American wild cards Nick Spizzirri and Lucie Stefanoni both scored first round upsets to reach the second round of the U.S. Open Squash Championships powered by Comcast Business for the first time in their careers Sunday, November 1, at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.
Stefanoni, the younger sister of world No. 12 Marina, entered her fourth appearance as a U.S. Open wild card against Egypt’s world No. 33 Zeina Mickawy. Stefanoni, a junior at Harvard, earned her first career Platinum victory 13-11, 11-6, 11-7 in thirty minutes.
“I’m over the moon, I didn’t really go in with any expectations, and I think it’s always a great opportunity to come to the US Open,” Stefanoni said. “I’ve been here before for a few years as the wildcard, and I just treat it as a great opportunity to play the top pros. I went in with that mindset and was just playing one point at a time, and I didn’t really try to get ahead of myself with the score. I’m very happy that I was able to stay consistent and mentally composed throughout the match.”
The twenty-two-year-old will now face world No. 2 and defending champion Hania El Hammamy in the second round Tuesday night.
“It’s a huge deal, I’ve never played a top three player before, so I’m really looking forward to tomorrow,” Stefanoni said.
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Marina Stefanoni narrowly missed out on joining her sister in the second round following a blockbuster five-game match against former world No. 1 Nouran Gohar. World No. 5 Olivia Weaver and world No. 10 Amanda Sobhy join Stefanoni in the second round after hard-fought wins.
Spizzirri recorded the biggest men’s result of opening day and the most significant upset of his burgeoning career thus far. The second-year professional and world no. 87 dispatched Qatar’s world No. 22 Abdullah Al Tamimi 11-5, 11-5, 11-7 in twenty-seven minutes.
“I had a big home crowd advantage,” Spizzirri said. “I went to Penn, so a lot of the current squash players there, former teammates of mine, were here to support me. My brother [Eliot Spizzirri] being there was a really great treat, he’s a professional tennis player and he usually has to travel when I have to travel.”
The twenty-four-year-old will take on world No. 7 Victor Crouin in the second round Tuesday evening after the Frenchman took out former Harvard teammate and U.S. No. 1 in a tight first round match.
“It’s been a tough couple of months, I’ve had injuries here and there, so I’ve just been trying to get back to being healthy, and I’m glad I was healthy today. I felt great out there and to do it in front of my friends and family just makes it that much sweeter.”
View the full opening day schedule on usopensquash.com/draws and reserve your spot on usopensquash.com.tickets.