Tsz-Wing Tong Gatecrashes Chestnut Hill Quarter Finals In Philadelphia

Hong Kong’s Tsz-Wing Tong produced the only upset on day two of the Chestnut Hill Classic presented by Springside Chestnut Hill Academy as she defeated England’s No.6 seed Lucy Turmel in four games to advance to her first World Tour quarter final.

Tong secured a confident 2-0 lead after winning the opening two games 11-9, 11-7 and placed one foot in the final eight. But Turmel responded to take the third game emphatically 11-3 and breathe more life in the contest. The Hong Kong No.3 regained her composure however and remained calm to return to winning ways and close the game out 11-6 and move into the next round.

Tong’s quarter final opponent will be the event’s No.1 seed Nele Gilis, who scored a win over Egypt’s Nadine Garas to move into the final eight. Garas came out the blocks confidently and took game one 11-4 to shock the No.1 seed, but Gilis wasn’t phased as she returned to her solid brand of squash to storm through the following three games and secure the win.

In-form Olivia Clyne didn’t have things all her own way against England’s Lucy Beecroft as she needed four games and 46 minutes to defeat the World No.46. With the scores level at 1-1, the USA No.3 stepped up the court and heaped the pressure onto Beecroft, which was ultimately too much to handle. Clyne took the third game 11-6, then the fourth game 11-9 to close out the match and reach her fourth World Tour quarter final in a row. She will now face Malaysia’s Rachel Arnold, who defeated Salma Eltayeb in straight games.

There were also three more four game victories as Melissa Alves, Jana Shiha and Hana Moataz all booked their places in the final eight after beating Kenzy Ayman, Nicole Bunyan and Millie Tomlinson. No.8 seed Moataz will now play local favourite and No.2 seed Olivia Fiechter for a place in the semi-finals after the American wasted no time beating Hong Kong’s Ka Yi Lee 3-0 in just 22 minutes.

“I’m really happy with my performance tonight and to get through in three,” said Fiechter.

“Ka Yi Lee can be so dangerous and the last time we played it was quite tight so I knew I had be ready from the get go.

“I knew there would be a great crowd but wow, were my expectations surpassed! It’s a tricky situation playing in front of family and friends on your home courts. On one hand, it’s the best environment an athlete could ask for. But on the other hand, it’s easy to put a bit more pressure on yourself to perform well and make everyone proud. At the end of the day though, the pressure to perform well is always there so I just tried to use the atmosphere to my advantage and feed off of their energy and I can’t wait to do it again tomorrow night!”

The Chestnut Hill Classic presented by Springside Chestnut Hill Academy continues with the quarter finals on Saturday evening.

Action from the tournament will be streamed on the Philadelphia Cricket Club YouTube channel throughout the week. You can also keep up to date with live scores from the event here.

Second Round Results:
[1] Nele Gilis (BEL) bt Nardine Garas (EGY) 3-1: 4-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-2 (40m)
Tsz-Wing Tong (HKG) bt [6] Lucy Turmel (ENG) 3-1: 11-9, 11-7, 3-11, 11-6 (43m)
[5] Rachel Arnold (MAS) bt Salma Eltayeb (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-9, 11-8 (26m)
[3] Olivia Clyne (USA) bt Lucy Beecroft (ENG) 3-1: 11-6, 7-11, 11-6, 11-9 (46m)
[4] Melissa Alves (FRA) bt Kenzy Ayman (EGY) 3-1: 11-5, 11-8, 5-11, 11-5 (35m)
[7] Jana Shiha (EGY) bt Nicole Bunyan (CAN) 3-1: 14-12, 9-11, 11-8, 11-2 (41m)
[8] Hana Moataz (EGY) bt Millie Tomlinson (ENG) 3-1: 10-12, 11-5, 11-7, 11-6 (37m)
[2] Olivia Fiechter (USA) bt Ka Yi Lee (HKG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-2, 11-2 (22m)

Draw: Quarter Finals
[1] Nele Gilis (BEL) v Tsz-Wing Tong (HKG)
[5] Rachel Arnold (MAS) v [3] Olivia Clyne (USA)
[4] Melissa Alves (FRA) v [7] Jana Shiha (EGY)
[8] Hana Moataz (EGY) v [2] Olivia Fiechter (USA)