Windy City RD2 Side Courts: Shahin, Turmel, Soliman, Castagnet, Lobban Cause Shocks

Like the first day’s action, the second day of the Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family saw action take place on the side courts at the University Club of Chicago.

The top 16 seeds enter the draws on the second day, with 32 matches being played across the four courts in action, much like the first day’s play at the tournament.


24 of those clashes will come on the traditional side courts, with 12 in both the afternoon and evening sessions. Here is what happened in the afternoon session of side court action.

Shahin Shocks King, Turmel Surprises Lust, Blatchford Clyne Downs Whitlock

The first match to be completed on the second day of the Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family produced the biggest shock of the tournament so far, as Egypt’s Nadine Shahin beat World No.6, and 2018 Windy City Open finalist, Joelle King comprehensively.

The 22-year-old Egyptian, who is currently at her highest ever ranking of World No.19, had never beaten King on the PSA World Tour before, but she came out firing playing some wonderful shots, with the traditional cut seeming to suit her game.

Shahin took the victory in just 22 minutes, winning out 11-8, 11-7, 11-4, securing the biggest upset of the PSA Platinum event so far, and booking her place in the third round, where she will face Olivia Blatchford Clyne.

The U.S. No.2 also took a straight-games victory in her second round clash, as she defeated England’s Emily Whitlock 3-0 to move through to the last 32 on home soil.

Like Shahin, the American seemed in complete control throughout the entirety of the match, wrapping up an 11-5, 11-8, 11-7 win in less than half an hour. She will now meet Shahin on the glass court on Saturday afternoon.

“I am very pleased. It is one of those things where you always want to dow ell at home, but I think it is a fine balance between balancing the expectations and the pressure of wanting to be on the glass court in the later rounds,” Blatchford Clyne explained.

“Today, I think I played really solid squash. I had a really tough week in Cincinnati last week, so it was a matter of trying to find myself a little bit, and to be a little more comfortable and to not force anything, because Emily gets so many balls back.

“First on again tomorrow so that is exciting, but anyone can beat anyone these days. Everyone has that right to go out on that court and have a chance to win. If I go onto court with that attitude that I have nothing to lose and everything to gain, then I should have a real treat on there.”

In an all-English battle, the unseeded Lucy Turmel got the better of No.13 seed Victoria Lust in a high-quality five-game battle, one in which she battled back from behind twice to take the victory.

Lust took the first and third games, with the younger of the two Englishwomen having to fight back from 1-0 and 2-1 down. She managed to do so, coming through to win 3-2 to move into the last 16 of a PSA Platinum event for the first time in her career, where she will face Egypt’s Rowan Elaraby.

Results
Nadine Shahin (EGY) bt [6] Joelle King (NZL) 3-0: 11-8, 11-7, 11-4 (22m)
[15] Olivia Blatchford Clyne (USA) bt Emily Whitlock (ENG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-7 (29m)
Lucy Turmel (ENG) bt [13] Victoria Lust (ENG) 3-2: 7-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-6, 11-9 (55m)

Elias and Makin Set Up Last 16 Clash, Sobhy Annihilates Liu

Peru’s Diego Elias is through to the third round of the Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family after he got the better of Egypt’s Fares Dessouky in straight games on the traditional courts.

It was a fast paced match between the two, with the World No.6 finding his rhythm quicker, and he was able to settle into the match well, taking the first game at a canter 11-4. He held the momentum through the rest of the match to book his place in the last 16 of the Platinum tournament where he will face Welshman Joel Makin.

The World No.11 got the better of French No.1 Gregoire Marche in a lengthy battle, one in which the Welshman was able to use his physical prowess to take the victory, by wearing the Frenchman down progressively.

It was Marche who played the better squash in the first game, but Makin was able to fight his way back into the game by making the rallies longer. He eventually won out in four games, and will now face the ‘Peruvian Puma’ in the third round.

“You know what to expect from Gregoire, he is incredibly fluid. He started really well and he was difficult to break down. I had to try and get the ball around him before I could really do anything else,” Makin explained.

“I have been disappointed with my form the last couple of weeks so that was a really big match for me. I had lost a few that I wasn’t happy about, so I had to really dig in and I am happy that I came out with the win.

“I have never made it through to the glass court here. Diego [Elias] had won the first four meetings between us, but in New York, I got into him when he was 2-1 and I stretched him out and that is what I am going to have to do this time as well!”

US No.1 Amanda Sobhy wasted no time in getting her Windy City Open campaign off to a flying start, as she needed just 17 minutes to win her second round match against Hong Kong’s Liu Tsz-Ling at the University Club of Chicago.

