Malik & Murphy Win in Five as Texas Open Gets Underway in Houston

Curtis Malik and Tesni Murphy both recorded five-game wins as action got underway at the Cotidie Texas Open 2025, while Youssef Ibrahim avoided a major upset to set up a second-round clash with favourite Ali Farag.

This year's event is the first edition of the PSA Squash Tour Gold tournament at Houston Squash Club to feature both a men's and women's draw simultaneously, with two glass courts being used for the round one matches.

The all-glass show court - initially built for last year's WSF World Junior Squash Championships - hosted eight of the first-round matches, including Ibrahim's encounter with wildcard Muhammad Ashab Irfan, but it was the permanent glass court that played host to the two most dramatic encounters of the day, starting with Murphy's win over Grace Gear.

Britons Murphy and Gear had never met on the PSA Squash Tour before, but produced a tension-filled affair that lasted close to an hour.

After winning an opening-game tiebreak 13-11, the Welsh No.1 then moved 2/1 in front after losing the second 11-7, and had two match balls at 10-8 up in the fourth.

But Gear, who is currently at a career-high ranking of No.41 in the world, rallied to win the next four points and send the match into a decider, where she quickly established a 3-1 lead.

Murphy, though, made her experience count, overturning the deficit and soon having two more match balls at 10-8 up, this time taking her opportunity with a smart backhand boast.

"Grace played really well today," Murphy admitted after her win.

"I know she's been based out here [in the USA] for a few weeks, and beforehand, so she's improved a lot, and she played really well.

"It was a bit of an up-and-down match, back-and-forth. I felt like I had patches where I was in control, she had patches where she had control of me too, so to be honest, I'm just pleased to get the win in the end."

That result was followed by another five-game duel between Malik and Ramit Tandon, which saw the Englishman come from behind to reach round two.

The Indian No.1 had used the front of the court well on his way to a 2/1 lead but a change of ball after the third game changed the momentum of the match, as Malik - who had Mohamed Elshorbagy in his corner - won game four 11-1 before closing out the fifth 11-6.

Over on the show court, world No.14 Ibrahim was given a stern test by Pakistan wildcard Irfan, who threatened an upset by taking game one 14-12 and, despite losing the next two games, had a game ball to force a decider at 10-9 in the fourth.

But he was unable to convert, as Ibrahim reeled off three points on the bounce to secure his spot in round two.