Gilis (BEL) 3-0 Malak Khafagy 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 (29m)
[5] Nele Coll (BEL) 3-1 Sana Ibrahim 8-11, 11-5, 11-8, 12-10 (63m)
[2] Nouran Gohar 3-0 Georgia Adderley (SCO) 11-3, 11-4, 11-5 (31m)
Top seed Ali Farag and fellow World No.1 Nour El Sherbini continued their faultless starts to the event after recording straight-games wins over Patrick Rooney and Melissa Alves, respectively.
In his first career win over Soliman from five attempts, Youssef Ibrahim rallied well from a one-game deficit to claim victory by a 9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-8 scoreline and book a last-eight tie with top seed Ali Farag.
World No.8 Rowan Elaraby fought back from two games down to defeat Satomi Watanabe on day three of the Comcast Business U.S. Open Championships 2024, booking her spot in the quarter-finals of the Platinum-level event.
Japanese No.1 Watanabe reached the final of last week’s Silicon Valley Open, was edging the first two games in tiebreaks, overturning a 9-5 deficit in the second.
But with coach Wael El Hindi in her corner, Elaraby fought her way back into the contest in impressive style, losing only five points across the next two games to force a decider on the all-glass court at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center.
That was not the end of the drama, though, with Watanabe crashing into the back of Elaraby in the opening stages of the fifth game. The 25-year-old hit the floor in pain and clutched her neck in what looked like a serious injury, with a lengthy physio treatment following.
Despite valiantly returning to her feet, her subsequent efforts would ultimately be in vain, with No.8 seed Elaraby claiming the victory after 64 minutes of play.
“I was trying just to calm myself down because I was actually very nervous about this match,” Elaraby said after victory.
“I’ve never beaten Satomi in my entire career, I think even when we were juniors she used to beat me.
“I was just trying to listen to what Wael was telling me in between games and try to stick to it, and I’m glad it worked.”
Round One
[1] Ali Farag 3-0 Baptiste Masotti (FRA) 12-10, 11-5, 11-6 (33m)
Youssef Soliman3-0 Grégoire Marche (FRA) 11-8, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5 (60m)
Youssef Ibrahim3-2 [6] Karim Abdel Gawad v 8-11, 10-12, 11-9, 12-10, 12-10 (89m)
[5] Mazen Hesham 3-0 [WC] Salim Khan (USA) 11-2, 11-6, 11-7 (23m)
Mohamed ElSherbini 3-1 Ramit Tandon (IND) 4-11, 11-7, 14-12, 11-9 (52m)
[7] Tarek Momen v Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) 8-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-9 (54m)
Aly Abou Eleinen 3-1 Timothy Brownell (USA) 10-12, 11-9, 11-5, 11-8 (59m)
Fares Dessouky 3-2 Iker Pajares (ESP) 6-11, 11-1, 5-11, 11-8, 11-3 (71m)
[2] Mostafa Asal 3-0 Eain Yow Ng (MAS) 11-7, 11-4, 11-6 (49m)[1] Nour ElSherbini 3-0 Jasmine Hutton (ENG) 13-11, 11-6, 11-4 (34m)
[8] Rowan Elaraby 3-0 Amina Orfi 12-10, 11-6, 11-3 (38m)
Fayrouz Aboelkheir3-2 [6] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) 11-7, 4-11, 9-11, 14-12, 11-5 (61m)
[4] Olivia Weaver (USA) 3-0 Nour Aboulmakarim 11-3, 11-4, 11-3 (21m)
[3] Hania El Hammamy 3-0 Menna Hamed 11-7, 12-10, 11-7 (37m)
Hana Ramadan 3-1 Hollie Naughton (CAN) 11-8, 5-11, 13-11, 11-9 (39m)
Malak Khafagy3-0 Emily Whitlock (WAL) 11-7, 12-10, 11-7 (37m)
Sana Ibrahim3-0 Salma Eltayeb 13-11, 11-4, 11-5 (35m)
[2] Nouran Gohar 3-0 Tesni Murphy (WAL) 11-5, 11-8, 11-7 (44m)
Nouran Gohar made a successful return to action following surgery to a broken nose, sweeping aside Tesni Murphy 3-0.
The reigning world champion underwent an operation to fix her nose just a week ago, after breaking it in the QTerminals Qatar Classic final against Nour Elsherbini, and wore a splint across her face as she stepped on course against the Welsh No.1.
