Photos
Finals
[2] Hania El Hammamy 3-1 [1] Nouran Gohar (EGY) 11-9, 11-7, 8-11, 11-4 (76m)
[2] Paul Coll (NZL) 3-0 [1] Ali Farag 12-10, 11-6, 11-4 (50m)
Semis
[2] Hania El Hammamy 3-0 [5] Joelle King (Nzl) 11-5, 5-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-3 (71m)
[1] Nouran Gohar3-0 [3] Amanda Sobhy (Usa) 11-2, 11-3, 11-5 (29m)[1] Ali Farag 3-1 [9/16] Mazen Hesham 11-8, 6-11, 11-7, 11-6 (51m)
[2] Paul Coll (Nzl) 3-0 [4] Mostafa Asal 11-9, 11-9, 11-9 (68m)
Ali said
“I had a game plan, whether he’s struggling or not it’s the same so I wanted to stick to it and not think about my opponent.
“Especially since we’re such good friends off court. We came on with a flyer of a ball in the first game and it wasn’t easy to control, but I was actually very happy with my weight of shot. I think I put a lot of work into him and in the second, I started a little too open and I tried to get it back but with the repertoire he’s got in shots he was too good and I couldn’t close the gap. I was a bit edgy in the third and I don’t think it was the best match we’ve played together but still very good considering the occasion.
“It always a fine line between trying to use good position to not let your opponent go through and us trying to look for strokes. I think we’re all guilty of that sometimes so we gave the referee a tough time and I think there was some disagreement there of what was a let and a stroke and the umpires have to do their job and it’s not ours to worry about.
“Nour and I have this game where we try to call each match every day and we couldn’t decide between Paul and Mostafa. It’s a real 50/50, they’re both very good and different players which will create a great match between the two and they’re both very fit. I’m just happy to be through to another final, thanks to Dr Allam for coming as always, it’s a pleasure having you sat here watching us, it’s his tenth year sponsoring the event and we look forward to coming back every year so, thank you very much.”
Nouran said
“We don’t have rest days so I have to be efficient, because I know I will need every bit of energy for tomorrow’s match. Amanda is a tough competitor and I didn’t want to stay on court with her any longer because she will always try and find solutions and fight so I didn’t want her to get back in the game.
“A big strength of mine is to be alert, focused and quick. When I’m trying to execute this well it makes me more efficient on court and makes me win easier.
“I’ve been working with my physio and I’m thankful that he’s here, I said to him I had some stiffness in my shoulder so I had the cupping therapy and this is what colour comes out. But you have to recover, it’s as important as training. You have to look after your body and get ready for the next matches.
“After this event, I have a month’s break. I haven’t been with my husband for months now and it’s so important for me to see him but I will give it everything tomorrow because I really want to enjoy my break after this event.”
Hania said
“It feels amazing. The British Open is one of the most prestigious events on the tour and it’s any squash player’s dream to reach the final and win the tournament so I’m glad I could go one step further here this season.
“Every time Joelle and I play we seem to kill each other. Anytime I lose my focus I get chopped so I had to focus really well today. I had to minimise my errors and keep telling myself to play safe and fight for every shot and I dug very deep, it’s always tough against her so I’m very happy to get through.
“Nouran is World No.1, she’s been winning all the big events but you can never predict, but I hope it goes to five as well so hopefully I can watch them fight it out against each other.”
