Ka Yi Lee Stuns No.2 Seed To Reach Maiden Bronze Semi In NY

In a blockbuster third day of action at the 2024 Open Squash Classic in New York, Hong Kong's Ka Yi Lee defeated world No.14 Nada Abbas and No.3 seed Miguel Rodriguez battled up-and-comer Mohamad Zakaria in a 75-minute epic.

In the standout performance of the night, world No.48 Lee earned her first World Tour semi-final with an impressive win - her second successive seeding upset in the event - over the second-seeded Egyptian.

The first game was very evenly-matched, but Lee began to find her shots better, and edged the opener 11-9. The No.2 seed responded well in game two, cutting out any errors and convincingly winning 11-6 to restore parity in the match.

Lee was going for plenty of shots as the match developed and the tactic paid off as the Hong Kong player hit drop shots in both corners to great success, saving two game balls at 9-10 and 10-11 before hitting a dying length into the back right corner to take a 2/1 lead.

The court seemed to suit Lee's aggressive playing style well, and the world No.48 pushed on to take the fourth game and earn a spot in the semi-finals over a player ranked 34 places above her.

"I'm very happy now," said Lee after her victory. "This is one of the best wins on my tour."

"Today, I started slowly. I didn't really get my own pace at the beginning of the first game. Gradually I tried to play my shots, play my length and get my rhythm. I'm glad that I had some good shots on my backhand side."

In the final men's quarter-final, 38-year-old Colombian Rodriguez beat out 17-year-old Egyptian prodigy Zakaria in a fast and aggressive three-game affair.

The match, despite lasting only three games long, lived up to the crowd's expectations as it saw the explosive, exciting squash the 'Colombian Cannonball' has become famed for.

The 21-year age gap didn't seem to affect either player as they matched up in a exhibition of long and aggressive rallies. Rodriguez controlled the pace of play throughout, and despite some fantastic finishes from the young Egyptian, it wasn't enough to thwart the 2018 British Open champion as he took the first two games.

Zakaria mounted a last-minute offensive in the third game, saving four match balls before Rodriguez played a forehand drop into the front right to claim his place in Wednesday's semi-finals.

In the first quarter-final of the day, Katie Malliff continued her strong start to the 2023/24 season, reaching her second World Tour semi-final following her NASH Cup win in September.

The Englishwoman, who came back from 2/0 behind to win her previous match against Marina Stefanoni, started strong and found her length well despite it being her first encounter of the tournament on the glass court.

The No.6 seed looked as though she would earn a straight-game victory as she quickly won the first two games 11-9, 11-7, but Arnold rallied back in the third game. The Malaysian hit seven consecutive points from 4-6 down to halve the deficit to 2/1, but Malliff rediscovered her early form and claimed an 11-8 fourth-game win to earn her place in Wednesday's semi-finals.

Asked about her spectacular start to the season, Malliff said, "It comes down to hard summer's training I'd say. I've just been doing a lot of working on fitness especially and I feel like that's definitely paid off."

Elsewhere, Canada's Hollie Naughton came out on top of a brutal five-game encounter with No.3 seed Mariam Metwally, top seeds Marwan ElShorbagy and Farida Mohamed both earned their places in the semi-finals, and Victor Crouin and Greg Lobban won out in straight games.