PHOTO ALBUM
Finals
[1] Olivia Weaver (USA) 3-1 [3] Amina Orfi 4-11, 11-9, 11-1, 11-9 (53m)
[2] Karim Gawad 3-1 [1] Paul Coll (NZL) 9-11, 11-6, 13-11, 11-9 (83m)
Karim AbdelGawad launched a spectacular fightback against Easy Times Brewing Co Squash Australian Open top seed Paul Coll to win the PSA Gold-level championship. Coll and Gawad went into tonight’s match at Brisbane’s South Bank Piazza with a keen understanding of each other’s strengths, with tonight’s match the 13th contested by the pair on Tour.
Despite World No.4 Coll’s superior ranking and 7-5 head-to-head record, Gawad was able to win the last match the pair contested, with the World No.8 overcoming the Kiwi 3-0 in the quarter-final of last season’s El Gouna International.
Gawad started well in a tight opening game tonight, with the Egyptian showing his typical touches of class. Coll, though, grew into the contest, finding the back corners with increased accuracy as the game wore on as he clinched the 22-minute opener 11-9.
The expected Gawad response came in game two, with ‘the Baby-Faced Assassin’ dominating the T and scoring quickly with some wonderfully casual touches as he stuck back 11-6.
Game three was stop-start, with the lack of fluidity better suiting Gawad – who took a number of knocks to the jaw during the lively contest – as the Egyptian fired in winners and capitalised on some poor errors from Coll to earn four game balls at 10-6.
Incredibly, Coll saved all four of them, finding his accuracy when he needed it most to go game ball up 11-10. This time, it was Gawad’s time to dig in, with the Egyptian showing silk and steel in equal measure to finally take the 25-minute grapple 13-11.
Coll requested a new ball between games, which initially seemed to pay off as the Kiwi took a 7-3 lead. When trailing 3-7, Gawad’s body language suggested the Egyptian was losing interest in this contest, only for some cheap errors from Coll to rekindle the former World No.1’s interest as Gawad pulled back to 8-8.
From here, Gawad was brilliant, dragging Coll all over the court as he earned two championship balls at 10-8. Coll saved one but in a nerve-shredding finale, Gawad managed to play a perfect drop that stuck to the wall, beyond the despairing lunge of Coll to complete the comeback.
“Paul is an incredible player and has everything in the game,” Gawad said.
“I need extra energy every time I play him and I’d like to thank him for an amazing final. It’s a huge honour to add my name to all these Australian legends on this trophy. I’ve learnt so much from them and thanks to everyone for coming and supporting us. A special thanks to the court attendants, who have worked incredibly hard, and the referees for everything this week, Tamika [Hunt] and the organising team too.”
Semis
[2] Karim Gawad3-1 [9/16] Auguste Dussourd (FRA) 11-7, 11-9, 5-11, 11-9 (59m)
[1] Olivia Weaver (USA) 3-1 [4] Rowan Elaraby 8-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-6 (52m)
[3] Amina Orfi3-0 [2] Tinne Gilis (BEL) 11-8, 11-9, 11-3 (43m)
Teen squash sensation Amina Orfi took another step towards the summit of the game as the 17-year-old knocked out World No.5 Tinne Gilis in front of 1,000 fans in Brisbane’s South Bank Piazza to set up an Easy Times Brewing Co Squash Australian Open final against top seed Olivia Weaver of USA.
Orfi is regarded as one of squash’s most exciting young talents in a generation, with the Egyptian already reaching World No.6, winning seven PSA titles as well as becoming the first player in history to win three consecutive World Squash Junior Championships.
The teen’s threat was on clear display tonight, with the Egyptian ice cold on a humid court as she edged into a 2-0 lead through 11-8, 11-9 wins. Any hopes of a Gilis comeback were brutally snuffed out by Orfi in game three, with the Egyptian crushing the Belgian 11-3 to record a win that will see her leapfrog Gilis into World No.5 in next week’s PSA rankings.
