The 2022 U.S. Open Squash Championships draws have seen numerous shifts following player withdrawals leading into the tournament, which has also led to positions for Team USA’s Spencer Lovejoy and Haley Mendez.
The most notable withdraw came in the form of world No. 10 and eight seed Georgina Kennedy, who pulled out due to an illness contracted during the Egyptian Open. Egypt’s Salma Hany now moves into the eight seed spot and will have a first-round bye.
The withdraw now sets up an all-college squash opening day match up between Columbia Chan Sin Yuk and Harvard’s Marina Stefanoni. American world No. 51 also earns a spot in the tournament and will take on U.S. teammate Sabrina Sobhy in the first round.
The men’s draw has also shifted with three withdraws. World No. 18 Nicolas Mueller pulled out due to an ongoing calf injury, which shifts Germany’s Raphael Kandra into a 9/16 seed position.
Earlier in the week, Qatar’s world No. 30 Abdulla Al Tammimi withdrew which brought in Team USA’s Spencer Lovejoy into the second wild card spot with Faraz Khan earning his position based on ranking. Lovejoy was set to face Egypt’s Karim El Hammamy in the first round, but the Egyptian has also pulled out which has resulted in another all-American first-round match against Todd Harrity.
The path to the 2022 U.S. Open Squash Championships titles presented by Truist is now clear with the release of the draws, October 8-15, at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.
Draws and match times for all matches are now available on usopensquash.com/draws. Get your tickets today on usopensquash.com/tickets to watch the world’s best squash players vie for one of the sport’s most prestigious titles.
Egypt’s defending champions Nouran Gohar and Mostafa Asal open their title defenses as the one and three seeds, respectively.
Gohar is bidding to equal Nicol David’s record of winning three consecutive U.S. Open titles. The twenty-four-year-old could face 2017 champion Nour El Tayeb or Team USA’s four seed Amanda Sobhy in the semifinals. Should Sobhy progress as seeded, the American could face a difficult quarterfinal match up against England’s six seed Sarah-Jane Perry.
The U.S. Open remains the only major title in the sport of squash to elude world No. 2 Nour El Sherbini, who at twenty-six years old has already won six world titles. El Sherbini enters the bottom half of the draw as the two seed, and could face Commonwealth Games gold medalist and Harvard graduate Georgina Kennedy in the quarterfinals. Should El Sherbini progress, the Egyptian could face a rematch of her 2021 U.S. Open semifinal loss against compatriot and 2021 finalist Hania El Hammamy.
El Hammamy will face a difficult tournament opener with the home crowd against her, however, as she faces Team USA’s 2021 semifinalist Olivia Fiechter Sunday, October 9, at 7:15pm.
World No. 20 Sabrina Sobhy and world No. 22 Olivia Blatchford Clyne both open their tournaments against Hong Kong opposition Saturday, October 8. Sobhy will face Columbia sophomore Chan Sin Yuk at 6pm, and Blatchford Clyne will take on World No. 45 Kay Yi Lee at 5:45pm.
American sisters, Marina and Lucie Stefanoni, return for their second U.S. Open Wild Card appearances together. Marina will face Canada’s Commonwealth Games silver medalist Hollie Naughton on the west glass court at 7:15pm, while Lucie faces world No. 23 Nadine Shahin.
Twenty-one-year-old Asal is seeded to meet compatriot and eight seed Mazen Hesham in what would be a highly-anticipated quarterfinal. 2021 finalist Tarek Momen also enters the top half of the draw with a potential quarterfinal against world No. 1 and two-time champion Ali Farag.
After exiting the 2021 U.S. Open in the quarterfinals against Asal, New Zealand’s world No. 2 Paul Coll targets his first title as the two seed in the bottom half of the draw. Coll’s predicted quarterfinal match up could come against five seed Mohamed Elshorbagy, who will be motivated to win what would be a record-setting fourth U.S. Open title, surpassing the likes of three-time champions Gregory Gaultier, Peter Nicol and Jansher Khan. Coll or ElShorbagy could face 2021 semifinalist and four seed Diego Elias from Peru in the semifinals.
Four American men will aim to harness the home crowd in the first round Saturday, October 8. World No. 31 Shahjahan Khan will face Switzerland’s world No. 44 Dimitri Steinmann on the West glass court at 6:30pm. World No. 39 Todd Harrity, a Princeton graduate, will face a former Columbia star and Indian international Ramit Tandon on the East glass court at 5:15pm.
