Day THREE : Quarter-Finals

The 2022 Malaysian Open continues today at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil with eight quarter-final matches in the PSA Gold draws – all on the Glass Court.

Arnold and Mueller upset the seedings

Rachael Arnold and Nicolas Mueller produced quarter-final upsets as they took out fourth seeds Nadine Shahin and Marwan ElShorbagy, to join the top three seeds in the men’s and women’s semi-finals.

Match reports, quotes and photos below the results …

Reports and Reaction

Momen ends Idrakie run

[1] Tarek Momen (Egy) 3-0 Addeen Idrakie (Mas)  11-1, 11-9, 11-6 (29m)

Top seed Tarek Momen came out firing in the opening game and displayed his amazing attacking shots from the very start of the match to silence the home crowd. Idrakie looked like a rabbit in the headlights, being stuck behind the World No.7 for the majority of the first game, losing it 11-1.

Idrakie managed to find a better length in the second game and aided by some errors from Momen, strung a series of points together to trouble the former World Champion. Momen managed to hang on with the physicality of the Malaysian fading, he took. 2-0 lead, winning 11-9.

It wasn’t long before Momen was booking his place in the semi-finals as the efforts of Idrakie in the opening two rounds, looked to be taking its toll on the World No.83 as his legs looked to be lacking the power to chase after Momen’s attacks. Idrakie’s dream run came to an end in 29 minutes.

Fiechter through in three

[1] Olivia Fiechter (Usa) 3-0 [9/16] Yathreb Adel (Egy)    11-9, 12-10, 11-7 (34m)

Women’s top seed Olivia Fiechter made her way through to the semi-finals with a straight games victory over Egypt’s surprise quarter finalist Yathreb Adel.

The USA No.2 didn’t have things all her own way however and was pushed hard by the Egyptian. Adel’s clean striking of the ball was forcing Fiechter away from the middle of the court, giving Adel chances to put the ball into the front two corners. The World No.11 managed to stay strong in the rallies and battle her way back into control and showed her fighting spirit to take a 2-0 lead winning 11-9, 12-10.

The work that Fiechter had put into Adel In the opening two games was starting to take its toll on the Egyptian. The American started to hit the space better on the court and errors started to come from the fading Adel. Despite the Egyptian saving two match balls, it wasn’t enough to deny the top seed her place in the semi-finals.

Mueller downs Marwan to reach final four

[6] Nicolas Mueller (Sui) 3-1 [4] Marwan ElShorbagy (Egy)  11-3, 11-9, 10-12, 11-7 (41m)

Swiss No.1 Nicolas Mueller showcased some excellent squash to record another victory over fourth seed Marwan ElShorbagy to each the semi-finals in Kuala Lumpur.

Mueller steamrolled ElShorbagy in the first game and caught the Egyptian cold as he fired the ball in short with superb accuracy and pace, not giving the World No.6 any chance to get into the opening game. After winning 11-3 in the first game, ElShorbagy started to find his range at the back of the court and force Mueller backwards, where he his far less dangerous. Despite the better squash from ElShorbagy, Mueller earned the first game ball at 10-9 and took it at the first time of asking to double his lead.

Despite ElShorbagy battling back and taking the third game 12-10, it was all about the ‘Swiss Rocket’. Mueller went from strength to strength in the fourth game, finding winners from all over the court and maintaining his position on the ‘T’ for the majority of the game, making the game look very easy as he moved ElShorbagy from corner to corner. He closed out the game 11-7 to beat the Egyptian for the third time this year.

Tesni squeezes into the semis

[3] Tesni Evans (Wal) 3-2 [6] Melissa Alves (Fra)   12-10, 10-12, 11-3, 6-11, 12-10 (70m)

An all-European battle between Wales’ Tesni Evans and France’s Melissa Alves went the way of the Welshwoman in a 70-minute thriller, going right down to the wire.

The first two games were extremely close with both players trying to find a solid length on the court and both seemed reluctant to attack too much to the front corners as they knew the quality that the other player possesses. Evans took the first game 12-10 before Alves levelled by the same scoreline.

Evans came out with a vengeance in the third game and started to express herself on the court, hitting into space to set up numerous attacking opportunities which she took with great style. After losing the third game 11-3, Alves managed to regroup in the fourth game and hit some incredible winners to force a fifth and final game, winning 11-6.

Alves dominated for large parts of the fifth game and ran out to a 7-4 lead, but back came the Welshwoman. Evans hung in the rallies and made it tough for the Frenchwoman to close out the match. The length hitting from the No.3 seeds improved and errors came from Alves’ racket to take Evans to 10-8 and hold 2 match balls. Despite Alves levelling, Evans was able to close out the game 12-10 and move into the semi-finals after 70 minutes of squash.

Hesham races past Rooney

[3] Mazen Hesham (Egy) 3-0 [8] Patrick Rooney (Eng)   11-5, 11-6, 11-3 (22m)

Egypt’s third seed Mazen Hesham cruised past an out-of-sorts No.8 seed Patrick Rooney to set up a semi-final against Joel Makin. Hesham was dominant throughout as the Englishman struggled with the Egyptian’s variety of pace and attacking flair, with Hesham needing just 22 minutes to beat Rooney 11-5, 11-6, 11-3.

Rachel recovers to reach semis

[8] Rachel Arnold (Mas) 3-1 [4] Nadine Shahin (Egy)   6-11, 11-1, 11-9, 11-9 (36m)

Malaysia’s eighth seed Rachel Arnold came from behind to get beat No.4 seed Nadine Shahin and progress to the semi-finals, where she will face Nele Gilis.

In an uneven match, Arnold – playing in her ninth Malaysian Open – fell behind after dropping the first game 11-6, only to come storming back in the second with a brutal 11-1 win. Both players went on scoring runs in the third game, with Arnold better able to manage the flow of the match with a hard-fought 11-9 win.

In the fourth game, which was briefly interrupted by a shoulder injury to Shahin, Arnold was able to complete the upset, with the 26-year-old recording another 11-9 win to proceed to the semi-finals for the first time since 2019.

Makin makes the semis

[2] Joel Makin (Wal) 3-0 [5] Miguel Rodriguez (Col)  11-8, 11-7, 14-12 (64m)

In the first men’s quarter-final, Welsh secons seed Joel Makin impressed as he dispatched fifthseed Miguel Rodriguez of Colombia in straight games.

Makin, playing in his third consecutive quarter-final on the tour this season, looked strong throughout, particularly on the backhand, as he effectively countered the attacking ambitions of Rodriguez.

After Makin took the first two games 11-8, 11-7, Rodriguez pushed hard in the third as the rallies grew longer. The Colombian had a game ball at 10-9, but was unable to convert as Makin forced a tie break. Both players then had game ball opportunities, until Makin eventually broke through to seal the match 14-12 on a stroke decision.

Nele knocks out defending champ Aifa

[2] Nele Gilis (Bel) 3-0 [5] Aifa Azman (Mas)  11-9, 11-4, 11-2 (32m)

In the day’s first match, Belgian second seed Nele Gilis was in confident form as she knocked out defending champion and Malaysian fifth seed Aifa Azman in straight games.

Gilis edged an even first game 11-9 before kicking on and dominating the second, which she won 11-4. Azman, who last year caused one of the shocks of the season when she won this event as a wildcard, was unable to produce an escape in the third game, with World No.14 Gilis cruising to victory with an 11-2 win.