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NetSuite Open – Day 1: As It Happens

28 September 2018

An impressive performance from Milou van der Heijden and a composed display from Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi saw them claim the first victories at the Oracle NetSuite Open as the event got underway at San Francisco’s Squash Zone complex.

Dutch number one van der Heijden was in sumptuous form, enjoying almost total control to complete a straight-games win over England’s Millie Tomlinson while Tamimi was too good for Egyptian Omar Abdel Meguid – coming through 11-7, 13-11, 11-8.

After his win Tamimi said: “He’s a big guy and very strong down the middle, so he’s a tough guy to play. I”m happy with how I played and to get the win.”

In an all-lefty battle between Donna Lobban and Amanda Landers-Murphy it was Australian Lobban who took the win. The pair shared the first two games before a controversial decision towards the latter stages of the third, which went in favour of Landers-Murphy, provided Lobban with extra fire which she used to take the match 3-1.

“I get a bit shot happy at times and had to really work on not attacking too early or too soon,” said Lobban.

“She’s good at a hard-fast game so I wanted to try and use height and change the rhythm. Then that decision in the third gave me a bit of extra fire which worked in my favour.”

Afterwards Saurav Ghosal came through a thrilling match with Campbell Grayson in straight-games. The pair stretched each other from the start as they delighted the crowd with rally after rally of all-court action, but it was Ghosal who had the killer edge at the crucial times to complete the win.

Across the city at the Redwood Club, Salma Hany defeated compatriot and recent World Junior Champion Rowan Elaraby while Fiona Moverley of England beat Canadian Danielle Letourneau.

All-French Battle Won By Castagnet

Mathieu Castagnet came out on top in a high-quality all-French battle with Lucas Serme, prevailing 3-1 in an attritional battle that saw the two push each other to the limits of their physicality.

The opening game alone lasted 20 minutes as the pair, friends and frequent training partners, probed for openings. It was the more experienced Castagnet who struck the first blow as he sneaked the opener before then doubling his advantage. While Serme struck back to take the third game in comfortable fashion, Castagnet regrouped and edged the longer exchanges once again in the fourth to set up the platform for the victory.

“I’ve had a lot of injuries over the past few years so I’m just enjoying being on court and trying to have fun on the court as much as possible,” said Castagnet.

“We are friends but we are both training very hard every day to win matches so we have to go on there and do a job. It’s a nightmare to play someone you know very well, but I’m just happy to have won.”

Cuskelly, Fathi & Naughton Book Second Round Spots

Australian Ryan Cuskelly, Egyptian Karim Ali Fathi and Canada’s Hollie Naughton kicked off the afternoon session with victories to secure their berths in the second round at the expense of Nathan Lake, Cesar Salazar and Yathreb Adel.

Cuskelly, who became a dad for the first time during the off-season, was forced onto the back-foot against a competitive and aggressive Nathan Lake with the Englishman looking to attack at every opportunity. But Cuskelly managed to weather the storm and come through in straight games to set up a second round encounter with Frenchman Gregory Gaultier.

“He had nothing to lose today and was playing well,” said Cuskelly.

“I haven’t played since May so I’m happy to get the win even it was a bit scrappy at times.”

Across the city at the Redwood Club, Naughton put in a solid performance to defeat Egyptian Adel 3-1. But there was success for another Egyptian as Fathi came through an intense, nail-biting five-game battle with Mexican number one Salazar.

“I lost in my first tournament in Pakistan before I came here,” said Fathi. “I wanted to win so badly, so I was a bit nervous at the beginning. I was trying to give it everything I’ve got, everything I’ve ever learned and have achieved in my life, and tried to put it all in this match.

“We were both tired and breathing hard at the end but I guess it went my way this time.”

Willstrop And Sobhy Win As Blatchford Bows Out

England’s James Willstrop controlled Scotland’s Alan Clyne to book his second round spot while America’s top two females Amanda Sobhy and Olivia Blatchford suffered mixed fortunes, with Sobhy storming past Rachael Grinham while Blatchford suffered a surprise defeat to Coline Aumard.

