World No. 7 Amanda Sobhy and Olivia Blatchford Clyne are both through to the quarterfinals of the Platinum CIB Black Ball Open following third round play Monday, March 15, in Cairo, Egypt.
Sobhy, the six seed, was the first to book her spot in the quarterfinals thanks to a clinical three-game victory over Egypt’s world No. 34 Farida Mohamed 11-8, 11-6, 11-4 in twenty-seven minutes.
“Normally I’m one of the stronger players on Tour, but she’s young and she’s hungry and so it’s kind of for her like if I was playing one of the guys back home,” Sobhy said. “Fortunately, I’m really used to it – I practice with a lot of guys back home, and they’re way bigger than me, more physical, hit the ball a lot harder – I’m used to it. If she’s going to do that, it’s not really a big deal, I know how to handle it. It spurs me on even more – I’m like ‘ok, if that’s how you want to play, so be it’. I just didn’t let it faze me, I stuck to my game plan. My game is in a good place, I’m feeling good and I knew that whatever she wants to do, she can do and I’m not going to let it faze me.”
Sobhy now faces France’s world No. 3 Camille Serme in Tuesday’s quarterfinals at 6:15pm local time, 12:15pm EDT.
Olivia Fiechter, world No. 33, marked her debut in a Platinum third round with a loss against defending champion and world No. 6 Sarah-Jane Perry 11-7, 11-9, 11-6.
Blatchford Clyne, world No. 13, advanced to the quarterfinals without playing a match after the PSA World Tour announced that Nouran Gohar had withdrawn after a breach of COVID-19 protocols. In what will her second career Platinum quarterfinal appearance, Blatchford Clyne will take on Egypt’s world No. 10 Salma Hany at 8pm local time, 2pm EDT.
The two quarterfinalists mark just the second time two U.S. players have both reached a Platinum quarterfinal round in the same event–a feat Sobhy and Blatchford Clyne first achieved at the 2020 Windy City Open.
Watch live streaming throughout the tournament on PSA World Tour Facebook Live and SquashTV.