UTU Singapore Classic : It’s Malika & Sanjay !!

FINALS : Maiden title for Malika as Sanjay wedges men’s final

Malika Elkarasky claimed her maiden Challenger Tour title here at the Kallang Squash Centre today after completing her week-long of upsets, taking out second seed Ainaa Amani in today’s final. Having played two finals before this, it was third time lucky for the 15-year-old.

Employing an explosive game from the start, she took a commanding 8-3 lead in the first before Ainaa slowly clawed back. But it wasn’t enough as the Egyptian closed it for a 1-0 lead.

In the second game, Ainaa was ahead 7-4 and was not able to capitalize on it, losing 12-14. She did come back in the third – it was all her as she used her touch to win many points in the front, often frustrating the Egyptian who did not have much pace to work with. The fourth started the same way as she opened a 5-1 lead before the youngster clawed back to take the game and match 13-11.

In the men’s final Sanjay Jeeva took home the tile after beating top seed Alex Lau. The pair, who are close friends on tour, displayed great athletic display much to the amazement of the appreciative crowd.

The first two games were close and split between the pair, with the third going Sanjay’s way in a one-sided game finishing 11-3 to give him the lead. The fourth was close, but it was Sanjay who managed to hold on for a 3-1 win over his good friend.

Photos by Singapore Squash

Day FOUR, SEMIS :  No stopping Elkarasky as Jeeva survives marathon

There was no stopping the run of Malika Elkaraksy once again as she disposed top seeded compatriot Nadine Shahin in just 25 minutes. The win sets her up for her biggest final to date, bettering an appearance in the final of the PSA 12 Austrian open in June.

Playing with confidence without dropping a game so far, she continued this record as she recorded a 11-5, 11-6, 11-9 victory. Speaking to tournament media afterwards, she shared “I am very happy to win. It was a tough match and I had to focus on every shot I played”.

Malika’s opponent tomorrow will be second seed Ainaa Amani of Malaysia, who played clinically to halt the run of Japan’s Akari Midorikawa for the loss of just 10 points in total.

In the men’s event top seed Alex Lau of Hong Kong, China cruised to straight games victory against Japanese number two Naoki Hayashi. The win was much more comfortable than the previous day where he was stretched to the wire. Naoki, who had to endure five games the previous day, was visibly feeling the effects today – not helped by the many twists and turns given the nature of his opponent’s game.

Alex said later, “I played very well today and I’m very happy to get through, as I was quite nervous before the match. I am excited about tomorrow. There will be pressure (on me) as the top seed, but I will try to enjoy my match”.

The last match of the day between second seed Sanjay Jeeva and fourth seed Siow Yee Xian was befitting a grand finale when the pair stayed on court for a total of 87 minutes – longer than the three previous matches combined! Having led the 2-0 with some very controlled squash, Siow looked to be in cruise control.

However, Sanjay had other plans and staged a great comeback to tie the games 2-2. In the decider, Siow took an early 3-1 lead but then won just two more points in the game to hand Sanjay his ticket into the final.

Photos by Singapore Squash

Day THREE, QUARTERS :  Elkarasky giant-killing goes on

Malika Elkarasy continued her giant-slaying run today at the Kallang Squash Centre. Watched by the Egyptian Ambassador in the gallery, she displayed a commanding display to notch a very convincing win against Ireland’s Breanne Flynn.

Photos by Singapore Squash

Top seed Nadine Shahin once again won in four today and will face her teenage counterpart in tomorrow’s semis, thus guaranteeing an Egyptian finalist on Sunday. In the lower half, second seeded Ainaa Amani won an all-Malaysian affair by taking out teenager Harleein Tan in four games.

Japan will have a semi-finalist in each category tomorrow after Akari Midorikawa and Naoki Hayashi won their marathon matches this evening against Malaysian opponents. Fourth seeded Akari clawed back from 1-2 down to oust Zoe Foo while Naoki upset the books to beat Mohd Syafiq Kamal, also in five games.

In other matches men’s top seed Alex Lau had to dig deep to come back from 2-7 in the decider to deny Duncan Lee of Malaysia, while second seed Sanjay Jeeva beat World University Champion Suraj Chand of India in straight games.

Sanjay’s win sets up another all-Malaysian semi against Siow Yee Xian. The pair will play for the third time in four months tomorrow, with Siow winning the previous two, including a mammoth 109-minute encounter at the PSA15 Tuanku Muhriz Trophy in August.

Day TWO : Elkarasky and Foo join 14 seeds in the quarters

Egypt’s 15-year-old Malika Elkarasy produced a stunning display to stun third seeded Indian Tanvi Khanna in straight games. The World Junior semi-finalist, playing in just her third Challenger Tour event, was in control throughout the match and books her place in the last eight against Ireland’s sixth seed Breanne Flynn, who won comfortable against Aussie Sarah Cardwell.

Photos by Singapore Squash

The other upset in the women’s draw came from Zoe Foo of Malaysia who defeated her Bristol teammate Au Yeong Wai Yhann from Singapore.

Women’s top seed Nadine Shahin of Egypt was made to work in her match against Dutch Tessa ter Sluis before winning in four games, while second seeded Malaysian Ainaa Amani cruised through a 19-minute match against local wildcard Naisha Singh.

In the men’s event, all seeds cruised to 3-0 wins except for Mohd Syafiq Kamal. The third seeded Malaysian had to come back from a game down to take out Singapore’s National Champion Jerome Aw, thus ending local challenge in this event.

Day ONE, Round ONE : Wildcard Naisha Singh powers through

Local wildcard Naisha Singh, the 16-year-old Singapore National Junior Champion shocked Japanese number four Erisa Sano Herring in just under an hour to claim her biggest win on the PSA Tour. Having taken the first two games relatively comfortably, she returned the favour by losing out rather easily to allow her opponent to draw level.

In the decider, she opened a good lead and went to 9-5, before Herring drew level 9-9. This was as far as it went as Naisha clinched the win after Herring sent a forehand into the tin. Her 55-minute match, the longest of her short career on tour, earned her a spot in the last 16 against second seeded Malaysian Ainaa Amani.

Photos by Singapore Squash

Sri Lankan Shamil Wakeel created the only other upset of the day after taking our Bahrain’s Yusuf Thani in straight games to set up a clash against top seed Alex Lau of Hong Kong China.

Local wildcard Aaron Liang also came close to an upset, but was unable to convert a 2-1 lead against India’s Om Semwal, losing in just over an hour in the longest match of the day.

All other seeds were through, and the night ended with the Welcome Dinner held at Kafe Utu, an African eatery, who is the title partner of the event.