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DAC Detroit Pro Classic 2023 |
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DAC Detroit Pro Classic 2023
Women's Draw
07 - 11 Feb
Detroit, USA, $82.5k |
ROUND TWO
08 Feb |
QUARTERS
09 Feb |
SEMIS
10 Feb |
FINAL
11 Feb |
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[1] Joelle King (NZL)
13-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-2 (40m)
Yathreb Adel (EGY) |
Joelle King
11-5, 11-9, 6-11, 11-6 (46m)
Olivia Clyne |
Olivia Clyne
7-11, 12-10, 11-5, 11-6 (47m)
Olivia Fiechter |
Olivia Fiechter
11-7, 11-5, 6-11, 11-9 (44m)
Georgina Kennedy |
[9/16] Olivia Clyne (USA)
11-4, 11-2, 11-7 (29m)
[5] Tinne Gilis (BEL) |
[9/16] Nada Abbas (EGY)
7-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-6 (44m)
[6] Tesni Evans (WAL) |
Nada Abbas
11-1, 8-11, 12-10, 13-11 (49m)
Olivia Fiechter |
[4] Olivia Fiechter (USA)
12-10, 11-7, 11-6 (35m)
Sana Ibrahim (EGY) |
[3] Nele Gilis (BEL)
11-8, 11-2, 11-4 (33m)
[9/16] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) |
Nele Gilis
11-6, 11-7, 11-4 (34m)
Salma Hany |
Salma Hany
11-4, 11-5, 11-9 (30m)
Georgina Kennedy |
[7] Salma Hany (EGY)
11-7, 11-7, 11-4 (34m)
Lucy Turmel (ENG) |
[8] Georgina Kennedy (ENG)
11-8, 11-6, 11-9 (31m)
Mélissa Alves (FRA) |
Georgina Kennedy
13-11, 14-12, 11-7 (44m)
Rowan Elaraby |
[9/16] Nadine Shahin (EGY)
11-8, 11-2, 11-1 (19m)
[2] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) |
[1] Joelle King (NZL) bye
Yathreb Adel (EGY) bt [9/16] Alexandra Fuller (RSA) 11-8, 11-4, 11-2
(23m)
[9/16] Olivia Clyne (USA) bt Chan Sin Yuk (HKG) 11-8, 11-3, 11-9 (29m)
[5] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bye
[6] Tesni Evans (WAL) bye
[9/16] Nada Abbas (EGY) bt [WC] Alison Thomson (SCO) 8-11, 11-1, 11-6,
11-9 (45m)
Sana Ibrahim (EGY) bt [9/16] Farida Mohamed (EGY) 11-9, 9-11, 11-3,
5-11, 11-4 (47m)
[4] Olivia Fiechter (USA) bye
[3] Nele Gilis (BEL) bye
[9/16] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) bt Mariam Metwally (EGY) 11-9, 11-7, 13-11
(30m)
Lucy Turmel (ENG) bt [9/16] Hollie Naughton (CAN) 11-9, 6-11, 14-12,
11-9 (53m)
[7] Salma Hany (EGY) bye
[8] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bye
Mélissa Alves (FRA) bt [9/16] Emily Whitlock (WAL) 11-8, 11-8, 11-1
(31m)
[9/16] Nadine Shahin (EGY) bt Hana Ramadan (EGY) 11-7, 12-10, 12-10
(26m)
[2] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) bye |
Final
Fiechter Downs Kennedy to Win 2023 DAC Pro Squash
Classic
The USA's Olivia Fiechter produced a spectacular performance to beat
England's Georgina Kennedy in the final of the DAC Pro Squash Classic
and win the biggest title of her career to date.
The World No.11, who had lost to Kennedy in the final of the
Bronze-level Carol Weymuller Open in January, put in a performance of
both quality and determination to win 3-1 at the Detroit Athletic Club.
Despite Fiechter's higher seeding, there were plenty who pointed to
Kennedy as the favourite in tonight's Silver-level final, with over 75
percent of a poll of 900 squash fans feeling the Englishwoman was the
most likely winner.
That confidence in Kennedy was perhaps understandable, given the
25-year-old's title at last week's Cleveland Classic and her 3-0
head-to-head record against the US No.2, with their last match Kennedy's
3-0 Carol Weymuller Open win.
