Elise Battles To Hurghada Quarter-Finals

Hong Kong's unseeded Elise Ng caused one of two upsets on the second day of first round action in the Hurghada International when she beat fifth-seeded Malaysian Tricia Chuah after recovering from a two-game deficit in the WISPA World Tour Silver event staged on all-glass court on The Plaza in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada.

Demonstrating the same form which took her to her maiden Tour title in the Hellendoorn Open last month in the Netherlands, Ng defeated Chuah 5-9, 1-9, 9-5, 10-8, 9-1 in 56 minutes.

England's unseeded Lauren Siddall also claimed a confidence-boosting win on the all-glass court when she upset No8 seed Joshna Chinappa, the Indian number one from Chennai ranked 15 places higher, 9-7, 9-2, 9-4 in 29 minutes.

Siddall, the 22-year-old Norwegian Open champion from Pontefract in Yorkshire, fought back from 2-7 down in the first game - and maintained her authority thereafter.

"She came out pretty quickly, but at 7/2 down I hit a couple of lucky shots that gave me confidence," said Siddall, candidly. "Actually, I like glass courts in general as they give me time and the chance to see the ball."

In her first appearance in a WISPA Silver quarter-final, Siddall will now face Australia's top seed Rachael Grinham, a two-times winner of the title and finalist for the past four years. Grinham, a Cairo resident for a number of years, despatched Egyptian qualifier Salma Shabana - a former world No20 and now mother of two young children - 9-7, 9-1, 9-3.

The packed crowd roared third-seeded Egyptian Engy Kheirallah on to a 9-1, 9-2, 9-4 victory over future Indian star Dipika Pallikal, a 15-year-old qualifier from Chennai who is currently based in Cairo under the tutelage of Egyptian Mohamed Hafiz.

"I was very nervous at the beginning, playing on the glass court, but the fun of everybody cheering for Engy let me enjoy it and I went for it," said the youngster after her Tour debut.

1st round:
[1] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [Q] Salma Shabana (EGY) 9-7, 9-1, 9-3 (27m)
Lauren Siddall (ENG) bt [8] Joshna Chinappa (IND) 9-7, 9-2, 9-4 (29m)
[3] Engy Kheirallah (EGY) bt [Q] Dipika Pallikal (IND) 9-1, 9-2, 9-4 (24m)
Elise Ng (HKG) bt [5] Tricia Chuah (MAS) 5-9, 1-9, 9-5, 10-8, 9-1 (56m)