Teenage sensation Amina Orfi continued her hunt for a first Platinum title with a ruthless four-game victory over current world champion Nour ElSherbini at the U.S. Open in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Four-time World Junior Champion Orfi, who earlier this month became the youngest-ever female player to reach World No.3 in the PSA Rankings, continued her rapid rise in the women’s game with a thoroughly deserved 13-11, 10-12, 11-3, 11-9 victory over the top seed at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The opening two games of the match were tightly fought, with No.4 seed Orfi saving two game balls on her way to taking a scrappy first 13-11, before ElSherbini fired back in trademark style to level the match following a second successive tie-break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the match locked in at one game apiece, it was 18-year-old Orfi who grabbed hold of the initiative, pinning ElSherbini deep into the back two corners with her relentless line hitting. Despite ‘The Warrior Princess’ battling back from 8-2 down in the fourth to draw level at 9-9, Orfi regained her composure in impressive fashion to book her spot in her first U.S. Open final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the match, Orfi said: “I know she is able to get points really quickly, it is something she is known for, so I had to focus on my game and go back to what I was doing in both the second and fourth games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“You can’t ignore the fact that she is an eight-time World Champion, but coming into this match, I know that even though I’m third in the rankings and above her, when you’re playing her, it still feels like you’re playing the World No.1.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Orfi will face World No.2 Hania El Hammamy in the Platinum-level final after the 25-year-old overcame U.S. No.1 Olivia Weaver in a hard-fought three-game encounter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
El Hammamy’s 11-7, 11-6, 11-9 win over the World No.5 extends her unbeaten streak on the PSA Squash Tour to 14 matches and moves her one step closer to securing a third straight major title, after lifting the Egyptian Open and Qatar Classic crowns earlier this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the men’s event, top seeds Mostafa Asal and Paul Coll continued their blemish-free U.S. Open campaigns as the pair powered into the men’s final after respective three-game victories over Egyptian duo Youssef Ibrahim and Karim Gawad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
World No.1 Asal, who in 2021 became the youngest-ever U.S. Open Champion at the age of just 20, produced a dominant performance to see off the dangerous No.8 seed Ibrahim by an 11-5, 11-5, 11-4 scoreline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was Asal’s accurate length hitting into the back two corners that proved crucial to his success, with ‘The Raging Bull’ negating Ibrahim’s renowned attacking prowess in the mid-court and subsequently moving through to the 37th PSA Tour final of his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It means a lot to me, this was the first Platinum event I ever won in my life, so it’s unique and I’m really happy to be back,” Asal said after the match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Youssef is an absolute fighter; he gave more than 100%. I know that feeling when a shoulder pops out, and to continue to play and entertain everyone is amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It is just one match a time, I have a great team behind me and great people on my side. I am really happy we are putting the tactics together.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coll, meanwhile, dispatched an under-par Gawad to the loss of just four points, with the Egyptian No.4 seed feeling the aftereffects of his five-game quarter-final victory over Mohamad Zakaria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gawad struggled to match the intensity and accuracy of a faultless Coll throughout their 25 minutes on court, with the Kiwi breezing through to the final by an 11-2, 11-1, 11-1 scoreline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Results <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Men’s Semi-Finals: <\/strong>[1] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt [8] Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-4 (44m); [2] Paul Coll (NZL) bt [4] Karim Gawad (EGY) 3-0: 11-2, 11-1, 11-1 (25m)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Women’s Semi-Finals: <\/strong>[2] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt [3] Olivia Weaver (USA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-9 (46m); [4] Amina Orfi (EGY) bt [1] Nour ElSherbini (EGY) 3-1: 13-11, 10-12, 11-3, 11-9 (60m)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Teenage sensation Amina Orfi continued her hunt for a first Platinum title with a ruthless four-game victory over<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[37],"class_list":["post-5162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-squash"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t