LBSQUASH Summer Pro RD1: Trauber & Ho Produce Home Wins On Opening Day In Greenwich

There were two home winners in the opening round of the J.P. Morgan LBSQUASH Summer Pro, taking place from Greenwich Academy yesterday as juniors Madison Ho and Emma Trauber were victorious in their round one encounters.

Trauber produced a terrific performance to overcome Canada’s Sara Khan, a player ranked more than 150 places higher. Trauber took a tight first game 12-10 before looking more confident and settled as she took games two and three 11-8, 11-3 to move into the next round. She will now face Egypt’s Salma El Alfy.

16-year-old Madison Ho is one of USA’s most promising juniors and was featuirng in her first ever PSA event as she took on compatriot Arisha Khan, who has been ranked as high as World No.138. Ho showed no signs of nerves as she needed just 17 minutes to defeat Khan, winning 11-4, 11-4, 11-3 and make it 1 win from 1 match on the PSA tour.

The match of the day saw Brazil’s Bruna Marchesi Petrillo produce a battling performance to fend off the efforts of USA’s Ava Lin to reach the last 16. Petrillo was in top form in the opening two games, earning a healthy 2-0 lead to place one foot in the next round. Lin battled back however and clinched the third game 13-11 before equalising. The Brazilian recovered however to move ahead in the fifth game and take it 11-7 to breathe a huge sigh of relief.

The top seeds now enter the fray for round two, including top seed Malak Khafagy, who will take on Min Jie Teh. No.2 seed and Trinity Squash Alumni Akanksha Salunkhe will face Ireland’s New York resident Hannah Craig for a spot in the quarter finals and LBSQUASH’s very own Caroline Fouts will be looking to build on her two US Under 19 titles and make inroads up the PSA rankings as she takes on Bruna Marchesi Petrillo.

The second round of the J.P. Morgan LBSQUASH Summer Pro will take place on Wednesday, June 14 with play starting at 16:30 (GMT-4). Live Stream is available on the LBSQUASH facebook page as well as regular updates on the LBSQUASH Instagram.

You can keep up to date with daily updates from the tournament on the PSA Challenger Tour’s Twitter and Facebook.

First Round Results: J.P. Morgan LBSQUASH Summer Pro

Min Jie Teh (MAS) bt Maria Moya (ECU) 3-0: 12-10, 11-2, 11-7 (20m)

Jana Swaify (EGY) bt Charlotte Pastel (USA)3-0: 11-3, 11-3, 11-8 (23m)

Amal Izhar (CAN) bt Sarita Popat (USA)3-1: 11-8, 11-7, 7-11, 11-7 (28m)

Julia Le Coq (FRA) bt Hannah Guthrie (CAN) 3-0: 11-0, 11-4, 11-9 (18m)

Bruna Marchesi Petrillo (BRA) bt Ava Lin (USA) 3-2: 11-9, 11-7, 11-13, 9-11, 11-7 (46m)

Emma Trauber (USA) bt Sara Khan (CAN) 3-0: 12-10, 11-8, 11-3 (20m)

Madison Ho (USA) bt Arisha Khan (USA) 3-0: 11-4, 11-4, 11-3 (17m)

Hannah Craig (IRL) bt Sarahi Lopez (MEX)3-0: 0-0 retired (0m)

Second Round Draw: To Be Played Wednesday, June 14

[1] Malak Khafagy (EGY) v Min Jie Teh (MAS)

Jana Swaify (EGY) v [5] Riya Navani (USA)

[8] Erisa Sano Herring (JPN) v Amal Izhar (CAN)

Julia Le Coq (FRA) v [4] Kincso Szász (HUN)

[3] Caroline Fouts (USA) v Bruna Marchesi Petrillo (BRA)

Emma Trauber (USA) v [6] Salma El Alfy (EGY)

[7] Ingy Hammouda (EGY) v Madison Ho (USA)

Hannah Craig (IRL) v [2] Akanksha Salunkhe (IND)