Americans Faraz Khan, world No. 56, and Timmy Brownell, world No. 68, both return for their second U.S. Open Wild Card appearances. Khan will take on England’s world No. 23 Patrick Rooney on the West glass court at 5pm, while Brownell will play Spain’s world No. 26 Iker Bernabeu on the East Glass Court at 6:45pm.
Marina Stefanoni (r) in the 2021 U.S. Junior Championship final last November at the Specter Center.
Sisters Marina and Lucie Stefanoni, newly-crowned U.S. champion Timmy Brownell and world No. 56 Faraz Khan will serve as the four wild cards in the 2022 U.S. Open Squash Championships presented by Truist, October 8-15, at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.
All four Americans return for their second U.S. Open hosted at the Specter Center, and will aim for success against the world’s top players.
Last year, Marina Stefanoni pulled off a top 25 first round upset over Danielle Letourneau in what was her first career Platinum victory.
“I am so excited to be able to participate in the U.S. Open for a second time at the Specter Center,” Marina said. “I trained at the center for a few weeks this summer and am starting to feel like I can call the place and people home. Looking forward to trying to match or beat my result from last year.”
Lucie Stefanoni represented Team USA at the World Junior Championships in France and placed eleventh in the world in the individual competition. The eighteen-year-old is now set for her second U.S. Open appearance.
“After a great experience at the British Junior Open and World Junior Championships there is nothing better than having the opportunity to play in the US Open again,” Lucie said. “Competing at the incredible Specter Center is always amazing. Hopefully I can use what I learned over the summer and keep improving my game by playing against pro players.”
After enjoying the most successful spell of his young career this spring with a maiden U.S. national title and a strong run at the Tournament of Champions, world No. 69 Timmy Brownell now has his sights set on a first career U.S. Open win.
“It’s amazing to be playing in the U.S. Open, it’s one of the biggest events on the calendar and a chance to play against the best players in the world, so who wouldn’t want to do that,” Brownell said. “It’s a lot different when you’re in your own backyard and everyone else has to come here and play out of their element. It’s a big advantage to those of us who train here every day and I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can do.”
World No. 56 Faraz Khan made an impressive first round showing in his sixth U.S. Open appearance last year, pushing Switzerland’s Nick Mueller to four games in fifty minutes. Khan will hope for a good run to bolster his chances of breaking into the world’s top fifty players.
Khan also sits one position above the ranking cut line, and in the case of one withdrawal in the lead up to the tournament, moves into the tournament based on ranking, opening up the second wild card position for U.S. teammate and world No. 82 Spencer Lovejoy.
Draws will be released publicly Wednesday, August 31.
Team USA's Amanda Sobhy (l) and Olivia Fiechter at the 2021 U.S. Open.
Team USA’s Amanda Sobhy (l) and Olivia Fiechter at the 2021 U.S. Open.
Tickets for the 2022 U.S. Open Squash Championships presented by Truist are available now on usopensquash.com/tickets as the world’s best players prepare to return to the Arlen Specter US Squash Center, October 8-15, in the heart of Philadelphia on the campus of Drexel University.
The PSA Platinum tournament will feature eight days of world class squash with the prestigious U.S. Open titles and equal prize purses on offer. General Admission and reserved Backwall Premium seats offer access to all matches each day.
Create a one-of-a-kind experience by hosting a group at the U.S. Open with package options of reserved space immediately adjacent to the on-court action and other special benefits including food & beverage or professional player meet-and-greets.
l-r: Drexel President John Fry, US Squash Board Chair Soo Venkatesan, Hania El Hammamy, Nouran Gohar, Mostafa Asal, Tarek Momen, Truist Regional President, Delaware Valley, Travis Manning
Egypt’s Mostafa Asal became the youngest champion at twenty years old while Nouran Gohar became just the second back-to-back women’s champion at the U.S. Open Squash Championships presented by Truist Wednesday, October 6, at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.
The all-Egyptian finals produced two thrilling matches for the packed Specter Center gallery, with a seventy-four-minute women’s final leading off the night between Gohar and world No. 6 Hania El Hammamy. El Hammamy started on the front foot, taking the first game 11-9 and held a 9-4 lead in the second game. Gohar, who came back from 2-0 down in her 2019 U.S. Open final win, surmounted another title-winning comeback, winning seven straight points to take the second and clinching the title in the third and fourth 11-7, 11-3.