Fiechter made a mockery of those predictions as she made an ideal start
to the match, opening a comfortable lead at 7-2 in game one, with the
27-year-old keeping Kennedy at the back of the court well and reducing
the pace of play.
The World No.9 was able to exert some pressure as she began to reel in
the American to 7-5, but slipped to a 1-0 deficit as Fiechter's
consistency delivered an 11-7 win.
Fiechter then doubled her lead with a superb performance in game two,
blowing the Englishwoman away with a comprehensive 11-5 win in nine
minutes.
No.8 seed Kennedy came back furiously in the third game, going on the
attack and volleying early as she won the first seven points on the way
to an 11-6 victory.
Fiechter’s performance in game four was one that combined skill and grit
in equal measure.
After slipping to 7-4 down against an increasingly assured Kennedy, the
US No.2 clung on desperately, chasing every ball no matter how lost it
appeared. This surge flipped the momentum of the game, with the World
No.11 moving to championship ball at 10-9, which she converted at the
first attempt to the thunderous applause of the crowd.
“I think it’s going to take a while for that to sink in!” Fiechter said
afterwards.
“It was such a tough battle, like every point you play against Gina.
That’s the first win I have over her and the whole day and throughout
the match I was just focusing on playing my game and believing in
myself.
“I had some gritty wins this week that helped me with my self-belief and
told myself that I had to do it. The fact that I’m here now, as the
champion, is crazy.”
At the trophy presentation, Fiechter and Kennedy thanked the Detroit
Athletic Club, fans and sponsors, as well as their respective support
teams.
Kennedy added: "I want to congratulate Liv for a great tournament. You
really deserved to win today, you were the better player and I'm really
happy for you!"
For both Fiechter and Kennedy, attention turns to the Silver-level Bahl
and Gaynor Cincinnati Gaynor Cup, which takes place 12-16 February.
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Semi Finals
Fiechter and Kennedy to Contest Second Final in a
Month
The USA’s Olivia Fiechter and England’s Georgina Kennedy will contest
their second final in the space of a month after overcoming Olivia Clyne
and Salma Hany, respectively, at the Detroit Athletic Club.
In the first match of the evening, Fiechter avenged her Cleveland
Classic semi final defeat by coming from behind to beat compatriot Clyne.
The 27-year-old, who fell to the unseeded Clyne 3-0 last week, appeared
to be heading for another defeat when Clyne took the first game 11-7
thanks to aggressive play at the front.
Fiechter then drew level after an entertaining 12-10 win in game two,
before pulling away from 5-4 down to an 11-5 winner in the third as she
upped the physicality and Clyne’s length faltered.
The ending of the third game appeared to give the No.4 seed confidence,
and Fiechter pushed on well to reach the final at her first time at the
DAC with an 11-6 win in game four.
Afterwards, Fiechter said: “I think today was less about revenge and
more about the squash. To Liv’s credit, she’s been playing incredible
squash, playing and moving extremely well and she made it really tough
for me in Cleveland, but I felt I didn’t give my best performance and
had more to give.
“So, tonight was simply about stepping up and bringing out a stronger
physical and mental performance.”
Joining Fiechter in the final is English No.8 seed Kennedy, who beat
Fiechter in the final of January’s Carol Weymuller Open.
Kennedy’s return to fitness and form was further underlined tonight in a
convincing win over the Egyptian No.7 seed.
The last time the pair met, in the third round of the 2022 CIB Black
Ball Open, there was little to separate them, with Kennedy coming
through a tight encounter 3-1.
The beginning of tonight’s match was similarly close, with the brilliant
coverage of Kennedy being matched by the attacking instincts of Hany.
However, after the early exchanges, Kennedy was able to put together a
spectacular scoring run to move from 4-4 to 11-4.
The second game followed a similar pattern to the first, with Kennedy
weathering the early attack of Hany before countering as she took a 2-0
lead with an 11-5 win from 5-5.
Hany showed greater fight in the third game as she pushed Kennedy hard,
punishing loose shots efficiently and looked set to pull a game back
when she opened up a 9-7 lead.
Kennedy, however, dug in brilliantly and put together another scoring
run as she clinched the match in three with an 11-9 victory.
