The GillenMarkets British Open is down to the quarter-final stage, with four matches from the top half of the draws this evening at Birmingham’s Repertory Theatre.
Top seeds and defending champions Nouran Gohar and Mostafa Asal both progressed in straight games, and in the semis they’ll meet fourth seeds Amina Orfi and Joel Makin, who both sealed their semi-final spots in four games.
Match Reports :
Gohar extends winning record over Tinne | Asal downs Ibrahim in entertaining shootout
Gritty win for Orfi to reach SF in first BO | Needled Makin recovers to beat Crouin
[1] Nouran Gohar (Egy) 3-0 [5] Tinne Gilis (Bel) 11-9, 11-7, 11-3 (39m)
[4] Amina Orfi (Egy) 3-1 [9/16] Siva Subramaniam (Mas) 11-2, 4-11, 11-7, 11-9 (59m)
[1] Mostafa Asal (Egy) 3-0 [9/16] Youssef Ibrahim (Egy) 11-7, 11-8, 11-7 (54m)
[4] Joel Makin (Wal) 3-1 [9/16] Victor Crouin (Fra) 7-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-6 (70m)
Gohar extends record against Gilis
[1] Nouran Gohar (Egy) 3-0 [5] Tinne Gilis (Bel) 11-9, 11-7, 11-3 (39m)
In the first match of the evening, World No.1 and two-time British Open champion Nouran Gohar of Egypt recorded her fifth straight win over Belgian World No.6 Tinne Gilis.
Much had been made before the match about what World No.6 Gilis needed to do to break into the top five, with the Belgian’s record against the current top five a dismal 41 defeats from 42 matches.
To change that, the 27-year-old would need to do something she was yet to manage: take a game off Gohar, with the Egyptian winning all four of their previous meetings without dropping a game.
Gilis had chances to capitalise on periods of ascendency, but could not find the sure touch when she needed it most, with Gohar taking the opener 11-9.
‘The Terminator’ only improved from here, controlling proceedings as she took game two 11-7 and then breezed through game three 11-3.
“It’s quite tough to keep up the intensity, but then obviously you try to keep on having goals, small goals, to keep you motivated every single match, not just tournaments.
“Because if you look at the big picture you’re like ‘Oh my God, that’s a lot of matches, a lot of tournaments! But for myself, I try to be more performance oriented than results. That takes away the pressure and makes me play better.”
“Whether it’s Amina or Siva I play next, it’s going to be a tough match either way!”
Defending champion Asal downs Ibrahim in entertaining shootout
[1] Mostafa Asal (Egy) 3-0 [9/16] Youssef Ibrahim (Egy) 11-7, 11-8, 11-7 (54m)
Defending British Open champion and World No.1 Mostafa Asal moved another step closer to retaining his title as he took out Egyptian compatriot and World No.12 Youssef Ibrahim.
The pair had only met twice before on the PSA Squash Tour, with Asal the victor on both occasions.
Both Asal and Ibrahim have some of the clearest play styles on tour, with Asal’s explosive power, racket skills and sometimes controversial physicality an interesting clash with the maverick attacking skillset of Ibrahim.
Today’s match was a high-quality contest, with both men playing some wonderful attacking squash.
Asal was able to edge into the lead with an 11-7 game one win, which he doubled by taking game two 11-8.
There were concerns for Ibrahim after the left-hander sought treatment on his shoulder after game two, but the Egyptian was able to return to court to play some spectacular lung-busting rallies with ‘the Raging Bull’.
Unfortunately for Ibrahim, Asal was able to match him, holding his own and coming out on top too often even when Ibrahim engaged in rapid-fire shootouts, with the World No.1 finishing things in straight games with another 11-7 victory.
“I guess he’s the Leonel Messi of squash. Yousef is an amazing player with his skills. He’s not been lucky with his injuries and stuff, but he can beat anyone on his day. And we are friends on and off court. We shared lots of great moments since we were in the World Junior Championships and British Junior Open.
“When I was nine years old, my uncle used to coach Youssef at Wadi Degla. I went there and he was playing the final of the tournament and I was so impressed with how he played such an ‘exhibition style’.
