Au Doubles Home Interest In Hong Kong Open Last 16 by Howard Harding August 27, 2014
- Hong Kong number one Annie Au doubled home interest in the last 16
round of the Women's Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong
Open - and ensured two local players in the second round for the first
time for three years - when she beat Egypt's Heba El Torky in today's
first round of the Women's Squash Association World Series Gold event
in Hong Kong.
"My aim was just to get past the first round," the world No9 told www.squashsite.co.uk after her 11-6, 11-4, 11-4 win.
"I'm satisfied with my
performance today so I'll just focus on one match at a time," added Au
(pictured above in action with El Torky), who now joins compatriot Joey
Chan in the next round.
The 25-year-old No6
seed will face Australian veteran Rachael Grinham for a place in the
quarter-finals. Grinham, the 37-year-old tenth seed who made her debut
in the 2001 championship - and was champion a year later - defeated
Mexican qualifier Samantha Teran 11-4, 11-7, 12-10.
Egypt's Nouran Gohar
celebrated her first appearance in the championship in great style - by
upsetting India's No14 seed Joshana Chinappa, a Commonwealth Games gold
medallist in Scotland earlier this month, 11-8, 11-4, 11-7.
"She's hard to play as
she has so many shots," said 16-year-old Gohar. "But I managed to play
my game, keeping the pace up and the court helped me when I got the
chance to play dropshots. It's my first time in HK so I'm very happy to
make the last sixteen!"
Gohar, the world No29
from Cairo, now lines up against No2 seed Laura Massaro. England's
world champion beat Egyptian qualifier Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy 11-6,
11-4, 11-3.
In a surprising
first-ever meeting with a 17-year-old fellow countrywoman, 16th seed
Nour El Tayeb admitted to a bout of nerves - despite arriving in Hong
Kong after reaching last week's Malaysian Open final against
expectations.
The 21-year-old world
No25 from Cairo took 37 minutes to see off qualifier Mariam Metwally,
ranked more than 60 places lower, 13-11, 12-10, 11-8.
"I was nervous through
the whole match," admitted El Tayeb. "Even though I never played her
before I knew she was very good, and after last week I want to do well
again but I was trying too hard to be relaxed and just made myself too
anxious!
"It was close all the way through, I'm just glad to win in the end."
El Tayeb will now take
on Low Wee Wern, the fifth seed from Malaysia who made up for the
disappointment of a second round Malaysian Open exit to beat Hong Kong
wildcard Tong Tsz-Wing 7-11, 11-4, 11-2, 11-8.
"She came out strong
in the first," said Low. "But after that I felt comfortable right up to
10-3 match ball, she gave it all she had and came back well so I was
glad to get off in four in the end."
RESULTS: Women's Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open, Hong Kong
