Yuvraj Singh has rued the lack of support from the India team management, which left him with the regret of not playing another World Cup match after his Man-of-the-Tournament performance in India's 2011 win. Yuvraj believes he deserved another shot with an average of 41.33 and a strike rate of 98.67 in his last comeback that lasted 11 matches. It ended unsatisfactorily for Yuvraj, who was left out after the 2017 Champions Trophy because of a failed yo-yo test, but wasn't brought back after he cleared the endurance test.

Yuvraj feels the same lack of trust in his replacements - Manish Pandey, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Vijay Shankar, Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik - was the big reason for India's failure at the 2019 World Cup, a tournament in which he felt India had no business exiting before the final. He warned India against doing the same with Pant in the lead-up to next year's T20 World Cup in the light of public criticism of his batting by captain Virat Kohli, coach Ravi Shastri and batting coach Vikram Rathour.

"That regret will be with me," Yuvraj said in an interview with the news channel Aaj Tak. "But people should be happy for me too that after such a grave illness [cancer during the 2011 World Cup], after struggling in domestic cricket for two years, working hard, I made a comeback and scored my highest ODI score [150 in January 2017, against England from 25 for 3]. That is also a big achievement. That is the other side. Yes, there will be regret, but there was a number of issues. There was no support, hardly any support from team management or people around. If that support had been there, I would have played another World Cup. Whatever cricket I have played, I have played on my own terms. I didn't have a godfather. I feel proud that I have played so much cricket despite the illness."

Expanding on the subject of support (or the lack of it), Yuvraj spoke of the circumstances he was dropped in. "I remember, in the eight-nine ODIs I played, I won two Man-of-the-Match awards [including one against Pakistan in the 2017 Champions Trophy]. My strike rate was 98 and I was averaging 42-plus so I was doing really well in the middle order.

"If you want to get the best out of somebody, you have to make them feel secure. A player can never perform when he's insecure. That was the big reason India didn't win the World Cup."

"After the injury [during the West Indies tour just after the Champions Trophy], I was told to not play the last T20I and prepare for the Sri Lanka tour [later in 2017] and then suddenly the yo-yo test came in between. Whoever failed the test did not get selected. Suddenly there was a U-turn in my selection. And then, obviously, I had to go back and prepare for the yo-yo test, at the age of 36. After I cleared the yo-yo test, I was told to play domestic cricket, which I played."

Yuvraj felt these were just excuses on the part of the men in charge. "They actually thought I wouldn't be able to clear the yo-yo test because it will be difficult at this stage," he said. "And after that, obviously, 'it'll be easy to tell him'. I felt it was a bit of that [excuses]. 'He wouldn't be able to do the test.' Once it happened, they got caught in a space where they didn't know what to say to me. The thing was unfortunate. A guy who has played international cricket for 15-17 years, you should sit him down and tell him [why he is being dropped]. No one told me.

"They didn't tell Virender Sehwag, they didn't tell Zaheer Khan. Compared to them, I haven't played that much cricket. But regardless of who the player is, the person in charge should talk to them upfront that 'this is the case, we are looking at the youngsters and we have taken this step'. You feel bad at first but you at least give them the credit that they were honest with you, that they told the truth to your face."

He argued that the same lack of clarity, which led to lack of stability, hurt India at the World Cup, where India failed to recover from a top-order collapse in the semi-final against New Zealand. "I was dropped, then Manish Pandey came in, then one-two other players came in, then KL Rahul came in," Yuvraj said. "KL was tried, then Raina came back, then they went with Rayudu. Rayudu played for eight-nine months, he scored 90 in NZ, Man of the Match, and your team should have been set there. Then before the World Cup, you lost to Australia 3-2, Rayudu had a bad tournament, suddenly Vijay Shankar came in.

"And the highest score by an India No. 4 at the World Cup was 48. I don't really understand that. The captain, coach and selectors should have known that No. 4 is a very important spot especially in conditions in England, where the ball seams. The No. 4 batsman has to be technically strong and has to be given a number of opportunities.

