Sivasangari storms into quarters, Rachel falls in Ireland

In control: S. Sivasangari beat Marina Stefanoni of the United States 11-6, 11-4, 8-11, 11-5 to march into the quarter-finals.

PETALING JAYA: National squash player S. Sivasangari reached the quarter-finals of the Carol Weymuller Open after beating United States’ young sensation Marina Stefanoni in the second round.

The 23-year-old Malaysian, ranked 22nd in the world, beat Stefanoni 11-6, 11-4, 8-11, 11-5 as she prepares for the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions from May 1-7 in New York.

This is the first time they are meeting in a Professional Squash Association (PSA) competition although both have met several times in the college competitions.

Sivasangari could either face Canada’s Hollie Naughton or Nicole Bunyan in the quarters.

Meanwhile, Rachel Arnold lost to English player Grace Gear in the quarter-finals of the Irish Open.

The world No. 70 Gear was resilient and showed great fighting spirit to shock the world No. 31 Rachel 12-10, 13-11, 8-11, 11-9.

Rachel will now shift her focus to the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions from May 1-7 in New York.

She will face England Jasmine Hutton in the first round of the tournament.