London Squash Classic: Quarter-Finals: As it Happens

Join us here for reports and reaction from the quarter-finals of the London Squash Classic presented by Bassim Haidar.

Action from the Alexandra Palace commences at 13:00 (GMT+1) and will be available to watch live on SQUASHTV. Have your say on who you think will win with our new match predictor here.

Newly-crowned British Nationals champion Tesni Murphy takes on training partner Satomi Watanabe in the day’s opening match, while there are three English players in the final eight as they look to capitalise on home support.

ElShorbagy brothers Mohamed and Marwan take on Wales’ Joel Makin and Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng, respectively. After upsetting No.4 seed Tinne Gilis, Jasmine Hutton will go up against reigning champion Sivasangari Subramaniam.

No.1 and No.2 seeds Diego Elias and Paul Coll continue their tournaments as they take on Egyptian duo Youssef Ibrahim and Youssef Soliman. Scotland No.1 Georgia Adderley will be full of confidence after her win over Georgina Kennedy and will now take on No.2 seed Amina Orfi.

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Order Of Play:

13:00 Tesni Murphy [WAL] v [3] Satomi Watanabe [JPN]

13:45 [5] Mohamed ElShorbagy [ENG] v [3] Joel Makin [WAL]

15:15 [1] Diego Elias [PER] v [7] Youssef Ibrahim [EGY]

18:00 Georgia Adderley [SCO] v [2] Amina Orfi [EGY]

18:45 Jasmine Hutton [ENG] v [5] Sivasangari Subramaniam [MAS]

19:45 [6] Youssef Soliman [EGY] v [2] Paul Coll [NZL]

20:30 [4] Marwan ElShorbagy [ENG] v [8] Eain Yow Ng [MAS]

Watanabe Comes from Behind to Win

Japan’s World No.6 Satomi Watanabe has reached the semi-finals of the London Classic for the first time after overcoming Wales’ Tesni Murphy in an entertaining clash, winning 6-11, 11-8, 11-5.

Watanabe had beaten Murphy in the pair’s only previous match on the PSA Squash Tour but was up against it as Murphy made a fast start, with her touch in the front of the court putting a number of points on the board.

Watanabe wasn’t able to put Murphy under pressure in the back corners, but that changed in the second game as she managed to push her opponent away from the front before capitalising with some attacking shots in short.

The 26-year-old put Murphy under significant pressure and forced her into some tricky movements, eventually pulling away in the third to set up a last four meeting with Belgium’s Nele Gilis. Gilis received a walkover into the semi-finals after top seed Olivia Weaver withdrew through injury.

“I’m not sure how I got the win today,” said Watanabe afterwards.

“Tesni was just so in control that I couldn’t really do much of my game. I just told myself to calm down a little bit. I couldn’t find my length at the beginning and she was holding the shot really well in the middle. I needed to hit deep in the court so I could get in front a little bit more and have some control.

“It’s definitely an open draw, but at the same time Nele or anyone in women’s draw these days is really tough anyway. I know it’s going to be a tough one tomorrow against Nele and I haven’t played her in a while.

“Hopefully this season I can get into the top five. I know it’s only one ranking away, but that one ranking is really hard to pass through and the top five are so solid.”

Result

[3] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) bt Tesni Murphy (WAL) 2-1: 6-11, 11-8, 11-5 (38m)

Makin Edges Past ElShorbagy in Thriller

Welsh World No.4 Joel Makin overcame former World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy in a thriller at Alexandra Palace as he came back from 6-2 down to earn his place in the semi-finals.

In arguably the match of the tournament so far, spectators were treated to a high-quality clash with Makin elongating the rallies to try and sap the energy from the legs of his 34-year-old opponent.

That initially proved successful, but ElShorbagy fought back in the second game. The Englishman was cheered on by his home crowd and played some incredible winners to nullify Makin, particularly when the Welshman offered up a weak serve.

ElShorbagy had the bit between his teeth and powered into a 6-2 lead in the third game, putting one foot in the last four. However, Makin scrapped away and always forced ElShorbagy to play one more shot every rally. He took nine of the next 11 points to close out the win after 49 captivating minutes.

“Mohamed was being very disruptive,” said Makin afterwards.

“He was having patches where he wasn’t missing, he was hitting aggressively down the forehand and switching with height. He was gluing the ball to the wall.

“It was tough to play against. We all know what he’s done in the game, and you don’t have the protection of it being over five games when you can elongate. I had to get aggressive with my ’T’ position, hit through the ball, stop giving him balls in the air and just try and switch the play slightly.

