Cincinnati Gaynor Cup SFs: Player Reaction

It’s semi-finals day at the Cincinnati Gaynor Cup and we have two exciting matches in store at the Cincinnati Country Club, with play beginning at 18:00 (GMT-5).

World No.1 Nouran Gohar is first up against No.5 seed Salma Hany, before England’s Georgina Kennedy and USA’s Olivia Clyne go head-to-head.

All of the action will be broadcast live on SQUASHTV, while you can keep up to date with live scoring here.

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Order of Play

(All times local GMT-5)

Gohar on Form to Halt Hany

World No.1 Nouran Gohar advanced into a second successive Gaynor Cup final after she overcame fellow Egyptian Salma Hany to secure a dominant 3-0 victory at the Cincinnati Country Club.

Defending champion Gohar had won eight of her previous matches against Hany coming into today’s fixture with her only defeat coming over a best-of-three format at the 2021 Oracle NetSuite Open.

Gohar found her range immediately, hitting the ball into the front with pinpoint accuracy and maintaining a solid line and length to take attacking opportunities away from Hany.

After a one-sided first game, Hany began to feel her way back into the contest in the second, holding a 5-4 lead at one stage. However, the scrappy nature of the second game, in which both players appeared to have some stern words with each other following a number of traffic issues – meant she struggled to build up a head of steam, and Gohar soon came back to close out the second.

Again, Hany managed to put points on the board early on in the third, but Gohar’s accuracy was just too good on the day as the 25-year-old closed out an 11-4, 11-7, 11-4 victory to reach her 37th PSA final and her fifth of the season.

“I think I came out strong and wanted to make sure I had a big lead,” said Gohar afterwards.

“Being 2-0 is a completely different story compared to it being 1-1. I wanted to put pressure on her, I was moving well and I’m happy with the way I played today.

“I don’t really care about the opponent, but if they’re going to get into it, I have to say a word because I’m not just going to stand there and do nothing. Sometimes players use this as a tactic to make you lose focus, but it makes me more determined. I won four or five points after that [a small argument in the second game] so no problem at all.

“My preparation so far has been going well, so I’ll keep it the same, keep it simple and get ready for a battle tomorrow.”

Result

[1] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt [5] Salma Hany (EGY) 3-0: 11-4, 11-7, 11-4 (41m)

Clyne Progresses After Kennedy Retires

USA’s Olivia Clyne will contest tomorrow’s final with World No.1 Nouran Gohar after her semi-final opponent Georgina Kennedy was forced to retire from their match mid-way through the second game.

Kennedy was struggling with a foot injury, and despite fighting through the pain barrier for a game and a half she ultimately had to shake hands to give Clyne the win. 

World No.16 Clyne – who is unseeded for this tournament – will now appear in her second final in her last three events. She reached the final of the Cleveland Classic earlier this month, where she fell to Kennedy in four games.

“I really feel for Gina,” said Clyne.

“She’s been the same as me, playing all these matches the last couple of weeks and it does take its toll. You never know when it’s going to sneak up on you, some days you can start your day feeling alright, you could start your day feeling terrible – like I did this morning – but end your day feeling alright.

“I know what that’s like and it’s an awful feeling, so I hope that she gets better soon. I was prepared for war and I was going to leave every inch of myself out there tonight. I was prepared for the worst 90 minutes of my life, physically.”

Result

Olivia Clyne (USA) bt [6] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) 3-0: 11-1, 5-3 retired (19m)