[5] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) 3-0 [9] Tinne Gilis (BEL) 11-5, 13-11, 11-3 (38m)
It was a tough day at the office for Tinne today. Last two times they played, Tinne lost, and we have to go back to ’21 to see a Tinne win.
I was quite confident today could be a different outcome. Supported by 15-year-old collaboration coach David Palmer, who happens to know Siva pretty well as he has been coaching her for years before she switched to Greg less than two years ago, with boyfriend and friends around, the Belgium could have felt confident.
But she wasn’t. She was tense, very tense. She tried to slow the pace down and take the weight off the ball in the first game, which didn’t work in her favour, 8m 11/5 to the Malaysian.
A good change of tactic saw a much better game coming from the Belgian racquet. Long rallies, intense, nice movement from both. Great squash, it was all possible for Tinne. From a bad start 1/4, she hold her head high and levelled with the score the whole of the rest of the game. 4/4, 5/5, 6/6, 8/8, 9/9.
Unfortunately for here, she couldn’t concretise the two game balls she set up and it’s a tough pill to swallow, 19m hard fought second game, and nothing to show for: down 2/0.
Body language was clear. The Belgian was physically and mentally drained. And Siva fed on that quite nicely, 6/2 11/3 in 6m…
Siva
“Obviously, I haven’t played Tinne since I think Grasshopper last year. It’s been quite a while, so I’m just happy to be winning in three.
“The second was very crucial and I’m glad I managed to sneak that in.
“I think the second game was very important. I told myself to just keep fighting. I wasn’t tired physically or whatever. I just had to grind and stay in the rallies. Obviously, she was leading a bit. But I just tried to take it point by point. I told myself, every point she got to work to win it. Or I play a good shot. But just make her work. Even if I lose that, I want her to feel it.
And the third was pretty comfortable. I just had to take the lead and I knew I could do it. But I just try to focus on my game these days. Not really think about my opponent or anything else. Just focus on my game each point at a time. I’m actually happy to make it to the quarters again.
“But I’m glad I stayed in that mindset. And I’m glad to get the second because that was very important. But I think the confidence was more on me and I managed to just get through it.
“I think this year I have won two gold events, as you said. And I haven’t really done it before. Usually, I win one tournament a season and then that’s it. But this year, to win two big events, especially the Zurich one, beating Amina and then backing up after that win, obviously gives me a lot of confidence.
“I think it shows the more work I’ve been putting in with Greg [Gaultier], working with him now. So a lot of work has been done behind the scenes. So I’m glad it’s coming through; it’s showing. But still, I want to challenge all the top five girls and top four girls and try to beat them and just stay as consistent as I can.”
“Obviously, this year I’ve been making the quarters a lot more in the bigger events, which is great, but hopefully I can take one more step. Hopefully, I can do better.
🗣️ "Obviously, this year I've been making the quarters a lot more in the bigger events, which is great, but hopefully I can take one more step" 💪
Post-match reaction from your first quarter-finalist, @sangari_99 ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/YzDqVCAJJl
— PSA Squash Tour (@PSASquashTour) May 11, 2026
