London Classic Finals: Orfi Downs Gilis to Win Women’s Title

Egyptian 18-year-old Amina Orfi put in a commanding performance as she overcame Belgium’s World No.14 Nele Gilis at the spectacular Alexandra Palace to be crowned the women’s champion at the London Squash Classic presented by Bassim Haidar.

Orfi, the No.2 seed for the event, captured her eighth PSA Squash Tour title after overcoming No.8 seed Gilis by an 11-4, 11-5, 11-6 scoreline to win the Gold-level event.

The pair were meeting for the fourth time on the PSA Squash Tour and Orfi made it three wins in a row after following up an impressive semi-final victory over defending champion Sivasangari Subramaniam.

The opening stages of the match were neck-and-neck, with Gilis going toe-to-toe with her opponent in some brutal early rallies. Orfi was initially on the back foot until, at 4-3 down, the World No.5 stepped up the court and began to hurry Gilis, an approach that saw her capture eight unanswered points to go a game ahead.

The second game followed a similar pattern. Orfi ramped up the pace and pounced on the ball whenever she could, giving Gilis no time to settle as she doubled her advantage.

Orfi, watched on by PSA Hall of Famers Jahangir Khan and Susan Devoy, continued to press on in the third game, closing out the win to seal her first title of the season.

“I’m over the moon to capture my second Gold title and the first one of this season,” said Orfi afterwards.

“I think in the beginning, I was just trying to settle, and she was playing long rallies as well, and I knew that in the mid stages that I could attack more once I had a lead.

“I’m flying to Cairo [for the CIB Egyptian Open] today, so hopefully I’ll get a chance to celebrate with my family and friends. It always feels great to be going into a tournament when youv’e won the previous one. I’m looking forward to next week in Egypt.”

Result

[2] Amina Orfi (EGY) bt [8] Nele Gilis (BEL) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-6 (49m)