QUARTERS
[1] Nour ElSherbini (EGY) 3-0 [8] Olivia Weaver 11-9, 11-4, 11-7 (33m)
ROUND THREE
[8] Olivia Weaver(USA) 3-0 Lucy Beecroft (ENG) 11-6, 11-7, 11-8 (33m)
[6] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) 3-1 Sabrina Sobhy 11-3, 6-11, 11-4, 11-7 (36m)
ROUND TWO
[7] Tinne Gilis (BEL) 3-0 [WC] Caroline Fouts 11-5, 11-6, 11-5 (31m)
Sabrina Sobhy 3-0 Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) 11-9, 11-7, 11-4 (37m)
[8] Olivia Weaver 3-1 Farida Mohamed (EGY) 11-5, 11-3, 9-11, 11-4 (34m)[8] Tarek Momen (EGY) 3-0 Faraz Khan v 11-6, 11-5, 11-9 (31m)
[2] Diego Elias (PER) 3-0 [WC] Andrew Douglas 11-4, 11-5, 11-8 (39m)
USA’s No.2 Olivia Weaver was in top form to secure her place in the quarter-finals of the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions, dispatching Lucy Beecroft of England 3-0.
It was the first time on the PSA World Tour that Weaver and Beecroft had gone head-to-head, and the American made home advantage count, with the World No.10 dominating the middle of the court for most of the match.
“I’m feeling great,” Weaver said afterwards. “It was a great opportunity for both of us: first time for me getting through to the quarters and Lucy had a big win to get to today and I knew she would be up for it.
“She was playing in front of a lot of friends and family so I knew we would both be up for it.
“The game plan was to limit her opportunities. When she has time on the ball she’s really dangerous and as you could see, she was firing those drops from the back and I knew that was going to be one of her best shots so I had to cover that. I had to play my game and make it physical.”
🗣️ "It is a huge opportunity!" @Olivia_Weaver1 reviews today's performance and looks ahead to what's next 👀#TOCSquash pic.twitter.com/AyR1Bs41NR
— PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) January 20, 2024
Sobhy Delights Home Crowd To Reach Round Three
USA’s Sabrina Sobhy delighted her home crowd with an excellent 3-0 triumph against Sivasangari Subramaniam to book her place in round three of the 2024 J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions in New York.
Sobhy, who was meeting Subramaniam for the second time on the PSA World Tour in the space of a couple of months, avenged her defeat at the Hong Kong Football Club Open to progress to the third round by winning 11-9, 11-7, 11-4.
“Coming into this match, I thought it was going to be closer. I knew it would be really hard – the score didn’t necessarily display how difficult it was,” she said. “Siva is always such a threat; if you ever give her anything open it could be in the nick immediately.
“I tried to be focused and present. In the end, when I had a comfortable lead, I couldn’t think about winning because I knew she could have easily gotten six, seven, eight points in a row. She has that much talent and that much capability, and it’s always going to be a battle regardless.”
A great win for USA's @ssssobhy on home court 🇺🇸👏
Here's what she had to say post-match 💬#TOCSquash pic.twitter.com/v2juDZI41W
— PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) January 20, 2024
Home favourite Olivia Weaver was spurred on by the support of the New York crowd as she overcame tricky opponent Farida Mohamed. Weaver started impeccably as she raced out to a 2-0 lead, playing strong, accurate squash and giving Mohamed no opportunity to attack. Mohamed fought back in the third game and started making life difficult for Weaver. The Egyptian claimed the third game to breathe more life in the contest.
Weaver regrouped in game four as she raced towards the finish line, eventually winning 11-4. She had this to say after her win:
“That was a tricky one, one never played Farida before. She’s very dangerous and attacking. She doesn’t really allow for much momentum so I just tried to focus on my tactics, lost my way in the third a bit but happy to get back to it in the fourth.”
“I love playing here, in front of so many family and friends, many people came up from Philadelphia. Getting a win in front of Gail Ramsay, the Princeton coach, was special. She was my coach for four years there and it was so special to get a win I front of her.”
@Olivia_Weaver1 shares how she approaches playing an opponent not played before 🤔#TOCSquash pic.twitter.com/6lbgOgdXZz
— PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) January 18, 2024
ROUND ONE: USA, 2 – FRANCE, 0
Event wildcards Caroline Fouts and Andrew Douglas scored big upsets against French duo Melissa Alves and Sebastien Bonmalais to reach the second round in New York for the first time in their careers.
18-year-old Fouts is ranked 50 places below Alves in the current PSA World Rankings but produced a mature performance against the experienced World No.20 to book her place in round two.
The American found herself 2-1 down in the contest but stuck to her aggressive, attacking style to constantly ask questions of Alves and force the Frenchwoman into many difficult situations. After levelling at 2-2, Fouts ran out to a 7-1 lead and didn’t take long to win the deciding game 11-3 and reach the second round of a Platinum event for the first time.
“It’s such a great experience,” said Fouts after her win.
“Last year I had a similar opportunity but I was really grateful to get through in a solid five game match today. I think this year I’ve had more opportunities in bigger events and I’ve learned a lot from the Challenger Tour events that I’ve played. I think I’ve really grown as a player.
“I had the chance to play in a home World Championships in Chicago last year and I’m just so hungry to be in these bigger events. I’m working hard to be in them on merit and more consistently too.”
Douglas is ranked 20 places below Bonmalais. Still, after securing a 2-0 lead with a close 12-10 win in game two, the American went from strength to strength at the New York Athletic Club and closed out the match 3-0 to set up a meeting with defending champion Diego Elias in round two.
There was more US success as Faraz Khan upset Qatar’s Abdulla AlTamimi in four games, while qualifiers Charlotte Pastel and Nicholas Spizzirri both failed to advance.
Day two will see the top seeds enter the tournament with selected action now taking place on the iconic all glass court inside Grand Central Terminal.