"Vijay Shankar didn't have that experience. Rishabh Pant didn't have the experience. Dinesh Karthik, who was experienced, was sitting out and suddenly goes to bat in the semi-final. I really don't understand what the think tank was thinking. If you want to get the best out of somebody, you have to make them feel secure. A player can never perform when he's insecure. That was the big reason India didn't win the World Cup. I thought India and England were the best teams in the World Cup. There was no reason why India shouldn't have played the final."

Yuvraj said he saw shades of himself in the big-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman Pant, but felt the youngster needed more support and understanding from the team management. "The big hitters are always talked about, but I had support from [Sourav] Ganguly and there was nobody criticising me every day," he said. "Everybody is criticising him. When things are not happening, talk to him, try to understand his mind. I feel that Rishabh's issue is his mental make-up. How do you get the best out of his mental make-up? He has made runs in the Ranji Trophy and has scored two away Test hundreds; 150 in Australia, one in England. He's played some big knocks. He's shown his talent, he's been fantastic in the IPL. He's played eight-ten ODIs, so what are you expecting of him?

ALSO READ: 'Shouting or suppressing' won't help Pant, says Yuvraj

"Obviously he didn't pick the best shots to hit, but how will you get out his best? You can't suppress him and get his best. You will have to put an arm around his shoulder, praise him, take him to the nets. You will have to sit with him in the evening, talk to him over dinner: 'what's going on in your mind?' Somebody like the batting coach should take that opportunity to get the best out of him. Statements like "fearless and careless" is not going to help anybody's case. It is going to spoil his mental make-up."

There was a dig at the selectors too. "That is the decision the selectors… well, selectors actually don't make that many decisions… the team management has to sit with the chief selector and decide let's make the guys secure first. If we lose, it's okay. If we lose again, it's still okay. The team is not that bad. It will still win. They need to groom guys."

Yuvraj also called for more support for wristspinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal as India opt for less attacking spinners who provide depth in batting. He said it was "stupid" to aim for depth at the cost of proper bowlers.

Newlands might lose hosting rights for the 2020 New Year's Test between South Africa and England. Cricket South Africa has raised concerns about the Western Province Cricket Association's administrative and financial affairs, and the potential disruption caused by a massive construction project currently underway at the ground, with CSA chief executive Thabang Moroe saying, "We are worried as CSA that Newlands may not be able to host the New Year's Test."

An IOL Sport report on Thursday said that the association is in significant financial strife and in danger of missing out on the hosting of the marquee event as it continued its attempts to raise money for building developments at Newlands, and there are signs of a troubled state of affairs in the organisation's administration.

"We are concerned with the finances of Western Province, so as CSA we want to understand some of the decisions they have taken and what their plans are in terms of moving themselves out of the hole they have put themselves in," Moroe explained. "They may not be able to [host the New Year's Test] but I'd like to think that with us sitting around the table and working together as the mother body and the affiliate partner that we ensure that the Test match stays there and we are ready to host it."

The WPCA has not held its annual general meeting this year, and last week CSA announced that it had appointed an administrator to take over the administrative, governance and financial affairs of WPCA "until all these respective functions have been placed on a satisfactory footing".

In February, the WPCA announced a R750 million (approx. US$50 million) upgrade to Newlands that would see the construction of four new office blocks on the site, as well as refurbishments to the Western Province offices and President's Pavilion at Newlands. South African financial services and investments group Sanlam was to have taken on 51% of the costs, with WPCA covering the other 49%.

"This is a journey that started around ten years ago and the main purpose of this journey was the sustainability of cricket," Cape Cobras chief executive Nabeal Dien had said at the time. "I don't think we would have gone into this, and neither would Sanlam, unless we saw a viable outcome."

However, last week CSA suspended the WPCA board, appointing former chief executive Andre Odendaal as an administrator, with Odendaal due to present monthly progress reports as CSA takes a hands-on approach to the WPCA's affairs.

"CSA will exercise its rights until such time that it is reasonably of the opinion that the WPCA administrative and financial affairs are being conducted according to best practice and that the association can assure equity partners and stakeholders that projects currently underway will unfold as planned," said CSA President and board chairman Chris Nenzani.

