Murphy Downs Gilis In Dramatic Five-Game Thriller

Wales’ Tesni Murphy defeated Belgium’s Tinne Gilis in a thrilling 62-minute encounter to book a place in the 2024 German Open semi-finals.

Murphy looked fired up in the first game, as she got the better of a number of her rallies. The Welshwoman used a combination of holds and flicks. Despite a strong fightback from Gilis, errors from the Belgian helped Murphy over the line to win the first game 11-8.

Gilis responded well in the second game, staying in rallies and not rushing her shots. There were still signs of edginess in the Belgian’s game, but she seemed in control of most of the rallies as she pushed to an 11-7 second game win.

Murphy fought back in the third game, improving her shot selection, and forcing Gilis across the court to take a decisive 6-1 lead. The No.2 seed grew into the game, but the deficit was to great to overcome as Murphy took a 2-1 lead in the match.

Gilis made the rallies longer in the fourth game, playing to her physical advantages and trying to tire out her opponent to good effect, as she pushed on to a conclusive 11-3 win to restore parity at 2-2.

The decisive fifth game saw a very even start, as the pair traded points with both playing a slightly more conservative play style. A fault from Murphy at 5-4 gave Gilis a mental advantage as she pushed on and maintained a narrow advantage in the match to 8-7.

Despite the lead that Gilis kept in the fifth game, it was Murphy who earned the first match ball, and the Welshwoman claimed the win after Gilis hit the ball out to set the Welshwoman up with a semi-final against England No.1 Georgina Kennedy.

“It was a tough match,” said Murphy after the match. “I’m pretty pleased to get the win. I thought it was really good squash from both of us.

“I’ve got huge respect for Tinne. She’s a really good friend off the court so it’s really a difficult one to balance that emotion after the match.

“It was a good match, high quality squash.”

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Results: German Open 2024 – Presented by Sportwerk Women’s Quarter-Finals
[6] Tesni Murphy (WAL) bt [2] Tinne Gilis (BEL) 3-2: 11-8, 7-11, 11-6, 3-11, 11-9 (62m)