Day 4 | Australian Open: Quarter-Finals Report

Story by: PSA Squash Tour

Impressive Gilis Sees Off Ibrahim In Three

World No.10 Tinne Gilis continued her quest for back-to-back titles Down Under with an impressive straight games win over Egypt’s Sana Ibrahim.

Gilis, who arrived in Brisbane on the back of a New Zealand Open title victory just last week, delivered a commanding performance to advance to the semi-finals by an 11-8, 11-3, 14-12 scoreline.

The opening two games of the match were dominated by the Belgian No.1, with Gilis finding her marks to great effect and using her physicality to stay in multiple rallies when on the receiving end of a barrage of Ibrahim’s hitting.

However, after racing through 11-8 and 11-3 games, Ibrahim finally got her power-hitting going and found more accuracy going into the front two corners. The pair traded points into the mid stages of the third, but it was Ibrahim who moved two game balls up at 10-8.

Gilis, though, refused to be drawn into a fourth, reeling off two straight points to force a tie-break, saving another two game balls at 11-10 and 12-11 down, and subsequently snatching the victory at her first opportunity. The No.2 seed moved through to the semi-finals of the Gold-level event after 50 minutes of play.

After the match, Gilis said: “Sana is such a talented player. She is still also so young and has so much time to improve, but she is already up there in the rankings. She challenges everyone.

“I’ve always had long and hard battles against her, and this was no less. She made me work really hard to finish that one off. I’m happy to get through in three games.”

Result:

[2] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bt [5] Sana Ibrahim (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-3, 14-12 (50m)

Makin Withstands Early Mueller Barrage To Reach Semis

No.2 seed Joel Makin had to be on his mettle to withstand an early blitz of attacking play from Nicolas Mueller before moving through to the semi-finals after an entertaining three-game contest.

No.8 seed Mueller looked in irresistible form in the early stages of the match, firing in a number of nicks into the front two corners and edging ahead of Makin on the scoreboard. However, Mueller’s high-risk, high-reward strategy did have its downfalls, with the 36-year-old hitting a trio of costly errors when on the brink of a first-game win.

After coming from behind to clinch the opener 11-9, Makin only moved from strength to strength, with the Welshman’s superior movement forcing Mueller’s margins to get lower and lower, which subsequently resulted in more unforced errors.

World No.6 Makin took control of the contest from this stage on, wrapping up the 11-3 second game after 13 minutes and slowly grinding down Mueller in the Brisbane heat.

Despite Mueller continuing to fire in his attacks right until the very last point, and managing to rally in the third to a 10-9 deficit, it was three-time British National Champion Makin who managed to seal the victory on his third match ball to bring the crowd-pleasing encounter to a close.

After the match, Makin said: “It’s hot in here! I was struggling with the floor at the backend of the match because of the pressure he was putting me under. Credit to Nicky, he was playing some great squash and playing with a lot of freedom. It was great for everyone to watch – about two decisions in 45 minutes, and I really enjoyed it.

Result:

[2] Joel Makin (WAL) bt [8] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 3-0: 11-9, 11-3, 11-9 (49m)

Stefanoni Upsets Hany In Thriller

World No.19 Marina Stefanoni held off a late comeback from Salma Hany to advance to the semi-finals after five thrilling games at South Bank Piazza.

Stefanoni, who with victory advanced to her third straight semi-final on the PSA Squash Tour, continued her fine recent form with an 8-11, 15-13, 11-5, 9-11, 11-7 victory in Brisbane.

Hany started the match in confident form, firing the ball in short with great accuracy and taking full advantage when Stefanoni opened the court up at the wrong times. The Egyptian moved into a one game lead by an 11-8 scoreline. 

The match continued to heat up as it entered the second, with both players upping their levels and resulting in a highly entertaining affair. 

The pair were inseparable all the way into a lengthy tie-break, with both spurning two game balls a piece. However, it was a smart straightened line from Stefanoni which broke the deadlock and saw the American draw level after 26 minutes of play. 

Stefanoni only grew in confidence as the third progressed, taking the ball in with more regularity and storming into an early lead. The errors began to flow from the racket of Hany and in a flash Stefanoni had moved 2-1 up. 

Despite Hany looking down and out at the end of the third, a change of ball worked in her favour, with the Egyptian rediscovering her targets at the front and digging deep to force a deciding game. 

A see-saw fifth game were to follow, with Stefanoni charging into an 8-3 lead but seeing Hany come within two points of her at 8-6. An injury break for the Egyptian were to follow, and upon resumption it was Stefanoni who regathered the momentum to move through to victory after 73 minutes of play.

After the match, Stefanoni said: ““That win is definitely up there with my best! I played Salma a few weeks ago and she wasn’t quite at her best physically. She was in full form tonight and it’s great to be pushing these top girls in events such as this. 

“It was very stop start tonight. It was a big mental battle tonight. The support I got tonight though was incredible.”

Result:

[7] Marina Stefanoni (USA) bt. [3] Salma Hany (EGY) 3-2: 8-11, 15-13, 11-5, 9-11, 11-7 (73m)

Zakaria Sets Up Makin Rematch After Hard-Fought Ng Victory

World No.9 Mohamad Zakaria set up a New Zealand Open semi-final rematch with Joel Makin after defeating Malaysian No.1 Eain Yow Ng in a brutal four-game encounter at South Bank Piazza.

Zakaria looked in top form early on in the match, pushing Ng around the court in a number of brutal 90-second-plus rallies. The two-time World Junior Champion moved into a 1-0 lead after 24 minutes of play.

Ng dug in physically in a faultless second game, hitting his targets immaculately down the backhand wing and jumping up the court to great effect. The pair once again slugged it out for 25 minutes-plus, but this time it was Ng who managed to battle back from 8-6 down to win the second 11-9.

The quality of hitting from Ng continued at the start of the third, with the Malaysian matching Zakaria blow-for-blow. However, a couple of costly errors towards the back-end of the third saw Zakaria edge ahead, with the teenager capitalising on this window of opportunity to move 2-1 up by an 11-8 scoreline.

With no change of ball at the end of the third game, Zakaria came out with a more aggressive game plan, firing the ball in short with more regularity and powering into a 5-0 lead.

From there, the World No.9 was able to move through to a gutsy 11-7, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5 win after 79 minutes of play.

After the match, Zakaria said: “I didn’t play my best tonight, but that’s because of how well Yow played tonight. I think his backhand quality today was insane. I was trying to find a way to get myself out of there, when it’s usually my best part on court. I wanted to play there, but he was limiting my options.

“I’m really happy to have found a way. I just told myself in the middle of the match, it’s not about how you do when playing your best, it counts when I’m not finding my game.”

Result:

[3] Mohamad Zakaria (EGY) bt [5] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) 3-1: 11-7, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5 (79m)