In the women’s draw, World No.1 Nour El Sherbini continued to show her dominance as she took just 23 minutes to dispatch India’s World No.10 Joshna Chinappa to book her place in the last eight.
El Sherbini, who won her fifth World Championship title last month in Chicago, will face compatriot Nadine Shahin in the next round after she reached her maiden Platinum quarter final following her 3-1 victory over Malaysia’s Rachel Arnold.
“There’s a huge difference between 1-1 and 2-0 up,” said El Sherbini. “I didn’t want to lose the second game and make the match longer, I just tried to refocus and get my game plan back and try to win every point. It was a huge advantage to me to win the second game.
“She’s [Shahin] really good, in beating Salma and Rachel in two tough matches. Being in the quarter final of the British Open is something really big for her and I’m sure she’s going to be excited and looking forward to this match and I’m also going to be excited and looking forward to it. It’s always hard playing an Egyptian, I didn’t play her a lot actually but I’m looking forward to it.”
Elsewhere, USA’s Amanda Sobhy had her own powerful performance as she came out on top in the all-American battle against World No.13 Olivia Clyne.
Sobhy held the advantage going into the match with eight wins to Clyne’s one in the head-to-head record and the No.6 seed continue that run of dominance as she hit clean lines and found all of her targets to ensure she advanced and marked her name as one of the contenders for the women’s title.
“The court is definitely going to take an attacking ball in, which is nice,” said Sobhy. “But it rewards good length too. I think the level is so strong for the women, especially at the top that it’s basically whoever shows up on the day can pull the win, whether that’s for the seed or against – it makes things exciting and keeps me on my toes. I’m just going to try and keep enjoying being out here.”
For Sobhy in the last eight it will be Egypt’s Rowan Elaraby after she reached her first quarter final at the British Open with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Canada’s Danielle Letourneau.
The 21-year-old didn’t put a foot wrong as she axed the Canadian, who struggled to get into the match after receiving a walkover yesterday due to the withdrawal of France’s Camille Serme, 11-4, 11-3, 11-3.
“I’m really pleased with my performance today,” said Elaraby in her post-match interview. “I’ve had a tough time travelling abroad over this period of time, being away from my family, home and friends – it’s been really hard. I’ve been working on myself and I’m really glad I fought and with my performance, I’m happy to be through.
“I’m looking forward to playing Amanda on the glass court, I can’t wait.”
Round three of the British Open takes continues tomorrow (August 19) and play starts at 12:00 (GMT+1). Action from the Allam Sport Centre will be broadcast live on SQUASHTV and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour (excluding Europe & Japan).
For updates on the Allam British Open, please visit the official tournament website or follow the event on Twitter.
Results - Third Round: Women’s 2021 Allam British Open
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt Joshna Chinappa (IND) 3-0: 11-4, 11-9, 11-1 (23m)
Nadine Shahin (EGY) bt Rachel Arnold (MAS) 3-1: 8-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-9 (45m)
[6] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt Olivia Clyne (USA) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-4 (30m)
Rowan Elaraby (EGY) bt Danielle Letourneau (CAN) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-3 (24m)
Draw - Women's Third Round (Bottom Half): To Be Played August 19th
[4] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) v Melissa Alves (FRA)
Sabrina Sobhy (USA) v [7] Joelle King (NZL)
Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) v Donna Lobban (AUS)
Tesni Evans (WAL) v [2] Nouran Gohar (EGY)
Draw – Women’s Quarter Finals (Top Half): To Be Played August 20th
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) v Nadine Shahin (EGY)
[6] Amanda Sobhy (EGY) v Rowan Elaraby (EGY)
