Windy City Open 2024 Semi-Finals: The Stats & How To Watch Live

The semi-finals of the Windy City Open 2024 presented by The Walter Family have arrived, with four great matches lying in store at the University Club of Chicago.

Play gets underway at 17:00 (GMT-6), with every second of action available to watch live on SQUASHTV.

Order of Play

Georgina Kennedy v Nour El Sherbini

The opening semi-final of the evening sees World No.9 Georgina Kennedy and World No.1 Nour El Sherbini square off for a place in the final.

The head-to-head stats between the two lean heavily in the top seed’s favour, with El Sherbini having won all eight of their meetings on tour. However, their quarter-final clash at the U.S. Open earlier this season, which Kennedy led 2-1 before eventually losing out in five, will certainly give the England No.1 confidence that an upset could still be on the cards.

Kennedy has produced some superb squash to reach the last four this week, having notably beaten Sivasangari Subramaniam and Nele Gilis in her last two matches, while El Sherbini looked in sublime form when overcoming home favourite Sabrina Sobhy in her last outing.

Expect both players to inject pace into the match right from the offset in what could be a hugely entertaining encounter.

Ali Farag v Mazen Hesham

Mazen Hesham continued his superb recent run of form with yet another victory over a top-ten opponent when prevailing in his quarter-final battle against Mohamed ElShorbagy in five games.

The Egyptian, who reached the Houston Open final earlier this month with similar five-game victories over ‘The Beast’ and Mostafa Asal, is riding the crest of a wave right now and will be looking to reach his third final of 2024.

However, if there is a player to stop the ‘Black Falcon’ in his tracks, it is World No.1 Ali Farag. The 31-year-old, who has already captured five titles this season, was Hesham’s conqueror in the title decider in Houston and has carried on this winning form with three impressive victories in Chicago. In particular, Farag’s clinical quarter-final win over Karim Abdel Gawad would have left the rest of his competition worried.

Although Farag has looked in unbeatable form at times this season, Hesham’s deception down the backhand wing and ability to fire in winners from all corners of the court could make this a mouthwatering contest.

Nouran Gohar v Hania El Hammamy

Nouran Gohar and Hania El Hammamy will square off against one another for the 21st time on the PSA Tour in Chicago, with the former looking to extend her 13-7 lead in the head-to-head department.

Both players have looked in electric form this week, powering their way through their respective quarters of the draw without dropping a single game. Gohar, in particular, will have drawn immeasurable confidence from her dominant quarter-final victory over the in-form Olivia Weaver – who arrived into the tournament on the back of claiming consecutive PSA World Tour titles.

El Hammamy, meanwhile, has yet to put a foot wrong in her three matches against Zeina Mickawy, Rowan Elaraby and Tinne Gilis, with her longest contest of the event being just 39 minutes long.

World No.2 El Hammamy holds the bragging rights after the pair’s most recent clash at the Florida Open – in which she nicked a fifth game tie-break after 99 minutes of epic action – and another close match looks to be on the cards this evening.

Paul Coll v Mostafa Asal

The last match of the evening looks to be a justified curtain-closer, with World No.3 Paul Coll and World No.4 Mostafa Asal set to face each other for a spot in the final.

Coll, 31, has bounced back from his quarter-final exit to Victor Crouin at the last Platinum event on the PSA World Tour calendar, The J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions, with a confident run to the last four here in Chicago. The Kiwi gained revenge upon Crouin in the last eight, defeating the Frenchman by an 11-2, 11-6, 11-4 scoreline in 38 minutes of action.

Asal, on the other hand, spent 45 minutes longer on court in his quarter-final contest, eventually defeating World No.2 Diego Elias in a five-game thriller. How well ‘The Raging Bull’ can recover physically from that gruelling clash is likely to play a huge role in which way tonight’s match swings.

However, the Egyptian will draw confidence from the face that he holds a significant advantage in the head-to-head stats, having won seven of the pair’s 10 meetings on tour.

Those in attendance at the University Club of Chicago could be on for a late-night, with eight of Asal and Coll’s meetings going over the hour mark and two beyond 100 minutes.