“I’m really happy and pleased to get off in three. Salma’s such a tricky
opponent; she’s so skilful and hits the ball as well as anyone in the
game. She’s so dangerous and I knew I had to concentrate in every rally,
because every rally was a mental battle as well. I knew, as soon as I
missed my target the ball was going to be fired in short and it was
probably going to be a winner,” Kennedy said after the match.
The final will be played tomorrow (February 11) from 16:30 (GMT-5). The
action will be streamed live and free on the PSA website, and live on
SQUASHTV.
For more information on the event, Where available see the
PSA Live Scores page, or
follow on
PSAChallengerTourLivestreams,
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram
&
TikTok. Selected
events will also be streamed live on
SQUASHTV
|
Quarter Finals
Top Three Seeds Crash Out
The top three seeds crashed out in the quarter finals of the DAC Pro
Squash Classic as No.1 seed Joelle King fell to the USA’s Olivia Clyne
(above), No.2 seed Rowan Elaraby went down to England’s Georgina Kennedy
and No.3 seed Nele Gilis lost to Egypt’s Salma Hany.
In the day’s first match at the Detroit Athletic Club, 2019 champion
Clyne continued her spectacular recent form in a brilliant performance
that saw her reach her third DAC Pro semi final.
The World No.17, who had never beaten the Kiwi in five previous attempts
on the tour, played immaculately from the beginning, racing away from
5-5 to an 11-5 win in game one.
Clyne, whose reading of King was excellent all night, took a 2-0 lead
thanks to an 11-9 win, but was pegged back by the inevitable response of
King, who took the third game 11-6.
Clyne, playing in her 350th match on the tour, did not appear concerned,
and resumed the aggressive and accurate approach that served so well
last week in Cleveland and in Detroit to take the match with a deserved
11-6 win in game four.
“This felt like my 350th match this week!” Clyne joked afterwards.
She added: “I feel fantastic. At this point, I wake up and do the same
thing every day. It seems to be working, so hopefully match 351 is very
similar to today!”
In a rematch of the Cleveland Classic semi final last week, the
30-year-old will face compatriot and US No.2 Olivia Fiechter, who was
given a far tougher test by Nada Abbas than she may have expected after
taking the opening game 11-1.
Despite the crushing opening game defeat, Abbas fought back well to
level at 1-1 before going 2-1 down. The Egyptian appeared to have
battled back yet again when she had two game balls at 10-8 in the
fourth, but could not convert, with Fiechter hanging tough to edge the
contest with a 13-11 victory.
In the other half of the draw, Kennedy continued to build on her
impressive Clevland Classic title win with a straight-games victory over
Elaraby.
The first two games were tight affairs that could have gone either way,
with both players having game balls in each.
It was Kennedy, however, who was able to marshal her nerves best to take
both, with the No.8 seed then pressing on to take the third game 11-7.
“Today was one of those days when I felt really good, even though the
rallies were really tough in that and we were moving each other around,
I felt like I had so much energy and I could have carried on forever at
that fast pace!” Kennedy said afterwards.
Hany, Kennedy’s opponent tomorrow, also progressed in three games, with
the attack-minded World No.12 getting the better of Belgian World No.10
Gilis, who appeared to be lacking her usual relentless energy.
The semi finals will be played tomorrow (February 10) from 17:00
(GMT-5). The action will be streamed live and free on the PSA website,
and live on
SQUASHTV.
For more information on the event, Where available see the
PSA Live Scores page, or follow
on
PSAChallengerTourLivestreams,
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram
&
TikTok. Selected
events will also be streamed live on
SQUASHTV
|
Round 2
USA's Clyne Sends No.5 Seed Gilis Out
The USA’s Olivia Clyne is through to the quarter finals of the DAC Pro
Squash Classic after dispatching Belgian No.5 seed Tinne Gilis in three
games, while Egypt’s Nada Abbas came from behind to knock out Welsh No.6
seed Tesni Evans.
World No.17 Clyne, who last week reached the final of the Cleveland
Classic as an unseeded player, went into the match having lost her
previous two meetings against Gilis, but was buoyed by the knowledge
that the World No.13 was struggling with injury.
Sure enough, the Belgian found Clyne’s pace and accuracy too much to
handle, with the American racing into a 2-0 lead before converting the
third game 11-7.
