Millie Tomlinson & Youssef Soliman Triumph in Jersey Classic by Sean Reuthe photos PSA
May 16, 2016
- World Junior Championship runner-up Youssef Soliman and England’s
Millie Tomlinson emerged victorious in the Jersey Squash Classic, PSA
M5 & W5 tournaments after claiming respective wins over Michael
Harris and Hania El Hammamy in their final fixtures.
Soliman,
the current World No.126, has been in sensational form of late, with
two consecutive PSA World Tour title wins leading into this tournament
and he maintained his blistering momentum with straight wins over
wildcard Matthew Sidaway, Ondrej Uherka and top seed Matthew Hopkin to
reach the final.
Harris, meanwhile, was unseeded coming into
the event, but showcased his title-challenging credentials from the
outset after upsetting fellow Englishman and second seed Ashley Davies.
Subsequent victories over Sam Ellis and Rui Soares then saw him advance
to the final where he was pitted against the in-form Soliman.
Soliman always had the slight edge as the 19-year-old’s mobility and short game caused Harris problems.
He
pulled away from the middle of the first game, quickly established a
winning lead in the second, and recovered from 7-4 down to take the
third game and the title, courtesy of an 11-6, 11-8, 11-8 victory.
"I'm really thrilled to win another PSA title," said Soliman.
"It
hasn't been easy, we both had some really tough matches to get to the
final. I think I played well and put him under pressure but he was
dealing with it well so I was glad to be able to win that in three. I
have one more tournament to go, in Kent, so I hope to finish the season
with another good performance and maybe a win.
"It’s been a really good week, well organised and I've enjoyed my stay in Jersey."
The
inaugural Women’s tournament was won by Tomlinson after she managed a
straight games win against 15-year-old Egyptian El Hammamy.
World
No.47 Tomlinson was aiming for back-to-back PSA World Tour titles after
winning last month’s GillenMarkets Irish Squash Open and she took a
crucial one-game lead by a narrow 11-9 margin to seize the early
initiative.
She kept up the pressure in the second and third
games as she accelerated to an 11-9, 11-5, 11-3 triumph in 37 minutes
to become the first ever Women’s Jersey Classic champion and claim a
seventh career PSA World Tour title.
"It's always tough playing Egyptians these days," said Tomlinson.
"It was a good match though, it was really tough to keep ahead of her. Thanks to everyone for their support."