25-year-old Sobhy, who missed most of the 2017-18 season after rupturing her achilles, played with aggression from the outset and utilised her full attacking arsenal to secure an 11-5, 11-4, 11-4 win after just 22 minutes of play.

“I’ve worked really hard this summer and had a good training block to work on the issues that developed after the injury and on any imbalances in my movement,” said Sobhy, who will now face number three seed Camille Serme of France in the second round.

“Rachael in incredibly tricky to play and hits some incredible shots, so I’m just happy to get a decent performance in and get that first win. I’ve played a few team events in the last month but its a completely different vibe at a major event so I’m happy to get that first one out of the way.

“I’m exited to play Camille tomorrow. I’m the underdog now and have no pressure on me but I want to go out there and prove that I belong on this stage. I want to get my ranking back to where it was before the injury and I’ll have the home crowd, and some friends, behind me so there’s even more incentive to win.”

Results – Women’s 2018 Oracle NetSuite Open: Round One
Milou van der Heijden (NED) bt Millie Tomlinson (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-9, 11-5 (25m)
Donna Lobban (AUS) bt Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZL) 3-1: 8-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-8 (41m)
Fiona Moverley (ENG) bt Danielle Letourneau (CAN) 3-0: 11-9, 11-5, 11-6 (25m)
Salma Hany (EGY) bt Rowan Elaraby (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-2 (24m)
Hollie Naughton (CAN) bt Yathreb Adel (EGY) 3-1: 11-6, 6-11, 11-6, 11-7 (42m)
Nadine Shahin (EGY) bt Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 11-9 (23m)
Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt Rachael Grinham (AUS) 3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 11-5 (22m)
Coline Aumard (FRA) bt Olivia Blatchford (USA) 3-1: 11-3, 6-11, 11-7, 11-2 (38m)

Draw- Women’s 2018 Oracle NetSuite Open: Round Two
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v Hollie Naughton (CAN)
[9/16] Olivia Blatchford (USA) v [7] Alison Waters (ENG)
[6] Nicol David (MAS) v [9/16] Fiona Moverley (ENG)
Donna Lobban (AUS) v [4] Laura Massaro (ENG)
[3] Camille Serme (FRA) v [9/16] Amanda Sobhy (USA)
Milou van der Heijden (NED) v [8] Annie Au (HKG)
[5] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) v Salma Hany (EGY)
Nadine Shahin (EGY) v [2] Joelle King (NZL)

Results – Men’s 2018 Oracle NetSuite Open: Round One
Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) bt Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) 3-0: 11-7, 13-11, 11-8 (42m)
Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt Campbell Grayson (NZL) 3-0: 11-9, 11-7, 11-5 (49m)
Karim Ali Fathi (EGY) bt Cesar Salazar (MEX) 3-2: 11-9, 8-11, 11-9, 4-11, 11-7 (68m)
Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt Lucas Serme (FRA) 3-1: 11-9, 11-9, 5-11, 11-5 (63m)
Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) bt Nathan Lake (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 15-13, 11-7 (52m)
Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt [WC] Charlie Johnson (ENG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 (32m)
James Willstrop (ENG) bt Alan Clyne (SCO) 3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 12-10 (34m)
Gregoire Marche (FRA) bt Joel Makin (WAL) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-5 (55m)

Draw – Men’s 2018 Oracle NetSuite Open: Round Two
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) v [9/16] Gregoire Marche (FRA)
[9/16] Mazen Hesham (EGY) v [5] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
[7] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT)
Saurav Ghosal (IND) v [3] Tarek Momen (EGY)
[4] Simon Rösner (GER) v Karim Ali Fathi (EGY)
Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) v [6] Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
[8] Diego Elias (PER) v Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)
[9/16] James Willstrop (ENG) v [2] Ali Farag (EGY)