In an incredible performance, USA’s Amanda Sobhy sensationally dispatched top seed and World No.2 Nouran Gohar in straight games in the second quarter-final.
Sobhy, who has played out a number of fiery encounters with Gohar in recent seasons, came into today’s match on the back of a nine-match losing record against ’the Terminator’.
Early on in game one, Gohar looked likely to extend this record, with the Egyptian earning four game balls at 10-6.
The American, however, responded emphatically, scoring six consecutive points to stun Gohar.
The World No.5 picked up where she left off in game two, attacking confidently and taking on Gohar’s famed power as she doubled her lead with an 11-9 win.
In a scarcely believable third game, Sobhy was simply unstoppable, firing past a shell-shocked Gohar as she conceded just a single point to complete the rout in 32 minutes.
“It was a long time coming, we’ve played a lot of times and our head-to-heads have been close, but since 2019 she’s beaten me.
“Every time I play her, I’m not afraid anymore. I want to play her because it gives me that much more confidence going in against her.
“I was excited to know that I was going to face again here in Qatar after last week in Paris.
“I learned a lot in Paris and I translated it into Qatar, hopefully you can see a different version of me, especially emotionally. I’m so pumped.
“I sometimes get off to a slow start and with her pace it’s easy to get blown out of the court, but even when I was 10-6 down, I felt like I was still in it and I just thought that I had nothing to lose.
“It felt very relaxed and I just wanted to go out there and take it to her and I’m just glad it payed off.”
On her telephone celebration, she added: ”I saw that at the US Open, Ben Shelton did it, then [Novak] Djokovic did it on Ben Shelton and I just absolutely love the savageness of it, so when I saw that happen I was like, ‘I have to do it, I have to do it’ so that’s been my incentive to want to do it so it might be getting old, but I’m going to roll with it – it’s working.”
Result: QTerminals Qatar Classic Women’s Quarter Final
[7] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt [1] Nouran Gohar (EGY) 3-0: 12-10, 11-9, 11-1 (32m)
Source: PSA World Tour