Afterwards, Orfi said: “She doesn’t give up, our last two matches were 3-2 and 3-2, with 11-9 in the fifth. I knew I had to use the court to my advantage. I can’t wait until tomorrow and hopefully I can win the title!”
Former World No.1 Karim AbdelGawad ended France’s Auguste Dussourd’s incredible run at the Easy Times Brewing Co Squash Australian Open with a battling winto reach the final in Brisbane.
Gawad has enjoyed his time on the South Bank Piazza court so far, with the Egyptian showing more of his trademark classy touches to take game one 11-7. The 33-year-old doubled his lead after taking game two, with Gawad edging it 11-9 after seeing two game balls saved.
Game three was a shootout as both men fired in winners. This worked well for Dussourd, who looked more relaxed than during his bad-tempered win yesterday, and the Frenchman gained a foothold in the match with an 11-5 win.
Gawad had looked slightly off the pace at the end of game three, but was livelier at the beginning of game four. Despite the lack of momentum due to constant court service breaks and Dussourd closing the gap, Gawad was just about able to keep his concentration, with the Egyptian closing out a nervy conclusion 11-9.
Quarters
[4] Rowan Elaraby 3-2 [5] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) 11-9, 11-6, 7-11, 6-11, 11-5 (65m)
[1] Olivia Weaver (USA) 3-0 [8] Salma Hany 12-10, 11-6, 11-3 (31m)
[3] Amina Orfi (EGY) bt [6] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 11-3 (55m)[1] Paul Coll (NZL) 3-0 Yahya Elnawasany 11-2, 11-5, 11-6 (34m)
[2] Karim Abdel Gawad 3-1 Mohamad Zakaria 11-5, 11-9, 10-12, 11-8 (56m)
Elaraby outlasts Sivasangari in epic New Zealand rematch
In the first match of the day, Rowan Elaraby survived a huge fightback from Sivasangari Subramaniam to book her spot in the final four. The pair met less than a week ago in the New Zealand Open quarter-finals, with Elaraby dominant in an 11-9, 11-6, 11-8 win.
Elaraby looked sharp again today, with the 24-year-old deadly at the front as she hit her targets in the corners perfectly to take game one 11-9. The Egyptian was a cut above in the second game, taking the first four points in a quick start. The Malaysian closed the gap to a single point at 5-4, but Elaraby soon began to move her opponent around the court again and regained the upper hand, doubling her lead 11-6.
Game three looked to be more of the same, with Elaraby looking confident early on and building a 7-4 lead as she aimed to get off court quickly. When she needed it most, Sivasangari found some of her missing aggression, latching onto the ball more quickly and hitting with real power as she dragged herself back into the contest with seven unanswered points.
The Malaysian continued to play positively in game four, hitting some trademark long drops as she built a 7-2 lead. Elaraby briefly regained the ascendency as she reduced the Malaysian’s lead to a single point at 7-6, before Sivasangari wrestled back control to take the match into a fifth game with an 11-6 win.
In a tense fifth game, both players made errors when well placed as nerves took hold. Sivasangari initially looked well placed as she took a 5-3 lead. However, an incredible fightback from Elaraby shattered the Malaysian’s hopes. The Egyptian found some classy touches and cut out the errors to string together an incredible eight points in a row to blast her way into the semi-final.
Afterwards, Elaraby said: “I’m really happy that I managed to get the win. We just played last week and it’s always tough to back up your win, especially last night when I played I won in three. This time I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and she’s going to throw everything at me. I’m glad I found a way through in the last game.
“As you can see, Siva has a great attacking game. When it’s on she’s unstoppable. My shots in the back were really passive and she was taking her time in each and every shot so I tried to take that away from her. I was very tired and I tried not to think about it, I said there’s only one game left after it was 2-2. I tried to give it the last push and I’m glad it went my way.”
