SquashonFire

Men & Women $51k PSA Bronze, 14-18 Feb, Washington, USA

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Finals

[3] Amina Orfi3-2 [1] Tinne Gilis (BEL)  15-13, 11-1, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9 (88m)
[2] Youssef Soliman 3-1 [3] Iker Pajares (ESP)  11-5, 11-4, 10-12, 11-3 (55m)

Orfi And Soliman Secure Egyptian Double

Amina Orfi and Youssef Soliman completed an Egyptian double on finals day of the Squash On Fire Open 2024 after they claimed respective wins over women’s top seed Tinne Gilis and men’s No.3 seed Iker Pajares in Washington DC.

Orfi, 16, claimed her maiden PSA World Tour title after holding off a valiant comeback from Gilis in five games, ousting the defending champion in 88 minutes by a 15-13, 11-1, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9 scoreline.

At 2-0 up and 6-1 up in the third, Orfi looked destined for a straight-game victory at the PSA World Tour Bronze event, but World No.7 Gilis clawed her way back into the encounter with some gutsy squash, forcing a deciding game.

Despite falling 9-6 down to the Belgian in the subsequent fifth game, Orfi showed maturity beyond her years to reel off five straight points and capture the biggest title of her burgeoning career.

“I’m over the moon,” Orfi said after the match. “At the beginning, I couldn’t believe it when I was 2-0 up, and then she started her comeback.

“It was such a rollercoaster. It’s been a while since I won a title. My last one on the PSA Tour was last year in February, so I’m so happy to win my biggest one to date. I just tried to tell myself to stay calm and play the squash I was playing at the beginning. If I’m tired, she is also tired, so it was all going to come down to who was mentally strong enough and who was believing in themselves.

“I definitely think playing a lot of 3-2 matches and tough battles this season helped me overcome this situation, because I previously lost when I was leading at the U.S. Open, so I’m very happy that this time I was able to learn my lesson.”

Meanwhile, Soliman, the No.2 seed in the men’s tournament, claimed his 10th career title on the PSA Tour following a composed 11-5, 11-4, 10-12, 11-3 victory over World No.20 Iker Pajares.

The World No.12, who had spent an hour less time on court than Pajares on his way to the final, tested the Spaniard physically throughout the 55-minute encounter, finding an immaculate line and length on the all-glass court at the Squash On Fire Club.

Despite seeing three match balls come and go in the latter stages of the third – a game which Pajares subsequently took in a tie-break – Soliman continued to pile the pressure on his opponent, racing his way through a seven-minute fourth game to capture the title.

“I’m very pleased, it has been a great week for me,” Soliman said after the match. “I’m very happy and proud of my performance.

“I just wanted to feel how his legs were. I had no idea how he would be feeling and if he had recovered and what to expect. I just wanted to make the first game long and see if he was feeling it. I then got very edgy in the third game. I remember I had a few match balls, but then I was very happy with how I dealt with my nerves in the fourth.

“I felt like I saw the finishing line in the third game, so I was very rushed. So as soon as I started the fourth game, I told myself not to rush my play and treat it as a normal game.”

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Semis

[3] Amina Orfi 3-0 [2] Sabrina Sobhy (USA)  11-6, 11-7, 13-11 (45m)

[2] Youssef Soliman 3-1 [4] Youssef Ibrahim  11-5, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9 (65m)

16-year-old Amina Orfi produced a superb display to knock out home favourite Sabrina Sobhy in three games.

Right from the off, the Egyptian played the match on her own terms, with her straight hitting down the backhand wall causing Sobhy particular issues. The Egyptian raced into a 6-0 lead and never let the American back in, taking a ten-minute opening game by an 11-6 scoreline.

The pair traded points to 5-5 in the second, but a Sobhy error into the tin at 5-6 down proved costly. Another drop shot into the tin from the World No.15 gave Orfi four game balls, and at the second time of asking, the teenager doubled her advantage in the match.

Sobhy came out firing in the third, progressing into a 5-3 lead, but Orfi remained composed, sticking to her tight lines to win five points on the bounce. The 2023 runner-up moved to 10-8 up, but Sobhy refused to give up without a fight, finding two winners to force a tie-break. Despite the No.2 seed saving a third match ball at 11-10 down, Orfi eventually prevailed, winning an incredible final rally with a backhand volley drop.

