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Finals

[2] Nouran Gohar  3-1 [1] Nour El Sherbini  6-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-9 (55m)
[2] Mostafa Asal 3-1 [1] Ali Farag  11-5, 4-11, 11-8, 11-5 (52m)

No.2 seed Mostafa Asal defeated World No.1 Ali Farag to win the 2024 Hong Kong Open final in an dramatic conclusion to the Platinum-level event.

The ‘Raging Bull’ came out firing in game one, looking for the nick on the forehand side as went on the attack, pushing up on the T and being dominant as he pushed to a quick-fire 11-5 first game.

As the ball died off in the second game, the rallies got shorter which seemed to favour Farag, as the World No.1 found his targets far better than he did in the first, and managing to put Asal on the back foot to win 11-4 and level the match at 1-1.

The third game saw a far more even affair, as the swings of form in games one and two seemed to balance out to a more equal contest. The Egyptian compatriots fought for each point, with neither earning a clear advantage, but traffic issues began emerging which saw both players lose their two reviews. Despite some excellent finishing from both players, ultimately it was Asal that came out on top, edging the game 11-8 .

Farag looked more unsettled in the fourth game as traffic issues continued to plague the final, but Asal’s power seemed to be the difference, particularly on the forehand side to earn a margin on the scoreline, eventually winner 11-5 to win his second Hong Kong Open title, and his third major title of the season.

“It’s a good match against Farag,” said Asal after the match. “Farag is an unbelievable player. He’s a legend of Egyptian squash. My mentality was today, just sharing a court is something to add to my career. I’m really happy with my performance and I’m looking forward to the [World] Teams. It’s tomorrow I’m having a match!”

When asked after the match about the difference in his physical condition between the U.S. Open in October and now, Asal admitted: “I was struggling. I didn’t hit a single ball after the U.S. Open until about a month. I stopped for a month. No squash at all.

“My finger was a really serious problem. I was going to do a surgery, but thankfully at the last minute I didn’t do it.”

Nouran Gohar has reclaimed the World No.1 spot and clinched her second Milwaukee Hong Kong Squash Open title after defeating Nour El Sherbini 3-1. Reigning world champion Gohar had to better El Sherbini’s result in Hong Kong to return to the summit of the world rankings for the first time since August 2023.

Gohar, whose 2016 triumph at this event was her first major win on the PSA Squash Tour, came from behind to defeat fellow Egyptian El Sherbini to climb back up to World No.1. World No.2 Gohar made a positive start as she found the front corners well to go 6-3 up, but seven unanswered points from El Sherbini helped her take a 1-0 lead.

Losing the first fired Gohar up as she started to move well and inject pace into the front corners, hitting winners all across the court to restore parity.

Traffic issues throughout the third disrupted the tempo, but Gohar was still finding her targets well to edge it 11-9 before taking the fourth by the same scoreline to claim the title and return to World No.1.

“I’m still trying to grasp it!” she said.

“There’s a lot of emotions and last time I won it [the Hong Kong Open] it was my first Platinum event to win and it was a week after winning my World Junior Championships as well.

“To win it again after eight years is emotional for me right now and to get back to World No.1 as well – I’ve worked so hard for it – me and my team – and to have my dad here means the world to me.

“Last time I won it it was in front of my mum and this time it’s in front of my dad so it means a lot to me. It’s always special here in Hong Kong and to play in front of an amazing crowd.”

Semis

[1] Nour ElSherbini 3-0 [4] Olivia Weaver (USA) 13-11, 9-2 ret. (31m)
[2] Nouran Gohar 3-1 [3] Hania El Hammamy  11-8, 6-11, 11-8, 11-8 (71m)

[1] Ali Farag 3-1 [4] Diego Elias (PER)  9-11, 11-7, 11-3, 11-8 (64m)
[2] Mostafa Asal3-0 [8] Joel Makin (WAL)  11-8, 11-3, 11-2 (57m)

World champion Nouran Gohar will have the opportunity to return to World No.1 tomorrow after defeating rival and defending champion Hania El Hammamy in the Milwaukee Hong Kong Squash Open semi-final.

In a tight opener, Gohar was the more accurate player, punishing some occasionally sloppy length hitting from her Egyptian compatriot to take the lead with an 11-8 win. El Hammamy made a better start to game two, before play was interrupted by a deep cut to El Hammamy’s right hand. The delay did not interrupt El Hammamy’s rhythm, though, and the 24-year-old took the game 11-6 to chalk off Gohar’s lead.