Orfi records second win in a week over Watanabe
Egypt’s Amina Orfi beat Japan’s Satomi Watanabe for the second time in a week as the No.3 seed overcame the No.6 seed 3-1. Tonight’s match was the fourth the pair have contested this season, with Watanabe getting the better of 17-year-old Orfi in five gamers at the Silicon Valley Open and Squash in the Land, before Orfi dispatched the Japan No.1 in straight games in last week’s New Zealand Open final.
Today’s match followed a similar pattern to last week’s, with Orfi – already up to World No.6 – putting Watanabe under pressure from the beginning with a high-tempo game plan. After taking game one 11-7, Orfi was dominant in doubling her advantage with an 11-4 victory in game two.
Watanabe troubled Orfi at the beginning of game three and moved her around the court, only for Orfi to up the tempo again, pouncing on the ball as early as possible to regain the lead. Watanabe, though, did not back down, with the 26-year-old getting a foothold in the match with a tight 11-9 win.
Despite her young age, Orfi is already regarded as being one of the Tour’s most mentally tough players, and the teenager reset brilliantly between games to storm through 11-3 in game four.
“It feels great. I played her a few days ago and I’m really happy to be through.
“I think today she was trying to be more calm than last time and the court is different, it’s a bit tricky and she adapted well. But I’m happy to be through.
“I know it’s going to be a tough match tomorrow against Tinne Gilis. The last time we played it was last year in February in the final of a tournament, it’s been a long time but I’m looking forward to it.”
Former W No.1 Gawad sees off “future top four” Zakaria
In an entertaining battle between master and apprentice, 33-year-old former World No.1 Karim Abdel Gawad came out on top against 17-year-old World No.27 Mohamad Zakaria. Despite the 16-year age gap between them, the pair went into the match with a good knowledge of each other’s games after playing three weeks ago in QSF 2, a 3-1 win for Gawad.
In an entertaining first game, both players’ athleticism and creativity was on full display as Gawad and Zakaria tested each other to the maximum. Gawad, though, had the measure of his opponent, taking game one 11-5.
Game two was closer, but Gawad was able to keep his nose in front to take a commanding 2-0 lead with an 11-9 win.
Zakaria, the youngest ever male winner of the World Junior Championship, delighted the crowd with a hard-fought win in game three, saving match ball at 9-10 before striking in the tie break 12-10.
The players traded points at the beginning of game four, before Gawad’s quality began to shine through again, and ‘the Baby Faced Assassin’ put his young opponent to the sword with an 11-8 win.
Afterwards, Gawad said: “Zakaria is 17 years old and already in the top 30/top 25 and he’s an incredible player and we’re all expecting him to be in the top ten, top eight, top four very soon. All credit to him, you can’t give easy points to such a good opponent like I did in the third game.
“I didn’t think a lot about the third game – if you think a lot about it then I wouldn’t be able to get a good start in the fourth. I just wanted to get a good start, get the lead and keep it and that happened up until the end of the game.”
Round Two
Yahya Elnawasany 3-0 [7] Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA) 11-5, 11-5, 15-13 (44m)
Bernat Jaume (ESP) 3-1 [4] Youssef Soliman 7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-0 (34m)
Mohamad Zakaria3-2 [5] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) 9-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-9, 6-2 ret. (86m)
[2] Karim Abdel Gawad 3-0 Iker Pajares (ESP) 11-6, 11-8, 11-3 (29m)[4] Rowan Elaraby3-0 Rachel Arnold (MAS) 11-4, 12-10, 11-5 (33m)
[8] Salma Hany 3-0 Nicole Bunyan (CAN) 11-1, 11-8, 11-5 (32m)
Aifa Azman (MAS) 3-1 [7] Fayrouz Aboelkheir 14-12, 7-11, 11-9, 12-10 (48m)
[3] Amina Orfi 3-0 Hana Moataz 11-4, 11-7, 11-5 (38m)
Teeanger Zakaria Reaches Second Gold Quarter-Final
Egyptian teenager Mohamad Zakaria is through to the quarter finals of a Gold event for the second time in his career after coming from behind to overcome No.5 seed Eain Yow Ng. Zakaria, 17, reached the last eight of the Singapore Open earlier this season and will face No.2 seed Karim Abdel Gawad in the quarter finals in Brisbane tomorrow night.
