Sivasangari will peak at British Open, says coach
KUALA LUMPUR: National coach Ajaz Azmat believes world No. 8 S. Sivasangari will hit peak form at the British Open, which gets underway in Birmingham on Saturday.
The 26-year-old made headlines at the World Championships in Chicago earlier this month by reaching the quarter-finals - the first Malaysian to do so since Datuk Nicol David in 2017.
Sivasangari, who bagged the Cincinnati Open title this year, has been steadily improving under the mentorship of former world champion and three-time British Open winner Gregory Gaultier in Prague since April.
"Sivasangari's game has matured under Gaultier. I'm confident we'll see an even better version of her at the British Open," said Ajaz, who trains her when she is in Malaysia.
Sivasangari will head into the Diamond-level British Open in high spirits, having earned a first-round bye.
She is expected to breeze through her second-round match against world No. 53 Lisa Aitken of Scotland or India's world No. 56 Anahat Singh.
The real test, however, starts in the third round, where she is likely to face world No. 9 Satomi Watanabe of Japan.
Satomi, also a World Championships quarter-finalist, comes into the tournament in fine form, having reached the final of last week's Palm Hills Open in Giza, where she fell to world No. 1 Nouran Gohar of Egypt.
Should Sivasangari overcome Satomi, she is expected to meet Egypt's world No. 5 Amina Orfi in the quarter-finals.
Amina got the better of the Malaysian in their last meeting at the Malaysia Cup in November.
In last year's British Open, Sivasangari crashed out in the second round, falling to Egyptian Nour El Sherbini.
In the men's draw, world No. 12 Ng Eain Yow also received a first-round bye and will take on France's world No. 14 Victor Crouin in the second round.
Eain Yow reached the quarter-finals at last year's British Open, where he lost to New Zealand's world No. 4 Paul Coll.
Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia coaching director Andrew Cross believes Sivasangari's real challenge begins in the third round.
"Satomi did well to reach the Palm Hills final and will be full of confidence going into Birmingham," he said.
On Eain Yow's chances, Cross warned: "Matches against Crouin are always tight.
"He had to dig deep to beat him 20-18 in the fifth game at last year's Singapore Open."
If successful, Eain Yow could face Welsh world No. 5 Joel Makin in the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, three other Malaysians - Rachel Arnold (world No. 19), Aifa Azman (No. 39) and Ainaa Amani (No. 48) - will also be in action in Birmingham.
Rachel and Aifa will take on Egyptians Kenzy Ayman (No. 38) and Zeina Mickawy (No. 29) respectively in the women's first round, while Ainaa is up against world No. 25 Sarah-Jane Perry of England.
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