CSA is clearly unhappy with WPCA's progress, and the fate of the marquee New Year's Test fixture is set to be decided at a meeting between CSA and the WPCA next week.

"This includes getting the City of Cape Town involved and there's a big construction project going on there," Moroe said. "There's the concern of safety as fans are concerned. The construction is going to disrupt a little bit in terms of how the Test match is generally hosted‚ but there's a figurative and literal hole that needs to be filled.

"From a security perspective‚ we need to adhere to all the requirements and all involved have to be safe. We also need to uphold the ICC's hosting standards and make sure that the English also feel safe in coming to the grounds and that we can cater for all the spectators because we are expecting quite a big number of English supporters."

Newlands has hosted the New Year's Test 21 times since South Africa's readmission into international cricket in 1991, with the last one played against Pakistan from January 3, 2019.

New Orleans Pelicans point guard Lonzo Ball watched, as seemingly everyone else did, as a clip of his father, LaVar, calling him "damaged goods" made the rounds last week.

The clip, from the "Ball in the Family" show on Facebook, was fodder for social media mavens and talk show hosts alike. But to Lonzo, it was just a disagreement, albeit one that was captured for the world to see.

"That was the most popular scene, it was everywhere," he joked on The Woj Pod with ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski released Friday morning.

"That's part of life. I'm growing up. He has his ways, I have mine. We just got into it. That's what fathers and sons do as time goes on. At the end of the day, it's always love at the end. I know he loves me, I love him. We're just not always going to agree on everything. That's all it was."

Lonzo enters the 2019-20 season with a new team -- and with new shoes on his feet. On The Woj Pod, he explained how he wouldn't do anything different and has no regrets about wearing Big Baller Brand shoes to begin his NBA career.

"It was different, but at the same time, we were trying to build a brand," Lonzo said about coming out of UCLA and wearing his own shoes. "I had to wear them. But there was no way we could play in the shoes I had in summer league. There was no way they would make it to the NBA court.

"I'm grateful we got to link up with Brandblack for getting me a better shoe. ... I played in Kobes my whole life, then switching it up at the last stage, it was different for me. But I don't make excuses. I don't regret anything I did."

As he prepares to start the next chapter of his career in New Orleans, Lonzo will do so as he pushes away somewhat from his father's control. The first sign of it was when Lonzo decided to sign with CAA.

"What makes it easier is I'm controlling everything now," he said. "You really can't tell me what to do. It's my life, my career. I'm making all the decisions now. I chose to go to CAA. I think me becoming my own man is going to make it easier honestly."

The youngest Ball brother, LaMelo, is playing what would have been his freshman year in college in Australia as a part of the NBL's Next Stars program. He has a chance to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, which would be one spot higher than Lonzo was taken in 2017.

Unlike Lonzo, LaMelo will have a chance to go through meetings when he's ready to be sponsored by a shoe brand as he hits the NBA, something the Ball brothers have talked about.

"He gets to go through the real, actual process," Lonzo said. "When I was coming out, we were just working on my shoe, Big Baller Brand, that's just what it was. I didn't take any meetings. It was already kind of set for me.

"But I tell him all the time, this is going to be your decision. Go talk to Adidas. Go talk to Nike. Go talk to Puma. Go talk to everybody. Take every meeting. Whoever wants you the most, go with them. I told him, make sure you take control of your career now. Don't wait like I did. Hopefully that helps him. He seems like he's taking it all in. I'm excited for him."

The two have also talked about LaMelo's career on the court and where he can improve the most.

"Now it's just about making sure he's making the right play every time," Lonzo said. "Right now I have him focusing on his turnovers. I know his first game [in the NBL] he had a couple more than I would like. But staying on the right path, listening to his coaches... He knows he's probably the most talented kid when he steps on the court but it's more than talent. Everyone has talent in the league."

When it comes to his own game, Lonzo is focused on trying to play all 82 games for the first time in his career after playing in just 47 games as a rookie and 52 games last season.

He mentioned getting a chef and even joked that Pelicans guard E'Twaun Moore told him to watch how much he eats because it's easy to gain a "quick 10 to 15" pounds thanks to New Orleans cuisine.

