Jaume Overcomes No.4 Seed To Reach First World Tour Semi-Final In the Quarter-Finals of The Squash In The Land

Spain’s Bernat Jaume earned a place in first World Tour semi-final, USA’s Olivia Weaver survived a difficult test in Farida Mohamed, Egypt’s Youssef Ibrahim put on a masterful display to beat Muhammad Asim Khan and World No.8 Nour El Tayeb celebrated her birthday with a win over Emily Whitlock.

In the longest match of the night, Bernat Jaume claimed victory over World No.22 Nathan Lake in the quarter-finals of the Squash in the Land to set up a last-four encounter against Youssef Ibrahim.

The first game saw bursts of quality from both players as Lake drew level with a reactionary forehand drive to make it 3-3. Neither player could pull away from the other and it was the Spaniard that had the first chance at game ball after a pin-point accurate drop at 9-9. The Englishman levelled the tie break with his own drop into the same corner as the point before, and earned his first game ball with front-court boast. The pair struggled to convert their game balls until a well-placed backhand drop won the game for Jaume 15-13.

A renewed Lake accrued five unanswered points, but the Spaniard responded by focusing on his shot selection and made it difficult for Lake to make any more progress as he scored five successive points himself to level the game at 7-7. Jaume continued his comeback and was rewarded with two game balls, but couldn’t take advantage as both players failed to take opportunities at game ball until a forehand drop from the World No.22 restored the match to parity.

The pair were inseparable to 9-9 in the third game, with the highlight coming from a deep boast winner from Jaume at 4-5. Lake earned a game ball with yet another precise drop, and converted at the first time of asking.

The early stages of the fourth game saw the pair trading points to 4-4, but a string of points gave Jaume the lead and Lake couldn’t recover from the deficit as the match continued into a fifth game after the Englishman hit the tin at 10-5.

The No.4 seed looked exhausted as his Spanish opposition kept piling on pressure to a quick 9-3 lead. Lake had a late resurgence as he brought the score to 7-10, but the early deficit was too much to overcome as Jaume claimed a 3-2 victory over the No.4 seed to reach his first semi-final on the World Tour.

“He’s a good very player and what I did in the fourth and the fifth, I wasn’t able to do in the first game because he wasn’t letting me,” said Jaume after the match.

“For the most part he controlled it very well,” said Jaume after the match, “I was edgy and he was making me feel uncomfortable, but I was able to push through and I’m very happy about that. My brother plays too and he’s a left hander. Of course, you have to be aware of his forehand, so maybe I would play more on this [the forehand] side of the court than I normally would.”

In the women’s draw, USA’s Olivia Weaver survived difficult test as she defeated Egypt’s Farida Mohamed in the quarter-finals of the Squash in the Land to keep hopes alive of a third successive Silver-event win.

It was a fairly tentative start between the two Top 20 players, but Mohamed was the player that found her footing in the match first, going from a 5-4 lead to a resounding 10-5, with the highlight coming from a backhand boast from deep in the back-left corner to make it 6-4. Weaver began to find her length, and began to show her incredible physicality as she avoided making mistakes and won five successive points to take the match to a tie break. Both players traded points, unwilling to take an major risks until Weaver sent the Egyptian the wrong way at 13-12 to take the first game.

Mohamed again started strong in the early phases of the second game, creating a 7-4 lead while playing with fast, attacking intent. Weaver fought back, but Mohamed again found herself with five game balls at her disposal. The No.2 seed battled on, and cut the deficit to 7-10 with a drop into the nick, but the gap was too much to overcome a second time as the World No.17 take her first game on her seventh opportunity.

Despite her earlier dominant phases, Mohamed couldn’t keep up with the renewed athleticism of her opponent, and Weaver marched to a 10-3 lead. The American played conservatively until a mistake from the Egyptian gave her a 2-1 lead in the match.

Weaver looked composed as she picked up successive points off a fading Mohamed in the beginning of the fourth game, and the Egyptian didn’t have an answer to the World No.7’s physicality as she earned seven match balls. The US No.2 only needed one however and took her place in the semi-finals where she faces No.3 seed Nour El Tayeb.

“Playing Farida is not comfortable,” said Weaver after the match. “She’s so aggressive and dangerous. If you leave anything open, she punishes you immediately. You’re not going to have as may long rallies as you might with other players, but I look at playing her as a different challenge.”

Egypt’s Youssef Ibrahim earned a place in Saturday’s semi-finals with a dominant display over Pakistan’s Mohammad Asim Khan.

The rallies were short and explosive. Ibrahim seemed to be looking for winners from the off, and was getting the majority of them as shown in a particularly high-quality backhand drop to make it 3-3 as well as a backhand straight drive that clung impossibly close to the right wall. Despite this, and perhaps due to the fact that the Egyptian seemingly hadn’t gotten out of first gear, Khan remained near on the scoreboard to 8-9. The No.2 seed did enough to convert his lead into a 1-0 win from there after two tin hits from the Pakistani.

Ibrahim came into the second game with more intent, winning three successive points with the third coming by way of an unstoppable cross-court nick. The World No.53 did recover from the early onslaught, but a combination of errors and Ibrahim’s brutal attacking playing style saw the Egyptian take a 2-0 advantage in the match.

Similarly to the first game, Ibrahim looked comfortable despite allowing Khan to take points, and cruised to a 3-0 victory, capped off with an outrageous counter-drop battle on match ball.

“Most of the time I play instinctively,” said Ibrahim after the match. “The first outing on the glass is always tricky and I’m playing someone who has the shots and can make you run. I didn’t see the ball very well in the first, I didn’t start very well, but then I managed to win it and it helped me a lot in the second and third. I managed to get a lead in the beginning and I started to feel my shots, which is good for the next round.

Egypt’s Nour El Tayeb progresses to the semi-finals after a commanding performance over Wales’ Emily Whitlock.

The Egyptian looked dominant from the outset, scoring winners across the court with her athleticism. El Tayeb pushed on from 3-2 to a resounding 11-5 win. The trend continued into the second game as the World No.8 carried on her momentum in brutal fashion and took the second game with a backhand drop to the front right corner.

Whitlock looked exhausted in the third game, and was unable to keep up with the pace of El Tayeb as the Egyptian scored eight unanswered points, encapsulated by an outrageous fan shot with top spin at 6-0. El Tayeb converted her crushing lead 11-1 to take the third semi-final place in the women’s draw.

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Squash in the Land Presented by Greater Cleveland Squash 2024 Quarter-Finals (Bottom Half)
[2] Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) bt Muhammad Asim Khan (PAK) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 11-6 (31m)
[2] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt [6] Emily Whitlock (WAL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-1 (27m)
Bernat Jaume (ESP) bt [4] Nathan Lake (ENG) 3-2: 15-13, 11-13, 9-11, 11-5, 11-7 (69m)
[3] Olivia Weaver (USA) bt [5] Farida Mohamed (EGY) 3-1: 14-12, 7-11, 11-8, 11-3 (38m)