Steinmann Survives Swiss Thriller To Reach Canadian Open Quarters
26 Feb 2025

World No.20 Dimitri Steinmann survived a major scare on day two of the 2025 AirSprint Private Aviation Canadian Open, edging past Swiss national teammate Yannick Wilhelmi in a tense five-game battle to book his spot in the quarter-finals of the PSA Squash Tour Bronze event at Bow Valley Square in Calgary.
In the final second round clash of the day, the close off-court friends put on a display of high-octane squash and incredible athleticism, with Steinmann ultimately sealing the victory by a 4-11, 11-7, 11-7, 6-11, 11-6 scoreline.
No.3 seed Steinmann had lost out in two tight five-game bouts against Paul Coll and Youssef Soliman in his last two events, but made no mistake of converting the opportunity this time around, moving away in the mid-phases of the deciding game to seal victory after 75 minutes of all-out action.
"We have been travelling together for the past four weeks, and I find it hard playing against players who I am really good friends with," Steinmann admitted after the match.
"Yannick played well today. He made the most of my lack of concentration by winning the first and fourth games.
"We know each other's games inside out, which makes it difficult at times, but I thought I was being pretty tight on the backhand from the second game onwards, which I thought gave me some good opportunities."
Elsewhere, world No.48 Omar Mosaad staged a dramatic comeback as he fought from 2/0 down to defeat England's Charlie Lee.
The 36-year-old Egyptian had to draw upon all of his experience in the pressure moments to eventually overcome underdog Lee by an 11-13, 8-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-1 scoreline.
Also advancing on day two were top seed Mohamed ElShorbagy and No.5 seed Gregoire Marche, who secured victories over Kareem El Torkey and Shahjahan Khan, respectively. The pair are now set for a rematch of last week's dramatic Texas Open encounter, where Marche earned his first-ever win over the former World Champion.