Lonzo also believes that even though the Pelicans are young, they have a chance to compete in the Western Conference.

"I tell everybody take it one game at a time," Lonzo said. "We're in the West. There's no off nights. When you think it's an off night, it's not. You can lose any night. I think we have the pieces to do it and go where we need to go. But my advice to them is take it step by step."

British pole vault record-holder gives AW the lowdown on her friendly rivals and a typical day ahead of the IAAF World Championships

Holly Bradshaw says she feels in the shape of her life, with the British record-holder targeting a medal at the IAAF World Championships in what she believes is set to be “the most open” women’s pole vault contest.

Feeling confident after a good block of training, the 27-year-old says it is credit to her coach Scott Simpson for getting the timing and peak right.

“I’m in the best shape of my life so going out there and jumping 4.80m or 4.85m, I can do that quite easily,” says the 2018 European bronze medallist.

“I’ve got all the tools that I need to go there and win a medal, it’s just about me trying to deliver that on the day.”

The world’s top vaulters do not shy away from competing against each other regularly and in Doha Bradshaw will face Olympic, world and European champion Katerina Stefanidi of Greece, USA’s world indoor record-holder and 2012 Olympic champion Jenn Suhr, Canada’s Commonwealth champion Alysha Newman, USA’s world indoor champion Sandi Morris and Pan-American Games silver medallist Katie Nageotte, European indoor champion Anzhelika Sidorova, who will be competing as an authorised neutral athlete, and Cuba’s 2015 world champion Yarisley Silva.

“Everyone is in similar shape this year and it’s super exciting,” Bradshaw adds. “In other years you’ll have thought ‘maybe I could sneak a bronze or silver’ but actually gold, silver and bronze are all up for grabs.

“For me, that’s what excites me the most –  feel like I’m in the best shape ever going into a competition that is the most open and that’s really cool.”

Training insight

Bradshaw was speaking with AW at the British Athletics holding camp in Dubai and she shared some insight into a typical training day.

“The temperature here is a bit of a challenge so we decided to do most of our training in the evening,” she says. “I’m trying to wake up later so I was getting up at 10am and trying to go to bed by 11pm. While I’ve been out here I’ve been sleeping pretty well.

“I’ll go for breakfast and then it’s just killing time. I’m doing some research on a sports psychology topic of post-Olympic blues so I’ve been doing bits of that while I’ve been out here. I’ve also been for coffee a couple of times, obviously, because that’s what I like to do! There are so many good coffee shops here. Basically my day is scheduled around food and meal times!

“I try not to snack and for the three meals of the day, if I’m training in the morning, I’ll have carbs at breakfast and lunch but none at dinner and vice versa if I’m training in the evening. The food here is incredible and I think it’s quite easy to over-indulge and have more volume than you are used to, so for me a little tactic is to get a small plate for salad and then I get another small plate for my meat and carbs. Little things like that you learn over the years.

“I’ll have lunch and maybe have a nap before I get on the bus to go training. Then all of a sudden it’s 10pm and it’s bed time.

“Scott will always programme but I know that we do a three-week lead in,” she adds. “So I know that he starts with the pole vault sessions and that’s five days out and 10 days out and then working around that we will do a really important explosive throwing and lifting session. We throw shot puts over our head and between the legs. I actually got a PB in both of those which tends to happen this time of year. I remember ahead of London 2017 when we were in Paris I threw two PBs.

“I don’t realise it but obviously Scott does it on purpose – we do the feel-good sessions, things that I am good at and am going to PB in, to give me a confidence boost.

“We’ll also do a competition simulation and off the back of that I feel ready to compete. It’s about maintaining that and not doing anything that is going to get you injured.”

Athlete bios

The pole vault is known for its camaraderie and Bradshaw gets on well with many of her competitors. So what are they like away from the track? The Brit shares her version of the world championships athlete bios.

Katie Nageotte

“Katie is my best friend out there. She’s really bubbly and friendly. The nicest person you’ll ever meet and will not say a bad word about anyone but is the messiest person! She is first to admit this – I will walk into a room and it’s like an explosion has happened and I’m wading through her stuff.”