“I can’t really believe it, but it seems like I have to always be down in the final of the U.S. Open,” Gohar said. “Last year I was match ball down, this year thankfully I was only 1-0 and 9-4 down. I just wanted to stick around most of the time, and I’m just glad with the way I dealt with it. I felt I was the most experienced today, so that made a huge difference. I’ve been in these situations before against the top players… I think what made the difference is that I just wanted to stick to my game plan and adapt a little bit. I played better, I thought about it more and that made the difference today. I think many matches, many losses, were in the back of my mind, so I just took the experience and was trying to execute it today.”
Gohar joins Nicol David as the only women’s champions to win back-to-back U.S. Open titles. the twenty-four-year-old’s second title in Philly is her fourth career Platinum title and second in two months after the Egyptian Open.
“I just want to thank you all for coming today, it has been unbelievable,” Gohar said. “I just love to play in front of the U.S. crowd. You guys are such an amazing crowd, very energetic. It makes a huge difference in those matches and critical points, so thank you for coming today.”
Asal, world No. 10, produced an even more dramatic comeback in the ensuing men’s final. Veteran World No. 4 Tarek Momen was on the cusp of his first U.S. Open title and second career Platinum title with a two game lead. Asal came back to take the third 11-9 from 9-all, and fought off a championship ball in the fourth to force a fifth game 12-10. The twenty-year-old was off to the races in the fifth, clinching the title 11-3 after ninety-one minutes and a total of 415 minutes of court time all tournament.
The U.S. Open title marks the phenom’s first career Platinum title. Asal now takes Gohar’s mantle set in 2019 as the youngest ever U.S. Open champion.
“I don’t believe the feeling,” Asal said. “I have all the respect for Tarek, he was 2-0 up and I think it was a great battle today. I’ve been having so many 3-2s in the last couple of days and I cannot believe it until now. I was having problems before the tournament, whether I would enter or if I couldn’t, but I managed to win the title. I want to thank everyone, my coaches, my physios, mentally for me to be able to recover after all of these matches is something unbelievable. Lastly, I want to thank US Squash and the PSA, Lee Beachill [PSA Chief Operating Officer] and everyone behind this tournament. Thank you guys for having us again and I can’t wait for the next event for this tournament.”
The 2021 U.S. Open celebrated a decade of partnership with Drexel University since the first edition of the tournament in Philadelphia in 2011, and first staging of the event in the Arlen Specter US Squash Center, which officially opened on Saturday, October 2.
US Squash welcomes Truist as the presenting sponsor of the 2021 U.S. Open Squash Championships. The U.S. Open brings the world’s best players to Philadelphia to compete for the most prestigious squash championship in the United States. The 2021 event is being held at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center for the first time, October 1-6.
“We are proud to partner with Truist as the presenting sponsor of the U.S. Open,” said Kevin Klipstein, US Squash President & CEO. “Their support ensures the U.S. Open’s status as a world-leading squash championship, and provides momentum for this exciting season as we showcase the event at the Specter Center for the first time. Truist and US Squash share a focus on serving the local community through building accessible, meaningful opportunities, and this partnership will help us accelerate this work at the Specter Center and nationwide.”
The Specter Center, now the world’s largest community squash center, held its official Grand Opening celebration on Saturday, October 2 alongside the U.S. Open. The Specter Center features 20 courts—including two all-glass exhibition courts—US Squash’s national headquarters and the U.S. Squash Hall of Fame. The Specter Center is located in one of 22 federally-designated Promise Zones, and welcomes players and seeks to introduce new players into the sport, creating and nurturing a broad and inclusive community. During its soft-opening phase this summer the Specter Center offered no-cost introductory clinics, and the facility will see activity accelerate in the fall including the creation of 10 new Philadelphia public school teams, forming the first public school league in the country, and the SquashSmarts program operating its intensive out-of-school time academic and athletic mentoring program at the Specter Center’s Lenfest Learning & Innovation Center.
“Truist is proud to partner with organizations and individuals who share our purpose to ‘Inspire and Build Better Lives and Communities’,” said Travis Rhodes, BB&T now Truist Regional President, Delaware Valley/Lehigh Valley Region. “US Squash is already making a difference in Philadelphia, we are pleased to join them in the incredible work they are doing.”