“That’s when I wanted to play the sport. Before that, my uncle had said to me “come play squash” but I always said “no, I’ll play football”. So Youssef inspired me to play squash and now we’re playing on the biggest stage in the British Open!”
Gritty win for Orfi to reach SF in first British Open
[4] Amina Orfi (Egy) 3-1 [9/16] Siva Subramaniam (Mas) 11-2, 4-11, 11-7, 11-9 (59m)
In a gripping contest, 17-year-old World No.5 Amina Orfi of Egypt edged past World No.9 Sivasangari Subramaniam of Malaysia to reach the semi-finals in her maiden British Open
Despite their close ranking, there was nothing even about the opening game. The the teenager played every shot to perfection, giving the Malaysian no chances to play her attacking game as she took the lead 11-2.
As the ball softened up in game two, Sivasangari took advantage, playing well into the front to open a 6-1 lead. Orfi pulled some points back, but the Malaysian held firm, avoiding the errors of the first game to level 11-4.
Game three was an intriguing tactical battle, with little to choose between the attacking flair of Sivasangari and the metronomic steadiness of Orfi. At 7-7, the game was anybody’s for the taking.
Back-to-back errors from the Malaysian handed the initiative back to Orfi, though, and the Egyptian made no mistake, pressing on to reclaim the lead with an 11-7 win.
When Orfi took an 8-3 lead in game four, the contest looked over, only for the Malaysian to dig in to reduce Orfi’s lead to a single point at 8-7. The World No.5 created some breathing room again to earn three match balls at 10-7, but had to endure a nervy finish as the Malaysian saved the first two match balls.
When it mattered most, though, Orfi was able to secure the crucial final point, playing a perfect drive to the back beyond the despairing reach of Sivasangari.
“I feel so happy to be in the semi finals. Obviously, after Hania withdrew, I was seeded fourth and so based on the seedings, I’m supposed to make it. But it’s huge for me. It’s my first British Open and Siva has been doing really well and she’s really dangerous. She’s beaten most of the top four this season and last season so I’m very happy with the win today.
“Sometimes I miss being able to live a normal life when I’m always traveling. I even missed my high school graduation to be here in this tournament. But I’m really happy it paid off and I’ve made it to the semi-finals. I’m just trying to enjoy what I’m doing for now!”
Needled Makin recovers to beat Crouin
[4] Joel Makin (Wal) 3-1 [9/16] Victor Crouin (Fra) 7-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-6 (70m)
In the final match of the evening, Birmingham resident and World No.4 Joel Makin fought back from a game down to beat French World No.13 Victor Crouin.
Speaking after his third round win, Makin had shared his thoughts on Crouin’s playstyle, describing his opponent as: “very steady…. everything is planned out. There’s nothing spontaneous there; it’s all by the rulebook.”
The ferocity of Crouin’s opening salvos may have had the Welshman regretting those words, however, with the Frenchman dictating the tempo to take the first game – fistpumping to the crowd after winning a lengthy first point.
Makin went to his favourite weapon in game two, using his extreme levels of fitness to punish the Frenchman with a 22-minute second game as he levelled 11-5.
From here, it was largely one-way traffic, with Crouin battling hard but unable to cope with Makin’s physicality, and the Welshman booked a semi-final meeting with Mostafa Asal, taking the final two games 11-5, 11-6.
“He was very clinical in the first, opened up a bit of a gap and I was probably a bit medium paced.
“I had a good talk with Miles [Jenkins], got the energy back up and it was a bit more straightforward after that.
“His fistpumping after the first point, not my kind of thing that, it got my adrenaline up, but it’s a bit of fun, made it more interesting for me.
“For the semi against Asal, if I hit my lines I know I can cause him some issues, but he’s been hitting his lines and just won the World Champs so his aggressive hitting has been top quality.
“I’m going to get stuck in, these are the benchmarks in my career, you either get to a British Open final or you come up short again. These are the big moments that you’re looking forward to and put in all the work for.”