It was closely contested throughout, with some long, brutal exchanges in the first two games which seemed to favour Ng as he looked to have more in the tank than his opponent. Ng won the first and second games 11-8 and 11-9 as his experience look to come to the fore to dispatch the Egyptian starlet.
However Zakaria’s accuracy levels went up a notch into both corners as he halved the deficit with an 11-5 victory in the third. More long exchanges in the fourth seemed to favour Zakaria, who was handling everything Ng threw at him as he restored parity with an 11-9 triumph.
In the opening exchanges of the decider, Ng took a whack to the leg which gave him three minutes to recover. Despite returning to court, the Malaysian shook hands with Zakaria as he was unable to continue.
“I feel amazing, to be honest. This is probably one of the toughest matches that I’ve played,” he said.
“It went on for so long, but for me it was a turning point. Today I wasn’t just running around – he [Eain Yow Ng] was doing way more work than me and I’m so thankful to have Jonathon Power with me today.
“After I lost the first two games I was a bit devastated but he told me I’m doing everything right, I’m putting so much work into him and I had it in me to come back but I had to work.
“I went into the third with a new mentality and I wasn’t tired and I told myself I can play three more games. I had to make sure he made more shots, and I was thankful to win in five today and I’m super proud of myself.”
Elnawasany Reaches Maiden Gold Quarter Final
Yahya Elnawasany is into his first quarter-final at a Gold-level event after ousting No.7 seed Sebastien Bonmalais. The Egyptian has appeared in the last eight of a Bronze-level event before, but has never achieved that feat at a Gold, and he will get to feature on the all-glass court at South Bank Piazza.
Elnawasany, who won the last encounter with Bonmalais at the Qatar Classic in 2022 in five games, but it didn’t go the distance on this occasion as the 23-year-old dominated the ’T’ and controlled the rallies to go 1-0 up. The World No.47 continued to do the same in the second, winning the long rallies with the Frenchman and forcing the errors from his racket to double his match lead.
Errors from both players began to flow in the third, with the long rallies from the first two games taking their toll, but Elnawasany had three match ball chances – only for them to be squandered. A further three opportunities for the Egyptian in the tiebreak, Elnawasany eventually converted to secure a maiden quarter-final at a Gold.
“It feels great – first time to reach the quarter finals of a Gold event. This half of the season has been going well for me and to back it up here and I’m happy to get the result I was hoping for,” he said.
“The last game was brutal – I was 10-7 up and all the emotion came to my head and it feels great to be through. It would have been a different story if I lost the third as he’s a tough player.
“Even from the start of the game, the length wasn’t as good as the first two games because of the emotions and I wanted to win and it came into my head, especially at the end of the game.”
Gawad beats Pajares in ‘exhibition-style’ match
In one of the most entertaining matches of the day, former World No.1 Karim Abdel Gawad beat Spain’s Iker Pajares in a shot-fest. Gawad, a world champion in 2016, won over plenty of new fans in Brisbane tonight, with the 33-year-old playing some vintage stuff as he kept opponent and crowd guessing with a flurry of deceptive touches.
After taking game one 11-6, Gawad was tested by Pajares in game two. The No.2 seed was equal to that test though, balancing his maverick attacking shots with some steely defence as he took the second game 11-8 and then sped through game three 11-3.
Orfi too good for Moataz in New Zealand rematch
Last year’s beaten finalist Amina Orfi overcame Egyptian compatriot Hana Moataz for the second time in a week as the No.3 seed booked her spot in the last eight. At last week’s New Zealand Open, Moataz gave Orfi perhaps her biggest test of the tournament, with Orfi eventually claiming a 65-minute 3-1 win.
Tonight, the 17-year-old had a more comfortable route through, with the World No.6 efficient and error-free as she claimed a 38-minute 11-4, 11-7, 11-5 victory.
