Windy City Open RD1: Ho and Lake Take Out Wildcards

Hong Kong’s Tomato Ho and England’s Nathan Lake booked their spots in the second round of the Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family this evening after they overcame wildcards Ava Lin and Rustin Wiser, respectively, at the University Club of Chicago.

World No.322 Lin – a Chicago native – was backed by a packed house in the University Club’s Cathedral Hall and grew into the match as it went on. 

The 16-year-old was able to put Ho through her paces in the first and third games, with their 292-place gap in the PSA World Rankings only really being laid bare in a one-sided second game, during which Ho dropped a single point.

Both players received a standing ovation from the crowd when Ho closed out the win, and her 11-7, 11-1, 11-5 victory has earned her a second round match against another player from the United States, World No.7 Olivia Weaver.

“It’s never easy to play the wildcard because the crowd is supporting her,” Ho said afterwards.

“It was nice to have a match with her and the crowd was amazing. 

“I feel satisfied with my results recently and I’m happy to be in the second round of the Windy City Open. I’m looking forward to playing her [Olivia Weaver], it’s another home player, so I’m against the crowd again!”

Ho will be joined in the last 32 by the in-form Fayrouz Aboelkheir. Aboelkheir, who moved into the world’s top 20 following her maiden Platinum quarter-final finish at last month’s J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions, brought her ‘A’ game to the table against France’s Enora Villard, storming to a 3-0 win to set up a second round match with reigning champion Nouran Gohar.

Up on floor 11, on the ‘traditional’ plaster courts, Egypt’s World No.39 Malak Khafagy got the better of the higher ranked Malaysian Aifa Azman, winning 13-11, 9-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-5 in 54 minutes.

“I’m so proud of the way I fought until the end,” Khafagy said.

“I think I was 2-1 down and 7-2 down and in the middle of the game I had this one second where I lost hope. But I thought, no, I cannot lose this, so I just tried to stay positive and kept winning point by point, and I’m so glad I managed to get the win in the end.

“It’s never easy but I always have the excitement when I get into these tournaments. I see a lot of top 10 players and I wish nothing more than to be with them and play with them, and get their experience and talk to them, so I’m just super excited and I’m super happy with the way I’m playing this year and the way I’m changing everything mentally.”

England’s Lucy Turmel required five games to see off the threat of Egypt’s Nour Aboulmakarim, while Canada’s Hollie Naughton overcame Hana Moataz in four games.

In the men’s evening session, World No.26 Lake made his return to the Windy City as he overcame Wiser in a comfortable 11-1, 11-5, 11-2 victory totalling just 19 minutes in length.

Lake, who lived in Chicago and trained at the University Club of Chicago between 2021-2023, got a great reception from the crowd and put in a clinical performance to claim a quick-fire win.

“It feels great to win efficiently,” said Lake, who will play World No.5 Karim Abdel Gawad next.

“You never know what you’re going to get, I tried to stop him getting momentum so I could keep on top of him. It’s great to be back in Chicago, I spent two years living here, there are great people here and it’s a pleasure to play on this court.

“I’m constantly trying to get better and I still feel that I’ve got a lot left.

“He [Gawad] is a fantastic player. I can’t wait, I want to compete against the best and it’s a great challenge to play someone top five in the world, I’m going to relish it.”

The final match on the glass court saw 2022 runner-up Youssef Ibrahim take on fellow Egyptian Yahya Elnawasany, and it was the former who prevailed, winning by a 11-4, 11-8, 12-14, 14-12 scoreline to set up a mouthwatering clash with reigning champion Paul Coll, who beat Ibrahim in that 2022 title decider.

After pulling two games ahead, Ibrahim found Elnawasany a difficult foe to finish off, with the tenacious World No.37 digging in to take the third on the tie-break. The fourth saw Ibrahim have multiple match ball opportunities but each time he was unable to put the ball away. On his fourth match ball, a collision saw Ibrahim fall to the floor clutching his knee and he was helped off court by his opponent so he could have treatment from the physio.

Upon his return to the court, he was finally able to bring an end to the match, with a stroke from Elnawasany giving him a helping hand.

“The knee is getting looser, I had a long injury, so I just got really scared that I might have done something horrible again,” said Ibrahim.

“I have great memories here, since then [the 2022 final] I’ve had a really rough time with my body, but I do remember that year very well. I remember the vibe and atmosphere of this court like it was yesterday.

“I’m not really thinking about making the final again. Tomorrow I play Paul, it’s going to be a tough match, but hopefully it’s good for the crowd.”

Meanwhile, US No.4 Todd Harrity upset Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng, putting in an accurate performance to set up second round meeting with Frenchman Baptiste Masotti.

“I took a little break between December and January, I didn’t play in any tournaments, so I took a little mental health break and rediscovered my reasons for playing and realised that I still enjoy playing,” said Harrity.

“Having a good three matches last week [at the Squash on Fire Open] helped me in terms of momentum. So far this season I show up at tournaments, I just play one match and then go home, but last week was three matches, so I still feel like I’m in the groove.”

Round two of the Windy City Open takes place tomorrow (Thursday February 22), with the action getting underway from 12:00 (GMT-6). Action from the glass court and all three traditional courts will be streamed live on SQUASHTV.

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Results – Men’s First Round (Evening Session): 2024 Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family

Nathan Lake (ENG) bt [WC] Rustin Wiser (USA) 3-0: 11-1, 11-5, 11-2 (19m)

Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) bt Yahya Elnawasany (EGY) 3-0: 11-4, 11-8, 12-14, 14-12 (75m)

Todd Harrity (USA) bt Eain Yow Ng (MAS) 3-0: 11-5, 11-9, 11-2 (37m)

Greg Lobban (SCO) bt Karim El Hammamy (EGY) 3-1: 11-5, 11-9, 9-11, 12-10 (73m)

Ramit Tandon (IND) bt Farkas Balazs (HUN) 3-1: 11-7, 8-11, 11-1, 11-7 (50m)

Curtis Malik (ENG) bt Nick Wall (ENG) 3-0: 6-7 retired (11m)

Auguste Dussourd (FRA) bt [WC] Dillon Huang (USA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-8 (50m)

Adrian Waller (ENG) bt Cesar Salazar (MEX) 3-0: 11-4, 11-4, 11-7 (29m)

Results – Women’s First Round (Evening Session): 2024 Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family

Rachel Arnold (MAS) bt Grace Gear (ENG) 3-0: 12-10, 11-8, 11-8 (32m)

Lucy Turmel (ENG) bt Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY) 3-2: 11-13, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6, 11-3 (62m)

Malak Khafagy (EGY) bt Aifa Azman (MAS) 3-2: 13-11, 9-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-5 (54m)

Melissa Alves (FRA) bt Ka Yi Lee (HKG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-7, 11-7 (25m)

Hollie Naughton (CAN) bt Hana Moataz (EGY) 3-1: 11-9, 14-12, 9-11, 11-4 (45m)

Emily Whitlock (WAL) bt Salma Eltayeb (EGY) 3-0: 12-10, 11-5, 11-8 (31m)

Tomato Ho (HKG) bt [WC] Ava Lin (USA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-1, 11-5 (26m)

Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) bt Enora Villard (FRA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 11-9 (27m)