Sandi Morris

“I would describe Sandi as similar – the nicest person, really easy-going, but also in her bio would be ‘crazy animal-loving bubbly person’ because she has snakes and spiders, which freaks me out. She lives in her own little Sandi world and I think it’s great, I wish I could live in there!”

Katerina Stefanidi

“I swear whenever I see her she is always eating a banana. The other day, I think we were in Brussels, she had four bananas in her hand. So under her bio would be ‘the crazy banana lady’!”

Bradshaw’s own bio

“I think I am known for saying ‘ah bless’ or as the crazy coffee lady!”

England's Piers Francis has been cited for foul play following a tackle that left United States full-back Will Hooley with concussion.

Francis, who will appear before a disciplinary panel in Tokyo, made the tackle early on in the Rugby World Cup match, which England won 45-7.

US flanker John Quill was sent off for a high tackle late on in the match.

Australia's Reece Hodge and Rey Lee-Lo of Samoa both received three-match bans after being cited for high tackles.

High tackles are under heavy scrutiny at the World Cup, after World Rugby introduced new guidance to reduce head injuries.

The high tackle framework was announced after a World Rugby study found that tacklers were four times as likely to sustain a head injury if their tackle was high.

England attack coach Scott Wisemantel said the new rules make "perfect sense" - and the coaching staff were aiming to replicate game intensity in training in order to adapt.

"It's for the players' protection. So we've just got to abide by that and then train it," Wisemantel added.

"The first thing is that the players are aware of the new regulations. The second part is, technique-wise, we train to avoid any sort of mishaps.

"The actual technique we use with [defence coach] John Mitchell mitigates a lot of those risks."

Quill became the first US man to be sent off at a Rugby World Cup for his dangerous tackle on England's Owen Farrell in Kobe.

Regarding Farrell, Wisemantel added: "He's fine, and after the game he acknowledged it was an accident on John's behalf. He's gone in to bat for him."

Matches affected by rain in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019-20 will be rescheduled, after nearly 17 of the 30 games scheduled in the first three days were abandoned or ended in a no result.

The tournament is being played across four cities - Bengaluru, Dehradun, Jaipur and Vadodara. Matches in Bengaluru and Vadodara, where Groups A and B are playing, have been particularly badly hit. Dehradun, where Group D games are being held, has also been affected, with only Jaipur's Group C matches progressing as scheduled.

The BCCI is working out a schedule to try and fit in as many of the affected games as possible. "We are working on the rescheduling and it should be done soon," BCCI general manager Saba Karim told ESPNcricinfo. "We want to have as many matches as possible. Three of the groups were affected, A, B and D due to unseasonal rains, so we're looking at how to accommodate those. The matches in Jaipur have gone on smoothly."

ESPNcricinfo understands that there was a meeting between the managers of Group A teams in Bengaluru and BCCI officials, where the matter was discussed, though all teams were not in favour of rescheduling games. However, with the BCCI having taken a call, the fixtures that were affected are likely to get a fresh window.

In the original schedule, there were no games slated for October 2 and October 8, and those days could be used to fill some gaps. Additionally, there are 'break' days in each of the four host cities, when no matches will be played for that particular group, and these days could also be used. A Times of India report also said that the end of the league stage could be pushed back. The last day of league matches in Vadodara and Bengaluru - the latter is also the venue for the knockouts - is October 13. Jaipur and Dehradun will have games until October 16. The knockouts start from October 20.

In Bengaluru, the first two days of the competition saw no play at all with six matches washed out. The first Elite Group A match that got underway was between Karnataka and Jharkhand on Thursday, which was the first match of the tournament at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where the sub-air drainage system makes it possible to for the ground to withstand heavy rainfall and still get a full game in. The other two games on Thursday were scheduled in Alur and Bengaluru, and they, too, eventually got underway and were completed, though both were truncated games.

In Vadodara, there has not been a single result over three days, with nine games either abandoned without a ball being bowled, or mid-way through. There was no play at all on September 24, the opening day. All three matches that were scheduled on the next day began, but all had to be abandoned mid-way, and on Thursday, once again there wasn't a ball bowled. Dehradun has had one no-result each on both days on which play had been scheduled.

Australia's Ashes squad members Matthew Wade, James Pattinson, Travis Head and Usman Khawaja are set to return for their states in the Marsh Cup this weekend after being rested from the first week of fixtures, but New South Wales' Test stars will not feature against Western Australia.

Steven Smith, David Warner, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood will all continue to rest despite the Blues being desperate for a win after losses to Queensland and South Australia in Brisbane.

Western Australia have named an unchanged side to take on NSW in two matches at Drummoyne Oval after obliterating Victoria and Tasmania in their first two matches at home.

Wade will return to captain and keep wicket for the winless Tasmania while South Australia will regain their captain Head for the two matches against the Tigers at Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide. Incredibly, it has been seven seasons since South Australia have hosted a domestic one-day fixture after the competition was revamped in 2013.

Victoria have added paceman Pattinson to their 14-man squad for the two matches against Queensland at Junction Oval in Melbourne.

Khawaja will return to lead the undefeated Bulls after being rested from their first two home wins against New South Wales and South Australia. Ben Cutting has also been added to the Bulls' squad after being left out of the first two games. He replaces Jack Wildermuth, who suffered a hamstring injury after his Player of the Match performance against New South Wales.

Kandra rocks Rosner in ONO shock
By MATT COLES – Squash Mad Correspondent

Sarah-Jane Perry and Joel Makin, both coached in Birmingham by Robert Owen, led a quartet of British players into the quarter-finals of the 2019 Oracle NetSuite Open in San Francisco.

Also through are Scotland’s Alan Clyne, who ended the hopes of England’s Declan James, and Welsh number one Tesni Evans, who beat Egypt’s Salma Hany.

England’s World No.7 Perry is through to the last eight after defeating compatriot Emily Whitlock at the Bay Club in San Francisco.

Perry, who won this event in both 2017 and 2018, needed just 18 minutes to win her second round clash as she fought back to beat her fellow Englishwoman in both games.

The pair were meeting for the second time in three weeks, having faced off in the quarter-finals of the Open de France – Nantes, where Perry got the better of Whitlock in another best-of-three clash.

Once again, Whitlock started the stronger of the two, but Perry was able to win the opening game 11-6. The same pattern occurred in the second, as Perry changed tactics to take the pace off the ball. And it worked to her advantage.

Perry said: “She played really well against me a couple of weeks ago in Nantes. I felt a little flat in that tournament, but I have been feeling better in between, and I just tried to come out and play with a little bit of confidence.

“As both games went on, I started to find my way and my rhythm and momentum. Hopefully tomorrow, I can actually start well and not wait until halfway through the game.

“It feels a lot like last year. I think I was the No.5 seed last year as well so it is very much the same. Every opponent was tough last year and that is the same again this year. You are never thinking about any rounds further ahead, just the one that is right in front of you.”

The tournament’s No.5 seed advances through to the quarter finals, where she will face World No.1 Raneem El Welily in a repeat of last year’s Oracle NetSuite Open final.

The Egyptian superstar had to come from a game down to defeat United States No.2 Olivia Blatchford Clyne, eventually winning out 9-11, 11-5, 11-5 to seal her spot in the last eight.

Fellow American Amanda Sobhy, the No.6 seed, was in fine form, overcoming Milou van der Heijden of The Netherlands 11-6, 11-3 in just 16 minutes. No.3 seed Nour El Tayeb lies in wait in what is sure to be a blockbuster battle on the glass court.

In the men’s draw, the unseeded Raphael Kandra overcame compatriot and World No.5 Simon Rösner in the last match of the night at the University Club.

Despite being from the same nation, this was only the third time that the pair had met each other on the PSA World Tour, with Rösner having been successful in the previous two.

This meeting started off in a very tight fashion, with neither player wanting to give an inch in the opening exchanges. However, Kandra was able to take the first 11-9.

The second was slightly easier for the German No.2, who reached the semi-finals of the British Open in 2018. He secured the victory with an 11-7 scoreline in the second, setting up a clash with Egypt’s Marwan ElShorbagy in the last eight.

“Two days ago when I beat Iker [Pajares Bernabeu], I had a similar strategy of precision and pressure, and it worked quite well even though it was a different court at the Bay Club,” Kandra said.

“With the new format, you get punished for your bad shots or when you go for a silly shot. Almost 50% of those opportunities for him went into the tin luckily for me.

“I was trying to stay as mentally sharp as I could. With a maximum of three games, physically you can push yourself, but in my head I had to stay sharp and make the precise shots.”

Elsewhere on day three, Alan Clyne got the better of No.7 seed Declan James in a terrific three game tussle. The Scot won the first on a tie-break, but the Englishman fought back in the second.

However, it would be the World No.44 from Edinburgh who took the victory, after he won the deciding game 11-5. Clyne will now face World No.9 Miguel Rodriguez in the last eight at Embarcadero Plaza. 

The top two seeds, Egypt’s Mohamed ElShorbagy and Tarek Momen, safely made it through to the last eight, defeating France’s Mathieu Castagnet and Mexico’s Cesar Salazar. Momen beats Joel Makin who overcame young Egyptian Mostafa Asal in straight games, 11-5, 11-9.

Today, the action moves to the spectacular glass court in San Francisco’s Embarcadero Plaza for the quarter finals and onwards. 

Oracle NetSuite Open 2019, Embarcadero Plaza, San Francisco, USA.

Men’s Second Round:
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 2-0: 11-9, 11-7 (36m)
[8] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) bt Campbell Grayson (NZL) 2-0: 11-2, 12-10 (42m)
[5] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Karim Ali Fathi (EGY) 2-0: 11-4, 11-9 (20m)
Raphael Kandra (GER) bt [3] Simon Rösner (GER) 2-0: 11-9, 11-7 (33m)
[4] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) bt Arturo Salazar (MEX) 2-0: 11-9, 11-1 (21m)
Alan Clyne (SCO) bt [7] Declan James (ENG) 2-1: 13-11, 3-11, 11-5 (54m)
[6] Joel Makin (WAL) bt Mostafa Asal (EGY) 2-0: 11-5, 11-9 (41m)
[2] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt Cesar Salazar (MEX) 2-0: 11-5, 11-6 (17m)

Women’s Second Round:
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) bt Olivia Blatchford Clyne (USA) 2-1: 9-11, 11-5, 11-5 (35m)
[5] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt Emily Whitlock (ENG) 2-0: 11-6, 11-8 (18m)
[8] Joshna Chinappa (IND) bt Melissa Alves (FRA) 2-1: 11-7, 6-11, 11-6 (33m)
[4] Joelle King (NZL) bt Olivia Fiechter (USA) 2-0: 11-8, 11-5 (20m)
[3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt Hollie Naughton (CAN) 2-0: 11-5, 11-7 (16m)
[6] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt Milou van der Heijden (NED) 2-0: 11-6, 11-3 (16m)
[7] Tesni Evans (WAL) bt Salma Hany (EGY) 2-0: 11-4, 11-8 (23m)
[2] Camille Serme (FRA) bt Nele Gilis (BEL) 2-0: 11-3, 11-4 (21m)

Men’s Quarter Finals (Top Half):
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) v [8] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
[5] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) v Raphael Kandra (GER)

Women’s Quarter Finals (Top Half):
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v [5] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
[8] Joshna Chinappa (IND) v [4] Joelle King (NZL)

Men’s Quarter Finals (Bottom Half):
[4] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) v Alan Clyne (SCO)
[6] Joel Makin (WAL) v [2] Tarek Momen (EGY)

Women’s Quarter Finals (Bottom Half):
[3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) v [6] Amanda Sobhy (USA)
[7] Tesni Evans (WAL) v [2] Camille Serme (FRA) 

Report by MATT COLES (PSA). Edited by ALAN THATCHER.

Pictures courtesy of PSA and and REYNOLD CHAN (Daily Squash Report Photos)