After progressing to the final, Orfi said: “I’m so happy because she is such a good player, and last time I won 3-2, so I knew it was going to be tough. The first game was very crucial. In my last two matches, the start in my first game wasn’t the best, so today I just focused on that.

“I tried not to open up the court too much because she volleys a lot and she has great skills, so I tried to close the court and make it a bit bigger for her.

“[In the third] I lost my focus a bit and it was important to win it, because if I lost it I knew she would make a comeback.”

Quarters

[3] Amina Orfi 3-1 [6] Rachel Arnold (MAS)  8-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-6 (45m)
[1] Tinne Gilis (BEL) 3-1 [8] Hana Moataz  11-4, 13-15, 11-2, 11-3 (44m)
[4] Tomato Ho (HKG) 3-0 [WC] Menna Walid  11-6, 11-5, 11-6 (29m)

[2] Youssef Soliman 3-1 Todd Harrity (USA) 10-12, 11-9, 11-5, 11-4 (53m)
[4] Karim Abdel Gawad 3-2 Aly Abou Eleinen  5-11, 11-7, 3-11, 11-5, 11-9 (69m)

Round Two

[4] Youssef Ibrahim3-0 Lucas Serme (FRA)  11-7, 11-9, 11-8 (33m)
Todd Harrity  3-0 [7] Omar Mosaad  11-7, 11-3, 11-4 (29m)
[2] Youssef Soliman3-0 Velavan Senthilkumar (IND)  11-6, 11-8, 11-2 (33m)

Aira Azman (MAS) 3-0 [7] Zeina Mickawy  11-3, 11-7, 11-9 (29m)
[3] Amina Orfi 3-0 Ainaa Amani (MAS)  11-9, 11-4, 11-5 (30m)
[8] Hana Moataz3-0 Malak Khafagy  11-5, 11-7, 11-6 (27m)
[4] Tomato Ho (HKG) 3-0 Menna Hamed  11-5, 11-6, 11-9 (32m)
[WC] Menna Walid 3-2 [5] Lucy Turmel (ENG)  5-11, 5-11, 13-11, 11-9, 11-7 (58m)

PSA report on Menna sublime come back at the Squash on Fire!

Tournament wildcard Menna Walid fought back from 2-0 down and four match balls down to claim a remarkable victory over No.5 seed Lucy Turmel and progress to her maiden PSA World Tour quarter-final!

World No.70 Walid, who secured her spot in the main draw of the Bronze-level event after winning the Squash On Fire 2024 Wild Card Challenge last week, looked destined for defeat when 10-6 down in the third game, but managed to flip the match on its head with a clinic of powerful, attacking squash.

After staving off all four of Turmel’s match balls and clinching the third in a subsequent tie-break, the 19-year-old moved from strength to strength and soon found herself level at two games a piece.

Despite finding herself 5-2 down in the fifth, Walid once again showed maturity to work her way back into the game and eventually prevail by an 11-7 scoreline.

“I’m literally over the moon,” she said after the match. “I started to play my shots when I was 2-0 down and 10-6 down. I had nothing to lose and I gave it my all.

“I think that when I was 2-0 down I didn’t play my best squash, but there was still a lot to play, so I just tried to control myself. I kept telling myself to play my best squash because I had nothing to lose because I was playing the World No.24, and then I managed to come back.”

On her upcoming quarter-final tie against No.4 seed Tomato Ho, she added: “I’m super excited for tomorrow. I want to give it my all and prove to myself that I’m competing and I’m here to win.”

Round One

Salma Eltayeb (EGY) 3-0 Marta Dominguez (ESP) 11-9, 11-8, 11-9 (30m)
Ainaa Amani (MAS) 3-0 Nardine Garas  11-7, 11-8, 11-4 (23m)
Menna Hamed 3-1 Ineta Hopton (LAT)  10-12, 11-8, 11-3, 11-4 (32m)
[WC] Menna Walid 3-2 Kenzy Ayman 6-11, 13-11, 11-7, 5-11, 11-6 (38m)
Haya Ali 3-0 Danielle Ray (CAN)  11-5, 11-2, 11-6 (16m)
Malak Khafagy (EGY) 3-0 [WC] Anna Serme (CZE) 11-4, 11-9, 11-6 (23m)

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