Malik & Stefanoni Score Standout Wins On US Open Opening Day

Unseeded duo Curtis Malik and Marina Stefanoni claimed standout wins on the opening day of the Comcast Business US Open, with the pair defeating Mohamed ElShorbagy and Georgia Adderley in five games, respectively, in the second PSA Squash Tour Platinum event of the season at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.

World No.26 Malik scored arguably the biggest win of his career to date after stunning English compatriot ElShorbagy, a three-time US Open champion.

Malik, who last week claimed the first top-ten of his career over Youssef Soliman at the Silicon Valley Open, continued his recent form to defeat No.5 seed ElShorbagy by a 5-11, 11-7, 11-9, 6-11, 11-2 scoreline.

The 26-year-old, who has previously referred to ElShorbagy as a childhood idol of his, held off everything the 34-year-old former world No.1 had in his armoury to secure a second round meeting with Swiss No.1 Dimitri Steinmann.

After the match, Malik said: "I'm massively pleased and proud of myself. I know that Mo hasn't been in his best form over the last couple of events that he has been in previously. But for me to play him, I grew up watching him, and to even be on the court with him when growing up was a dream come true. So, to beat him is amazing.

"The respect I have for Mo is unmatched. He's been so helpful to me over the last few years with England. So much advice that I wouldn't have learned or known if it weren't for him. Just being around him, having conversations with him, I can't thank him enough for what he has done."

Home favourite Stefanoni staged a dramatic comeback to round out the day's action, battling back from 2/0 down to defeat Scottish No.1 Adderley by an 8-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-8 scoreline and secure a second round meeting with top seed Nour ElSherbini.

The world No.24 will be joined by fellow American hopefuls Olivia Weaver, Amanda Sobhy, Sabrina Sobhy and Timothy Brownell in the second round of the Platinum-level event.

After the match, 22-year-old Stefanoni said: "I feel great. I was down 2/0 pretty quickly, and it was one of those moments where I wasn't really sure what was happening.

"I told my team beforehand that I would need a lot of vocal support. I haven't been feeling great the past few days, so I just needed something extra from off the court. They did great, they supported me really loudly, and I had almost all the important people in my life there. I probably couldn't have done it without them."

Elsewhere, Amanda and Sabrina Sobhy set up a sibling showdown after the sisters claimed respective wins over France's Melissa Alves and Hong Kong's Ka Yi Lee.

Tournament wildcard Sabrina, who missed the majority of the 24/25 season with a serious wrist injury, needed to draw upon her wealth of experience to come through a back-and-forth five-game duel with world No.37 Lee, prevailing by an 11-6, 8-11, 11-4, 9-11, 11-5 scoreline.

Tuesday's second-round match between the Sobhy sisters will be their first PSA Tour meeting since March 2023 and third in total.

Elsewhere, world No.3 Amina Orfi survived an early scare as she battled from behind to defeat Belgium's Nele Gilis in an enthralling 87-minute five-game duel, while top seeds Nour ElSherbini and Mostafa Asal made seamless progress after defeating Nour Aboulmakarim and Nicolas Mueller, respectively.