Women’s Semis :
[3] Amina Orfi (Egy) 3-1 [1] Hania El Hammamy (Egy) 11-8, 11-7, 14-16, 11-6 (110m)
[2] Nour ElSherbini (Egy) 3-0 [6] Satomi Watanabe (Jpn) 11-7, 11-4, 11-3 (28m)
Men’s Semis :
[1] Mostafa Asal (Egy) 3-2 [3] Diego Elias (Per) 11-9, 10-12, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9 (115m)
[2] Paul Coll (Nzl) 3-0 Yahya Elnawasany (Egy) 11-7, 11-4, 11-3 (41m)
Orfi beats Hammamy in another thriller, Sherbini breezes past Watanabe
What a start to semi-final Saturday as top seed Hania El Hammamy and World Champion Amina Orfi played out a repeat of their World Champs semi-final that was even longer – the longest ever British Open women’s match – and just as dramatic as the teenager again won in four games.
“I knew Hania is a fighter and she would come back regardless of the score,” she said. “I tried to stick to my game plan as even though we were tired from the third game and the whole match as well, I can use that and it’s not me who’s tired. I really want to win and do well in these big tournaments so I think the will to win is keeping me going.”
In the final she’ll face four-time champion Nour ElSherbini, who eased past Satomi Watanabe in an impressive three game display, in a repeat of last month’s World Champs final – and we all know how that one went!
“Playing at this stage is huge and I know how it feels to play in your first British Open semi-final – it’s huge,” she said. “Having a big statement win after the World Championships will help me move on from it quickly and move forward and not think about the result. I am definitely happy to make it to the finals and hopefully I get revenge this time.”
Asal dethrones Elias in Epic, Coll cruises into final
The first men’s semi-final was another epic Asal-Elias affair, this time the World #1 Egyptian coming out on top – just – to avenge his defeat by Elias in last year’s final.
Asal took the opening game, had two game balls in the second before Elias levelled, edged home in the third to regain the lead, squandered a 9-5 lead in the fourth with five unforced errors, then shrugged off a conduct stroke at 8-all in the fifth to triumph 11-9 after 115 minutes … watch the replay !!
“I hope everybody enjoyed this match, I guess it’s two of the best squash players playing at the British Open, a tournament I have watched since I was young,” he said. “It’s a privilege to be in those close matches. I think this match will be a classic, hopefully. We did our best today and it is the end of the season, everybody is struggling and everyone wants to go home and chill, but this crowd is amazing and we want to push and push for them.
In the final match of the day Paul Coll, playing in his seventh consecutive British Open semi-final, was untroubled by surprise package Yahya Elnawasany, reaching his third BO final.
“Yahya has been fantastic and his match against Gawad was impressive, his maturity and toughness to get through that is amazing. But I just wanted to make it feel impossible to get a point tonight,” he said. “It’s a tournament you always target, myself and my coach, he always say it’s his favourite tournament so I want to do it for him and put on a good show. We get to the final tomorrow and we have our game plan sorted and we are ready.”
Preview :
It’s the women’s semis first, starting with a repeat of that epic World Champs semi-final between Hania El Hammamy and Amina Orfi. Hania is top seed and will remain World #1 whatever the result, but Amina will come into the match as World Champion. Four-time BO Champion Nour ElSherbini then takes on Japan’s Satomi Watanabe, appearing in her first Diamond level semi.
The men’s matches start with a much anticipated clash between World #1 and World Champion Mostafa Asal and defending champion Diego Elias. The pair always deliver compelling matches, their recent El Gouna and World Chams meetings no exception. Then it’s two-time champion Paul Coll against unseeded Yahya Elnawasany, looking to continue his fairy-tale run of upsets.
