St James Classic QF: Malliff Joins Top Seeds In Semis

England’s Katie Malliff downed the tournament’s No.2 seed to reach the semis of the St James Women’s 20k Classic presented by Expression Networks.

The Englishwoman, who is the No.8 seed for the Challenger 20 level competition, came up against Egypt’s Nada Abbas in the last eight, and she won the opening game 11-8. The Egyptian, who is currently the World No.19, fought back to level the contest, but Malliff was able to win the third as well to hold the lead once more. She also won the first few points in the fourth, before Abbas was forced to retire from the contest, sending the Englishwoman through to the last four.

She will now take on Hong Kong’s Chan Sin Yuk in the semi-finals, after the tournament’s No.4 seed defeated Egypt’s Salma Eltayeb in straight games. The other semi-final will see Egypt’s Farida Mohamed and Jana Shiha face off. Top seed Mohamed defeated Malaysia’s Xin Ying Yee in three, while Shiha came from a game down to defeat England’s Alicia Mead in four games.

The quarter finals of the St James Women’s 20K Classic presented by Expression Networks will take place on Thursday, March 16. You can keep up to date with daily updates from the tournament on the PSA Challenger Tour’s Twitter and Facebook. 

Action from Springfield is being streamed throughout the week on the St James website. Live scores are available on the PSA World Tour website here.

Quarter Final Results: St James Women’s 20K Classic presented by Expression Networks
[1] Farida Mohamed (EGY) bt Xin Ying Yee (MAS) 3-0: 11-8, 11-3, 11-7 (24m)
[3] Jana Shiha (EGY) bt Alicia Mead (ENG) 3-1: 8-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-9 (36m)
[4] Chan Sin Yuk (HKG) bt Salma Eltayeb (EGY) 3-0: 11-7, 11-9, 11-7 (22m)
[8] Katie Malliff (ENG) bt [2] Nada Abbas (EGY) 3-1: 11-8, 9-11, 11-9, 3-0 rtd (30m)

Semi-Final Draw: To Be Played Friday, March 17
[1] Farida Mohamed (EGY) v [3] Jana Shiha (EGY)
[4] Chan Sin Yuk (HKG) v [8] Katie Malliff (ENG)