TTI Milwaukee Hong Kong Squash Open 2023 RD1: Home favourite Lau defeats Al Tamimi in five-game epic

Hong Kong’s Lau Tsz Kwan finished day one of the TTI Milwaukee Hong Kong Squash Open 2023 in style as he defeated World No.21 Abdulla Al Tamimi in a five-game epic in front of a fervent home crowd.

Lau, who was celebrating his 200th match on the PSA Tour, needed all of his grit and determination to hold off Al Tamimi, after the Qatar player had fought back from 2-1 down and taken an early lead in the fifth.

World No.40 Lau had other ideas though, reeling off a a string of incredible winners to retake the lead and eventually sealing the match with a forehand volley boast, which dropped straight into the nick.

“I feel amazing to beat him again,” Lau said after the match. “It was very tough every single point. He didn’t give up, he’s very tricky and I needed to push myself to the limit every point.

“I just told myself to push and to pick up every single ball in the fifth game.

“The crowd were very supportive, they cheered me up every point and I feel it’s my home crowd.”

Elsewhere in the men’s draw, World No.23 Youssef Ibrahim got his campaign underway with a hard-fought victory over Hong Kong Football Club Open quarter-finalist Henry Leung.

The Egyptian came through his match 11-8, 3-11, 11-7, 11-9 to set up a blockbuster second-round bout against World No.3 Mostafa Asal.

Malaysia’s Rachel Arnold hung on to defeat Marta Dominguez Fernandez in a five-game thriller on the side court, prevailing 11-8, 8-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-8 in 51 minutes of action.

The World No.29, who was a finalist at the Ace Malaysia Cup earlier this season, saw leads of 1-0 and 2-1 pegged back by Dominguez Fernandez but managed to come through the decider to book a spot against No.3 seed Amanda Sobhy in the next round.

After the match, Arnold said: “I think it was just tough for me mentally out there. I was feeling a little bit drained from the past few tournaments, and she is a good player as well so I’m glad that I got the win. 

“I was just looking to push point by point in the fifth, every point counted, so getting through that was big for me I think. 

On her upcoming second-round clash against Amanda Sobhy, she said: “I think it will be a good match and hopefully I will play some good squash. She’s not an easy opponent but I will give it my best.”

Elsewhere, there was further five-game action on the side courts, as Argentina’s Leandro Romiglio upset Greg Lobban and Nick Wall saw off the threat of Andrew Douglas following 62 minutes of hard-fought action.

Egypt’s Nadine Shahin also needed the full quota of games to see off Hong Kong wildcard Cheng Nga Ching Sara, through a 9-11, 11-8, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7 scoreline.

Cheng, who scored her maiden Bronze-event win at the Hong Kong Football Club Open last week, almost went one better today, but it was Shahin who eventually proved too strong in the latter stages of the fifth.

“I’m just relieved to be through,” she said after the match. “It is always a bit nervous starting a match like this, I wanted to win so badly.

“She was getting the ball really high and she wanted to make the pace really slow, not very fast, so I had to make it faster, and that’s how I play. 

“I love to hit the ball really hard in order for me to be really focussed. If I played at her pace I got really sleepy so I had to be awake, and that’s why I started hitting the ball so hard.” 

There was plenty of success for the Egyptian players on show in the women’s draw in the evening session, with Sana Ibrahim, Zeina Mickawy, Nour Aboulmakarim, Salma Eltayeb and Hana Ramadan all safely progressing to round two.

England’s left-handed duo Adrian Waller and Nathan Lake also sealed their spots in the next round with wins over Matthew Lai and Simon Herbert, respectively.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong Football Club Open champion Sivasangari Subramaniam continued her rich vein of form, sweeping her way past England’s Millie Tomlinson in just 17 minutes of action. Frenchman Auguste Dussourd also recorded a win after battling past Faraz Khan in four games.

Day two of action on the Centre Court in the Hong Kong Squash Centre can be watched live on SQUASHTV and gets underway at 12:00 (GMT+8) Matches from the side courts are available to watch on the PSA’s Live Streaming YouTube channel.

For more information on the TTI Milwaukee Hong Kong Squash Open, visit the tournament website, the PSA website or follow the PSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok and YouTube. 

Results – Men’s First Round (Evening Session): TTI Milwaukee Hong Kong Squash Open 2023

Nathan Lake (ENG) bt Simon Herbert (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-4 (30m)

Auguste Dussourd (FRA) bt Faraz Khan (USA) 3-1: 11-5, 12-10, 8-11, 11-3 (46m)

Leandro Romiglio (ARG) bt Greg Lobban (SCO) 3-2: 8-11, 11-5, 4-11, 11-2, 11-6 (53m)

Nick Wall (ENG) bt Andrew Douglas (USA) 3-2: 13-15, 11-6, 11-7, 5-11, 11-8 (62m)

Adrian Waller (ENG) bt [WC] Matthew Lai (HKG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-5 (32m)

Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) bt Henry Leung (HKG) 3-1: 11-8, 3-11, 11-7, 11-9 (47m)

Gregoire Marche (FRA) bt Farkas Balazs (HUN) 3-0: 11-9, 11-6, 11-3 (34m)

Lau Tsz Kwan (HKG) bt Abdulla Altamimi (QAT) 3-2: 7-11, 12-10, 13-11, 6-11, 11-9 (65m)

Results – Women’s First Round (Evening Session): TTI Milwaukee Hong Kong Squash Open 2023

Sana Ibrahim (EGY) bt Cindy Merlo (SUI) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-4 (23m)

Rachel Arnold (MAS) bt Marta Dominguez Fernandez (ESP) 3-2: 11-8, 8-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-8 (51m)

Nadine Shahin (EGY) bt [WC] Cheng Nga Ching (HKG) 3-2: 9-11, 11-8, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7 (44m)

Zeina Mickawy (EGY) bt Marie Stephan (FRA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 11-3 (26m)

Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY) bt Saskia Beinhard (GER) 3-0: 11-8, 11-1, 14-12 (34m)

Hana Ramadan (EGY) bt Emilia Soini (FIN) 3-1: 10-12, 11-4, 11-4, 11-3 (32m)

Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) bt Millie Tomlinson (ENG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-3 (17m)

Salma Eltayeb (EGY) bt Tsz-Wing Tong (HKG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-6 (29m)