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Hong Kong Open Day One: Glass Court – Player Reaction
The Everbright Securities International Hong Kong Squash Open begins today and we’ll have reports and reaction from the glass court matches at the Hong Kong Squash Centre right here.
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Order of Play
(All times are local GMT+8)
Hong Kong’s Ho Advances
World No.36 Tomato Ho got her 2022 Everbright Securities International Hong Kong Squash Open off to a winning start with a 3-0 win over tournament wildcard Ching Hei Fung in 25 minutes.
Ho is the highest ranked female Hong Kong player in action at the PSA World Tour Platinum event – and is ranked 81 places above today’s opponent – and she dealt with the pressure well.
It was a clinical performance from the 27-year-old, who dominated the opening game and the third game. Ching Hei Fung’s best period of the match came in the second game as she came back at her opponent impressively, but Ho always had an answer to any questions asked of her.
Ho’s second round opponent will be World No.1 Nouran Gohar.
“My goal was to win 3-0,” said Ho.
“Luckily, I could do that today. I don’t really feel satisfied with my performance though because I was a bit tense, so my length was wasn’t that good. Hopefully tomorrow my length can work better.
“Even though I’m the No.1 seed in Hong Kong [at this event], my draw is not good. In the second round I will play with the World No.1. I think there is no pressure on me.
“I expect she [Gohar] will play at a high speed. She is very powerful, so hopefully I can stay longer on court and maybe hit some good rallies for the audience.”
Result
Tomato Ho (HKG) bt [WC] Ching Hei Fung (HKG) 3-0: 11-3, 11-7, 11-5 (25m)
Mickawy Axes Yee Xin Ying
Egypt’s Zeina Mickawy booked her spot in the last 32 after a convincing victory over World No.89 Yee Xin Ying.
Mickawy, the World No.38, took a few rallies to get going after a fast, attacking start from her Malaysian opponent saw Yee Xin Ying take four of the first six points on offer. Mickawy soon got over her shaky start though as she point nine successive points on the board to take the opening game.
The second game was the closest of the three, with neither player able to build up a head of steam after a number of errors. Mickawy was able to stay just ahead to double her lead, before holding off her opponent in the third to record an 11-4, 12-10, 11-8 triumph in 28 minutes.
Up next for Mickawy is a second round fixture against either England’s Grace Gear or Egypt’s Fayrouz Aboelkheir.
“I knew she was talented and she had no pressure as she’s the younger player,” said Mickawy.
“I was very focused and I didn’t want her to build up her momentum. Whenever I got the opportunity to finish a shot I just went for it as I knew she would keep pushing. Last time in Malaysia I didn’t do well and I was very flat.
“I didn’t want to repeat that match again, you could say I learned from my mistakes, and I’m really happy to be through in three.
“I started very slowly [in Malaysia]. She [Ainaa Amani] entered the draw late and had no pressure on her, she was just enjoying the match. All of the pressure was on me and although I was controlling most of the match, I lost in the end, and it made me really upset, so I didn’t want to repeat that.
“I really want to win the second round. I haven’t won one [at a Platinum event] for so long. I don’t know who I’m going to play, but everyone on the tour is difficult. I’ll just go for it and hopefully I can get the win tomorrow.”
Result
Zeina Mickawy (EGY) bt Yee Xin Ying (MAS) 3-0: 11-4, 12-10, 11-8 (21m)
El Hammamy Holds Off Wong Chi Him
World No.46 Karim El Hammamy narrowly held off the threat of Hong Kong’s Wong Chi Him as he completed an 11-6, 9-11, 11-8, 12-10 victory in 73 minutes to earn his second round berth.
The Egyptian is ranked 81 places above Wong Chi Him in the PSA World Rankings but found it difficult to shake off a tenacious opponent. After a relatively one-sided first game – which went the way of El Hammamy – Wong Chi Him came alive in the second game, hitting some clever angles and finding the nick whenever El Hammamy left the ball high and loose.
After levelling the scores, Wong Chi Him continued to be a thorn in El Hammamy’s side, with the higher-ranked player only just edging a scrappy third game. It was neck and neck for much of the fourth, but a couple of errors from Wong Chi Him towards the end of the game put an end to his chances of causing an upset.
“I’m really surprised by Wong’s performance today,” said El Hammamy.
“I wasn’t expecting him to be that tough. He was very sharp at the back also, and I think what made the difference today were some errors that he made.
“I played with Wong three years ago, so I knew he would be fast and that he would get many balls back. I had to be a little bit patient if he got everything back and wait for errors once he had pressure on him.”
