Amanda Sobhy, Olivia Clyne and Olivia Fiechter power through in Chicago
By SEAN REUTHE – PSA World Tour

The PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family will contain three US players for the first time in history after Amanda Sobhy, Olivia Clyne and Olivia Fiechter all secured passage through to the last 16 at the University Club of Chicago.

This is the first PSA World Tour event since March 2020 to be held in the United States, and the country’s No.1 player – Philadelphia-based Amanda Sobhy – earned her spot in round three courtesy of an 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 victory over Egypt’s Nada Abbas inside Cathedral Hall.

“Three of us in the round of 16 is amazing, unfortunately my sister [Sabrina] had a tough loss, but it’s coming soon,” said World No.7 Sobhy, who will play Canada’s Hollie Naughton in the next round.

“Us four girls are together, training together, we keep pushing each other and we will keep doing well. I am so happy to be playing on home soil… this is an atmosphere I love, it’s USA all day baby.

“I got better with each game, which is how I wanted to progress. The first game was tight, but I want to keep finding my length and get some rallies. I settled in and with each game, I went for it more and more and got more confident in my shots, and I am pleased with how it ended.”

World No.13 Olivia Clyne – who is based in New York – is also through after she defeated Malaysia’s Low Wee Wern over on the ‘traditional’ plaster courts housed on floor 11 of the University Club of Chicago.

Clyne will compete in the last 16 for the first time and will line up against France’s Camille Serme for a place in the quarter-finals.

“I was really happy to get through, Wee Wern’s an incredible player and she’s been at the very top of the game,” said Clyne.

“I knew it was going to be hard, I was hoping it wasn’t going to be that hard, but of course it was. I was just happy with the way I was able to regroup, I found myself at quite a deficit in the third, and I fought hard to get back and I was really pleased with myself that I managed to finish off the game.”

Fiechter overcame Belgium’s Tinne Gilis to reach the last 16 for the first time and the 25-year-old will compete against World No.1 Nour El Sherbini in the next round. World No.2 Nouran Gohar and World No.4 Camille Serme are also through to the last 16.

World No.2 Mohamed ElShorbagy continued his title challenge with an impressive 3-0 victory over England’s Patrick Rooney and he will play Welshman Joel Makin in the next round after Makin beat 2015 World Champion Gregory Gaultier.

“I hope everyone enjoyed that, I think we both played a high-quality match and it’s the first time we’ve played against each other,” said ElShorbagy, the 2017 World Champion.

“I rate him a lot, he reminds me of James [Willstrop]. I’ve played him so many times in my career and there is a lot of similarity. James played a fantastic game and he [Rooney] has been having some great results in the past few months and I’m really happy for him.”

ElShorbagy’s rival for the World No.1 spot – current incumbent Ali Farag – will go up against Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez after he defeated Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng in straight games.

Farag has now gone 13 matches unbeaten in Chicago following his 2018-19 World Championship win and the 2020 Windy City Open.

“It was not as easy as 3-0 looks, for sure,” Farag said,

“He doesn’t give you any cheap points, you have to earn every single one. Maybe a little at the end he felt it physically but in the first two games I had to earn every single point. The main goal for today was to find my targets in the back corners as I couldn’t really play a proper game in the first round as my opponent was injured. Today, I am very happy with the way I found them, and I am hoping I can take that on to the next one.”

Reigning champion Tarek Momen is also through courtesy of a victory against Youssef Soliman, and he will take on Youssef Ibrahim next, while World Championship runner-up Paul Coll will take on India’s Saurav Ghosal after dispatching France’s Victor Crouin.

Round three of the PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family takes place tomorrow (July 17) and play starts at 11:30 (GMT-5). Action from the glass court inside Cathedral Hall will be broadcast live on SQUASHTV and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour (excluding Europe & Japan).

For more information on the 2020-21 PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family, visit the tournament website or follow the event on Twitter and Facebook.

