El Rihany Downs No.8 Seed To Reach Maiden Bronze Quarter-Final In Hamburg

An action-packed second round of the German Open Presented by Sportwerk at Sportwerk in Hamburg saw unseeded Amina El Rihany produce a second consecutive upset to defeat fellow Egyptian Zeina Mickawy, while Switzerland's Yannick Wilhelmi upset No.8 seed Timothy Brownell.

It was a second massive upset for the 22-year-old who progresses to a maiden Bronze-level quarter-final.

El Rihany, who recorded an impressive comeback victory over Wales' Emily Whitlock in the first round, looked just as determined as she took to the court to face compatriot and No.8 seed Mickawy.

Despite the sizeable 37-place gap in their rankings, world No.68 El Rihany didn't appear fazed, taking the first game confidently with an attractive brand of attacking squash.

Mickawy responded quickly, firing accurate shots into both front corners and winning the second game 11-3 to level the scoring.

The 22-year-old didn't relent from there, playing a positive, dominating game that Mickawy struggled to find an answer for, and the unseeded player claimed 11-9, 11-8 wins to earn a place in the last eight.

Speaking after the match, El Rihany said: "I'm over the moon! I'm very happy with the win. I didn't expect it but I'm really happy.

"[Right after leaving the court], I was calling my Mum, I was calling all my coaches to tell them I won.

"I didn't expect it. I went like yesterday. I tried to play everything I've learned, and I did my best and I went through.

"Today I wanted to win so much because I wanted to play on this glass court, so I get the opportunity tomorrow to play Melissa Alves on the glass court."

In a show-stopping encounter to end the day's action on the glass court, former world No.7 Mohamed Abouelghar overcame No.4 seed Miguel Rodriguez to claim a spot in a Bronze event quarterfinal for the first time since the 2024 China Open.

The Egyptian looked in control throughout, and despite a stoppage in play for a blood injury that the Colombian sustained on his forehead, Abouelghar steamed to a 3/0 win in 47 minutes.

Another upset came in the form of Switzerland's Wilhelmi, who overcame No.8 seed Brownell in an exciting match on Court 9.

The American fought back in the third game to bring the score to 2/1, but Switzerland's unseeded Wilhelmi looked in command of the match throughout to secure a 3/1 victory and join compatriots Dimitri Steinmann and Nicolas Mueller in the last eight.

Elsewhere, two thrilling five-game contests occurred as Egyptian No.2 seed Nada Abbas and English No.6 seed Lucy Turmel survived close-fought matches against New Zealand's Joelle King and Spain's Marta Dominguez respectively.