It’s semi finals day at the 2022 Allam British Open and there are four thrilling matches in store for fans at Hull’s Allam Sport Centre and around the globe.
You can watch all of the action LIVE on SQUASHTV and our broadcast partners around the world.
Play begins at 14:00 (BST). If you’re unable to watch live, you can keep up with the live scores from the semi-final here.
For more information on the event, visit the tournament website. You can also follow the British Open Twitter page here.
Follow the PSA World Tour on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
You can buy tickets for the Allam British Open here.
Here’s the Order of Play (All times are local BST)
Hania El Hammamy v Joelle King
Egypt’s Hania El Hammamy and New Zealand’s Joelle King meet for the ninth time in their careers and for the second time in a row at the Allam British Open.
The two players faced off in the quarter finals of the prestigious event last year with it going down to the wire before El Hammamy took the victory in five games.
The young Egyptian leads the way in their head-to-head record with five wins to King’s three and won their last meeting at the 2021 U.S. Open.
King comes into her first ever British Open semi-final in good form having reached at least the last four of her previous three events, missing out each time to the top two in the world in Nouran Gohar and Nour El Sherbini. Can the Kiwi follow in her compatriot Paul Coll’s footsteps last year and reach the final in Hull?
El Hammamy, on the other hand, is also one of the most consistent players on the women’s tour, highlighted by three runner-up finishes in her last four events.
Like, King, the 21-year-old has seen her run come to an end at the hands of the top two in the world but she will be eager to reach her first British Open final.
The algorithm has predicted that El Hammamy will come out on top witth a 67% chance of winning. However, if King is full of confidence she is always poses a danger and does have good form over the Egyptian.
Ali Farag v Mazen Hesham
The first men’s semi-final will see Egyptians Ali Farag and Mazen Hesham face off for a place in the Platinum final.
Their most recent clash came in the final of the Houston Open, PSA World Tour Gold event back in January where Farag took the victory….and the head-to-head doesn’t make for pleasant reading for Hesham with his only victory over the World No.2 coming back in 2015 at the Qatar Classic.
Meanwhile, Farag has won nine of their meetings, including the last seven in a row.
.jpg?alt=Head%20to%20head%3A%20Ali%20Farag%20v%20Mazen%20Hesham&)
The talented Hesham looks to have put the injury woes that have disrupted his career behind him as he has built up a consistent run on the PSA World Tour. The World No.10 is featuring in his second semi-final in a row after reaching the same stage at last month’s Canary Wharf Classic.
Farag, meanwhile, comes into this event off the back of a title win at the Optasia Championships in Wimbledon.
That saw the former World No.1 break his title duck in England, but he will be keen to go one better at this year’s British Open after twice finishing runner up in the last two instalments.
SquashLevels see this one going in similar pattern to their previous meetings with Farag taking the victory in four games.
They have given the World Champion an 87% win likelihood, but few can bet against the talented Hesham who causes problems for every opponent he faces.
Amanda Sobhy v Nouran Gohar
USA’s Amanda Sobhy and Egypt’s Nouran Gohar will lock horns for a place in the women’s final later today at the Allam Sport Centre.
The two have produced some fiery battles in the past and will no doubt produce another thrilling display in front of the Hull crowd today.
Sobhy is one of the few players to boast a better head-to-head record over the newly crowned World No.1 with six wins to Gohar’s four. In fact the American recorded three successive wins over the Egyptian between 2016 – 2019.
Gohar, has however, won their last three meetings with the most recent coming in the semi-finals of the CIB Egyptian Open, which Gohar went onto win.
2019 British Open winner Gohar is in the form of her life having won four back-to-back Platinum events this season: CIB Egyptian Open, U.S. Open, Windy City Open and CIB Black Ball Open. She is also on a 17-match unbeaten streak…could Sobhy be the one to end her dominance?
World No.4 Sobhy has also enjoyed a good season, winning the Oracle NetSuite Open in San Francisco at the backend of last year. However, she is aiming to reach her first Platinum final of the season and her first at the British Open.
The SquashLevels database has strongly backed Gohar to take today’s victory and reach the final with a 90% win likelihood. However, with Sobhy’s head-to-head record against the Egyptian we wouldn’t rule her out of causing an upset.
Mostafa Asal v Paul Coll
Expect fireworks for this one….
Despite only meeting four times in their careers, a rivalry has quickly formed between these two. Their first encounter at the CIB Egyptian Open in 2020 proved to be a memorable one as Mostafa Asal announced himself onto the big stage with a controversial performance and an even more controversial celebration.
The young Egyptian took tthe victory that day in a 103-minute heavyweight affair which went down to the wire at 12-10 in the fifth before Asal ripped his shirt off and tossed it into the crowd in celebration.
Asal would go on to back that up witth another two victories over Coll, at the 2020 Black Ball Open and 2021 U.S. Open – both lasting 85 and 103 minutes respectively.
.jpg?alt=Head-to-head%3A%20Mostafa%20Asal%20v%20Paul%20Coll&)
Coll managed to break his losing streak to the confident 20-year-old at the 2021 Qatar Classic and has built a formidable run of consistency that has seen him achieve the sport’s prestigious title of World No.1. However, Asal still proves to be that thorn in his side when they play.
Asal comes into this event fresh off reaching the final of the Canary Wharf Classic, which was his first event after serving a two-month suspension. Tthe Egyptian’s antics on court has seen him divide opinion ever since he burst onto the scene, but no doubt makes this match a must watch.
SquashLevels have predicted a 3-1 victory for World No.1 Coll, who also sits at No.1 on the SquashLevels power ratings.
But with Asal’s history and fame for an upset, nobody would be surprised if this one went down to the wire.
