St James Classic: Yuk Downs Top Seed Mohamed For Title

Hong Kong’s Chan Sin Yuk claimed her third title of the season with a victory at the St James Women’s 20K Classic presented by Expression Networks on Saturday.

The Hongkonger came into the Challenger 20 level competition as the No.4 seed, and she received a bye through the opening day’s play, which took place at the St James in Springfield, VA, United States.

Yuk started her week in the second round, with a confident performance. She got the better of Malaysia’s Chan Yiwen in straight games, before then also winning in three in the quarter finals of the tournament. She downed Egypt’s Salma Eltayeb in just 22 minutes in the last eight.

Her semi-final opponent was England’s Katie Malliff, after the No.8 seed had downed No.2 seed Nada Abbas. Yuk made sure that there would be no surprise in the last four, as she beat the Englishwoman in straight games to move through to the final.

The Hongkonger came up against the tournament’s top seed, Farida Mohamed, in the final in Springfield. A first game tie-break was crucial for Yuk to go on and win the match. She claimed it 12-10, before then going on to win in straight games. The World No.38 was able to claim the biggest title of her career, and she did so without dropping a game.

Results: St James Women’s 20K Classic presented by Expression Networks
Final
[4] Chan Sin Yuk (HKG) bt [1] Farida Mohamed (EGY) 3-0: 12-10, 11-8, 11-7 (27m)

Semi-Finals
[1] Farida Mohamed (EGY) bt [3] Jana Shiha (EGY) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 11-9 (28m)
[4] Chan Sin Yuk (HKG) bt [8] Katie Malliff (ENG) 3-0: 12-10, 11-8, 11-8 (35m)

Quarter Finals
[1] Farida Mohamed (EGY) bt Xin Ying Yee (MAS) 3-0: 11-8, 11-3, 11-7 (24m)
[3] Jana Shiha (EGY) bt Alicia Mead (ENG) 3-1: 8-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-9 (36m)
[4] Chan Sin Yuk (HKG) bt Salma Eltayeb (EGY) 3-0: 11-7, 11-9, 11-7 (22m)
[8] Katie Malliff (ENG) bt [2] Nada Abbas (EGY) 3-1: 11-8, 9-11, 11-9, 3-0 rtd (30m)

Second Round
[1] Farida Mohamed (EGY) bt Marina Stefanoni (USA) 3-2: 11-7, 13-11, 8-11, 12-14, 11-7 (60m)
Xin Ying Yee (MAS) bt [6] Lucy Beecroft (ENG) 3-2: 7-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-3 (57m)
Alicia Mead (ENG) bt [7] Ineta Mackevica (LAT) 3-1: 6-11, 13-11, 11-7, 11-4 (36m)
[3] Jana Shiha (EGY) bt Nardine Garas (EGY) 3-1: 12-14, 11-9, 11-6, 11-7 (38m)
[4] Chan Sin Yuk (HKG) bt Chan Yiwen (MAS) 3-0: 11-9, 12-10, 12-10 (25m)
Salma Eltayeb (EGY) bt [5] Danielle Letourneau (CAN) 3-0: 11-2, 11-5, 11-3 (13m)
[8] Katie Malliff (ENG) bt [WC] Maria Moya (ECU) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-2 (21m)
[2] Nada Abbas (EGY) bt Akanksha Salunkhe (IND) 3-1: 11-5, 7-11, 11-6, 11-6 (34m)

First Round
Marina Stefanoni (USA) bt Menna Hamed (EGY) 3-1: 11-9, 11-1, 8-11, 12-10
Xin Ying Yee (MAS) bt Marta Dominguez Fernandez (ESP) 3-2: 11-3, 8-11, 13-11, 8-11, 11-8
Alicia Mead (ENG) bt Nadia Pfister (SUI) 3-0: 11-6, 11-3, 11-8
Nardine Garas (EGY) bt Alex Haydon (AUS) 3-0: 9-2 rtd (3m)
Chan Yiwen (MAS) bt [WC] Maria Alejandra Poras (USA) 3-0: 11-5, 11-1, 11-4 (17m)
Salma Eltayeb (EGY) bt Tessa ter Sluis (NED) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-3 (17m)
[WC] Maria Moya (ECU) bt Sarah Cardwell (AUS) 3-0: 11-9, 12-10, 11-8 (28m)
Akanksha Salunkhe (IND) bt Diana Garcia (MEX) 3-0: 11-7, 14-12, 12-10 (30m)