PHOTOS
[1] Nouran Gohar 2-0 [4] Amanda Sobhy (USA) 11-4, 11-5 (19m)
[2] Nour El Sherbini2-0 [7] Rowan Elaraby 11-8, 11-7 (25m)[1] Ali Farag 2-1 [3] Diego Elias (PER) 8-11, 11-6, 11-3 (37m)
[4] Mostafa Asal 2-0 [6] Tarek Momen 11-8, 12-10 (40m)
World No.2 Nour El Sherbini and World No.3 CIB Hania El Hammamy have secured their places in the semi-finals of the 2021-22 CIB PSA World Tour Finals after claiming respective wins over Rowan Elaraby and Sarah-Jane Perry earlier today at Cairo’s Mall of Arabia.
El Sherbini became the first player to qualify for the semi-finals after she overcame World No.7 Elaraby by an 11-8, 11-7 scoreline. The 2017-18 champion currently sits top of Group B – a point ahead of El Hammamy – after taking the maximum of eight points on offer so far.
Hania – the 2019-20 champion – navigated a tricky first game against World No.6 Perry, eventually taking it 16-14 in a nail-biting tie-break. The 21-year-old was able to stamp her authority on the match in the second and closed out the win to set up a mouth-watering clash tomorrow.
Meanwhile, World No.1 and defending champion CIB Nouran Gohar got her tournament off to a fine start as she defeated United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy to go top of Group A, ahead of New Zealand’s Joelle King, who beat Georgina Kennedy yesterday.
World No.4 Mostafa Asal became the first man to qualify for the last four after he overcame World No.6 CIB Tarek Momen in a feisty clash to end the night. It was a scrappy battle with numerous traffic issues, resulting in a busy night for the referees.
⏰ A 2-minute plus rally to get us started 👀@AliFarag & @diegoelias96 are here to put on a show at the Mall of Arabia 🔥#WorldTourFinals pic.twitter.com/tNKQ0U5s81
— PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) June 22, 2022
Ali said
“Obviously, you look at the World Tour Finals and every match is tough so to get a win is always a great one. It is never just a win, it is a good win, so I am happy to come through today, especially after going 1-0 down,” Farag said.
“As per my calculations, if they’re right, this win guarantees that I will end the season as World No.1, so that’s an extra bonus and now I can play without extra pressure for the rest of this tournament. I have never gotten my hands on this trophy, I have never made it to the finals here in Egypt, only once in Dubai, so hopefully I can keep progressing and take it one match at a time until I hopefully, achieve the title.
“It was neck and neck, he was 1-0 up but I was 6-4 at the time. He completely lost his focus, and I am very proud that I kept mine. Very proud because when he loses his focus, sometimes it gets to you, but I kept on with my gameplan until the very last moment.
“It’s key in every match but more so in the best-of-three format, because he is halfway there if he wins the first. It is always edgy, sometimes you want to execute a certain game plan in the second game, but you can’t if you lose the first because you don’t have the time, and you can’t risk losing it.
“Also, we play with more intensity because we can only go for three full games so we go for it, we volley more. I tried to step up the ’T’, especially after 1-0 down. It is interesting, the best-of-three is definitely a bonus for our sport.”
Nouran said
“Very happy actually! I have said it before, it is always to gift to play the World Tour Finals. It proves you have been one of the best players on Tour for the past year and obviously I am very happy to do it for the seventh time in a row.
“It is always special and it is good to have a change. The format is completely different with pool matches. Even if you lose, you are going to still lay the next day so it is good! You don’t have the pressure of wanting to win, so it helps to enjoy your squash a little bit. It is the end of the season, so you’re excited to finish in a good way, so I only have positives for it!
“I am very pleased with the floor. It is amazing, it’s an amazing feeling, it is softer than the usual [wood] floor. I just think the bad thing is to then get used to the other floors again! It is a very new technology, it’s very nice, but the World Tour Finals is a prestigious one, so the first time to use it is at a tournament like this!
“We keep on having new stuff in our game, with SquashTV, with everything. I am just happy with the way that squash is evolving right now, and I am happy to be a part of it!”
