Burnt Squash Open: Shenawy Claims Maiden Tour Title

The Burnt Squash Open came to its conclusion on Monday evening in Lakeville, Connecticut, with Egypt’s Seif Shenawy taking home his maiden Tour title.

The Egyptian came into the event as the No.2 seed but as the highest-ranked player in the draw. He started his campaign with a straight games win over Mexico’s Ricardo Lopez, although he needed to go deep into a tie-break in the second game, 16-14, to get the job done.

He then went to four games in the quarter finals against No.7 seed Hamza Sharif of Pakistan. Shenawy led 2-0 but saw the Pakistani fight back to win the third. He regrouped to win the fourth game to seal the deal, before then going the distance in the last four. He came up against Malaysia’s Sanjay Jeeva, and found himself 2-1 down to the tournament’s No.5 seed. Shenawy battled to win the fourth game on a tie-break, before also taking the fifth to move through to the final.

It was the young Egyptian’s first final on Tour, and he came up against top seed Spencer Lovejoy. He shone in the final, winning in straight games in just 37 minutes. An 11-6, 11-5, 11-5 scoreline gives Shenawy his maiden Tour title.

Results: Burnt Squash Open
Final
[2] Seif Shenawy (EGY) bt [1] Spencer Lovejoy (USA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 11-5 (37m)

Semi-Finals
[1] Spencer Lovejoy (USA) bt [4] Babatunde Ajagbe (NGR) 3-2: 8-11, 15-13, 8-11, 12-10, 11-4 (71m)
[2] Seif Shenawy (EGY) bt [5] Sanjay Jeeva (MAS) 3-2: 17-15, 8-11, 7-11, 13-11, 11-7 (74m)

Quarter Finals
[1] Spencer Lovejoy (USA) bt [6] Abdelrahman Nassar (EGY) 3-2: 4-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-6, 11-4 (69m)
[4] Babatunde Ajagbe (NGR) bt [8] Muhammad Farhan Hashmi (PAK) 3-2: 11-8, 11-8, 7-11, 6-11, 11-9
(57m)
[5] Sanjay Jeeva (MAS) bt [3] Abhishek Agarwal (IND) 3-0: 12-10, 11-6, 11-2 (36m)
[2] Seif Shenawy (EGY) bt [7] Hamza Sharif (PAK) 3-1: 11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6 (44m)

First Round
[1] Spencer Lovejoy (USA) bt Yassin Amir (USA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-6 (36m)
[6] Abdelrahman Nassar (EGY) bt Aaron Allpress (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-7, 11-7 (35m)
[8] Muhammad Farhan Hashmi (PAK) bt Karamatullah Khan (PAK) 3-0: 11-6, 12-10, 11-7 (29m)
[4] Babatunde Ajagbe (NGR) bt Nicolas Serna (COL) 3-1: 11-4, 11-3, 7-11, 11-4 (54m)
[3] Abhishek Agarwal (IND) bt [WC] Callan Venkatesan (USA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-9 (44m)
[5] Sanjay Jeeva (MAS) bt Petr Nohel (CZE) 3-0: 11-5, 14-12, 11-8 (43m)
[7] Hamza Sharif (PAK) bt Salman Hashmi (PAK) 3-1: 3-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-9 (36m)
[2] Seif Shenawy (EGY) bt Ricardo Lopez (MEX) 3-0: 11-8, 16-14, 11-9 (47m)