USA No.1 Brownell Claims Entertaining Five-Game Victory On Opening Day Of Motor City Open

USA No.1 Timothy Brownell came through an entertaining five-game bout against Malaysia’s Addeen Idrakie to progress to the second-round of the Sturbridge Capital Motor City Open 2024 in Detroit.

Brownell, ranked 41st in the world, took a tight opening game 11-9, before Idrakie pegged him back to make it one game apiece. The constant swings in momentum continued into the third as World No.64 Idrakie raced into a 10-6 lead, but Brownell refused to bow down, clawing his way back to a tie-break and eventually taking the game 15-13.

Although Idrakie forced a deciding game with some clinical, attacking squash, it was Brownell who held his nerve, taking the fifth by an 11-5 scoreline to set-up a second-round date with No.5 seed Mohamed ElSherbini.

“I thought it was a good win,” Brownell said after the match. “I thought he was playing really well, super quick, and I was having trouble getting him to the back of the court. The points were long and tough, so I’m really happy to come out on top there.

“I was 10-6 down in the third and I just didn’t want to give up. It almost flicked the switch for me and took the pressure off me because I was so many points down. I opened up the racket a bit, let my skill do the talking and it was a bit of a rollercoaster, but I came out on top. There were so few decisions in the match and I think it was just such great squash.”

Elsewhere, India’s Abhay Singh came through an intense five-game battle against USA’s Faraz Khan, eventually taking the match by an 7-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-6, 11-4 scoreline. The World No.69, who arrived in Detroit on the back of claiming the JSW Willingdon Little Masters & Senior Tournament title earlier this month, will play World No.3 Paul Coll for a spot in the quarter-finals of the PSA World Tour Silver-event.

After the match, Singh said: “I’m really pleased. I think I am playing in only my second Silver event, so to come here and play Faraz, it was a good chance to prove how well I have been playing and keep my consistency going.

“I did some good work with James Willstrop last week, so he gave me a good game plan for tonight. The more important thing for me though was to stick with it despite being 2-1 down. I think I started working him quite hard and he maybe started to lose a little bit of steam towards the end.”

There were two other five-game victors on the opening day of the event as England’s George Parker and Colombia’s Juan Camilo Vargas both came from behind to successfully progress to the next round. Parker’s compatriot Simon Herbert also claimed victory, seeing off Hungary’s Farkas Balazs in four games.

Egypt’s Aly Hussein produced a superb display to defy the rankings and defeat USA’s Shahjahan Khan in straight games and 30 minutes of action. Hussein, who sits 16 spots beneath Khan in the current world rankings, raced out of the blocks to take the first game 11-4, and from there never looked back, securing the subsequent two games by an 11-5 scoreline. Mexico’s Cesar Salazar, meanwhile, recovered from a slow start to claim victory over Portugal’s Rui Soares in four games.

Ibrahim Elkabanni was the final winner on day one in Detroit, as he came from behind to defeat France’s Lucas Serme. The Egyptian will play Miguel Rodriguez for a place in the last eight.

Round two from the Motor City Open commences at 17:00, with action from Court 3 available to watch live on SQUASHTV. For more information on the Motor City Open, visit the PSA website or follow the PSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. 

Results: Sturbridge Capital Motor City Open 2024 RD1:

Juan Camilo Vargas (COL) bt Ryunosuke Tsukue (JAP)  3-2: 10-12, 6-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-5 (66m)

Timothy Brownell (USA) bt Addeen Idrakie (MAS) 3-2: 11-9, 8-11, 15-13, 8-11, 11-5 (75m)

Cesar Salazar (MEX) bt Rui Soares (POR) 3-1: 6-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-8 (54m)

George Parker (ENG) bt Bernat Jaume (ESP) 3-2: 6-11, 11-8, 10-12, 11-8, 11-1 (72m)

Aly Hussein (EGY) bt Shahjahan Khan (USA) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-5 (30m)

Abhay Singh (IND) bt Faraz Khan (USA) 3-2: 7-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-6, 11-4 (53m)

Simon Herbert (ENG) bt Farkas Balazs (HUN) 3-1: 11-7, 5-11, 11-2, 11-6 (38m)

Ibrahim Elkabbani (EGY) bt Lucas Serme (FRA) 3-1: 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-9 (53m)

Draw: Sturbridge Capital Motor City Open RD2

Juan Camilo Vargas (COL) v [4] Fares Dessouky (EGY)

George Parker (ENG) v [6] Nicolas Mueller (SUI)

[8] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) v Aly Hussein (EGY)

Simon Herbert (ENG) v [7] Adrian Waller (ENG)

[5] Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) v Timothy Brownell (USA)

[1] Diego Elias (PER) v Cesar Salazar (MEX)

Abhay Singh (IND) v [2] Paul Coll (NZL)

[3] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) v Ibrahim Elkabbani (EGY)