Nour ElSherbini and Youssef Ibrahim upset the seedings as Mostafa Asal and Olivia Weaver also reach the finals …
You can Watch Live on SquashTV, follow on Live Scoring and Socials, and we’ll have photos going into the Gallery and Reports and Reaction right here.
Sherbini downs El Hammamy in five, Asal advances in three
Contrasting fortunes for the top seeds as Nour ElSherbini downs Hania El Hammamy in five while Mostafa Asal despatches Jonah Bryant in straight games.
[3] Nour ElSherbini (Egy) 3-2 [1] Hania El Hammamy (Egy) 7-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-7, 11-3 (69m)
[1] Mostafa Asal (Egy) 3-0 Jonah Bryant (Eng) 11-3, 11-5, 11-1 (41m)
Eight-time World Champion Nour ElSherbini recovered from 2-1 down to beat two-time champion Hania El Hammamy for a place in tomorrow’s final. ElSherbini whose only win here was back in 2017, was a repeat of the final of 2022, where El Hammamy edged an 89-minute five game epic for the first of her two titles in Hong Kong.
After a slow start from ElSherbini, she improved in the second to restore parity. Errors from ElSherbini in the third though allowed El Hammamy to regain the lead. The momentum once again shifted back in ElSherbini’s favour in the fourth, as she stepped up the court more to level once again 11-7.
The decider was scrappy, as El Hammamy first injured her ankle which halted proceedings for three minutes before she fell and hit her head on the floor for another brief pause in play. But ElSherbini closed out the fifth 11-3 once played resumed to progress to the final.
“I’m definitely very happy to win this match,” she said. “Hania is amazing, she’s such a fighter and you can see she’s been struggling with her ankle and hitting her head but she still came to fight and try for every point.
“It’s always a pleasure being on court with her and a pleasure beating her and playing with her. She’s been in form so it’s been a big plus for me to beat her. I don’t have the best memories here in Hong Kong but hopefully this time it’s going to turn out to be a good one. I’m happy to be back in the final and hopefully I’m one step closer this time.”
Reigning Champion Asal moved a step closer to retaining his crown after taking down Jonah Bryant in straight games . World #1 Asal, who defeated Ali Farag in last year’s final to claim his second Hong Kong Open, produced another impressive performance to earn his spot in tomorrow night’s final.
Asal and Bryant’s only previous meeting came at the backend of last season at the British Open where the Egyptian needed five games and 75 minutes to see off Bryant, but only three were needed this evening in Hong Kong.
“It means a lot,” said Asal. “I’m feeling very comfortable here. The treatment is amazing, everyone is amazing and plenty of supporters here as well as friends and family. I’m really happy with the way I’m playing and I’m really enjoying it here.”
Weaver and Ibrahim win through to the finals
USA’s Olivia Weaver and Egypt’s Youssef Ibrahim reached the finals with four game wins over Satomi Watanabe and Paul Coll.
[4] Olivia Weaver (Usa) 3-1 [6] Satomi Watanabe (Jpn) 11-9, 6-11, 11-6, 11-7 (46m)
[8] Youssef Ibrahim (Egy) 3-1 [2] Paul Coll (Nzl) 3-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-8 (64m)
Fourth seed Weaver started the match in rock-solid fashion, finding her lines and lengths and forcing Watanabe into a number of unforced errors, taking the first game 11-9. Watanabe responded impressively in the second game as she levelled the match 11-6 scoreline after 22 minutes of play.
The match took another swing in momentum in the third with Weaver’s consistency seeing her move from 2-2 to a 7-4 lead. From there, the Philadelphia-born 30-year-old regained the lead and capitalised on a 4-0 start in the fourth to record her first Platinum semi-final win at the 12th time of asking.
Weaver picked up where she left off at the beginning of the fourth, racing into a 4-0 lead with some crisp hitting down both wings. Despite Watanabe managing to draw level in the mid-stages of the game, Weaver managed to hang tough to claim her first Platinum semi-final win at the 12th time of asking.
“I think I was really excited for the opportunity today. I knew both of us were going to come in feeling a little bit of pressure, a huge opportunity for both of us to try to reach our first Platinum final. Satomi played unbelievably well in phases today, but I’m happy about how I tweaked a few things and got back in front of her, so I’m really happy.”
Eighth seed Ibrahim progressed to his first Platinum final in almost four years after delivering a performance of the highest level to overcome second seed Paul Coll in four games. Ibrahim, whose last Platinum final ended in defeat against Coll, battled back from a game behind to beat the Kiwi #1 in four games.
Coll dominated the opening game, racing into the lead after just seven minutes. The 26-minute second game that followed would ultimately prove crucial in the outcome of the match, with Coll edging ahead to a 10-9 scoreline, before crucially slipping on game ball to offer Ibrahim a route back in, which he gratefully accepted to level 13-11.
Ibrahim moved from strength to strength in the third, moving away from 8-8 to take the lead, and from 4-1 down in the fourth surged ahead to take the match 11-8.
“Today in the first game I was totally outplayed and outclassed,” he admitted. “The ball wasn’t very bouncy at the beginning of the match and he was just taking it short so early. The second game I had to really dig deep to get stuck into the match. I just tried to find a way to get through it and take my chances. And then I managed to find my way much better in the third and fourth.”
A trip around Ocean Park