Founded in 1954, the U.S. Open is one of the world’s premier professional squash championships, featuring the top players competing for its coveted title. The six-day Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Tour Platinum event. This year’s hosting marks the 10th year the event has been presented in Philadelphia in partnership with Drexel University. The $250,000 purse continues the U.S. Open’s leadership role in prize money parity after it became the first major squash event in the world to offer equal prize money for women and men nearly a decade ago. Squash is the only sport that does so for all major world-level professional championships with the standard of competition also being equal.
About Truist: Truist Financial Corporation is a purpose-driven financial services company committed to inspire and build better lives and communities. With 275 years of combined BB&T and SunTrust history, Truist has leading market share in many high-growth markets in the country. The company offers a wide range of services including retail, small business and commercial banking; asset management; capital markets; commercial real estate; corporate and institutional banking; insurance; mortgage; payments; specialized lending; and wealth management. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Truist is the sixth-largest commercial bank in the U.S. with total assets of $499 billion as of September 30, 2020. Truist Bank, Member FDIC. Learn more at Truist.com.
About US Squash:
US Squash is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization which serves as the only national governing body and membership organization for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1904 and headquartered in Philadelphia, it is a member of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, the Pan American Squash Federation and the World Squash Federation. Its mission is to lead squash’s growth and development by increasing access and awareness, supporting meaningful lifelong engagement in the sport, and encouraging sportsmanship while achieving competitive excellence at the highest levels. Learn more at www.ussquash.org.
Egypt’s twenty-year-old Mostafa Asal and twenty-one-year-old Hania El Hammamy are both set for their U.S. Open final debuts after Asal saved two match balls in the fifth game and El Hammamy stunned world No. 1 Nour El Sherbini Tuesday, October 6, at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.
El Hammamy and El Sherbini opened up the semifinal session with matches all taking place on the Roberts Family Court in front of a packed gallery. El Hammamy had only defeated the five-time world champion once in five previous matches–a seventy-one minute five-game final win at the 2020 Black Ball Open. El Hammamy will now have an opportunity to win her second Platinum title after upsetting her compatriot 8-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-7 in fifty-nine minutes.
“I’m over the moon with this win, Nour is such an amazing player,” El Hammamy said. “She’s such a legend, a five-time world champion, she’s won almost every single tournament this season, so I tried as much as I can to push and dig deep to stop her from winning this one. I definitely had to push hard and I needed to be consistent with my game plan and I think that made the difference. It would mean a lot to win the U.S. Open. I’ve never reached anything in this tournament, I used to lose in the first or second round. I’m loving the new venue, it’s amazing, I’m loving the court, the atmosphere, the crowd is amazing. You guys give me a huge push.”
The world No. 6 will face defending champion Nouran Gohar–who has defeated El Hammamy three times this year in Platinum semifinals–in the women’s final Wednesday after the world No. 2 ended Olivia Fiechter’s remarkable run to the dismay of the home crowd in three games.
“I’m feeling great, I just love coming back here,” Gohar said. “I have great memories of two years ago, it was amazing. Having the crowd today, even if most of the time they were cheering against me, I love it. I love having a great crowd watching and enjoying the game. It makes me feel really happy and I really appreciate what I’m doing on court because of you guys, so thank you for coming. I just want to say congrats to Olivia on a great tournament. She proved herself to be one of the most dangerous players on tour, not only in this tournament but back in Chicago, too. We practiced one time in Connecticut a month ago and I knew she was coming. She’s a great player and she has a great spirit, so it’s really nice to have her on tour playing like this. When the game is a bit close, it makes it extra special when the crowd is not on your side, so I just wanted to win early points and have a great lead, because I knew even if I’m game ball up, she could come back because of the energy they’re giving.”
Hania El Hammamy celebrates her win over Nour El Sherbini
The men’s U.S. Open trophy will bear a new name–and fifth Egpytian name–in either Asal or world No. 4 Tarek Momen. Both men’s semifinals proved to be 90-minute, five-game marathons.
Asal was on the cusp of a decisive win over world No. 7 Diego Elias, taking the first two games 11-7, 11-8, but the Peruvian turned the match around by commanding the third and fourth games 11-3, 11-2. Asal fought off both a 7-2 deficit in the fifth and two match balls to clinch the match 12-10 in ninety-six minutes.
