Team USA’s Amanda Sobhy will face Egypt’s world No. 1 Raneem El Welily for a second time this season Friday, after the Harvard graduate recorded her second consecutive three-game victory in the Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open Thursday.
Sobhy, the tournament’s eight seed, defeated England’s former world No. 2 Jenny Duncalf 11-8, 11-7, 11-8 in thirty-three minutes in the round of sixteen to reach the last eight.
“Jen’s been playing well with some good wins and she won Monte Carlo, so I knew it was going to be tough, ” Sobhy said. “All three games were close, I would get leads but she’d close them up, so I’m happy to get off in three in the end. Looking forward to getting back onto Center Court tomorrow.”
El Welily will be fresh going into Friday’s quarterfinal after her round of sixteen opponent, Low Wee Wern, retired in the second game just fourteen minutes into the match.
The twenty-six-year-old from Alexandria has never lost to Sobhy in their five encounters on tour, and most recently defeated the American in a three-game China Open semifinal in September.
Sobhy and El Welily will contest their quarterfinal Friday, December 4, at 1:30pm local time, 12:30am ET.
All Hong Kong Open matches are streaming on a delayed schedule on SquashTV through Friday’s quarterfinals.
The semifinals and finals are streaming live from the glass court, Saturday and Sunday respectively, on SquashTV and Tennis Channel Everywhere.
For more information and most recent updates, visit the official tournament page.