Game three was a fragmented and bad-tempered clash, serving up the tension of old as the pair crashed into one another around court. At one point, emotions threatened to boil over as Gohar furiously remonstrated with referee Roy Gingell after El Hammamy caught the world champion in the back, with Gohar warning him ‘she’s going to injure me’ in a lengthy exchange.

Despite her irritation, Gohar was able to marshal her focus and regained the lead with an 11-8 win. El Hammamy looked to be frustrating Gohar again early on in game four, with the No.3 seed building an early lead. Gohar, however, dug in fantastically, turning the momentum of the game on its head to come back from 4-7 to 11-8 to seal a win that had El Hammamy storming off court in fury.

A win for Gohar against Nour El Sherbini in tomorrow’s final would see ‘The Terminator’ leapfrog her compatriot to World No.1

“I didn’t really keep [my composure!],” Gohar admitted afterwards. “But thanks to Roy [Gingell] who told me to take a minute, it really helped. Sorry, Roy!

“It’s tough, we train so hard and give up on a lot in our lives to be here. When you look back and review you think ‘why was I complaining?’

“It’s just tough, Hania is a fighter and won this tournament the last two years. I’m very proud of myself for that last game in how I came back.”

“It has been the case on a couple of occasions [where the winner could get World No.1] in the past. We both have been used to that, but I’m not focused on that, I’m focused on every single point and every game.”

World No.1 Nour El Sherbini took another stride towards reclaiming the Milwaukee Hong Kong Squash Open after the Egyptian overcame USA’s World No.4 Olivia Weaver in a match sadly curtailed by injury to Weaver.

In a high-quality first game, it was Weaver who had the better of the opening exchanges, with the American looking confident and earning two game balls at 10-8.

El Sherbini, as she has done so many times before, managed to rescue the situation, though, hitting some brilliant winners to take the opener 13-11.

During game two, Weaver suddenly pulled up in pain and the American exited the court with the scores at 8-2 to seek physio treatment for her back. Weaver attempted to return, but could not, and what had looked to be a fantastic match was limited to just one game completed.

“I’m really sorry for her. It’s tough when something like that happens, you don’t know if she’s going to come back [on court] or not. It’s tough, but she has to listen to her body. That’s the main, important thing. Hopefully it’s not bad. I thought it was a really good match we were playing,” El Sherbini said.

“During TOC I had a back spasm. I’m the sort of person who, when I know it’s not a dangerous pain, I can adapt to it and push myself. But if it’s something I’m not used to or something I know is bad, I stop immediately.”

Quarters

[1] Nour El Sherbini 3-0 [8] Rowan Elaraby 12-10, 13-11, 11-6 (41m)
[3] Hania El Hammamy 3-1 [7] Tinne Gilis (Bel) 11-6, 14-16, 11-4, 11-7 (64m)
[2] Nouran Gohar 3-1 Sana Ibrahim 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 5-2 ret. (55m)

[1] Ali Farag 3-0 [6] Mazen Hesham 11-6, 11-9, 15-13 (56m)
[4] Diego Elias (Per) 3-1 Youssef Ibrahim 8-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-7 (56m)
[2] Mostafa Asal 3-0 [7] Tarek Momen 11-8, 11-6, 11-2 (44m)

Ibrahim, who was featuring in her second major quarter-final of her career, was caught by the back swing of Gohar when she was 5-2 down in the fourth. After a lengthy period off court, Ibrahim conceded the match after displaying potential symptoms of concussion.

World champion Gohar was in top form in the first but was tested by Ibrahim in the second, with the 21-year-old taking her opportunities well as she pushed her compatriot all the way before Gohar edged it 11-8.

Having seen a 7-2 lead quickly pegged back to 8-8, Ibrahim got her rewards as she forced Gohar into all four corners to clinch the third 11-9.

With Gohar 5-2 up in the fourth, Ibrahim was caught by her opponent’s back swing which led to a halt in play. The injury sustained by Ibrahim saw her unable to continue and had to retire.

“All credit to Sana – she reached her first quarter-final of a Platinum event and that’s a huge achievement in itself,” said Gohar.

