Wee Wern, Nafiizwan through to HK Open first round
- KNG ZHENG GUAN
- Aug 23, 2016
- 2 min read
PETALING JAYA: Low Wee Wern is going from strength to strength after checking into the main draw of the Hong Kong Open.
The 26-year-old, who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury last year, was not in a generous mood as she dispatched England’s Millie Tomlinson 11-7, 12-10, 11-5 at the Hong Kong Football Club on Monday.
It is only the second time this year that the former world No. 5 has won back-to-back matches on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) Tour.
And it also put the Penangite in the main draw of a top level competition for the first time this year. She had earlier fallen short in the qualifying rounds of the Tournament of Champions (TOC) in New York, the Cleveland Classic, the Windy City Open in Chicago and the British Open.
“The match was actually tougher than the scoreline suggested as we had a lot of long rallies,” said Wee Wern.
“But it was good to pick up the win in straight sets and I’m getting better in matches which is definitely an improvement for me.”
The world No. 31 will now have a day’s rest before taking on world No. 11 Alison Waters of England in the first round.
World No. 3 Nicol David, who is gunning for a 12th successive Hong Kong title, is also in action on Wednesday. She meets Welsh qualifier Tesni Evans in the first round.
In the men’s event, national No. 1 Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan survived a tense third set, converting on his fifth matchball opportunity for an 11-7, 11-4, 17-15 win over Finland’s Olli Tuominen.
The world No. 33, who has never got past the first round in four previous attempts (2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015), takes on Egypt’s Mazen Hesham in the tournament proper.
“I played well today and the quality of my shots were good. I’m happy to be through and I’m going to enjoy my match with Mazen,” said Nafiizwan.
National No. 2 Ivan Yuen bowed out after losing 11-13, 11-6, 6-11, 6-11 to world No. 30 Zahed Mohamed of Egypt.
Source: The Star