His second round opponent will be No.6 seed Mazen Hesham, who won the Malaysian Open last week.
El Hammamy is anticipating a tricky fixture, saying: “Mazen is on form and he’s very tough to beat on any day. I have a good head-to-head record against him, I think it’s 2-1 to him, so I hope I can have a good performance.”
Result
Karim El Hammamy (EGY) bt [WC] Wong Chi Him (HKG) 3-1: 11-6, 9-11, 11-8, 12-10 (73m)
Soares Battles Past Baillargeon in Five-Game Thriller
Portugal’s Rui Soares moved into the second round after he came back from two games down to overcome World No.65 David Baillargeon in a five-game thriller.
It was only their second meeting on the PSA World Tour – and their first since the 2019 XII Torneo Internacional PSA Sporta – with Soares winning that match in five games.
Baillargeon – who scored a superb win over former British Open champion Miguel Rodriguez just last month at the New Zealand Open – started on the front foot and put in a clinical performance in game one to establish a lead.
The quality from Soares was significantly higher in the second game though, with the man from Portugal dictating the tempo and putting Baillargeon under pressure to bring the match back to all square.
The momentum shifted back in Baillargeon’s favour in the second as he stormed to an 8-4 lead. A flurry of errors from Baillargeon enabled Soares to level at 8-8, however the Canadian was soon able to turn those tins into winners to edge it 11-9.
It was a point-for-point battle in the fourth, with the errors coming from Baillargeon again as Soares drew level. A nail-biting fifth game went down to the wire, with Soares eventually converting his third match ball to set up a second round match with No.8 seed Youssef Soliman.
“I knew it was going to be tough, David is such a tough competitor and he’s been doing really well over the past couple of months,” said Soares.
“We both knew it was a big opportunity to make the second round of a Platinum event. Both of us gave everything on court and I’m just happy to win. It couldn’t have been closer, I was a bit lucky this time and I’m happy to win it.
“It’s really tough, I was trying to stay positive but every time I heard ‘match ball’ I would make a mistake. They were fine margins, but I was happy I stuck to my game plan. I was making too many mistakes, but they were the right shots to play.
“It’s always good to play these top players. I played him [Soliman] in August and it was a good game in Egypt. He’s a really fair player and he’s nice to play against. I’m going to focus on my recovery and give my best tomorrow, there is no pressure.”
Result
Rui Soares (POR) bt David Baillargeon (CAN) 3-2: 2-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-8, 13-11 (73m)
Ka Yi Lee Becomes Second Home Winner Of RD1
The second Hong Kong winner of the day came on the glass court again as Ka Yi Lee overcame Egypt’s Zeina Zein in four games to advance to the second round.
Lee took a tight opening game 11-9 with the rallies short and sharp due to the cold conditions on the all-glass court in the Hong Kong Squash Centre.
The shorter rallies continued in game two as Lee started the better of the two and picked off Zein around the middle of the court as the Egyptian’s length was nowhere near accurate enough to trouble Lee. The Hong Kong player set herself up with five game balls to take a 2-0 lead, but back came Zein. Helped by Lee’s poor errors, Zein scored the next seven points to steal the game 12-10 and level the score.
Lee got back to winning ways however and used her experience of the glass court to take the next two games comfortably 11-5, 11-2 to book her place in round two.
“I was a bit nervous today,” said Ka Yi Lee.
“I’m happy to get the win, but in the second game I was 6-0 up and lost the second game, which is a bit disappointing. I tried to regroup and improve my length and my shots, I’m happy to win it 3-1.
“It’s really encouraging because it’s my first time to enter the second round of the Hong Kong Open. I tried to have a better performance here on my home court for the Hong Kong people supporting me and the other Hong Kong players. I hope to have another good performance tomorrow and hopefully the crowd will support me.
“I will definitely try my best because I know Hania [El Hammamy] is a really good player. I don’t really expect myself to get a good win, but hopefully I can have a good match.”
Result:
Ka Yi Lee (HKG) bt Zeina Zein (EGY) 3-1: 11-9, 10-12, 11-5, 11-2 (36m)
Malliff Wins All-English Battle To Reach RD2
19-year-old Katie Malliff has produced a terrific performance to overcome compatriot and World No.46 Julianne Courtice to reach the second round of a Platinum event for the first time in her career.
