Nada Abbas staged a magnificent comeback from 2-1 down to defeat fellow Egyptian Farida Mohamed in a five-game thriller to reach the semi finals of the Canadian Women\u2019s Squash Open at Brookfield Place, Toronto.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abbas, who also prevailed in five games when the pair met in Karachi at the start of the year, completed the turnaround in 62 minutes to secure a semi-final berth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a stop-start encounter, Mohamed edged 2-1 ahead before Abbas levelled with an 11-8 win in the fourth game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a brief halt in play due to an injury sustained by Mohamed in the fifth, Abbas remained composed to earn three match balls, but failed to capitalise as Mohamed forced a tiebreak. Abbas was given another chance to close out the match and successfully converted after an error from Mohamed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s never easy playing against Farida,\u201d said Abbas post-match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe always attacks and tries to keep the rallies short. I was very edgy today. I just wanted to take it step by step and stay focused and not get frustrated. That was the plan, really.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think tonight I tried to just stay focused; I\u2019ll need that tomorrow. I need to go back and rewatch that tonight and see where I can be better for tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abbas takes on top seed Fayrouz Aboelkheir next, who was awarded a walkover after her opponent Anahat Singh withdrew from their quarter-final due to injury. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
2025 runner-up Gina Kennedy and former champion Tinne Gilis will lock horns in the other semi-final after defeating Sin Yuk Chan and Grace Gear, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kennedy, who lost out to current World No.1 Amina Orfi in last year\u2019s final, battled back from deficits in the first two games to establish a 2-0 lead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chan\u2019s perseverance was rewarded in the third when the World No.30 clinched the tiebreak 12-10 to halve the deficit. Kennedy looked poised to seal the win in the fourth, but squandered two match balls before keeping her cool in the tiebreak to secure a 12-10 victory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI feel quite similar to yesterday \u2013 I was behind in a lot of the games and had to fight my way through,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t feel like I\u2019m hitting my targets as well as I could be. \u2018Simmie\u2019 makes you feel like that in fairness. She was playing really well, and a big thank you to Joelle [King] for helping me through that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s less pressure in the semis. I got a bit frantic trying to win with the ranking difference, and hopefully I can relax a bit more. I need to be more positive and hope to find my best squash tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gilis, meanwhile, cruised into the last four with a comfortable 3-0 success against Gear. The Belgian, who lifted the title in Toronto in 2024, dispatched the Englishwoman 11-5, 11-6, 11-2 in 27 minutes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elsewhere, the remaining quarter finals of the Smart Centres Canada Cup took place at Brookfield Place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
No.2 seed Leonel Cardenas overcame Muhammad Ashab Irfan to book his place in the semi finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cardenas, who won the Cambridge Group of Clubs Classic 2024 and the Toronto Athletic Open 2025, held off Irfan 3-1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Mexican will square off against Dimitri Steinmann following the World No.21\u2019s 3-0 triumph over Melvil Scianimanico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RESULT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Quarter Finals: Canadian Women\u2019s Open <\/strong> Quarter Finals: Canada Cup <\/strong> Nada Abbas staged a magnificent comeback from 2-1 down to defeat fellow Egyptian Farida Mohamed in a five-game<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[37],"class_list":["post-17194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-squash"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
[1] Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) bt. [6] Anahat Singh (IND) 3-0: walkover
[5] Nada Abbas (EGY) bt. [4] Farida Mohamed (EGY) 3-2: 5-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-8, 12-10 (62m)
[3] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bt. Grace Gear (ENG) 3- 0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-2 (27m)
[2] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bt. [7] Sin Yuk Chan (HKG) 3-1: 11-7, 11-9, 10-12, 12-10 (54m)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
[5] Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) bt. Melvil Scianimanico (FRA) 3-0: 11-4, 11-7, 11-8 (56m)
[2] Leonel Cardenas (MEX) bt. Muhammad Ashab Irfan (PAK) 3-1: 11-6, 11-5, 9-11, 11-6 (61m)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"