Results – Second Round: Men’s 2020-21 PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family

[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt Eain Yow Ng (MAS) 3-0: 11-6, 11-9, 11-5 (34m)

[10] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) bt Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) 3-0: 11-9, 11-7, 11-4 (51m)

George Parker (ENG) bt [15] Omar Mosaad (EGY) 3-1: 13-11, 3-11, 11-4, 11-6 (48m)

[8] Diego Elias (PER) bt Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-4 (35m)

[5] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) 3-2: 9-11, 11-6, 11-4, 9-11, 11-4 (70m)

[13] Gregoire Marche (FRA) bt Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 3-1: 11-6, 11-7, 8-11, 11-7 (58m)

Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) bt Shahjahan Khan (USA) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 13-11 (53m)

[3] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt Youssef Soliman (EGY) 3-1: 11-7, 4-11, 11-7, 11-5 (51m)

[4] Paul Coll (NZL) bt Victor Crouin (FRA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-8, 11-8 (40m)

[12] Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt Raphael Kandra (GER) 3-0: 11-8, 11-3, 11-5 (39m)

Baptiste Masotti (FRA) bt [14] Mazen Hesham (EGY) 3-2: 9-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-1, 11-6 (57m)

[6] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt Borja Golan (ESP) 3-0: 11-9, 11-9, 11-9 (47m)

[7] Fares Dessouky (EGY) bt Ryosei Kobayashi (JPN) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 11-7 (36m)

[11] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) bt Arturo Salazar (MEX) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-4 (24m)

[9] Joel Makin (WAL) bt Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 3-0: 11-4, 11-8, 11-0 (39m)

[2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Patrick Rooney (ENG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-7 (33m)

Draw – Men’s Third Round (Top Half): To Be Played July 17th

[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v [10] Miguel Rodriguez (COL)

George Parker (ENG) v [8] Diego Elias (PER)

[5] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) v [13] Gregoire Marche (FRA)

Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) v [3] Tarek Momen (EGY)

Draw – Men’s Third Round (Bottom Half): To Be Played July 18th

[4] Paul Coll (NZL) v [12] Saurav Ghosal (IND)

Baptiste Masotti (FRA) v [6] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)

[7] Fares Dessouky (EGY) v [11] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY)

[9] Joel Makin (WAL) v [2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY)

Results – Second Round: Women’s 2020-21 PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family

[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt Emilia Soini (FIN) 3-0: 11-3, 11-5, 11-8 (22m)

[17] Olivia Fiechter (USA) bt [14] Tinne Gilis (BEL) 3-1: 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 13-11 (57m)

[10] Joshna Chinappa (IND) bt [27] Melissa Alves (FRA) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 16-14 (37m)

[6] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt [23] Coline Aumard (FRA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-3, 11-7 (24m)

[5] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt [22] Nada Abbas (EGY) 3-0: 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 (28m)

[16] Hollie Naughton (CAN) bt [19] Danielle Letourneau (CAN) 3-2: 7-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-3, 11-4 (42m)

[13] Nele Gilis (BEL) bt [25] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) 3-1: 11-6, 12-10, 3-11, 13-11 (60m)

[4] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt Tze Lok Ho (HKG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-2, 11-6 (27m)

[3] Camille Serme (FRA) bt [20] Donna Lobban (AUS) 3-0: 11-9, 11-3, 11-3 (28m)

[12] Olivia Clyne (USA) bt [21] Low Wee Wern (MAS) 3-1: 11-9, 4-11, 11-9, 11-8 (43m)

[11] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) bt [18] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) 3-1: 10-12, 11-8, 11-8, 11-7 (46m)

[8] Salma Hany (EGY) bt [26] Zeina Mickawy (EGY) 3-1: 11-8, 11-6, 11-13, 11-5 (43m)

[7] Joelle King (NZL) bt [24] Emily Whitlock (WAL) 3-1: 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9 (54m)

[15] Nadine Shahin (EGY) bt Rachel Arnold (MAS) 3-1: 12-14, 13-11, 11-4, 11-7 (38m)

[9] Tesni Evans (WAL) bt [28] Lucy Turmel (ENG) 3-2: 9-11, 11-8, 11-3, 3-11, 11-7 (61m)

[2] Nouran Gohar (EGY) beats [32] Lisa Aitken (SCO) 3-0: 11-3, 11-4, 11-5 (29m)

Draw – Women’s Third Round (Top Half): To Be Played July 17th

[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) v [17] Olivia Fiechter (USA)

[10] Joshna Chinappa (IND) v [6] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)

[5] Amanda Sobhy (USA) v [16] Hollie Naughton (CAN)

[13] Nele Gilis (BEL) v [4] Hania El Hammamy (EGY)

Draw – Women’s Third Round (Top Half): To Be Played July 18th

[3] Camille Serme (FRA) v [12] Olivia Clyne (USA)

[11] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) v [8] Salma Hany (EGY)

[7] Joelle King (NZL) v [15] Nadine Shahin (EGY)

[9] Tesni Evans (WAL) v [2] Nouran Gohar (EGY)

Pictures courtesy of  PSA World Tour