Windy City RD2 Side Courts: Mosaad Fights Past Gaultier Among Plenty of Surprises

The second round action continued into the evening on Friday, with 12 more matches taking place on the traditional courts at the University Club of Chicago.

The seeded players in both draws entered the tournament at this stage, with the respective top 16s playing their first matches of the Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family. Here is how the evening session went down.

Perry, Hany, Adel Through In Three

England No.1 Sarah-Jane Perry is through to the third round of the tournament after she got the better of Frenchwoman Melissa Alves, winning in straight games.

It was a tricky match for the World No.7, who needed tie-breaks to get through the first two games of her clash with Alves. She took them 14-12 and 12-10, respectively, before rounding out the victory with an 11-8 win in the third. Perry will now face Egypt’s Yathreb Adel in the last 16.

The Egyptian got the better of US No.3 Sabrina Sobhy in straight games, thanks to wrestling the early momentum through a first game tie-break.

Sobhy had fought back to send the game into a tie-break, but it was Adel that won it 12-10, before then taking the second game 11-9 to double her lead in the match. She then restricted the American to just a single point in the third, as she booked her place in the last 16.

There was double Egyptian delight in the first group of matches, as No.12 seed Salma Hany got the victory over France’s Coline Aumard, winning in less than half an hour.

Hany was in complete control throughout the entire match, restricting the Frenchwoman to no more than seven points in each of the three games. The Egyptian will now face either Raneem El Welily or Julianne Courtice in the third round.

Results
[8] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt Melissa Alves (FRA) 3-0: 14-12, 12-10, 11-8 (37m)
[14] Yathreb Adel (EGY) bt Sabrina Sobhy (USA) 3-0: 12-10, 11-9, 11-1 (32m)
[12] Salma Hany (EGY) bt Coline Aumard (FRA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-7 (29m)

Mosaad Beats Gaultier In Five, Waller and Gohar Book Last 16 Spots

Egypt’s Omar Mosaad avenged his defeat to Gregory Gaultier from the Tournament of Champions last month but coming back from behind to defeat the ‘French General’ in a tight five-game affair, grabbing his first ever victory in the 12th meeting between the pair.

The World No.17 fell behind after the first game, but fought back well in the second to level the match, taking it on a tie-break 12-10. However, he then lost the third game 11-7, the same scoreline as the first game, as he fell behind once more.

Mosaad would not be beaten, though, as he fought back to win the final two games in the match to seal victory over Gaultier in 71 minutes, booking his spot in the third round of the tournament. The Egyptian will now play either Ali Farag or Leo Au in the last 16.

“All the match, I was down. I was 1-0 down and he was leading in the second game. The second was a tricky game because it is a big difference between 1-1 and 2-0, so I felt like I did a good job to come from being down in that second game,” Mosaad explained.

“I was trying to push in the third game but he was playing really well, and after that, I started to just play my game. I was not thinking about winning at all and that worked for me.

“We played last month at the Tournament of Champions and it was 3-2 there so I tired as much as I could to calm down and to start well, but he took the first three points. I had to try and just keep going, to keep playing my game, and I did a good job to come back to win, especially against such an experienced player like Greg.”

World No.2 Nouran Gohar is into the third round of the Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family after she cruised past Malaysian No.1 Low Wee Wern on the traditional courts at the University Club of Chicago.

‘The Terminator’ needed just 25 minutes to secure her passage through to the last 16, as she restricted the Malaysian to just 13 points across the entire match. Gohar will now face either Nele Gilis or Millie Tomlinson in the third round of the tournament.

England’s Adrian Waller produced a surprise result in the second round of the PSA Platinum event, as he got the better of Egypt’s Zahed Salem in in a tight four-game affair.

Waller took the first game comfortably, but saw the Egyptian World No.15 fight back to level the match. However, the Englishman was able to recover, and wrestle back the momentum, going on to take both the third and fourth games to seal victory, setting up a clash with World No.7 Simon Rösner in the last 16.

Results
Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 3-2: 7-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-7, 11-6 (71m)
[3] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt Low Wee Wern (MAS) 3-0: 11-7, 11-4, 11-2 (25m)
Adrian Waller (ENG) bt Zahed Salem (EGY) 3-1: 11-6, 8-11, 11-7, 11-8 (54m)

Nele Through, Tinne Out as El Hammamy Wins, Serme Also Into Last 16

Belgium’s Nele Gilis booked her place in the third round of the Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family thanks to a four-game victory over England’s Millie Tomlinson.

