Rhode Island Open SF: Mohamed To Meet Home Hope Stefanoni

Home favourite Marina Stefanoni caused another upset to reach the final of the Rhode Island Open, where she will face off against top seed Farida Mohamed.

The American had already gotten the better of No.4 seed Ineta Mackevica and No.8 seed Georgia Adderley to make it into the last four. She then came up against England’s Lucy Beecroft, the No.7 seed for the Challenger 20 level competition.

Stefanoni took the first two games to hold a commanding lead in the contest. However, the Englishwoman fought back, taking the third game on a tie-break 13-11, before then clinching the fourth game 11-5 as well. In the deciding game, Stefanoni took an early lead and never looked back, going on to win it 11-6 to book her spot in the final.

She will take on top seed Farida Mohamed, after the World No.15 downed India’s Akanksha Salunkhe in straight games. The Egyptian dropped just nine points over the opening couple of games, but the Indian fought back in the third. It was much tighter, but Mohamed came through it 11-9, to advance to Sunday’s finals.

The final of the Rhode Island Open will take place on Sunday, November 13, with Egypt’s Farida Mohamed taking on the USA’s Marina Stefanoni for the Challenger 20 level title. You can keep up to date with live scores from the final here.

Semi-Final Results: Rhode Island Open
[1] Farida Mohamed (EGY) bt Akanksha Salunkhe (IND) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-9 (22m)
Marina Stefanoni (USA) bt [7] Lucy Beecroft (ENG) 3-2: 11-9, 11-6, 11-13, 5-11, 11-6 (64m)

Final Draw: To Be Played Sunday, November 13
[1] Farida Mohamed (EGY) v Marina Stefanoni (USA)