“Ending the match like this is something I’m obviously not happy about at all and I think she was playing great.

‘I started finding my range again in the fourth and I wish that she’s feeling better and it’s nothing too serious.”

El Hammamy, a two-time champion in Hong Kong, boasts a 100 per cent record over Gilis having won the last 13 meetings. The World No.3 made the perfect start to keeping that record intact, applying plenty of pressure on the Belgian with her defensive work and managing everything Gilis threw her way.

El Hammamy went 1-0 up but Gilis was in the driving seat in the second as she had four game balls to draw level, only for all four opportunities to be squandered. El Hammamy then had three game balls of her own saved by Gilis, as the Belgian managed to equalise in the tiebreak to close off a monumental 27-minute second game.

That lengthy battle seemed to have taken more out of the tank from Gilis than El Hammamy, as the rallies shortened in length for the next two games as the Egyptian confirmed a place in the last four.

“I tried to push myself mentally. After the second it was very tough, very crucial and I thought she picked up a few good shots in the second and she got away with it,” she said afterwards.

“Thanks to Karim – he was trying to fire me up after the second and was pushing me and I wanted to be aggressive as I could be from the first point in the third and I think it made a difference.

“It’s the last event that I’m holding the title of and it’s such a special place in Hong Kong. I have a lot of special memories here and it gives me good butterflies and good vibes to be playing in front of this crowd.

“I’m really proud to be in the semis again and I’m looking forward to it.”

El Sherbini, who last won the title in 2017, trailed for almost the entirety of the opening game, only to find moments of quality when it mattered most to take the lead via a tie-break.

The second game followed a similar pattern to the first, with Elaraby building a narrow lead only for El Sherbini to once again clinch vital points during the tie-break, as the World No.1 took a commanding 2-0 lead after saving a game ball before taking the game 13-11.

The third game was more comfortable for El Sherbini, with ‘the Warrior Princess’ dominant as she wrapped things up with an 11-6 win.

“It was a tough two games so I’m really happy I won them. It would have made a huge difference if I’d lost one of them. She’s a tough opponent and when we played five months ago it was five games so I wanted to make sure I was more focused.”

On transitioning from rivals today to national teammates next week at the WSF World Squash Team Championships she said:

“We try to switch quickly and move on, we played against each other today but next week we’re going to be one team and supporting each other and helping our team to win the title.”

Farag started quickly before Hesham settled and began to narrow the gap. Farag, however, was able to pull away as mistakes crept into Hesham’s game and he took the opener 11-6.

Farag looked confident after his impressive first game and pushed high up the court from the beginning of game two as he hunted Hesham.

‘The Falcon’ responded well to the pressure, though, utilising his array of tricks at the right times to take a narrow lead at 7-5.

Unfortunately for the World No.5, his concentration slipped, with Farag capitalising on errors and a misjudged appeal for a let by Hesham to double his lead 11-9. Facing such a deficit, Hesham struggled early in game three, with Farag looking comfortable early on.

The No.6 seed found a second wind as he dazzled the crowd with some typically dizzying skills to gain the upper hand. Hesham had two game balls at 10-8 and one more at 11-10, but could not find the crucial final point and Farag went match ball up at 12-11. To the roars of the crowd, Hesham saved the match ball and went game ball up yet again at 13-12.

To Hesham’s dismay, he could not convert again, and this time Farag capitalised, with a high-risk effort from Hesham dropping agonisingly short as the World No.1 finally booked his spot in the last four.

“That was really tough!” Farag said afterwards. “I thought in the first game, I played well and then he came back into it. The second was the best of the match and when I won it, I thought I had him, but he came back really strong in the third.

“He’s lethal when the ball’s short. I tried to keep it simple and hit the back corners and give myself a good chance. ‘I was very happy to see that last one go into the tin!”

“It’s the only title that’s eluded me, I’ve reached three finals but came up against great opponents and couldn’t convert. Hopefully I can do it this time, but I need to focus on my semi-final first and see how that goes.”

The tournament’s No.2 seed, who has won the last four meetings with Momen, was full of confidence as he maintained his run this tournament without dropping a single game.

The World No.3 took his opportunities well when they were presented to him in the front of the court, as Momen struggled to respond to what Asal was throwing at him.

Too many errors from Momen in the third proved costly as Asal stormed his way to a 11-2 win and secure a semi-final clash with Joel Makin.

