KUALA LUMPUR: National No. 1 S. Sivasangari, with the help of a mental trainer, hopes to get the better of Egypt's No. 1 Nour El Sherbini in the London Squash Classic tomorrow.
World No. 16 Sivasangari had no problem defeating England's Katie Malliff 11-6, 11-7 to reach the quarter-finals on Thursday.
Nour faced a strong challenge from Tesni Murphy of Wales before prevailing 11-5, 6-11, 11-6.
Eighth seed Sivasangari said she lost to Malliff in their last meeting, but she didn't let it affect her mind.
''I didn't want to think about it (previous loss). I'm pleased to get through.
"The crowd was pretty intimidating when you are playing a local. But it's nice to see a lot of people here. It's a great venue and a nice court, and I'm really happy to be here.
"I had Jesse (Engelbrecht), my mental trainer, here by my side to help me. I had to reset every point and change the pace to break her down a bit," said Sivasangari.
However Asian champion Sivasangari faces an uphill task, having
lost to Nour
In their last two meetings - the Florida Open in January and El Gouna International in Cairo in 2022.
Meanwhile, unseeded C. Ameeshenraj continued his fine run in the Liverpool Cricket Club Open by coming back from a set down to defeat Moustafa Elsirty of Egypt 5-11, 11-6, 6-11, 11-2, 12-10 to reach the semi-finals. He
will face England's second seed Ben Smith next.
In Finland, Malaysia's
top seed Hafiz Zhafri reached the semi-finals in the Hollolan Kuntokeidas Open after coming back from a set down to beat eighth seed Louai Hafez of Switzerland 11-13, 11-9, 23-21, 8-11, 11-4.
Hafiz will take on France's third seed Manuel Paquemar next.