Sivasangari stays cool to overcome veteran and book quarters ticket

PETALING JAYA: National squash player S. Sivasangari is on cloud nine after storming into the quarter-finals of the DAC Pro Squash Classic in Detroit.

Repeating the feat: It was Sivasangari’s second win against the 37-year-old Alison Waters (inset) after defeating the veteran in the second round of the 2019 US Open.

The 22-year-old, who is ranked 30th in the world, stayed cool throughout 37 minutes to upstage world No. 18 and eighth seed Alison Waters of England 11-9, 2-11, 11-7, 11-6 in the second round.

It was Sivasangari’s second win against the 37-year-old Waters after defeating the veteran in the second round of the 2019 US Open with a score of 11-5, 4-11, 11-7, 11-9.

She will now face Belgium’s world No. 25 Tinne Gillis for the first time in the Professional Squash Association (PSA) circuit.

Sivasangari said it was tough playing against the seasoned Waters but she was happy with the way she had performed.

“I’m pleased with my performance. Playing Allison is tough because she’s very skilful and has a lot of experience on tour,” said Sivasangari.

“I tried to stick to my game plan today, and I’m happy that it worked. I hope to continue with this momentum in the quarter-finals.

Having not played against Gillis before, Sivasangari knows it will not be easy.

“Tinne is a strong player and she’s improved a lot over the past few years. It’s going to be anoth er big battle for me. I hope to play well and not put so much pressure on myself,” she said.

“I want to enjoy myself here.”

Sivasangari admitted that she had been hard on herself in the past.

“I didn’t set any target for myself in this tournament because it would add a lot of pressure on me. All these self expectations had been tough on me lately.

“I’ve always put a lot of pressure on myself to get to a certain level in the past few tournaments, but it hasn’t been working well.

“For now, I want to relax and enjoy the match,” she added.