PHOTO ALBUM
Finals
[1] Nour El Sherbini 3-0 [2] Hania El Hammamy 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 (35m)
[4] Paul Coll (Nzl) 3-2 [1] Ali Farag 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 8-11, 12-10 (98m)
Semis
[2] Hania El Hammamy 3-1 [5] Amanda Sobhy (Usa) 11-5, 11-5, 9-11, 11-5 (46m)
[1] Ali Farag 3-2 [8] Tarek Momen 8-11, 6-11, 13-11, 11-2, 11-9 (80m)
[1] Nour El Sherbini 3-1 [8] Olivia Fiechter (Usa) 11-5, 6-11, 11-4, 11-6 (36m)
Quarters
[1] Ali Farag 3-1 Miguel Rodriguez (COL) 11-5, 7-11, 11-5, 11-8 (50m)
[8] Tarek Momen3-2 [3] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) 10-12, 11-6, 8-11, 11-4, 11-5 (65m)
[4] Paul Coll (NZL) 3-2 [6] Mazen Hesham 9-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7 (82m)[2] Hania El Hammamy3-0 [6] Nele Gilis (BEL) 11-9, 11-8, 11-7 (54m)
[5] Amanda Sobhy (USA) 3-2 Amina Orfi 11-5, 7-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-3 (64m)
[8] Olivia Fiechter (USA) 3-1 [4] Nour El Tayeb 11-7, 9-11, 13-11, 11-7 (58m)
[1] Nour El Sherbini3-2 [7] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) 11-1, 6-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-5 (48m)
World No.1 Nour El Sherbini was just five points away from being eliminated by England’s Georgina Kennedy before she turned the match around.
El Sherbini dropped just a single point in the opening game against the World No.7, but was outplayed in the next two games as Kennedy took the lead. A 6-2 advantage for the Englishwoman in the fourth put her on the path to a huge upset, however, El Sherbini managed to claw back that deficit as she rediscovered her rhythm from the first game. She held Kennedy off to draw level, before sealing the win in the fifth game.
“I needed this match to get some momentum and a testing match before the semis. I have no idea why I haven’t won the U.S. Open, I tried four times with different people, I lost to Raneem, Nicol, Camille and Nouran. Inshallah this time, it will happen.”
Tarek Momen ended a 12-match losing run against World No.4 Mohamed ElShorbagy. Momen, a runner-up at the 2021 edition of the U.S. Open, had won five of 30 matches against ElShorbagy coming into today’s match and the 35-year-old hadn’t tasted victory against the Englishman since 2019.
However, World No.9 Momen put together a superb display of attacking squash to oust three-time champion ElShorbagy, despite squandering an 8-3 lead as he conceded the opening game. What followed was a back-and-forth encounter, with Momen fighting back from 2-1 down to secure a 10-12, 11-6, 8-11, 11-4, 11-5 victory.
“I’m very happy with today’s performance,” Momen said. “I feel like it’s been a long time coming. I had to push myself and I worked so hard in the summer. Everyone thinks I’m 35 and the curve is going down and I knew this wasn’t the case. I needed to prove to myself that I can get back to where I was.
“At the beginning of the season, even though I wasn’t getting the results, I could see I was playing better and I was fitter. Today was the day when I managed to convert.”
Momen’s semi-final opponent will be World No.1 Ali Farag after he got the better of Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez in an entertaining four-game battle.
Farag, a U.S. Open champion in 2017 and 2019, is targeting a fifth Platinum title in a row and is one win away from a seventh successive Platinum final after beating 37-year-old Rodriguez by an 11-5, 7-11, 11-5, 11-8 scoreline.
“He mixes it up really well, he’s as fit as ever, but he’s got more tactically smart as he’s grown older, which is a nightmare for all of us,” said Farag. “I managed to put the ball away well at the beginning of the third which gave me confidence and momentum for the fourth. Today was the best squash I’ve played all week, I think.”
United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy will line up in the semi-finals of the women’s event for the first time since 2016 after she came back from the brink of elimination to end the run of Egypt’s teenage sensation Amina Orfi, winning 11-5, 7-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-3.
Orfi – aged 16 years and three months – became the youngest player ever to appear in the quarter-finals of a Platinum event tonight and showcased her considerable skills and explosive movement to move to within five points of victory, with a 6-1 lead in the fourth game. But Sobhy, backed by a partisan crowd, raised her accuracy and managed to turn it around.
Hania El Hammamy went up against Belgium’s Nele Gilis in her quarter-final match, eventually seeing off the World No.8 by an 11-9, 11-8, 11-7 margin in a physically punishing contest.
“I’m over the moon to win against Nele, especially in three because she’s so physical, we both are,” said El Hammamy afterwards. “We both went to the wire and it was a matter of who could execute their plan better and stick to it. I tried to remind myself of what I needed to do to reduce the running a little bit and I’m glad I managed to do that.”
Round Three
[2] Hania El Hammamy 3-1 Tinne Gilis (BEL) 9-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-3 (50m)
[5] Amanda Sobhy (USA) 3-0 Zeina Mickawy 11-4, 11-9, 11-3 (31m)
Amina Orfi 3-1 [3] Joelle King (NZL) 11-13, 11-7, 11-5, 11-4 (52m)
[4] Nour El Tayeb 3-0 Lucy Beecroft (ENG) 11-4, 11-6, 11-5 (22m)
[8] Olivia Fiechter (USA) 3-0 Salma Hany 13-11, 11-4, 11-7 (38m)
[7] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) 3-2 Rowan Elaraby 5-11, 11-7, 11-8, 8-11, 12-10 (71m)
[1] Nour El Sherbini 3-0 Nada Abbas 11-1, 11-6, 11-2 (21m)
[1] Ali Farag 3-0 Aly Abou Eleinen 12-10, 5-11, 11-6, 11-3 (50m)
Youssef Soliman 3-2 Miguel Rodriguez (COL) 11-5, 3-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-5 (82m)
[8] Tarek Momen 3-0 Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 11-2, 11-7, 11-6 (28m)
[4] Paul Coll (NZL) 3-0 Youssef Ibrahim 11-3, 11-9, 11-9 (59m)
[6] Mazen Hesham v Raphael Kandra (GER)
SquashInfo reports
At the age of 16 years and three months, Amina Orfi has become the youngest player ever to reach the quarter-finals of a PSA World Tour Platinum event after she overcame world No.4 Joelle King.