“I think I want to tell US Squash I want some rest please,” Asal said. “It was a tough match, thank you guys for being here as well. It’s been a pleasure to play in front of the U.S. crowd. I hope you have enjoyed this action and I think we are all giving 150 percent. I came to this tournament with a bit of an injury in my shoulder and trying to fix it in a couple of days after San Francisco. This is a wonderful place to play and a wonderful court. I’m thankful I came through today and played this amazing match. I’m going to recover now and play some FIFA, to relax a little bit. I can’t believe it. I have confidence that I can win the tournament tomorrow, I did before in the World Tour finals. I’m happy to be through and I can’t believe that I was 7-2 down and my body was so loose and flat, to make it and be through to the finals.”
While youth will be well represented in the U.S. Open finals, Momen will bring the experience of one of the PSA Tour’s stalwarts. Momen, who made his U.S. Open debut a decade ago when the event was first held at Drexel University, outlasted an in-form world No. 9 Joel Makin in front of the late-night squash fans 11-9, 5-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8 in ninety-three minutes. The 2019 U.S. Open semifinalist and 2019 world champion will vie for his second career Platinum title on Wednesday.
“I don’t know [how I kept my mental edge in the fifth]. He’s unreal. He never gives up, it’s one of the best qualities he has and I don’t think anyone on tour has this quality, the way he fights despite being extremely tired and fatigued is just unreal. The way he was fighting kept me going, I was thinking ‘Look at what he’s doing, look how hard he’s pushing, you need to push hard as well.’ I think he just lifted me up today and eventually we gave you guys a two-hour match – I don’t know how long it was. Is it midnight? I’m really proud with how I fought today, the fourth and fifth games were super tough. We were feeling it. It was extremely difficult for both of us and I was hoping, in the fifth, that my shots to the front would give me the edge because we’d done miles and miles on that court.”
l-r: Destine McCleary, Briahn Green, Joshua Morales, Debby Dowlin, Jeanie Shanahan, Zachery Greene, Tempest Bowden, Stephen Gregg, Carmen Santiago, Edward Rosario, Niyanna Fields, Aiden Greene, Jose Rubert-Zayas. Samuel Wright, Megan Douglas.
More than three hundred SquashSmarts students, staff members, parents, donors, advisors and board members celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the award-winning Philadelphia urban squash and education program at the 2021 U.S. Open Squash Championships presented by Truist. The gathering was held at the newly-opened Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia on the campus of Drexel University.
Steve Gregg, the Executive Director of SquashSmarts, welcomed a dozen members of the SquashSmarts community onto the court for a mid-evening ceremony. He thanked many of the supporters of the program, including one special friend of the program who had a deep impact on SquashSmarts: Arlen Specter. In 2003, when the program had a budget of $80,000, Senator Specter was able to secure a $50,000 federal earmark for the program. “It was a little-known fact, but it was a massive lifesaver for SquashSmarts,” Gregg said, “and now, nearly two decades later, we are a $1.8 million operation working with 369 kids and 100 alumni in a $35 million center. That is a pretty special return on that investment.”
Carmen Santiago, who worked as a staff assistant in Senator Specter’s Philadelphia office from 1997-2007, completed the connection between Arlen Specter and SquashSmarts. One of her jobs was finding partners for Specter’s daily squash game. “Senator Specter was a wonderful, wonderful boss and friend,” Santiago said. “His passion was squash. Like many of you, he needed to have that squash game every day.”
Santiago’s grandchildren, Joshua Morales and Jose Rubert-Zayas, joined SquashSmarts as sixth graders. Both spent seven years in the program, and both have recently returned to join SquashSmarts’ staff. Morales is the squash and fitness director for the West Philadelphia high school cohort while Rubert-Zayas is the squash and fitness director for the middle school cohort at the Lenfest Center, SquashSmarts’ eight-court facility in North Philadelphia.
“SquashSmarts saved the lives of my grandchildren,” Santiago said. “They are here today because of this program. My grandchildren are part of this family. I hope that we can stay united, remain like this, to help our communities. Today I appreciate it so much. I love you all.”
Founded in 2001 originally out of Drexel University’s squash courts in West Philadelphia, SquashSmarts has just begun its twenty-first season. Beginning in 2021, SquashSmarts will operate and expand its West Philadelphia program out of the Specter Center’s Learning & Innovation Center.
A 501(c)3 non-profit, SquashSmarts is a free intensive out-of-school academic and athletic mentoring program changing the lives of Philadelphia’s public-school students. Students are recruited in middle school from Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary, Esperanza Charter Academy, Science Leadership Academy, Carver School for Engineering & Science and Overbrook Educational Center. The program has students attend practices three days a week for seven years and provides critical support for students once they graduate from high school.