The Belgian No.1 started confidently, and raced out into a two-game lead, despite improvements from her opponent in the second game. The Englishwoman fought back to take the third game, but it would be Gilis who won out in the end, setting up a clash with World No.2 Nouran Gohar in the last 16.

“I feel really happy. This has always been one of my favourite places to come to, so I came here with a really good feeling. To be into the third round is amazing, I am really happy,” Gilis admitted.

“I tried not to think about going to drive games too much. I just tried to stay focused because I knew if I didn’t focus on my gameplan then Millie could very easily come back, because she is a tough competitor.

“I am really looking forward to it. I have played Nouran [Gohar] twice this season and I feel like I am getting the hang of her game now. Let’s see how it goes, but I am looking forward to it and I am going to give it my all.”

Egypt’s Hania El Hammamy is through to the last 16 of the Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family after she defeated the younger of the Gilis sisters, Tinne, in a four-game battle at the University Club of Chicago.

The World No.10 fell behind early, though, as Gilis took the first game 11-9, but there was no panic on the face of the young Egyptian, who was able to claw her way back into the match. She went on to win the next three games 11-6, 11-5, 11-8 to advance to the last 16, where she will face French No.1 Camille Serme.

World No.3 Camille Serme is through to the third round of the Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family after Egypt’s Mariam Metwally had to retire from their match through injury.

The Frenchwoman had restricted the World No.31 to just five points in the first two games of their last 32 clash, but Metwally was clearly suffering from an injury, which eventually forced her to retire at the start of the third game.

Results
[16] Nele Gilis (BEL) bt Millie Tomlinson (ENG) 3-1: 11-7, 11-9, 7-11, 11-3 (57m)
[9] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt Tinne Gilis (BEL) 3-1: 9-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-8 (44m)
[5] Camille Serme (FRA) bt Mariam Metwally (EGY) 3-0: 11-2, 11-3, 1-0 rtd. (15m)

Coll and James Set Up Last 16 Meeting, Pajares Wins In Five

New Zealand’s Paul Coll is safely through to the third round of the Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family after defeating Scottish No.1 Greg Lobba in straight games.

The World No.5 had full control of the match throughout, one that had plenty of lengthy rallies, with work being put into both players legs. Coll won out 11-6, 11-8, 11-5 to book his spot in the last 16, where he will face England’s Declan James on the glass court at the University Club of Chicago.

“I am very happy to get through that. It was quite a bouncy court so it took a while but I felt good on there and I felt in control for most of the match,” Coll explained.

“Greg is a dangerous opponent and he can hit winners from anywhere on the court. He was controlling the pace for the majority of the second game. I told myself to be a bit more aggressive and to not get sucked into too much medium-pace squash.

“It looks incredible in there, like it does every year. It is quite a tight venue, it gets a good atmosphere and it looks amazing. I am looking forward to it!”

James booked his place in the third round of the PSA World Tour Platinum event after a victory over Qatari No.1 Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi, in a four-game, 70-minute affair.

In all four games, the two players were only separated by two points come the end results, with the second and third games both going to a tie-break. James led 2-0, thanks to 11-9, 12-10 wins, before Al Tamimi fought back to take the third 15-13. The Englishman recovered to take the fourth, securing his passage through to the last 16.

The last man through to the third round of the Windy City Open was Iker Pajares, with the Spaniard going the distance against Mexico’s Arturo Salazar.

Pajares looked in control after winning the first two games, as it looked like he took the momentum after taking the first on a tie-break 12-10. However, the Mexican fought his way back into the match, allowing the World No.33 to score just ten points across the pair.

It would eventually be the Spaniard who took the victory, though, as he recovered to win the fifth and final game 11-6, setting up a clash with World Champion Tarek Momen on the glass court on Saturday evening.

Results
[5] Paul Coll (NZL) bt Greg Lobban (SCO) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 11-5 (53m)
Declan James (ENG) bt Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) 3-1: 11-9, 12-10, 13-15, 11-9 (70m)
Iker Pajares (ESP) bt Arturo Salazar (MEX) 3-2: 12-10, 11-8, 5-11, 5-11, 11-6 (63m)