Nele Gilis OT in the 5th to Reach Paris Quarters by Simon Dent August 29th, 2023
- World No.7 Nele Gilis defeated World No.18 Farida Mohamed 3-2 in a
pulsating encounter at the Palais de Tokyo to reach the quarter-finals
of the Paris Squash 2023.
Mohamed’s aggressive offensive play was matched by the composure of
Gilis, as the Belgian claimed the first 12-10 after the Egyptian
squandered a game ball chance of her own at 10-9.
21-year-old Mohamed had game ball at 10-9 again in the second and she
didn't let the chance go to waste this time to level the match, however
Gilis regained her advantage as she repelled everything Mohamed threw
at her in the third.
The error count from Mohamed lowered in the fourth as she remained on
the offensive to restore parity once more and tee up a decider.
Gilis' fighting spirit came to the fore when she came from 8-6 down to
have two match balls only for both to be saved by Mohamed. A match ball
opportunity for Mohamed went begging - and another for Gilis - before
the Belgian converted at the fourth attempt to secure her last eight
place.
“I’m still shaking! It was a nervy match but I hung in there and got the win in the fifth," Gilis said.
"She [Farida Mohamed] didn’t make it easy for me, she was firing it in and she didn’t miss much. I’m very proud.”
French No.1 Victor Crouin held off a strong fightback from Adrian Waller to seal a quarter-final place on home soil.
The bottom half of Round Three of the Paris Squash 2023 takes place
tomorrow (Wednesday 30 August), with play starting at 12:00 (GMT+2) at
the Parvis du Palais de Tokyo. All eight matches will be streamed live
on SQUASHTV.
Men’s Third Round Results (top half): Paris Squash 2023
