Tesni Looking To Shine On The Glass In Egypt

Tesni Evans fended off a fightback from Hollie Naughton to reach the third round of the El Gouna International in Egypt.

The 26-year-old took the first two games 11-9, 11-8 and looked set for a comfortable victory against the unseeded Canadian.

But Evans lost the next two games 6-11, 9-11 before seeing off Naughton 11-2 in the deciding game of a 52-minute battle and will now play on the glass show court.

“It was a bit up and down, the first two games were very closely-contested, and then I just got caught up in Hollie’s game,” said Evans, the world No 9.

“She played really well in the third and fourth , came back at me and stuck in really well. Mentally and physically, I didn’t match her at all.

“But I’m really happy with how the fifth went, I came back on court and got a really good lead, which helped me get through. It was really important mentally because she was coming back at me, was confident, and was playing really well.

“I had to show her that I wanted to win, and getting the 8-0 lead in the fifth really sent a message out early doors.

“I didn’t make it to the glass last year, I lost first round here, so I’m really looking forward to it. I’m sure it’s going to be a bit windy, but I’m looking forward to another opportunity on the glass court.”

The Rhyl-based player, seeded 10 for the $176,000 tournament, will face France’s world No 4 and fourth seed Camille Serme for a place in the quarter-finals.

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Haverfordwest’s world No 15 Joel Makin will face New Zealand’s No 7 seed Paul Coll in his last 16 tie at the Abu Tig Marina.

Makin reached the third round with a victory on Friday against Egypt’s Mostafa Asal.