Murphy may have been hoping the face protection would have hindered Gohar’s play but there were no signs of that early as, as the Egyptian raced into a one-game lead, 11-5. She continued to pin Murphy into the back corners and attack in short when the opportunity presented itself, taking game two 11-8, but the Welsh player was not about to throw in the towel.
She battled to a 7-6 lead, playing some impressive squash of her own, but was unable to force a fourth game, with Gohar reeling off five points in a row – capped with a backhand winner down the line on match ball – to book her spot in round two against Scotland’s Georgia Adderley.
University of Pennsylvania squash alumni Aly Abou Eleinen delivered one of the standout performances of day two, defeating American No.1 Timothy Brownell in four games at the Platinum-level event.
Eleinen, who previously studied and competed in the heart of Philadelphia at UPenn, backed up his recent visit to the semi-finals of the Silicon Valley Open with a 10-12, 11-9, 11-5, 11-8 victory over Brownell at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center.
In a see-saw match that saw several swings in momentum, the contrasting styles of play from both players were evident, with Brownell looking to open up the court with his free-flowing style of squash and Eleinen attempting to play with tight lines and lengths down both side walls.
With Eleinen 6-1 down in the fourth game, the match looked destined for a decider, but the World No.15 showed terrific resolve to first draw himself level and subsequently go on to seal the win in just under an hour of action.
After the match, Eleinen said: “That’s a big win for me. Timmy is never an easy player to come up against, especially on this court. He’s probably the person who trains on this court the most, he probably knows every inch of this court, so it was really tough today.
“The court was really dead today and I found it tough to find my length, even until the end. I just kept digging deep and fighting.”
“It’s so nice playing here. Seeing familiar faces and walking around in Philadelphia, it feels like my second home. I have got my family and friends here, so hopefully I can keep going.”
World No.17 Youssef 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.
"I was match ball down, but I still believed I could come back!" 👊
An emotional win for Youssef Ibrahim today 🥰#USOpenSquash pic.twitter.com/ZHxCe0qoFL
— PSA Squash Tour (@PSASquashTour) October 19, 2024
World No.8 Rowan Elaraby delivered an immaculate performance on the all-glass court in the Arlen Specter US Squash Center to overcome World No.10 Amina Orfi in straight games.
Elaraby, who defeated Orfi in a thrilling 89-minute duel the last time the pair met at the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions in January, this time took the honours in more routine fashion, requiring just 38 minutes to seal victory.
The No.8 seed showed her experience to claim a tight opening game tie-break 12-10 before moving through the subsequent two games by 11-6 and 11-3 scorelines to advance to the second round.
Elaraby will face the in-form Satomi Watanabe in Round Two after the Japanese No.1 defeated Malaysia’s Rachel Arnold in three games.
A 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 backhand from @rowanelarabyy 😍
The No.8️⃣ seed was firing on all cylinders in a dominant RD1 win over Amina Orfi @USOpenSquash 👏
Watch FREE on YouTube here ⤵️https://t.co/yD3zRZ7WnM#USOpenSquash pic.twitter.com/9Egp911yVK
— PSA Squash Tour (@PSASquashTour) October 19, 2024
Meanwhile, World No.1 and defending champion Nour El Sherbini kickstarted proceedings on the Glass Court West of the Arlen Specter US Squash Center with a hard-fought three-game victory over England’s Jasmine Hutton.
El Sherbini, who has claimed all three major titles on the PSA Squash Tour so far this season, overcame a slow start in the first game to battle past the dangerous left-hander by a 13-11, 11-6, 11-4 scoreline.
Aboelkheir Replicates Paris Heroics With Five-Game Kennedy Victory
Egyptian teenager Fayrouz Aboelkheir closed out day one of the U.S. Open Championships 2024 with a stunning upset victory over No.6 seed Georgina Kennedy in five games.
Aboelkheir, who recently defeated Kennedy in five games at Paris Squash 2024, saved three match balls in the fourth game with some hugely gutsy squash before moving away to victory in just over an hour of play.
The 18-year-old, currently ranked World No.13, took the match by an 11-7, 4-11, 9-11, 14-12, 11-5 scoreline to set up a Round Two meeting with Sarah-Jane Perry, after the Englishwoman overcame Hong Kong’s Tomato Ho in five games.
After the match, Aboelkheir 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 against me.
“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.”