ElShorbagy and CIB Gohar Headline San Fan Open Draws
The draws for the NetSuite Open, PSA World Tour Gold tournament have been released with the event set to bring squash back to San Francisco between 23rd and 27th September.
Best of Three except for the Finals
This year’s event will see all 30 matches played on the Glass Court situated on the Embarcadero Plaza in the shadow of the iconic San Francisco Ferry Building. A best-of-three games format will be used once again at the event up to and including the semi-finals, with both title deciders reverting to best of five.
Mohamed ElShorbagy, the current World No.1, will be the top seed for the men’s event in San Francisco, and his campaign will start against compatriot CIB Mohamed Abouelghar in a tough first round fixture.
He then faces the possibility of meeting either Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez or 2016 World Champion CIB Karim Abdel Gawad in the quarter-finals. Either Paul Coll – who won the historic Allam British Open last week – or younger brother CIB Marwan ElShorbagy await in the semis, before a possible meeting with familiar foe Farag in the final.
CIB Ali Farag will be the No.2 seed for the tournament but will return to World No.1 ahead of the tournament, with his run to the final of the British Open ensuring he will overtake ElShorbagy on September 1. A mouthwatering first round clash against CIB PSA World Tour Finals winner Mostafa Asal awaits Farag, while either CIB Fares Dessouky or India’s Saurav Ghosal will lie in wait for his last eight encounter.
From there, Farag could face either World No.3 CIB Tarek Momen or Peru’s Diego Elias in the last four before a potential meeting with Mohamed ElShorbagy in the final, one that could have a large say in the battle for World No.1
World No.2 CIB Nouran Gohar heads the women’s draw as she makes her San Fran Open debut and she begins her campaign against Canadian No.1 Hollie Naughton. She could then face either another Canadian in Danielle Letourneau, or Egypt’s CIB Salma Hany in the second round.
The former British Open champion is then in line to do battle with either compatriot CIB Hania El Hammamy or New Zealand’s Joelle King in the semis, before a possible meeting with either 2015 champ Sobhy or two-time winner Perry in the final.
Men’s Draw
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy v Mohamed Abouelghar
[6] Karim Abdel Gawad v Miguel Rodriguez (COL)
[5] Marwan ElShorbagy v Gregoire Marche (FRA)
[4] Paul Coll (NZL) v Joel Makin (WAL)
[3] Tarek Momen v [WC] Spencer Lovejoy (USA)
Mazen Hesham v [8] Diego Elias (PER)
[7] Fares Dessouky v Saurav Ghosal (IND)
[2] Ali Farag v Mostafa Asal
Women’s Draw
[1] Nouran Gohar v Hollie Naughton (CAN)
[6] Salma Hany v Danielle Letourneau (CAN)
[5] Joelle King (NZL) v Sabrina Sobhy (USA)
[4] Hania El Hammamy v Olivia Clyne (USA)
Rowan Elaraby v [3] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
[7] Joshna Chinappa (IND) v Tinne Gilis (BEL)
[8] Tesni Evans (WAL) v Olivia Fiechter (USA)
Nadine Shahin v [2] Amanda Sobhy (USA)
Following recent mandates from the San Francisco Department of Public Health and to ensure the safest possible experience for fans, supporters, players and the city of San Francisco, the 2021 Oracle NetSuite Open will require proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test taken within 48 hours of admission for all attendees 12 or older.
Action from the tournament will be shown live on SQUASHTV.