“He’s got every trick in the book, and he’s full of disruptive tactics that he does mentally, he’s done it to people for years. I will have a bit of a joke because we played for years, and we’ve done that to each other for a long time. I was just saying how I enjoyed it, even though it was that close.

“There wasn’t an inch given there, but then it’s good to laugh about it afterwards when it’s been that close and I’ve managed to nick it. I don’t know if I’d have been smiling if I’d have lost it, though!”

Result

[3] Joel Makin (WAL) bt [5] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) 2-1: 11-7, 5-11, 11-8 (49m)

Elias Battles Past Ibrahim

Men’s top seed Diego Elias continued his attempts to win a maiden London Classic with a 13-11, 11-5 win over Egypt’s Youssef Ibrahim.

It was a fast-paced start from both players as they sought to put the ball in short, with Ibrahim frequently troubling the World No.2 with his incredible shot-making abilities.

Known as ‘The Gunslinger’, Ibrahim put in a performance worthy of that name in the opening game as he kept a point ahead of Elias for much of it. But he squandered two game balls as his accuracy faltered and Elias kept his composure to go ahead.

The second game was all Elias as the languid Peruvian dictated the tempo of the match, and his reward will be a last four meeting with Welshman Joel Makin. Makin got the better of Elias in a controversial semi-final encounter at the PSA Squash Tour Finals in June.

“It was really intense, it was 5-5 in the first game and I was so tired,” said Elias afterwards.

“Youssef has a swing where the ball can go anywhere and he attacks a lot. I was never relaxed on court, but I’m just happy I could win that first game because it was really important.

“I’ve been working with my dad my whole career, since I was 13 years old and playing the juniors. He’s been travelling with me for my whole professional career. Having him here with me every week is amazing.

“He’s [Makin] playing great, he’s a fighter and it’s going to be a big match tomorrow.”

Result

[1] Diego Elias (PER) bt [7] Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) 2-0: 13-11, 11-5 (34m)

Orfi Storms Past Adderley

Egyptian No.2 seed Amina Orfi powered into the last four of the London Classic after a comfortable 2-0 triumph over Scotland’s Georgia Adderley.

Adderley upset women’s England No.1 Georgina Kennedy in the previous round but was up against it against the 18-year-old, whose hard-hitting style overpowered Adderley.

Orfi won 11-4, 11-5 in 23 minutes to set up a last four meeting with either England’s Jasmine Hutton or defending champion Sivasangari Subramaniam.

“In the last three meetings, they were all the same scoreline, but they were very different matches,” said Orfi afterwards.

“I knew she would try and take out another seeded player after a massive win. In the best of three format I knew she would be fired up from the beginning, but I’ve played her on this court before at the British Open, so had a good plan.

Result

[2] Amina Orfi (EGY) bt Georgia Adderley (SCO) 2-0: 11-4, 11-5 (23m)

Defending Champion Sivasangari Advances

Defending champion Sivasangari Subramaniam continued her title charge after battling past England No.2 Jasmine Hutton to end home interest in the women’s draw.

Sivasangari has fond memories of the London Classic after beating three of the world’s top four en route to winning it in April last year and she will take on the current World No.5 Amina Orfi in the semi-finals.

Sivasangari held the ball well and utilised a number of trickle boasts to unsettle her opponent, who she was playing for the first time on the PSA Squash Tour.

Hutton, who beat No.4 seed Tinne Gilis in the previous round, conceded a narrow opening game and struggled to find chinks in the Malaysian’s armour in the second game as composed squash from Sivasangari saw her complete an 11-9, 11-5 victory.

“She’s improved a lot and she’s a very dangerous player,” said Sivasangari afterwards.

“I stuck to my game plan well and stayed as focused as I could until the end.

“Yesterday [against Tomato Ho], I was a bit unsettled, especially in the second. I was prepared today and understood how the court works a bit more.

“She [Amina] is still young but she’s up there, she’s amongst the best players now. It’s going to be a tough battle.”

Result

[5] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) bt Jasmine Hutton (ENG) 2-0: 11-9, 11-5 (20m)

Coll Continues Title Defence

Reigning men’s champion Paul Coll continued his title defence with a comfortable victory over Egypt’s Youssef Soliman.

Coll, who beat World No.1 Mostafa Asal to win last year’s London Classic, controlled proceedings at Alexandra Palace, winning 11-2, 11-4.

Soliman is now coached by four-time World Champion Ali Farag, who beat Coll in 22 of their 31 PSA Squash Tour matches, but Farag’s influence wasn’t enough to help the Egyptian knock Coll off his stride today.

Coll advances to face either World No.5 Marwan ElShorbagy or Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng. He joins wife Nele Gilis in the last four, with Gilis progressing after her opponent, top seed Olivia Weaver, withdrew through injury.