Chan Charges Into Hong Kong Open Women's Quarters by Howard Harding August 28, 2014
- Hong Kong underdog Joey Chan claimed an unexpected place in the last
eight of the Women's Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong
Open after despatching No7 seed Omneya Abdel Kawy in straight games in
today's second round of the Women's Squash Association World Series
Gold event in Hong Kong.
The world No23's 11-8,
13-11, 11-7 win over 2009 finalist Kawy, ranked 11 places higher,
provides solitary home interest in the quarter-finals since compatriot
Annie Au, the Hong Kong number one and sixth seed, crashed out of the
event, beaten by Australia's 2002 champion Rachael Grinham, seeded 10.
Chan's surprise
success sees the 26-year-old left-hander (pictured above in action with
Kawy) back in her country's major Open event for the first time for
three years. "I am really glad to get through the quarters after 2011,
Omneya is a really talented player," said the 15th seed.
"Since the game was
fast in pace, I just tried to take the control at court and kept
running around, and be patient on making every attack and the rallies
as long as possible."
Chan will now line up
against top seed Nicol David, the defending champion from Malaysia who
was taken to four games by Emma Beddoes before beating the 13th seed
from England 11-4, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7.
"I just want to enjoy the match and the atmosphere and do my best," added Chan.
At 37 years old and
competing in her 11th Hong Kong Open since 2001, Grinham today showed
that she is still a force to be reckoned with. The Queenslander
recovered from a game down to see off Au 9-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-9 in her
first win over the world No9 since July 2011.
"I thought I played
really well, but I knew I had to keep smacking the ball hard, not my
usual sort of game at all," Grinham told www.squashsite.co.uk later.
"If she gets her shots going on this court she's deadly, she's beaten
me a few times on here so I needed to keep it fast to take her options
away.
"Two years ago I'd
have been happy to think I had two years left, so now I'm just taking
it month by month," added the former world number one. "I still feel
I've got the game to beat the top players, but maybe not three or four
of them in a row!"
Third seed Camille
Serme made the last eight by the skin of her teeth, saving two
match-balls to hold off England's No9 seed Jenny Duncalf 11-13, 6-11,
11-4, 11-3, 12-10 in 77 minutes.
"At two-nil down I was
thinking that it couldn't be worse," admitted the top-ranked French
player. "I just tried to calm myself down and get my tactics right, I
was a bit mixed up in my head.
"I got lucky on the
second match ball and I told myself that this is my chance now. It's
never nice to lose a match like that, I'm just glad I was the winner
today."
But there were a
further upset when 16th seed Nour El Tayeb beat fifth-seeded Malaysian
Low Wee Wern 11-8, 7-11, 11-3, 7-11, 11-5 in 74 minutes.
Egyptian El Tayeb, the
21-year-old world No25 from Cairo, is enjoying a stunning run on the
WSA World Tour after reaching last week's Malaysian Open from the
position of 16th seed and now making the last eight in Hong Kong for
the first time.
"That's how it is with
Wee Wern," said El Tayeb after her first ever win over the world No7.
"She sucks me into her slow pace and for large parts of the match I
just couldn't play my game! Omar [Elborolossy] kept telling me I needed
to wake up, and thankfully in the fifth I managed to get on top again."
RESULTS: Women's Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open, Hong Kong