“I feel like I’m playing really well these days,” Orfi said. “I knew she was going to come out and try to play better than last time because she’d have nothing to lose.
“I had to change my gameplan [compared to last week]. I stayed more focused in the second and tried to change the pace.”
Elaraby excellent as Egyptian axes Arnold
Egypt’s Rowan Elaraby avenged her China Open loss to Rachel Arnold with a 3-0 win over the Malaysian. Last November, Arnold upset Elaraby in the China Open quarter-final, and the Malaysian may have felt she had a slight advantage today after playing on this court in the afternoon session yesterday.
That notion was quickly dispelled, though, as No.4 seed Elaraby took game one 11-4.
Arnold should have levelled when she earned a 9-3 lead and later a 10-7 lead in game two, but squandered the opportunity as Elaraby attacked well to save the game balls and take game two 12-10.
That defeat completely knocked the confidence out of Arnold, and No.4 seed Elaraby closed out 11-5 in game three to wrap up the contest.
Defending Champion Hany Makes Successful Start to Title Defence
Reigning Australian Open champion Salma Hany made the perfect start to the defence of her title after overcoming Nicole Bunyan. Hany, who defeated Amina Orfi in last year’s final in Sydney, landed the biggest title of her career so far at the Australian Open in 2024.
The Egyptian showed she was in no mood to relinquish the crown with a 3-0 win over Bunyan. Hany set the tone from the opening game, chalking up an impressive 11-1 victory. Despite the strong accuracy from Hany, Bunyan – who impressively knocked out Aira Azman yesterday, remained in touching distance in the second showing some of the nice variety in her shots that were on display in round one.
However it was Hany who closed it out 11-8, and the Egyptian’s strong attacking squash helped her claim an 11-5 triumph in the third and a quarter-final spot.
Round One
Yahya Elnawasany 3-0 [9/16] Alex Lau (HKG) 11-9, 11-8, 12-10 (34m)
[9/16] Mohamed Zakaria 3-0 [WC] Dylan Molinaro (AUS) 11-4, 11-8, 11-9 (31m)Rachel Arnold (MAS) 3-2 Nour Heikal 7-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-4 (51m)
[9/16] Hana Moataz3-0 Cindy Merlo (SUI) 18-16, 11-4, 11-6 (26m)
Elnawasany Dispatches Lau
Egypt’s Yahya Elnawasany booked his round two spot with a 3-0 success over Alex Lau. Elnawasany came into today’s meeting with the upperhand over the Hong Konger having won their only previous meeting on Tour back in 2019.
The World No.47 edged a close opening game 11-9, as some errors from the World No.40, couple with some good shot selection from Elnawasany, was making life difficult for Lau as he was 2-0 down after losing 11-8.
Lau looked to be on course to halving the match deficit when he had an 8-4 lead, but Elnawasany eventually pulled the scores back to 9-9. Lau then squandered game ball when he hit it out of court, repeating the mistake in the next rally to hand Elnawasany match ball. Elnawasany secured a round two spot after Lau hit the tin to make it a straight games victory. The Egyptian will meet Sebastien Bonmalais tomorrow.
Moataz Sees Off Merlo
Hana Moataz kicked off the evening session with a 3-0 win against Cindy Merlo. It was the pair’s first clash on the PSA Squash Tour in six years, with the last coming at the Delaware Open where Moataz edged it 3-2.
Despite the 3-0 scoreline on this occasion, the Egyptian was made to work hard for her victory in the first game, which concluded during a monumental tiebreak. Moataz charged to a 7-1 lead and saw all three of her game balls saved by Merlo, who went on to have five game ball opportunities of her own in the tiebreak but she failed to convert.
World No.39 Moataz eventually closed it out 18-16, and the rallies were short in the second as both players hit winners all over the court. Moataz powered through at the business end to go two games up and, despite Merlo pushing her opponent hard in the third, the Egyptian pressed on to seal a 3-0 triumph.
Moataz meets Amina Orfi on the glass court tomorrow, a week on after their round two clash at the New Zealand Open.