World No.24 Abbas, meanwhile, looks to be growing in confidence after a
gutsy performance saw her beat World No.14 Tesni Evans 3-1 after losing
the opening game.
Elsewhere, top seed Joelle King of New Zealand survived a tough
encounter with Egypt's Yathreb Adel to safely progress.
The quarter finals will be played tomorrow (February 9) from 16:45
(GMT-5). Action from court 7 will be streamed live and free on the PSA
website.
For more information on the event, Where available see the
PSA Live Scores page, or
follow on
PSAChallengerTourLivestreams,
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram
&
TikTok. Selected
events will also be streamed live on
SQUASHTV.
|
Round 1
Ibrahim Stuns Mohamed
World No.37 Sana Ibrahim sprang the shock of the day as she downed
compatriot and World No.16 Farida Mohamed in five games as the 2023 DAC
Pro Squash Classic got underway.
Ibrahim went into the match at the Detroit Athletic Club with a 2-0
losing record against Mohamed but put in an inspired performance to win
11-9, 9-11, 11-3, 5-11, 11-4 in 47minutes.
There were two more rankings upsets on day one as Egypt's World No.33
Yathreb Adel won her 150th PSA World Tour match by defeating South
Africa's World No.25 Alexandra Fuller and England's World No.34 Lucy
Turmel beat Canada's World No.18 Hollie Naughton.
For the hosts, Olivia Clyne and Sabrina Sobhy progressed to the next
round, where they will join American compatriot and No.4 seed Olivia
Fiechter - who received a first round bye - after wins over Hong Kong's
Chan Sin Yuk and Egypt's Mariam Metwally.
Elsewhere, Egypt's Nada Abbas marked her return to action by coming from
behind to beat Scottish wildcard Alison Thomson to earn a 100th win on
the tour.
The seeded players will join the action tomorrow (February 8) when round
two gets underway at 16:45 (GMT-5). Action from court 7 will be streamed
live and free on the PSA website.
For more information on the event, Where available see the
PSA Live Scores page, or
follow on
PSAChallengerTourLivestreams,
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram
&
TikTok. Selected
events will also be streamed live on
SQUASHTV.
|
Preview
King Headlines DAC Pro Squash Classic
Joelle King
World No.4 Joelle King will travel to Detroit, USA, as the top seed in
the 2023 DAC Pro Squash Classic, following the release of the draw
today.
The New Zealand No.1 will be hoping to improve on a quarter-final exit
in the Bronze-level 2021 tournament, with this year’s event – which has
returned after a one-year hiatus and will be played 7-11 February 2023 –
being upgraded to Silver.
Should the 34-year-old live up to her seeding at the Detroit Athletic
Club, it would see her scoop the largest share of the $82,500 USD prize
pot.
Also hoping to secure honours are No.2 and 3 seeds Rowan Elaraby of
Egypt and Nele Gilis of Belgium. Both players appeared in the first
edition of the tournament, a 30K Challenger Event in 2019, with Elaraby
reaching the semi-finals and Gilis losing out in the final to the USA’s
Olivia Clyne.
Leading the home hopes is No.4 seed Olivia Fiechter. The World No.10 is
making her DAC Pro debut and will join the rest of the seeded players in
the second round, where she will meet the winner of an all-Egyptian
clash between World No.16 Farida Mohamed and World No.35 Sana Ibrahim.
Fiechter is joined by two of her compatriots, with Sabrina Sobhy and
2019 champion Olivia Clyne both playing in the first round. World No.15
Sobhy takes on Egypt’s World No.31 Mariam Metwally, while World No.20
Clyne faces Hong Kong’s World No.36 Chan Sin Yuk.
Completing the seedings are No.5 seed and Nele’s younger sister, Tinne
Gilis of Belgium, Wales’ No.6 seed Tesni Evans, Egypt’s No.7 seed Salma
Hany and England’s No.8 seed Georgina Kennedy.
Coverage of this year’s DAC Pro Squash Classic will be bigger and better
than ever, with the SQUASHTV Lite cameras being present for the first
time to capture the action. Further streaming information will follow in
due course.
For more information on the event, Where available see the
PSA Live Scores page, or
follow on
PSAChallengerTourLivestreams,
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram
&
TikTok. Selected
events will also be streamed live on
SQUASHTV.
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