Defending champion Hania El Hammamy staved off a revival from eight-time World Champion Nour ElSherbini to triumph 3-2 and book her place in the final of the Tournament of Champions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
World No.1 El Hammamy, who clinched her first Tournament of Champions title last year, had a 2-1 lead before ElSherbini surged back to level the match and force a decider – just like the World No.5 did when they last met in the semi finals of the Hong Kong Open in December. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a tense fifth game and with El Hammamy in command with a 5-3 lead, a blood injury sustained by the 25-year-old could have halted her momentum. However El Hammamy didn’t let the break in play disrupt her rhythm, clinching the decider 11-7 to round off an 80-minute blockbuster battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It was such a battle, it was really hard,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I’m in my own journey with how I play those battles and win even if I’m not playing my best. I don’t think I played my best and that’s why I’m really proud I managed to dig deep and fight. I forgot I haven’t been playing like this for so long, I’ve been throwing myself on the floor and diving a lot and I don’t think my team will be happy with this either!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We’ve been talking a lot about how I should be more stable on court and try to reduce the injuries. These battles are the kind of ones where I’m more at risk at injuring myself. I’m very proud I managed to get through it and it’s always tough playing against her [Nour ElSherbini], she’s always smart. I’m very happy.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Olivia Weaver will play El Hammamy in the title decider tomorrow night, after the US No.1 eased her way into her maiden Tournament of Champions final after downing Fayrouz Aboelkheir. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Weaver, who arrived in New York off the back of winning Squash in the Land in Cleveland, was too strong for the Egyptian teenager, winning 11-7, 11-5, 11-2 to make it back-to-back Platinum-level finals. It’s the first time an American has reached the final of this event since Amanda Sobhy in 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There will be a new name on the men’s trophy after World No.1 Mostafa Asal and World No.2 Paul Coll progressed to their first final in New York City. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asal was too strong for his fellow Egyptian Karim Gawad, dispatching the 2017 champion in straight games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The current World Champion played at a high intensity which Gawad couldn’t handle, with the 34-year-old unable to impose himself as Asal’s aggressive hitting helped him secure a 11-4, 11-3, 11-3 victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Karim [Gawad] is such a unique player and all the respect goes to him and his team for sure. Since I was 11 years old, he took me up and I was playing with him all the time since I was a kid,” he said post-match.
“I love Karim, he’s a good friend and he is such a legend. Coming back from an injury like this to entertain us, he is such a unique player and I have to give all the credit to be a great champion. He is a legend for our game, an icon.
“I am really happy I am playing here, the atmosphere is amazing, having my team, my family and everyone, and for sure my coaches. James [WIllstrop] is doing a great job, so it’s one more push to lift this amazing title.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coll is the first male New Zealander to advance to the Tournament of Champions final after he overturned a 1-0 deficit to overcome World No.3 Diego Elias 3-1. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The last time a Kiwi featured in the final of this tournament was 2003 when Carol Owens lifted the title, and Coll is now the first-ever male finalist having seen off the Peruvian. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having seen his pressure absorbed well by Elias in the first as the ‘Peruvian Puma’ won the opener 11-7, Coll eventually got his rewards for wearing done Elias to win the ensuing games 11-6, 11-2, 11-8 to tee up a third title showdown of the season against Asal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
SEMI-FINAL RESULTS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Women’s: <\/strong>[1] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt. [3] Nour ElSherbini (EGY)\u00a03-2: 11-5, 8-11, 14-12, 5-11, 11-7 (80m); [4] Olivia Weaver (USA) bt. [8] Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-2 (28m)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Men’s: <\/strong>[1] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt. [4] Karim Gawad (EGY) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-3\u00a0(36m); [2] Paul Coll (NZL) bt. [3] Diego Elias (PER) 3-1: 7-11, 11-6, 11-2, 11-8\u00a0(59m)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Defending champion Hania El Hammamy staved off a revival from eight-time World Champion Nour ElSherbini to triumph 3-2<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8534,"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":[7],"tags":[37],"class_list":["post-8533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","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