United States No.1 Olivia Weaver has booked her place in the last four of the PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family on home soil after beating Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam in Chicago.
Weaver, who will now appear in her second World Championships semi, bounced back from a defeat against the World No.9 in the semi-final of February’s Cincinnati Gaynor Cup to win 11-3, 8-11, 11-4, 11-5 in front of her home fans at Lakeshore Sport & Fitness.
Prior to that defeat, Weaver had beaten Sivasangari five times in succession and she put her opponent under significant pressure in the early stages to storm into a one-game lead.
Sivasangari, who had beaten Weaver’s compatriot Amanda Sobhy in the previous round, had her best spell of the match in the second game as she nullified Weaver with some deceptive holds and accurate attacks.
After Sivasangari drew level, Weaver went up a level and put a lot of work into the Malaysian’s legs, twisting and turning her.
The physical toll looked to grind Sivasangari down as a composed Weaver closed out one-sided victories in each of the next two games.
Weaver’s semi-final opponent will be seven-time World Champion Nour El Sherbini. The pair met at the same stage of last year’s tournament when El Sherbini recovered from 2-1 down to prevent Weaver from becoming the first American ever to reach the final.
“It never always goes to plan out here,” said Weaver.
“There’s always something unexpected that happens, but we prepared really well for this match. Siva has been playing incredibly well and she beat me the last time we played in Cincinnati, she’s been in really good form. I was really pleased with the adjustments I made since last time, and I enjoyed the occasion and being on this court.
“She’s incredibly skilful with the racket, you have to keep it away from the middle and try and take away her time. I tried to find my lines on this courts, which I think I did well, so I’m really pleased.
“It’s easy to be hard on yourself out here, but I always try to be critical and not judgemental.”
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Result
[4] Olivia Weaver (USA) bt [7] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) 3-1: 11-3, 8-11, 11-4, 11-5 (41m)
