PHOTO ALBUM
[1] Mostafa Asal 3-0 [2] Paul Coll (NZL) 11-4, 11-4, 11-8 (54m)
[1] Hania El Hammamy 3-0 [2] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) 11-9, 11-2, 11-3 (35m)
World No.1-to-be Mostafa Asal has claimed the 19th title of his career following a superb straight-games victory over World No.4 Paul Coll at the Optasia Championships.
Asal, who with victory will overtake Ali Farag at the summit of the world rankings on Monday, looked in complete control throughout the 54-minute encounter, taking the match by an 11-4, 11-4, 11-8 scoreline.
The Egyptian started the match where he left off from his semi-final comeback over Joel Makin, finding his lines and lengths on the all-glass court at the Wimbledon Club and controlling the pace of play on his terms.
Asal remained happy to keep a steady pace of play against No.2 seed Coll and lengthen out the rallies early on, with Coll having spent over two-and-a-half hours on court during his two previous victories over the ElShorbagy brothers.
From this steady pace though, it was the sudden injections of pace and power that troubled Coll the most, with Asal managing to pounce whenever the Kiwi’s length was marginally off. The opening two games both went in Asal’s favour by 11-4 scorelines, before Coll began to match the Egyptian’s play early in the third.
Despite Coll stepping up onto the ’T’ with more regularity early in the third and looking to push the pace of play, Asal continued to cut a relaxed figure, managing to wrong-foot Coll with a number of smart shot selections on his forehand wing.
The 23-year-old dominated the mid phases of the third to sit on the cusp of victory, but then saw Coll come charging back. Defending champion Coll saved two match balls to reduce the scoreline to 10-9, but Asal wasn’t to be denied, sealing victory with a backhand drop into the front left court.
“I’m really happy and proud of myself to bounce back after all of the controversial things in the past.
“I’m really happy with myself and to be World No.1 again. It just hits different.
“I’m super proud of myself today. Paul is such a legend of the game and for sure I knew that he had been touring in New Zealand and Australia and he had had some tough matches here. But still, Paul is so fit and he can manage to do this.
“I wanted to give it 100% today and I knew that I could get back to World No.1. It was unbelievable pressure throughout all of the tournament. I was going to be out against Joel yesterday, I was 2-0 down, but I’m really happy with the comeback yesterday and to bounce back on court today.”
World No.3 Hania El Hammamy claimed her second title of the 2024/25 season following a masterful three-game victory over England No.1 Georgina Kennedy at the Optasia Championships.
El Hammamy, the top seed at the Gold-level final this week, overturned an early deficit in the first before easing through to the title with some incredibly controlled and confident squash, taking the match by an 11-9, 11-2, 11-3 scoreline.
The opening phases of the match we were balanced, with the two players happy to engage in some lengthy exchanges down the side walls. Kennedy, a runner-up at the German Open last week, remained patient with her attacking play, taking the ball in short at the right moments to move into a 9-6 lead.
El Hammamy, who looked to control the tempo of the opener with lifts and calculated play, found her best squash as the first drew to it’s conclusion, taking five straight points to snatch the first after 15 minutes of high-quality play.
The Egyptian top seed carried the momentum from the backend of the first into the following game, pinning Kennedy deep in the court with some superb lines and lengths.
After racing through a one-sided second game to the loss of just one point, El Hammamy only grew in confidence, firing in perfectly-measured winners from all angles of the court and leaving Kennedy with little chance of clawing her way back into the contest.
The Egyptian kept Kennedy on the back foot throughout the third game, building up seven match balls, and sealing victory in fitting style, hitting a perfect dying length into the back forehand corner.
What El Hammamy Had To Say…
“The first game was really, really tough today. I had a few nerves, and I think after that first, I relaxed a bit and was able to play my best game.“I’m very pleased. It is always so tough physically to play against Gina and I always enjoy playing against her. We are very good friends off the court as well and she’s such a nice person. So massive congratulations to her for reaching her first Gold-event final.
“I knew that if I got my tactics right, I got my length right, I would be able to get through in three. But obviously, the first could have gone her way and I had to battle hard.
“I found better targets from there and I found the good performance that I was looking for.”
Semis
[1] Hania El Hammamy 3-1 [3] Satomi Watanabe (JPN)
[2] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) 3-0 [4] Nada Abbas v
[1] Mostafa Asal 3-2 [3] Joel Makin (WAL)
Quarters
[1] Hania El Hammamy3-0 [7] Jasmine Hutton (ENG) 11-4, 11-6, 11-8 (36m)
[2] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) 3-1 [5] Sana Ibrahim 11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9 (46m)
[4] Nada Abbas 3-2 [8] Melissa Alves (FRA) 11-5, 1-11, 11-1, 7-11, 13-11 (56m)[1] Mostafa Asal 3-0 [5] Karim Gawad 11-3, 11-3, 11-6 (40m)
[3] Joel Makin (WAL) 3-0 [7] Youssef Ibrahim 12-10, 12-10, 15-13 (78m)
Round Two
[4] Nada Abbas 3-0 Katie Malliff (ENG) 11-6, 11-7, 11-4 (33m)
[8] Melissa Alves (FRA) 3-1 Mariam Metwally 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7 (43m)
[2] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) 3-0 Nour Aboulmakarim 11-4, 16-14, 11-6 (33m)
[5] Sana Ibrahim 3-2 Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) 11-8, 9-11, 16-14, 1-11, 11-9 (71m)[5] Karim Abdel Gawad 3-1 Jonah Bryant (ENG) 14-12, 5-11, 11-8, 11-8 (50m)
[7] Youssef Ibrahim 3-0 [WC] Charlie Lee (ENG) 11-5, 11-9, 11-5 (37m)
[1] Mostafa Asal3-0 Juan Camilo Vargas (COL) 11-3, 11-3, 11-2 (36m)[3] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) 3-1 Kenzy Ayman 11-4, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6 (44m) :
[1] Hania El Hammamy 3-0 Salma Eltayeb 11-5, 11-3, 11-7 (27m)
[7] Jasmine Hutton (ENG) 3-0 Hana Ramadan 11-3, 11-5, 11-7 (26m)
Round One
Kenzy Ayman 3-1 Alicia Mead (ENG) 11-6, 3-11, 11-7, 13-11 (35m)
Mariam Metwally 3-2 Torrie Malik (ENG) 11-8, 7-11, 12-10, 9-11, 12-10 (60m)
Salma Eltayeb 3-0 Hannah Craig (IRL) 11-3, 11-5, 11-6 (24m)
Nour Aboulmakarim 3-1 Marie Stephan (FRA) 11-7, 13-11, 6-11, 13-11 (55m)
Hana Ramadan 3-0 Nicole Bunyan (Can) 11-4, 11-6, 11-6 (29m)Curtis Malik (ENG) 3-2 Mohamed Abouelghar 14-12, 11-9, 7-11, 5-11, 11-5 (63m)
Down 8/3 in the 5th, Mariam Metwally found the mental strength and the squash to come back and take the game and match 12/10! Interesting to know that Nour Aboulmakarim was coaching her compatriot during that match…
