Easy day for defending champ Serme at US Open

PETALING JAYA: Defending champion Camille Serme cruised into the second round of the US Open squash championships.

The world No. 2 outclassed American wildcard entrant Haley Mendez 11-2, 11-7, 11-8 at the Drexel University, Philadelphia on Sunday.

The Frenchwoman, who is seeking her third title in the US following her Tournament of Champions (New York) and Cleveland Classic wins earlier this year, takes on Kiwi Joelle King for a place in the quarter-finals.

World No. 10 King was also on song as she whipped Dutch qualifier Milou Van Der Heijden 11-3, 13-11, 11-8.

Third seed Raneem El Welily of Egypt on the other had to dig deep to overcome a first round loss against Canadian qualifier Hollie Naughton.

The 28-year-old found herself two sets down before recovering to pull off a 10-12, 9-11, 11-6, 11-1, 11-9 win.

“I had nothing to lose in the third. I was 2-0 down and literally out of the tournament so I’m definitely happy to come back from the dead,” said a relieved Raneem.

“I have to learn from today’s match so hopefully next time I’ll handle situations like this better.”

The world No. 3 takes on Wales’ Tesni Evans, who downed Egyptian Heba El Torky 11-6, 11-4, 17-15.

In the men’s event, New Zealand’s Paul Coll delivered the biggest upset by beating top seed and world champion Karim Abdel Gawad of Egypt.

The fast-improving Kiwi won 11-8, 11-3, 6-11, 11-8 and will face another Egyptian – Omar Mosaad.