Windy City Open 2024 Presented By The Walter Family QF: Clinical Kennedy Sinks Gilis to Reach Semi-Finals

Gina Kennedy reached just her second Platinum semi-final, producing a clinical performance to beat Nele Gilis in the first quarter-final at the Windy City Open. 

Kennedy had beaten the Belgian in five at this event two years ago, but Gilis had reversed that result with a five-game win of her in own at Singapore this season, teeing up this encounter nicely at the University Club of Chicago. 

Kennedy spoke of her frustration at starting slowly after her round-three win over Sivasangari Subramaniam, but she had no such issues in this one, racing out to an 8-2 lead with some aggressive play towards the front of the court.  

A backhand winner to make it 8-3 drew a passionate scream from Gilis and that appeared to shift the momentum in her favour, as she went on to win the next five points to level at 8-8. 

Kennedy would not be denied, though, winning the next two points on a stroke and then a tin from Gilis, taking her second game ball when the Belgian found the tin once more, this time on a backhand boast. 

Game one lasted 16 minutes, as both players dropped deeper in the court, seemingly unwilling to volley too much as the game wore on.

That continued in the early rallies of game two, with the T position for both players was almost at the back of the service box, but the tactic appeared to be working for Gilis, who moved into a 5-1 lead. 

The World No.4 converted that 5-1 lead into 11-4 to level the match, looking more relaxed than she had in game one, but Kennedy remained calm in her corner, talking things through with outgoing England national team coach David Campion. 

The squash had, at times, been untidy throughout the first two games, but the quality improved from both players in the third, with nothing to split them at 5-5. 

That was until Kennedy took command and went back on the attack, whipping a forehand into the nick to make it 8-6, bringing up four game balls at 10-6, but only needing one. 

Each of their last two encounters had been won 3-2 by the player trailing 2-1 after three, so Kennedy would have been under no illusions over the challenge she still faced in closing out victory, but she set about her task with laser focus. 

A forehand kill on the game’s third point laid the foundations for what would prove to be a continuation of the aggressive game plan for the English No.1, who continued to attack and take any chance that came her way.

At 10-5 up and with five match balls, Kennedy was denied victory by the referee, who called a yes let on what could’ve been a stroke, but the wait would not be long, as a Gilis forehand found the tin just moments later. 

“That was a massive win for me,” Kennedy said after her win. 

“Nele has been the one to beat recently, she’s been picking up all the titles. I played her recently in Singapore and she got the better of me. Now she’s No.4 in the world, she has a little bit of different pressure because she’s the higher-ranked player and the rest of us are targeting her. 

“I wanted to make myself hard to beat and I didn’t want to give her any cheap points. I’m glad of the way I stuck to my game plan for once. 

“The first game I was lucky to win. She did so well to come back to 8-8 and I started to get a bit nervous because when you lose a game from a lead like that it hurts and it sticks with you. I wasn’t too worried after she won the second because I knew I could reset. 

“It was just about staying positive. If you try and play her to the back of the court and don’t try and move her around then you’re not going to win a point off her. David Campion was so helpful between games, he made me feel really confident and he told me to go for it when the opportunity was there, which I thought I did quite well towards the end. 

“In Singapore, when she changed the ball, I tried to go short really early in the rally and she was picking me off. Here, I wanted to keep the pace high and put anything away through the middle.” 

Result: 
[5] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bt [4] Nele Gilis (BEL) 3-1: 11-9, 4-11, 11-6, 11-5 (62m)