“I want to thank Tarek for everything he’s doing – he’s such a warrior. He’s almost 37 years old and he’s still playing. I was talking to my family and said I would not exceed 30!” he said.

“It was an unbelievable performance from him and he’s still beating youngsters, all credit to him and sharing a court with him is amazing and thanks to all this amazing crowd for coming.”

Round Two

[8] Rowan Elaraby 3-0 Lisa Aitken (SCO) 11-1, 11-6, 11-7 (30m)
[1] Nour ElSherbini Satomi Watanabe (JPN) 3-0 11-4, 11-9, 11-7 (34m)
[3] Hania El Hammamy 3-0 Amanda Sobhy (USA) 12-10, 11-9, 11-7 (36m)
Sana Ibrahim 3-0 [6] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) 11-8, 11-9, 5-1 ret. (27m)
[2] Nouran Gohar3-1 Joelle King (NZL)  11-5, 10-12, 11-3, 11-5 (40m)

[1] Ali Farag 3-1 Baptiste Masotti (FRA) 11-5, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9 (56m)
Youssef Ibrahim 3-1 [5] Karim Gawad  7-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-8 (53m)
6] Mazen Hesham3-1 Mohamad Zakaria  11-4, 10-12, 11-5, 11-6 (58m)
[8] Joel Makin (WAL) 3-1 Fares Dessouky  9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-4 (63m)
[2] Mostafa Asal 3-0 Auguste Dussourd (FRA)  11-9, 11-6, 11-4 (54m)
[7] Tarek Momen3-1 Marwan Elshorbagy (ENG) 3-1 6-11, 11-1, 11-7, 11-9 (45m)

[4] Olivia Weaver (USA) bt. Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)3-0: 11-2, 11-7, 11-7 (30m)
[5] Nele Coll (BEL) bt. Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS)3-2: 6-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-7 (71m)
[4] Diego Elias (PER) bt. Dimitri Steinmann (SUI)3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-5 (38m)
Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) bt. [5] Karim Gawad (EGY)3-1: 7-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-8 (53m)
[8] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) bt. Lisa Aitken (SCO)3-0: 11-1, 11-6, 11-7 (30m)
[1] Nour ElSherbini (EGY) bt. Satomi Watanabe (JPN)3-0: 11-4, 11-9, 11-7 (34m)

Round One

[1] Nour ElSherbini 3-0 Zeina Mickawy   11-6, 11-4, 11-9 (32m)
[8] Rowan Elaraby 3-0 [WC] Ka Yi Lee (HKG)  11-8, 11-8, 11-4 (27m)
Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) 3-2 Fayrouz Aboelkheir 11-5, 9-11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-5 (48m)
[3] Hania El Hammamy 3-0 Hana Ramadan  11-9, 11-4, 13-11 (35m)
Hollie Naughton (CAN) 3-1 Nour Aboulmakarim  11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 16-14 (44m)
Sana Ibrahim 3-0 [WC] Tsz-Wing Tong (HKG)  11-8, 11-6, 11-7 (28m)
[2] Nouran Gohar3-0 Lucy Turmel (ENG)  11-4, 11-5, 11-7 (41m)

[1] Ali Farag3-1 [WC] Leung Chi Hin Henry (HKG)  7-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-4 (42m)
Mohamed Zakaria 3-1 Timothy Brownell (USA)  11-2, 11-9, 5-11, 11-9 (60m)
[6] Mazen Hesham 3-0 Greg Lobban (SCO)  11-7, 13-11, 11-9 (40m)
[4] Diego Elias (PER) 3-0 Mohamed ElSherbini  0-0 ret. (0m)
[5] Karim Gawad3-1 Raphael Kandra (GER)  11-9, 11-7, 8-11, 11-3 (35m)
Youssef Ibrahim 3-1 [WC] Alex Lau (HKG)  9-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-8 (48m)
Fares Dessouky 3-0 Nicolas Mueller (SUI)  11-7, 11-5, 11-2 (27m)
[7] Tarek Momen 3-1 Ramit Tandon (IND)  6-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-4 (39m)
[2] Mostafa Asal 3-0 Leonel Cardenas (MEX)  11-8, 11-5, 11-6 (51m)

TODAY : Daily reports from the Hong Kong Squash Open

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