KUALA LUMPUR – National squash player S. Sivasangari pulled off a huge upset at the London Squash Classic earlier this morning when she defeated world number one Nour El Sherbini of Egypt in the quarter-finals.
The world number 16 had an uphill task but managed to snatch a straight-sets win against the seven-time world champion.
Sivasangari won 11-9, 11-9 in 24 minutes.
With this win, Sivasangari becomes the first player ranked outside of the top 10 to beat the 28-year-old since 2015.
“I respect Sherbini a lot. She is a seven-time world champ… it is crazy for someone like her still very young to be on that level. She has set the bar really high.
“Today I just went into the match trying not to overthink and just enjoy my squash. I went in with a game plan and it worked out well,” the 25-year-old told the PSA World Tour in a post-match interview.
She used the best-of-three format at this tournament to her advantage to put pressure on her opponent early.
“I went in a bit more relaxed, focused on trying to get the lead from the start because I knew if I could take the first game, it is do or die for her in the second.
“With Sherbini, you never know, (she can be) five match balls down and can still mount a comeback and win the whole match.
“I was trying to live in the moment and take things point by point… even though I was leading most of the time, I just tried to reset and refocus with each point.
“That was the main thing, and I think I did well today,” added Sivasangari.
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