The notable achievement comes nine years after 15-year-old qualifier Habiba Mohamed, also from Egypt, became the youngest-ever PSA World Series event quarter-finalist after ousting two seeds to gatecrash the last eight of the Malaysian Open in August 2014.
Orfi, who already has three PSA titles to her name, came back from a game down against 35-year-old King – the event’s third seed – to secure an 11-13, 11-7, 11-5, 11-4 victory which sets up a mouthwatering last eight clash against US No.1 Amanda Sobhy.
King dug in to take the opening game despite Orfi holding a game ball, but the Egyptian showed her class from the second game to take the win. King looked to be managing an injury and wasn’t able to pick up the attacks that her opponent threw at her as Orfi booked her spot in the last eight.
“I can’t believe it, I came into this match with no expectations,” said Orfi afterwards.
“I learnt lessons in Paris and Qatar, I played point by point and the results just came. I had to take care of her experience, she’s been on court way more than me, so when she’s tired she knows how to manage the game very well. I had to play my best shots because when they were in the middle she put them away.
“I’m looking forward to a rest delay to relax, finally.”
Round Two
Katie Malliff (ENG) 3-0 Farida Mohamed 11-6, 11-9, 12-10 (25m)
[2] Hania El Hammamy 3-0 Hana Ramadan 11-3, 11-8, 11-4 (26m)
Salma Hany 3-0 Grace Gear (ENG) 11-5, 11-5, 11-5 (30m)
Nada Abbas 3-1 Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) 11-7, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8 (44m)
Amina Orfi 3-0 Hollie Naughton (CAN) 12-10, 11-6, 11-6 (36m)
Zeina Mickawy 3-1 Jana Shiha 11-7, 7-11, 11-5, 12-10 (33m)
[1] Nour El Sherbini 3-0 Sana Ibrahim 11-2, 11-4, 11-4 (32m)
Rowan Elaraby 3-2 Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) 11-9, 10-12, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7 (58m)
[4] Nour El Tayeb 3-0 Marina Stefanoni (USA) 11-7, 11-3, 11-5 (24m)
Lucy Beecroft (ENG) 3-2 Hana Moataz 4-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-9 (49m)
[1] Ali Farag 3-1 Karim Abdel Gawad 11-9, 7-11, 11-4, 11-4 (51m)
Aly Abou Eleinen 3-0 Omar Mosaad 11-8, 11-9, 11-8 (41m)
Youssef Soliman 3-0 Rory Stewart (SCO) 11-8, 11-3, 11-6 (35m)
[8] Tarek Momen 3-2 Fares Dessouky 11-6, 8-11, 9-11, 11-1, 11-8 (68m)
[3] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) 3-1 Mohamed ElSherbini 14-12, 9-11, 11-5, 13-11 (70m)
Youssef Ibrahim v Patrick Rooney (ENG)
[6] Mazen Hesham 3-1 Mohamed Abouelghar 11-5, 10-12, 11-6, 11-6 (50m)
Round One
Lucy Turmel (ENG) 3-0 Kenzy Ayman 11-1, 11-6, 8-11, 11-5 (38m)
Sana Ibrahim 3-0 Marie Stephan (FRA) 11-5, 11-2, 11-5 (22m)
Georgia Adderley (SCO) 3-0 Nadine Shahin 11-8, 11-5, 12-10 (30m)
Hana Ramadan 3-1 Salma Eltayeb 12-14, 11-9, 11-8, 11-5 (36m)
Nada Abbas 3-0 Emilia Soini (FIN) 11-1, 11-2, 12-10 (24m)
Jana Shiha v Millie Tomlinson (ENG) 11-9, 4-11, 11-8, 11-8 (36m)
Hana Moataz 3-0 [WC] Lucie Stefanoni (USA) 11-5, 12-10, 11-5 (21m)
Lucy Beecroft (ENG) 3-0 Nour Aboulmakarim 11-8, 11-7, 11-6 (29m)
Amina Orfi 3-1 Fayrouz Aboelkheir 11-9, 9-11, 12-10, 11-9 (54m)
Marina Stefanoni (USA) 3-0 Mariam Metwally 11-2, 11-6, 12-10 (28m)
Zeina Mickawy 3-1 Inta Mackevica (LAT) 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8 (33m)
Katie Malliff (ENG) 3-0 Zeina Zein 11-4, 12-10, 11-9 (33m)
Rory Stewart (SCO) 3-1 Yahya Elnawasany 11-5, 11-6, 4-11, 11-4 (43m)
Omar Mosaad 3-2 Curtis Malik (ENG) 8-11, 11-9, 11-9, 10-12, 11-6 (79m)
Youssef Ibrahim 3-0 Leandro Romiglio (ARG) 11-8, 11-7, 18-16 (48m)
Shahjahan Khan (USA) 3- 1 Karim El Hammamy 11-9, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8 (88m)
Aly Abou Eleinen 3-2 [WC] Spencer Lovejoy (USA) 8-11, 11-2, 12-10, 4-11, 11-8 (65m)
