[1] Nouran Gohar (Egy) 3-0 Olivia Clyne (Usa) 12-10, 11-8, 11-6 (45m)
Gohar Retains Cincinnati Gaynor Cup Title
World No.1 Nouran Gohar retained her Bahl and Gaynor Cincinnati Gaynor Cup title after the Egyptian overcame unseeded American Olivia Clyne at the Cincinnati Country Club to lift the 20th PSA title of her career.
The 25-year-old, who has now won the Gaynor Cup in both of her appearances here, completed a 12-10, 11-8, 11-6 victory in 45 minutes to record her third tournament win of the season.
Clyne, appearing in her second final this month, had never beaten Gohar in four previous events but started brightly and went 10-5 up in the first game before Gohar reeled off seven points in a row to take the lead.
A fast start from Gohar in the second was enough to see her take the game, and the third followed to clinch the title.
“Before coming here I knew I had won 19 titles and 20 is a nice number, so why not make it 20?” Said Gohar. “It’s been unbelievable here in Cincinnati and last year I had so much fun. I have very good memories and I’m happy to be back and defend the title. Hopefully I will be back next year to win it one more time.
[1] Nouran Gohar (Egy) 3-0 [5] Salma Hany (Egy) 11-4, 11-7, 11-4 (41m)
Olivia Clyne (Usa) 3-0 [6] Gina Kennedy (Eng) 11-1, 5-3 rtd (19m)
Clyne and Gohar to contest Cincinnati Gaynor Cup Final
Unseeded American Olivia Clyne will take on top seed Nouran Gohar in the Cincinnati Gaynor Cup final after the Clyne’s semi-final opponent – sixth seed Georgina Kennedy – was forced to retire from the match due to a foot injury.
From the outset it was clear that Kennedy wasn’t able to move properly as Clyne dropped just a solitary point in the opening game and the English player soon shook hands in the second to bring an end to the match.
“I really feel for Gina,” said Clyne. “She’s been the same as me, playing all these matches the last couple of weeks and it does take its toll. You never know when it’s going to sneak up on you, some days you can start your day feeling alright, you could start your day feeling terrible – like I did this morning – but end your day feeling alright. I know what that’s like and it’s an awful feeling, so I hope that she gets better soon. I was prepared for war and I was going to leave every inch of myself out there tonight. I was prepared for the worst 90 minutes of my life, physically.”
Meanwhile defending champion Gohar reached the 37th PSA final of her career – and her fifth of the season – following a dominant 11-4, 11-7, 11-4 victory over fifth seed Salma Hany.
“I think I came out strong and wanted to make sure I had a big lead,” said Gohar afterwards. “Being 2-0 is a completely different story compared to it being 1-1. I wanted to put pressure on her, I was moving well and I’m happy with the way I played today. My preparation so far has been going well, so I’ll keep it the same, keep it simple and get ready for a battle tomorrow.”
Quarters : Kennedy downs Elaraby to reach semis
England’s Georgina Kennedy made it four wins in a row over Rowan Elaraby as she came from a game down against the second seed to advance to the semi-finals in Cincinnati.
The pair had already met twice this year, with Kennedy overcoming the Egyptian in a five-game thriller at the Tournament of Champions before recording a more comfortable win in straight games at the DAC Classic last week. This time around Elaraby took the opener, but Kennedy hit back to win the next three games, taking the win on her fifth match ball -11, 11-3, 11-8, 12-10 in 48 minutes.
“Rowan and I had a really close game last week and I knew it was going to be a tough battle again, one that could have gone either way,” said Kennedy. “The scoreline was so close in each game. I’m really happy with how I came out after losing that first game, I had my game plan a bit wrong, so I changed a few things and I felt really good and really positive. I lost my discipline in the fourth and at 10-10. I had to give myself a little talking to and I played some positive rallies, which I’m happy with because if it went to a fifth it would have been stressful.”
Kennedy will line up against unseeded American Olivia Clyne for a place in the title decider. Clyne, appearing in a third successive semi-final for the first time since 2010, came back from a game down to beat Canada’s Hollie Naughton, winning 8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-5.
“I was trying to fight my way through, I didn’t feel as sharp as yesterday, but at the same time I’m really proud of my fight and determination,” said Clyne. “After going down in that first game I knew I had to make changes and find a way. I felt like I did adjust well. Hollie played fantastically, she was taking risks and hunting well, so I’m very happy to get through.”
Top seed Nouran Gohar is one win away from her second successive Gaynor Cup final after the defending champion put in a powerhouse of a performance to dispatch fellow Egyptian Sana Ibrahim. After a closely-contested opening game, Gohar dominated the next two and hit immaculate line and length for the rest of the 29-minute contest. The 25-year-old will now aim to reach her fifth PSA final of the season.
“I’m pleased with the way I played,” said Gohar. “Sana has had two big wins this tournament, so I knew what to expect. I’ve been in her place before, so I know how it feels to play big players. Coming in against the World No.1, you have nothing to lose, so I was ready for this.”
Fifth seed Salma Hany will be Gohar’s opponent in the last four after she got the better of England’s Lucy Turmel. Turmel was appearing in her first Silver-level quarter-final after toppling third seed Sarah-Jane Perry in the previous round, but Hany proved too strong, winning 11-7, 11-8, 12-10 in 43 minutes.
“I’m very happy with my performance today,” said Hany. “Lucy played so well the whole week and we played last week in Detroit. I knew today wasn’t going to be easy, I knew she was going to come strongly at me this time. There were three tough games and I’m glad I kept my focus at the end of each game.”
Round Two : Turmel and Clyne score upsets to reach Cincinnati Quarter-Finals
England’s Lucy Turmel and USA’s Olivia Clyne eliminated the third and fourth seeds on day two of the Bahl and Gaynor Cincinnati Gaynor Cup, with the pair beating Sarah-Jane Perry and Olivia Fiechter at the Cincinnati Country Club.
“It’s my biggest win so far, it’s massive,” said Turmel, who has beaten a top 10 player for the first time. “I’m very happy to win, but SJ is a teammate of mine and she has helped myself, Gina and Jazz a lot. She’s very open to advice and texts me when I have good results. I just want to say thanks to SJ for everything she’s doing for us.”
Egypt’s Sana Ibrahim also upset the seedings as she ousted eighth seed Nada Abbas to set up a quarter-final against top seed Nouran Gohar, while second seed Rowan Elaraby survived in five games against Jasmine Hutton and now meets another English opponent in Gina Kennedy for a place in the semis.