Dominant wins for Sobhy, Farag and Hammamy as Coll ousts Shorbagy
Semi-Finals Day as action moved to the Cultural Plaza, Xiqu Centre in Kowloon this evening.
The round started with a dominant win for USA’s Amanda Sobhy over top seed Nour El Sherbini, and that trend continued as Egyptian duo Ali Farag and Hani El Hammamy powered into the finals with wins over Mostafa Asal and Nele Gilis.
The final match produced another upset as New Zealand’s Paul Coll overcame four-time champion Mohamed ElShorbagy in four games.,
Reports, Quotes and Photos below the results …
[3] Amanda Sobhy (Usa) 3-0 [1] Nour El Sherbini (Egy) 11-8, 11-4, 11-3 (30m)
[1] Ali Farag (Egy) 3-0 [3] Mostafa Asal (Egy) 11-4, 11-9, 11-8 (43m)
[2] Hania El Hammamy (Egy) 3-0 [4] Nele Gilis (Bel) 11-5, 11-5, 11-1 (32m)
[5] Paul Coll (Nzl) 3-1 [4] Mohamed ElShorbagy (Eng) 11-4, 11-8, 7-11, 11-3 (53m)
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Sobhy scorches past Sherbini into final
[3] Amanda Sobhy (Usa) 3-0 [1] Nour El Sherbini (Egy) 11-8, 11-4, 11-3 (30m)
What a performance from Amanda Sobhy, to beat the World #1, World Champion and top seed in straight games !
Sobhy was on the front foot from the start, while Sherbini was making too many errors for her own good as Sobhy took the lead 11-8. A 6-2 lead in the second was enough to see Sobhy double her advantage, and at 5-0 in the third the upset looked very much on.
At 10-3 Sobhy had seven match balls but needed just one to complete the win.
“I feel great! That was really enjoyable squash for me to play. I think that’s some of the best squash I’ve played, especially movement-wise.
“I felt so free out there which was such a nice feeling and you don’t get many opportunities like this to go and play and compete for a final.
“I want to make the most of it and really challenge the big three – I want to put myself in that category! She made some errors and that probably wasn’t her best squash, but I’m happy with how I played.”
Farag dethrones Asal to reach final
[1] Ali Farag (Egy) 3-0 [3] Mostafa Asal (Egy) 11-4, 11-9, 11-8 (43m)
Top seed Ali Farag won through to his first Hong Kong Open final with an impressive performance against defending champion Mostafa Asal.
Farag was dominant in the first, and although Asal got closer in the next two games Farag retained a tight grip on the match and the scoreboard, winning through to the final on his first match ball.
“Mostafa is one of the most dangerous players on the planet, and even in the history of our sport. Any loose shot he’s lethal with his shot selection and accuracy. I think I started off really well finding my corners. In the second he started to getting me on the backhand side and taking that volley away from me. That got me confused a little bit but then it took me a while to get used to it.
“Hong Kong is one of the tournaments with the biggest history in our sport. To put my name on that trophy alongside some of the greats would be great for me. I’ll do everything I can to prepare for tomorrow’s match.”
Defending Champ Hania races into final
[2] Hania El Hammamy (Egy) 3-0 [4] Nele Gilis (Bel) 11-5, 11-5, 11-1 (32m)
Both had battles to reach the semi-finals, but tonight it looked as though those exertions had a much greater effect on Nele than they did on Hania.
The defending champion was on fire from the first rally, and try as she might there was little the Belgian could do to stem the flow of points. The first game concluded with a rally that Nele must have thought she’d won four times, but somehow Hania kept in in before delivering the finishing touch.
The pattern continued in the next two games and soon enough Hania was back in the final.
“I’m definitely pleased with my performance today, although I feel as though Nele wasn’t at 100% – usually we have more physical matches. She had a really tough run to make it to the semi-finals, so that probably affected her a little bit.
“I don’t want to take anything away from me, I played so well today. The court we played on up to the quarters was very bouncy and here the court plays different, the weather is different and I think I adapted well on this court and found my targets well at the beginning of the match.
“I’m super excited [for the final]. I think it is the first time I have played against Amanda in a final, so it’s going to be big. She had a huge win against Nour today so she must be pumped up, and hopefully we can put up a good show.”
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Coll denies Shorbagy a fifth
[5] Paul Coll (Nzl) 3-1 [4] Mohamed ElShorbagy (Eng) 11-4, 11-8, 7-11, 11-3 (53m)
New Zealand's Paul Coll was impressive last night in beating second seed Diego Elias in straight games, and he was equally impressive tonight as he beat fourth seed and four-time champion Mohamed ElShorbagy in four games.
Coll dominated the first to take the lead but ElShorbagy rallied and reached 6-all in the second before Coll stretched away again to go two up.
Early errors cost Coll in the fourth as Elshorbagy went 8-4 up, and although Coll got closer Elshorbagy - egged on by the crowd after a referee decision they and Mohamed disagreed with - pulled a game back.
Coll was off to a flyer in the fourth though, and a 8-0 start was enough to ensure that he'd appear in his first Hong Kong final.
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