Sherbini and Sohby through in Round Two at Allam British Open

In the women’s draw, 2019 champion Nouran Gohar got her title defence off to an emphatic start, taking just 26 minutes to secure an 11-2, 11-4, 11-9 victory over compatriot Zeina Mickawy on the glass court.

Gohar – who beat France’s Camille Serme to win the sport’s longest-running tournament two years ago at the Allam Sport Centre – only recently arrived in the UK from the United States but the toll of travelling looked to have little effect on the World No.2 as she refused to give Mickawy even a sniff.

“I have great memories here,” said Gohar. “It’s always good to come back to a place where you have great memories. I think I played well today even though I came from the US. I’ve just been sleeping since I came here, I’ve not been doing anything else.

“But I can’t really complain about the jet lag because I was playing well, so it’s fine.”

She will play World No.11 Tesni Evans in the last 16 after she came out on top in the all-Welsh battle with Emily Whitlock.

Top seed Nour El Sherbini was also in spellbinding form to take her place in the third round after she axed USA’s World No.20 Olivia Fiechter in straight-games.

It was only their second meeting on the PSA World Tour following El Sherbini’s win over Fiechter at last month’s PSA World Championships but, like in Chicago, the Egyptian had too much for her opponent as the two-time British Open champion completed an 11-8, 11-2, 11-6 victory.

El Sherbini, who got her hands on the prestigious British Open trophy in both 2018 and 2016, will come up against India’s Joshna Chinappa in round three after she defeated USA’s Haley Mendez.

“I’m really happy with my performance, I thought it was a tough first round,” said El Sherbini.

“You saw our last meeting in Chicago where she pushed me until the end. I’m playing her in back-to-back tournaments, so I just wanted to play well and maybe make it a bit better than last time. She’s really good, she gets everything and her movement on court is unbelievable.”

Gohar and El Sherbini will be joined in the last 16 by compatriot Nadine Shahin after the World No.16 axed compatriot and World No.9 Salma Hany on the side courts as another seed toppled in round two.

Shahin takes on Malaysia’s Rachel Arnold for a place in the last 16 as the World No.43 caused her own upset to the seedings after taking out home hope Lucy Turmel in straight-games.

“It’s been a while since I beat a top-ten player and it feels good,” said Shahin afterwards. “I hope that helps me push into the top ten myself. I feel confident and very good. After my [Manchester Open second-round defeat to Emily Whitlock] I was down a bit, but I decided I have nothing to lose any way and I would come back stronger and better and that’s what I did.”

Round three of the British Open takes place tomorrow (August 18) 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 - Second Round: Women’s 2021 Allam British Open

[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt Olivia Fiechter (USA) 3-0: 11-8, 11-2, 11-6 (26m)

Joshna Chinappa (IND) bt Haley Mendez (USA) 3-0: 13-11, 13-11, 11-6 (32m)

Rachel Arnold (MAS) bt Lucy Turmel (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-7 (31m)

Nadine Shahin (EGY) bt [8] Salma Hany (EGY) 3-1: 11-7, 12-10, 3-11, 11-8 (34m)

[6] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) 3-1: 9-11, 11-2, 11-6, 11-8 (41m)

Olivia Clyne (USA) bt Milou van der Heijden (NED) 3-2: 10-12, 11-7, 10-12, 11-6, 11-6 (52m)

Rowan Elaraby (EGY) bt Alexandra Fuller (RSA) 3-1: 8-11, 11-3, 11-8, 11-7 (36m)

Danielle Letourneau (CAN) bt [3] Camille Serme (FRA) w/o

[4] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt Hollie Naughton (CAN) 3-0: 11-8, 11-3, 11-8 (36m)

Melissa Alves (FRA) bt Nele Gilis (BEL) 3-2: 6-11, 11-6, 11-8, 4-11, 11-8 (71m)