Sobhy was coming into the tournament off the back of winning in Cincinnati last week, and she carried on her good form, restricting her opponent to just five points across the entire match. She will now face either Hollie Naughton or Annie Au in the last 16.

“I was coming in off the high of winning in Cincinnati the week before so I wanted to keep the same mentality that I was in and to stay dialled in. In the first few rounds, you can have that adrenaline come-down, and then it takes a match or two to get back up,” Sobhy explained.

“It will get a lot tougher as the tournament progresses. On the glass court, you cannot underestimate any opponent so I have to keep that mentality to make sure I keep playing my best squash.”

Results
[6] Diego Elias (PER) bt Fares Dessouky (EGY) 3-0: 11-4, 11-7, 11-6 (38m)
Joel Makin (WAL) bt Gregoire Marche (FRA) 3-1: 7-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-4 (63m)
[7] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG) 3-0: 11-1, 11-0, 11-4 (17m)

Castagnet and Au Through In Five, Soliman Battles Past Marwan

Mathieu Castagnet and Saurav Ghosal produced one of the matches of the tournament on Friday afternoon, as they battled it out for 100 minutes, with the Frenchman eventually coming out on top in their five-game encounter.

It was Castagnet who held the lead after the first game but he would go behind 2-1, following a lengthy third game, which saw both men squander several game balls, the Indian finally taking it 16-14.

The Frenchman fought back though, to take the fourth and fifth games, also both on tie-breaks. The match went on for a staggering 100 minutes, and bar the injury to Mostafa Asal on the first day of the tournament, it would have been the longest match of the event. With the win, Castagnet moves through to the last 16, where he will face Egypt’s Karim Abdel Gawad.

Hong Kong’s Annie Au had to fight her way back from being two games down to take the victory over Canadian No.1 Hollie Naughton in their second round clash in Chicago, as she won in just under an hour at the University Club.

The World No.11 lost the first game on a tie-break, and the Canadian seemed to take that momentum with her into the second game, as she doubled her lead. However, Au fought back, restricting Naughton to just three points in the third, before going on to take both the fourth and fifth to secure her spot in the third round, where she will face World No.7 Amanda Sobhy.

In an all-Egyptian battle, Youssef Soliman got the better of World No.8 Marwan ElShorbagy, in a match that was dominated by refereeing decisions.

In a scrappy and stop-start match, it was Soliman that was able to assert himself the better of the two countrymen, as he won out 11-9, 11-6, 6-11, 11-5 in just under 50 minutes, booking his place in the third round of the tournament, where he will face either Spain’s Borja Golan.

Results
Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt Saurav Ghosal (IND) 3-2: 11-9, 8-11, 14-16, 15-13, 12-10 (100m)
[10] Annie Au (HKG) bt Hollie Naughton (CAN) 3-2: 11-13, 8-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-7 (51m)
Youssef Soliman (EGY) bt [8] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) 3-1: 11-9, 11-6, 6-11, 11-5 (49m)

Lobban, Golan and Hesham Book Third Round Spots

Australia’s Donna Lobban followed up her excellent victory on the opening day of the tournament with a win against India’s World No.12 Joshna Chinappa on the traditional courts at the University Club, booking her place in the third round.

The Australian No.2 took the first game, but Chinappa was quick to pull the match level at one game apiece. However, from there, Lobban had full control, and she went on to win the match inside 40 minutes, setting up a last 16 clash with four-time World Champion Nour El Sherbini.

The all-European clash between Spain’s Borja Golan and Switzerland’s Nicolas Mueller went the way of the Spaniard, as he booked his place in the third round of the Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family in Chicago.

The first two games were quite comfortable for the 37-year-old, as he restricted the Swiss No.1 to just twelve points across them. However, the third was more difficult, as Mueller saved three match balls before Golan was able to get over the line, winning the third 13-11 to set up a clash with Egypt’s Youssef Soliman.

Egypt’s Mazen Hesham is through to the third round of the Windy City Open after defeating Mexico’s Cesar Salazar in straight games in the last 32 of the PSA Platinum tournament.

Hesham was in control of the match through the first two games, winning both 11-6, as he took a two-game lead, but Salazar started the third game the stronger of the two, and held the lead, but the Egyptian was able to battle back to take the victory in three, setting up a clash with World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy on Sunday evening.

Results
Donna Lobban (AUS) bt [11] Joshna Chinappa (IND) 3-1: 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8 (39m)
Borja Golan (ESP) bt Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 13-11 (47m)
Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt Cesar Salazar (MEX) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 12-10 (37m)