File photo of Sivasangari in action. – Picture from manchesteropensquash.com
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 5 – National women’s squash player S. Sivasangari put on a sterling display to overcome a higher ranked opponent to advance to the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Gaynor Cup 2022 tournament in Ohio, USA.
In the quarterfinals at the Cincinnati Country Club early this morning, the 2018 Asian Games silver medallist easily defeated world 23rd ranked player Tinne Gilis from Belgium in straight sets.
At the beginning of the first set, Sivasangari had no problem leading 8-4 before Gilis bounced back to tie the score at 10-10, but the 26th ranked player managed to control the pace of the game to collect two valuable points to confirm a 12-10 victory.
In the second set, Sivasangari whitewashed Gilis 11-2 victory before clinching the third in 11-8.
In the semi-finals scheduled to take place tomorrow morning, Sivasangari will meet host player and fifth seed Olivia Fiechter, who upset compatriot and second seed Amanda Sobhy in the quarterfinals.
Prior to this, two national players Aifa Azman and Rachel Arnold had exited the tournament earlier after being knocked out in the first and second rounds respectively. – Bernama