Houston Open Semi-Finals: The Stats & How To Watch Live

The semi-finals of the Houston Open take place today, with action beginning at 13:00 (GMT-6) at the Huston Squash Club with the possibility of a change at the top of the World Rankings.

Current World No.2 Mostafa Asal knows that a win today against Marwan ElShorbagy in the last four will guarantee him that World No.1 spot come Monday morning. The other semi-final will see England’s Mohamed ElShorbagy take on last year’s finalist Mazen Hesham.

You can catch all the action live from the Houston Squash Club on SQUASHTV. You can also keep up with the live scores from the event here.

Houston Open – Semi-Final Order of Play:
(All times are local – GMT-6)

Marwan ElShorbagy v Mostafa Asal

The opening match of today’s semi-finals will see an all-Egyptian clash between World No.6 Marwan ElShorbagy and World No.2 Mostafa Asal.

In five previous meetings, Asal holds a 3-2 advantage over ‘the Jackal’. ElShorbagy won both of their first two battles, but since then Asal, has won the last three, including taking the title at the Grasshopper Cup in Zurich in October.

Asal, who is aiming to reach the summit of the World Rankings this week, started off with a tricky test against compatriot Moustafa El Sirty, before then downing World No.9 Victor Crouin in straight games in the quarter finals.

ElShorbagy started his Houston Open run with a tight four-game battle against German No.1 Raphael Kandra on Thursday, before also coming through against a Frenchman on Friday. He downed Gregoire Marche in straight games to make the last four.

Can Asal assure himself of that World No.1 spot with a win today? Or can ElShorbagy spoil the party and move through to another final this season?

Mohamed ElShorbagy v Mazen Hesham

The second semi-finals of tonight’s action at the Houston Squash Club will see England’s World No.4 Mohamed ElShorbagy take on last year’s Houston Open runner-up Mazen Hesham.

The pair have met nine times before on Tour, and ElShorbagy has a perfect 100% record against the Egyptian, including three victories in 2022. One of those also came in a semi-final, at the Oracle NetSuite Open in San Francisco in October.

ElShorbagy is yet to drop a game so far this week in Houston. After a first round bye, the Englishman defeated Frenchman Baptiste Masotti in three, before coming through a tricky test against Youssef Soliman. The World No.4 spent an hour on court against the Egyptian, winning two tie-breaks in a straight games win.

Hesham has been involved in two relatively quick contests so far this week. He defeated compatriot Aly Abou Eleinen in four games in the second round, and then took just 28 minutes to get the better of Mexico’s Leonel Cardenas in the quarter finals on Friday evening.

Can Hesham make it through to a second straight final in Houston? Or will ElShorbagy move through to a 77th PSA World Tour final?