PETALING JAYA: Old memories came flooding back as S. Sivasangari marched into the Hong Kong Football Club Open final once again.
The world No. 7 women’s squash player showed her class when she swept past world No. 19 Melissa Alves of France 11-7, 11-5, 11-4 in just 26 minutes at the Hong Kong Football Club Squash Centre yesterday.
The 26-year-old had earlier beaten Hong Kong’s Ho Tze Lok 11-2, 11-6, 13-15, 11-9 in the second round. The venue seems to be a lucky place for top seed Sivasangari as she had only dropped one set so far.
“I really enjoy playing here. It’s here that I won two years ago,” said Sivasangari.
“I played Melissa (Alves) last year and this was our second meeting. She’s not an easy player, and I think I just tried to find my game well on court.
“I’m just happy to have made it to the final.”
Sivasangari defeated Alves in Malaysia’s first match against France at the World Team Championships last year, which was held at the same venue in Hong Kong.
Either facing third seed Egyptian Fayrouz Aboelkheir or second seed Amanda Sobhy of the United States in the final, Sivasangari said she hoped to be in the best shape to defend her title in the tournament that had been upgraded from bronze-level to silver-level.
“Right now, I just want to recover well and try my best in the final.
“It’s another day, and another game. I’m just taking it step by step and hope I can win again,” she said.
However, in the men’s category, seventh seed Ng Eain Yow’s run ended in the quarter-finals after he fell 9-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-7, 8-11 to second seed Karim Gawad of Egypt in a hard-fought 69-minute game.