Olivia Fiechter celebrates her first career Platinum semifinal
Philadelphia-native Olivia Fiechter became the second American to reach the semifinals of the U.S. Open presented by Truist—joining Amanda Sobhy—while the world’s top three-ranked men all exited the tournament Monday, October 4, at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.
In one of the most dramatic quarterfinal rounds in U.S. Open history and with more than 500 spectators on hand, the world No. 20 harnessed the home crowd to confidently dispatch Belgium’s Nele Gilis 11-5, 11-5, 11-8 in thirty-seven minutes.
“I was trying to enjoy the moment in front of my home crowd and at this new center they’ve built for American players,” Fiechter said. “I don’t think I could be more pleased with that performance. Throughout the day you go through moments when you’re hanging out in your hotel room and you’re trying not to think about it, but obviously you’re trying to prepare for it and get yourself ready. I was trying to take it point by point and focus on my game plan. I knew if I thought about the situation and the moment too much then things could unravel quickly.”
Fiechter will take on defending champion Nouran Gohar for a place in the title decider, with world No. 2 Gohar beating England’s Sarah-Jane Perry 3-0.
“I was up for it and against SJ you have to play your best to be able to win 3-0 for sure,” Gohar said. “Playing a U.S. player in the semifinal is very exciting. When you have the crowd cheering for anyone, it’s great for our sport and is great for the game. I’ve had this in Egypt and I’m really excited to see it. It happened a few times with Amanda, but to have a new player with the home crowd is great for the sport and I’m very excited for tomorrow.”
The second women’s semifinal will be contested between world No. 1 Nour El Sherbini, who is targeting the last major title to elude her, and three seed Hania El Hammamy will will make her U.S. Open debut.
While the top three women’s seeds all advanced in three games, the same could not be said for the men with the top three seeds and top three-ranked men in the world–Ali Farag, Mohamed ElShorbagy and Paul Coll–all bowing out.
Twenty-year-old Mostafa Asal recorded the first upset of the day, extending his unbeaten record against world No. 3 Paul Coll in a 103-minute, four-game marathon match to open the day 11-8, 9-11, 11-5, 11-7.
“It was 103 minutes! Really!? Me and Paul every time we play it’s a battle,” Asal said. “To play four games in 103 minutes is unbelievable. I think mentally, I’m strong, I’m here, even with distractions from my shoulder issues. I’m trying to play another game, more defensive play, and it helps my game because I’m trying to adapt. Today was a very interesting match, free flowing. The crowd makes me on fire in Egypt and here as well it was doing an awesome job. The States is my second home and I’m happy to move through against Diego. I’m looking forward to this battle against him.”
Wales’ Joel Makin
Asal will face Diego Elias who is set for his second straight U.S. Open semifinal appearance, after the Peruvian came back from a game down to defeat three-time U.S. Open champion ElShorbagy in four games.
“I’m happy to win, but I think this was the worst match we’ve played together,” Elias said. “I could see he wasn’t playing that well and I was a bit nervous at the start, I didn’t know if I should start putting pace on the ball because he’s good at that, or try to play smart. In the first game he was playing really smart, hitting the perfect shots and I got a bit frustrated. I’m happy that I could start thinking a bit more and start running. I tried to get every shot and make it long. It was 8-8 in the second game, and if I lost that one it would have been a disaster. Being 2-0 down against Shorbagy, you’re almost finished. I needed to win that game and then I could see he started slowing down, so I kept going and stayed strong.”
Wales’ Joel Makin ensured that a new name will grace the men’s U.S. Open trophy with his first career win against world No. 1 and defending champion Ali Farag 11-5, 11-7, 16-14 in sixty-four minutes. Makin will face Egypt’s Tarek Momen who ended James Willstrop’s vintage run in four games.
“I was frustrated coming into it, I’ve lost in too many quarterfinals now and I’m not happy staying around there,” Makin said. “I brought a lot of intensity into the match and I took it to him. I don’t want the match to be us saying ‘great shot’ and clapping each other’s shots, I wanted to take it to him, get across the middle and dominate the court. What’s got me to here is closing the court down and being tough. That will get you to 10 in the world, that will always be there, that’s not something I need to worry about, but you have to take the shot when it’s there. These guys are so skillful, they take the balls off their feet.”
Tuesday’s semifinals will be staged at the Specter Center beginning at 6pm ET.
