Cardenas Knocks Out Top Seed Yow Ng To Reach Semi-Final in Squash in the Land Quarter-Finals

Mexico’s Leonel Cardenas reaches the Squash in the Land semi-finals after defeating World No.19 Eain Yow Ng, England’s Georgina Kennedy won out in all-England affair, Scotland’s Greg Lobban progressed after USA’s Shahjahan Khan’s withdrawal and Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam defeated England’s Alicia Mead in straight games in the first quarter-final day of Squash in the Land.

The first phase of the match saw long, attritional rallies, but the Mexican was taking more of his chances as evidenced in a pin-point accurate cross-court nick to go 3-1 up. Cardenas kept getting the better of the longer rallies, and every attempt Yow Ng made to come short hit the tin took the first game 11-7.

The World No.34 continued on the front foot, but the No.1 seed had begun the second game more consistently, and kept level with his on-form opponent to 8-8. Yow Ng made a costly error alongside conceding two strokes to give the No.6 seed a 2-0 advantage and a chance wrap up the first quarter-final match in three games.

The Mexican started better again, building a lead with consistent squash. Despite the dire straits he found himself in, the 26-year-old was creating issues, shown in a cross-court nick rivalling Cardenas’ effort in the first game to make it 5-7. Cardenas pushed on and was rewarded with four match balls. Yow Ng went on to produce his most accurate squash of match and won five consecutive points to earn his own chance to win the game. After scrappy tie break, the No.1 seed finally won his first game of the match 13-11.

Yow Ng couldn’t seem to keep up in the fourth game as Cardenas stayed further back, and through a more conservative style than the Malaysian, the underdog fought to a 9-4 advantage. Yow Ng regained his earlier form and battled back to 7-9, but a backhand drop from the Mexican earned himself another three match balls. The Malaysian continued his fight back and history repeated itself as the No.1 seed survived his fifth, sixth and seventh match balls to level the match 2-2.

In the fifth game, the Mexican played more to the front of the court than before, but it was errors from Yow Ng that exacerbated Cardenas’ lead, giving the No.6 seed an 8-2 lead. Cardenas earned an additional five match balls after an error from Yow Ng. It looked as though the fifth game could go the way of the last two as the Malaysian prevented Cardenas’ eighth match ball, but a sensational cross-court nick finally won Cardenas the match after five games and 92 minutes.

“It’s mental for me to play against him,” said Cardenas after the match. “He beat me the last couple of times. He’s a great player, he’s one of the top players and I think the hardest thing in training was believing I could do it. I always give my 100% and I always fight for every point. I think I just kept saying ‘fight, fight’ and I made a result.”

England’s Georgina Kennedy defeated fellow Englishwoman Lucy Beecroft to round off the first day of quarter-finals at Squash in the Land.

The encounter started with a strong showing from Kennedy as she accrued three unanswered points, the third of which coming in the form of a deceptive backhand straight drive, and the No.1 seed carried that momentum as she took the first two convincingly 11-2, 11-4.

Kennedy continued her dominance into the third game, taking four consecutive points in clinical fashion. The World No.6 earned herself six match balls and capped off a stellar performance with a forehand drop to secure her place in the next round in just 23 minutes.

“We get on really well off the court,” said Kennedy after the match. “Even though the scoreline looked convincing on paper, she is such a skilful player. One of the most talented you’ll see.”

In the second men’s match of the evening, Scotland’s Greg Lobban progresses to the semi-finals after an injury forced USA’s Shahjahan Khan to concede the match in the second game.

Lobban looked strong in the first game, earning an 8-2 lead with solid defensive play, but it was clear that the American wasn’t at 100% in the rallies as the Scotsman made light work in converting his lead to take the first game 11-6. Lobban dominated the early stages of the second game, gaining a 4-1 advantage before Khan called an end to proceedings.

Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam claimed a resounding victory over England’s Alicia Mead to progress to her third World Tour semi-final of the season. The Englishwoman, who scored an upset win over No.7 seed Hana Ramadan the day before, couldn’t keep up with the Malaysian as she stormed to a convincing 3-0 victory in just 23 minutes.

The remaining quarter-final matches are set to be played tomorrow at 17:00 (GMT-5) with Muhammad Asim Khan and Youssef Ibrahim starting off proceedings.

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Result: Squash in the Land Presented by Greater Cleveland Squash 2024 Quarter-Finals (Top Half)
[6] Leonel Cardenas (MEX) bt [1] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) 3-2: 11-7, 11-8, 11-13, 10-12, 11-6 (92m)
[4] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) bt Alicia Mead (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 11-8 (23m)
[3] Greg Lobban (SCO) bt [7] Shahjahan Khan (USA) 3-0: 11-6, 4-1 retired (10m)
[1] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bt [8] Lucy Beecroft (ENG) 3-0: 11-2, 11-4, 11-4 (23m)