USA’s Fiechter Moves Through to U.S. Open Quarters

United States No.2 Olivia Fiechter has joined compatriot Amanda Sobhy in the quarter-finals of the U.S. Open presented by TRUIST following a 3-0 win over Egypt’s Salma Hany at Philadelphia’s Arlen Specter US Squash Center earlier today.

Fiechter, who reached the U.S. Open semi-finals back in 2021, will go up against 2017 champion Nour El Tayeb in the next round, with El Tayeb getting the better of England’s Lucy Beecroft.

“I’m not going to lie, that win was huge for me,” said Fiechter after the match.

“I put in a really hard summer training block and I’ve had some good performances, but I’ve also had some not so good performances this year and I’m trying to find that balance and blend with some changes I made this summer while incorporating my natural game. My goal was to go out there and trust myself. I’m really happy with how committed I was to my game plan and I stayed really positive. 

“That’s the first time I’ve beaten Salma [Hany], I knew it was going to be really challenging, she’s a great player and I’m really happy with that performance. I feel like I’m moving the best I’ve ever moved thanks to the work over so many years, but particularly this summer I definitely put a lot of work into it.”

Elsewhere, England’s Georgina Kennedy has reached her first U.S. Open quarter-final after she battled to a 3-2 win over Egypt’s Rowan Elaraby to extend her winning run over the World No.12 to six matches.

It was a back-and-forth encounter, with Elaraby having the better of the match in the opening stages as she powered into a 7-1 lead before holding off a late fightback from Kennedy to go ahead. The second and third games were much improved from Kennedy as she kept the ball tight to the side wall, which didn’t allow the Egyptian to utilise her skills at the front of the court.

Elaraby wasn’t done there though as she edged ahead in a nip and tuck fourth game to force a decider. It went all the way to a nail-biting tie-break, with Kennedy sealing the win with a sumptuous forehand drop on the stretch to bring an end to a fascinating contest after 71 minutes.

“Rowan [Elaraby] came out firing and she played spectacularly well today,” Kennedy said.

“I felt like she was outplaying me for most of the match. I’m absolutely thrilled to win that, but it was one of those where at 10-10 I found the lucky nick drop shot that I would never hit and it’s probably the best shot of my life. It was such a flip of a coin and it’s always gutting to be on the other end of that, but I found a way through. 

“I love playing in the U.S., I went to college here and it’s very familiar to me, I feel at home here and my sponsor Open Squash is just down the road in New York. I’ve been there a few days training to get ready for this event. Although it’s not a home crowd, it’s definitely a home away from home crowd.”

World No.1 Nour El Sherbini awaits Kennedy in the last eight after she dispatched fellow Egyptian Nada Abbas in straight games.

In the men’s event, World No.5 Paul Coll booked his place in the quarter-finals after he nullified the threat of Egyptian shot-maker Youssef Ibrahim. Ibrahim is renowned for his attacking talents, but Coll put was on it from the word go as he kept the ball buried in the back corners to keep his opponent away from the ’T’.

A nasty slip in the second game threatened to derail Coll’s momentum as he initially surrendered an 8-4 advantage, but the Kiwi refocused and eventually closed out the win by an 11-3, 11-9, 11-9 scoreline.

“I was targeting my own ball striking,” said Coll.

“I wanted to limit his angles and starve him of that middle area. He’s very dangerous across the ’T’ line, he has a good forehand and he’s very quick, so I wanted to get the ball past him as much as possible and then hit him with my own shots when I had the opportunity. I didn’t want to be passive and wait for mistakes, I had to take the game to him, especially in the first two. 

“In the third he managed to control it a little bit, so I managed to fight my way back and take that one and I’m very happy to take it 3-0.”

Coll’s quarter-final opponent will be Egypt’s Mazen Hesham after he took out Germany’s Raphael Kandra to reach the U.S. Open quarter-finals for the first time.

“I’m finally into the quarter finals here,” said Hesham.

“I’ve been coming here to Philadelphia for a long time, so it’s really good to be in the quarters here and challenge the big guys for a place in the semis.

“I have to give everything [in his quarter-final match against Paul Coll]. Paul is a very tough opponent and he’s not going to give it to you, you have to take it. I will do my best, bring my A game and I’ll try get past him.”

Defending champion Diego Elias also advanced to the last eight courtesy of a comfortable 3-0 win against England’s Nathan Lake and he will go up against World No.6 Marwan ElShorbagy for a place in the semi-finals.

The quarter-finals of the U.S. Open begin tomorrow (October 11) and play begins at 18:00 (GMT-4). The action will be broadcast live on SQUASHTV.

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Results – Men’s Third Round (Bottom Half): 2023 U.S. Open

[4] Paul Coll (NZL) bt Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) 3-0: 11-3, 11-9, 11-9 (59m)

[6] Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt Raphael Kandra (GER) 3-0: 12-10, 11-5, 11-7 (35m)

[5] Marwan ElShorbagy (ENG) bt Adrian Waller (ENG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-7 (34m)

[2] Diego Elias (PER) bt Nathan Lake (ENG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-2, 11-2 (34m)

Draw – Men’s Quarter-Finals (Top Half): To Be Played October 11th

[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v Miguel Rodriguez (COL)

[8] Tarek Momen (EGY) v [3] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG)

Draw – Men’s Quarter-Finals (Bottom Half): To Be Played October 12th

[4] Paul Coll (NZL) v [6] Mazen Hesham (EGY)

[5] Marwan ElShorbagy (ENG) v [2] Diego Elias (PER)

Results – Women’s Third Round (Bottom Half): 2023 U.S. Open

[4] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt Lucy Beecroft (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-5 (22m)

[8] Olivia Fiechter (USA) bt Salma Hany (EGY) 3-0: 13-11, 11-4, 11-7 (38m)

[7] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bt Rowan Elaraby (EGY) 3-2: 5-11, 11-7, 11-8, 8-11, 12-10 (71m)

[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt Nada Abbas (EGY) 3-0: 11-1, 11-6, 11-2 (21m)

Draw – Women’s Quarter-Finals (Top Half): To Be Played October 11th

[2] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) v [6] Nele Gilis (BEL)

[5] Amanda Sobhy (USA) v Amina Orfi (EGY)

Draw – Women’s Quarter-Finals (Bottom Half): To Be Played October 12th

[4] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) v [8] Olivia Fiechter (USA)

[7] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) v [1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY)