Several Seeds Fall On Second Day At Carol Weymuller Open

The second day of the Carol Weymuller Open was a surprising one, with only the top three seeds advancing to the quarter finals of the PSA World Tour Bronze level competition.

Japan’s Satomi Watanabe and Egypt’s Hana Moataz will face off in the last eight for a place in Saturday’s semi-finals, after both women knocked out higher-ranked and seeded opposition.

Watanabe, who currently sits at a career-high of World No.32, came up against home hope and No.4 seed Sabrina Sobhy on Thursday evening. It was the American who took the early lead, winning the opening game 11-9, but from there, the Japanese No.1 was in control. Watanabe eventually ran out a 9-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 winner to book her place in the last eight.

She will now face another unseeded player, in Egypt’s Hana Moataz. The Egyptian got the better of former World No.10 and the tournament’s No.7 seed, Joshna Chinappa. After the Indian No.1 secured the second game on a tie-break to level the match, Moataz was able to find another gear, and she went on to win both the third and fourth games to secure a 3-1 victory.

Moataz is joined in the last eight by two more Egyptians who took out seeded players. Yathreb Adel downed No.5 seed Emily Whitlock in straight games, showing the ability that took her to World No.13 in 2020. Meanwhile, Salma Eltayeb overcame No.6 seed Mariam Metwally in a five-game battle, fighting back from two games down to beat her compatriot after a 45-minute contest.

Malaysia’s Aifa Azman also came through against seeded opposition in a five-game contest. She downed England’s Lucy Turmel, after seeing the No.8 seed fight back from behind on two occasions. However, Azman was able to claim the decider to secure the victory.

She will now face top seed Olivia Fiechter in the quarter finals, while England’s Georgina Kennedy and England’s Salma Hany, the other members of the top three seeds, also both won in straight games to make it through to the last eight of the tournament.

The Carol Weymuller Open will continue with the quarter finals on Friday, January 13. The last eight players will do battle for places in the semi-finals, and you can watch all the action on the club’s YouTube channel here. You can also keep up to date with live scores from the tournament here.

Second Round Results: Carol Weymuller Open
[1] Olivia Fiechter (USA) bt Zeina Mickawy (EGY) 3-0: 11-4, 11-4, 14-12 (28m)
Aifa Azman (MAS) bt [8] Lucy Turmel (ENG) 3-2: 11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-7 (57m)
Yathreb Adel (EGY) bt [5] Emily Whitlock (WAL) 3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 11-9 (26m)
[3] Salma Hany (EGY) bt Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 11-1 (31m)
Satomi Watanabe (JPN) bt [4] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) 3-1: 9-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 (39m)
Hana Moataz (EGY) bt [7] Joshna Chinappa (IND) 3-1: 11-8, 11-13, 11-6, 11-8 (39m)
Salma Eltayeb (EGY) bt [6] Mariam Metwally (EGY) 3-2: 5-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-7 (45m)
[2] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bt Nardine Garas (EGY) 3-0: 11-7, 11-4, 11-4 (23m)

Quarter Final Draw: To Be Played Friday, January 13
[1] Olivia Fiechter (USA) v Aifa Azman (MAS)
Yathreb Adel (EGY) v [3] Salma Hany (EGY)
Satomi Watanabe (JPN) v Hana Moataz (EGY)
Salma Eltayeb (EGY) v [2] Georgina Kennedy (ENG)