Malliff was aggressive from the start of the match and tested the movement of Courtice from the off. The younger Englishwoman showed no fear or nerves as she fired the ball in short from the middle and strung together a series of winners throughout the opening games to take an impressive 2-1 lead.
Malliff was charging towards the finish line in the fourth game and lead 9-7, just two points away from sealing the big victory. Courtice showed her experience and battled back to set herself up with one game ball to force a fifth game in the contest and did so at the first time of asking after a Malliff error.
The physicality of Malliff showed no signs of fading as the entertaining rallies continued in the fifth game. The World No.64 was strong and assertive around the middle of the court and utilised a variety of paces to keep Courtice on the back foot and not allow her to impose her quality short game. Malliff only needed one match ball at 10-6 to take the match and secure her first ever Platinum event victory.
“I was pleased to get the win, it was a tough match with some tough rallies,” said Malliff.
“I was mainly trying to focus on getting the ball to the back. It can land a bit short on this court and it’s quite dead in the back corners. Whoever got it to the back better was always going to come out on top.
“I’m really pleased, it’s my first [Platinum] win. I’ve never played her [Hana Moataz] before, so I’ll watch her game, see what she does well and what her weaknesses are and go from there.”
Result:
Katie Malliff (ENG) bt Julianne Courtice (ENG) 3-2: 11-7, 8-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-6 (64m)
Steinmann Wins All-European Battle To Book RD2 Place
World No.27 Dimitri Steinmann overcame Czech Republic’s Martin Svec in the opening round of the Hong Kong Open to book his place in the second round but didn’t have things all his own way.
Svec started the better of the two in the opening game and hit the space on the court with great accuracy to worry the higher ranked Swiss player. After a brutal rally at 9-8 which was won by Svec, a No Let for Steinmann secured the first game for Svec.
Steinmann responded in game two and stepped up the pace and quality of his hitting to move Svec away from the middle of the court and set up attacking opportunities for himself. One of the Swiss No.2’s main attributes is his incredible movement around the court and once that started to get going, there weren’t many winners on offer for Czech No.1.
After levelling at 1-1, the final two games were littered with errors from both players but more so from the Czech player, who struggled to resist the urge to fire the ball in short from difficult positions. Steinmann was also guilty of hitting the tin too many times but managed to secure the third and fourth games 11-7, 11-8 to reach round two in Hong Kong.
“I’m glad to make it through with a 3-1 win,” Steinmann.
I was struggling a bit with the court conditions and with the prep here. I wasn’t able to move that well, it wasn’t ideal but I got the job done in the end, so I’m happy with that.
“It was very dead considering it was a warm court. In the knock up yesterday it didn’t feel like that at all, but I didn’t adapt at all. I played well in patches, but I didn’t respond well to the court.
“It [his match with Marwan ElShorbagy] is on the traditional court, so it will be a different type of game. I’ve got the first match out of my system and I’m feeling confident about tomorrow.”
Result:
Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) bt Martin Svec (CZE) 3-1: 9-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-8 (44m)
Tsz Kwan Lau Closes Out Day One With A Win
It was home delight in the final match of the evening as Hong Kong’s Tsz Kwan Lau scored a victory over Egypt’s Mazen Gamal to claim his first Platinum event win of his career and move into round two.
Despite a positive start from Lau, the experience from Gamal came to fruition in the latter stages of the opening game as he managed to take advantage of some erratic play from Lau to take a 1-0 lead, winning 11-8.
The sheer pace of Lau’s play was proving difficult for Gamal to deal with as the 26-year-old moved at lightning speeds to move onto Gamal’s attacks and counter. The energy of the Hong Kong player took him to 10-8 where he confidently converted the game to draw level.
The tough rallies in the opening games seemed to be taking their toll on the 36-year-old Gamal as the twisting and turning that he was being forced to do now didn’t look so easy to perform. Lau moved from strength to strength as he motored through points to take the match by the scruff of the neck and the Egyptian was quickly fading. Lau took the third and fourth games comfortably, 11-5, 11-3 to move into round two and claim a first Platinum event victory and where better to do so.
“It feels amazing to win at home and get the support of the home crowd,” said Lau.
“It feels so good. It’s been four years [since the Hong Kong Open was last held] and it is my first time in the main draw. I’m really looking to performing well and I hope I can get another win in front of my family and my friends. I couldn’t sleep well last night!
“I won’t be thinking about it [reaching the latter stages], I will just be trying to put my opponent under huge pressure.”
Result:
Tsz Kwan Lau (HKG) bt Mazen Gamal (EGY) 3-1: 8-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-3 (49m)
