[1] Nele Gilis (BEL) 3-1 [4] Salma Hany (EGY) 11-7, 7-11, 12-10, 13-11 (66m)
[3] Gina Kennedy (ENG) 3-1 [6] Tesni Murphy (WAL) 11-5, 11-5, 4-11, 11-8 (45m)
[4] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) 3-1 [1] Joel Makin (WAL) 13-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-8 (73m)
[6] Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) 3-0 [3] Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) 11-8, 11-4, 11-1 (40m)
Ng topples top seed Makin as finalists are decided
[4] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) 3-1 [1] Joel Makin (WAL) 13-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-8 (73m)
Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng reached the 2024 German Open final after defeating top seed Joel Makin in a 73-minute thriller, as Gina Kennedy, Nele Gilis and Dimitri Steinmann also progressed.
Despite a quick start for the Welshman to take a 4-1 lead in the first game, Yow Ng quickly levelled the match and the pair looked inseparable to 8-9, with the Malaysian winning with a backhand cross-court nick to restore parity in the game. The No.4 seed had the first chance at taking a 1-0 lead, and despite after a contentious decision in which Yow Ng believed Makin’s get went over the court lines on the front wall, the Malaysian converted the game at 13-11. Yow Ng looked strong as he entered the second game, comfortably handling the brutal physicality of Makin, winning a thrilling rally at 4-2 with an impossibly tight squeeze on the right wall. The rallies continued to be long and attritional, but Yow Ng kept narrowly ahead and won 11-8 to go within a game of a place in the final.
Makin looked revitalised at the start of the third, and after Yow Ng mishit an overhead shot at 1-0, Makin seemed to have the mental advantage as he pushed to a 7-1 lead. The Malaysian did fightback to 4-8, but the gap in points was too great to overcome as the top seed converted his lead 11-6 to halve his deficit. The two players traded points to 8-8 in the fourth game. A tin hit from Makin at 8-8 after a particularly attritional rally saw Yow Ng yell out, and the Malysian won two more points in quick successive to take out the top seed.
“You could see that I was trying to contain my emotions throughout the match and not show too much emotion,” said Yow Ng after the match. “Against someone like Joel you can’t over attack to the front and today I was really free and I was hitting a lot of shots to the front myself. I can’t get overexcited – at the start of the third I got it wrong and he punished me.
“I had to make sure I got my lines right. At 7-4 down he came back and yesterday he was down he came back and he’s shown with his reputation how tough he is and, to be honest, I think he was carrying a bit of an injury as well today.”
Gilis gets the win over Hany
[1] Nele Gilis (BEL) 3-1 [4] Salma Hany (EGY) 11-7, 7-11, 12-10, 13-11 (66m)
In an exciting third semi-final of the day, women’s top seed Nele Gilis defeated Egypt’s Salma Hany. In a 12-minute first game, Gilis showed strong signs in the opening phases, managing to nullify the threat that Hany possesses, and pulling the Egyptian into the front of the court to suit the Belgian’s game style. The Egyptian responded well, firing four unanswered points to start the second game. Despite a fightback from Gilis from 4-8 to 7-9, the Egyptian held her lead and levelled the match at 1-1.
Hany took an early 6-3, but the top seed pushed back to level pegging despite a dramatic double dive from the Egyptian. The top seed’s physicality was too much as Gilis overcame the deficit to take the lead in the match after a close-fought tie-break. The fourth game wasn’t as close, with the Belgian went ahead from the outset. Hany fought back to 10-10, but Gilis’ quality and athleticism made the difference in the end as she took the game 13-11 and booked her place in tomorrow’s final.
“I’ve played Salma since the under-11 juniors and she has chopped me 3-0 every single time we played, which is a lot of times!” said Gilis. “I beat her on court for the first time last year, and that’s how many times it took me to get used to her game and her attacking skills. She’s definitely one of the most skilful players on Tour and I’m very proud of myself with the way that I dug in and stuck to my game plan.
“When I was up the in the fourth I thought to myself, ‘come on, stay focused, focus on your game plan because she can come back’. Maybe I manifested that and next time I should do the opposite! I know how dangerous she is and she can get points very quickly if you’re off your targets.
“I really enjoy my battles with Gina – it’s back and forth all the time and I’m really enjoying the rivalry that we’re building and I’m really looking forward to a battle tomorrow.”
Steinmann despatches third seed ElSherbini
[6] Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) 3-0 [3] Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) 11-8, 11-4, 11-1 (40m)
In the last semi-final , Switzerland’s Dimitri Steinmann defeated Egypt’s Mohamed ElSherbini to progress to the first PSA World Tour final of his career. Mohamed ElSherbini took an early 6-3 lead, but the ‘Jet’ fought back quickly, with a forehand kill to make it 4-6, and after he marched into the lead, the Swiss player sent ElSherbini the wrong way to take a 9-7 lead. Steinmann stayed ahead as he pushed to a 11-8 first game win.
The sixth seed looked dominant in the second game, taking an 7-4 advantage as the Egyptian seemed to struggle with Steinmann’s shot combinations, and the Swiss player scored four unanswered points to take a 2-0 lead. ElSherbini asked for a physio as he left the court, and after a prolonged break, Steinmann won four successive points to make it eight points in a row for the No.6 seed before ElSherbini won his first rally of the third game. From there, Steinmann controlled the game, with ElSherbini unable to keep up, as he won the final game 11-1.
“Sherbini is a very good player and he’s proven it so many times,” said Steinmann. “He’s beaten some of the top guys and I wish him nothing but the best and a speedy recovery. I’m looking forward to our next battle on court.
“Working with Simon Rosner has been going really well. My attacking game has really improved and I can play all four corners now and I’ve really been enjoying our partnership together.
“Definitely get something to eat and recover well, see the physio and get back at it tomorrow.”
Kennedy survives Murphy threat
[3] Gina Kennedy (ENG) 3-1 [6] Tesni Murphy (WAL) 11-5, 11-5, 4-11, 11-8 (45m)
In the first match of the day, England’s Gina Kennedy defeated Wales’ Tesni Murphy in four games to reach her second final of the season. Kennedy looked in control of the match from the beginning, covering the court with ease as she pulled Murphy around the court and converted her advantage at 10-5 to take the lead in the match before repeating the feat (again winning 11-5) in the second game.
Murphy, finally managing to contain the quality of Kennedy, started finding her targets in the third game and surged to a decisive 7-2 lead. The Welshwoman pushed on and converted the game 11-4 to bring life back into her final hopes. In the first closely-contended game of the match, both players traded points to 6-6, but the quality of Kennedy shone through to collect four consecutive points, winning the match at the third time of asking.
“I think that’s my issue – I don’t underestimate Tesni so even when I’m 2-0 up I’m so aware of what she’s capable of but it makes me really nervous!” said Kennedy after the match.
“I knew what I wanted to do, but she stopped me every single time. That’s why our head-to-head is in her favour – she’s so smart and unbelievably skilful. She knows what I’m going to hit even when I don’t know!
“I find her really hard to play against and I’m glad I found way to scrap my way through that fourth game because it wasn’t the prettiest squash from either of us. But on this dead court we both knew you have to play it short as soon as you can and she makes me fall into traps that I’m so aware of and I still fall into them.
“It’s all credit to her, I love her on and off the court and she’s such a good friend of mine. She’s had an amazing career and I hope she continues to play great squash because she’s so good to watch.”
