Challenger Events
Odense Open SF: Taylor Wins Elsirty Epic to Reach Biggest Career Final
Owain Taylor saved two match balls en route to an epic win over Moustafa Elsirty in the Odense Open semi-finals, booking a spot in the biggest final of his career in the process.
The Welshman’s previous three finals on the PSA Tour have come in either 3K or 6K events, but he will now compete for the 12K title in Denmark, after beating the Egyptian in a pulsating five-game thriller.
Playing in front of a healthy crowd on the glass court at Squash Center Danmark, the pair set the tone for what was to follow in a lengthy first game, which eventually ended 17-15 to the Egyptian after a near 10-minute tiebreak.
Taylor took the second and third to move within one game of victory, but Elsirty came out firing in the fourth, displaying his full array of shot-making in taking the game 11-5.
Tensions grew as the match headed deep into a decider, with Taylor fighting back from 5-2 down to lead 7-6, and then 10-9.
Unsurprisingly, given the size and physicality of both players, referee Nicolas Barbeau became more and more involved as the match went on, and he was called upon at almost every turn as a tiebreak ensued, after Elsirty had saved Taylor’s first match ball.
The Egyptian – who lives in Birmingham – then saw two match balls of his own come and go, before Taylor eventually got himself over the line, hitting a short backhand drop, with Elsirty’s cries for a let going unyielded.
“I knew coming into it, it was going to an absolute dogfight, whether I was playing well or not,” Taylor said after his win.
“I’m happy to play well in patches and fight well in patches, which was the more important thing today.
“I played some important points really well, and just got stuck in and didn’t give up the whole time, so yeah, I’m really happy with that.
“I knew he was tied, I knew I was fitter than him, I was fresher than him and I could go for longer, so I just kept telling myself to make it tough, don’t give him anything easy and just to keep fighting, keep on top of him, keep the intensity high and eventually that paid off.”
Speaking on where this victory ranks among his career highlights, Taylor added: “It’s definitely up there. I think, in terms of people who’ve been as high as him, it’s probably my best win.
“I know he’s not quite where he was when he was No.22 in the world, but he’s still got all the tricks and all the skills that put him there, it’s more the physicality, so he’s still a great player and really tough to beat, so yeah, it’s definitely up there as one of my better wins on tour, for sure.”
Taylor will play England’s Declan James in the men’s final, after the No.7 seed saw off the threat of Malaysia’s Darren Pragasam in three games.
Unseeded Pragasam had already knocked out the No.5 and No.2 seeds to reach this semi-final, but another major scalp would be one step too far, with James putting in a much-improved performance from his quarter-final, winning 3-0 in 35.
Meanwhile, the women’s final will be an all-Egyptian affair between Amina El Rihany and Nardine Garas, who will have to put their friendship to one side as they battle it out for the trophy.
Like Taylor, Garas had to do things the hard way to get past French 16-year-old Lauren Baltayan, saving three match balls in game four, before eventually coming through to win in a decider.
El Rihany then knocked out another 16-year-old rising star in the form of Nadien Elhammamy, albiet in less dramatic circumstances.
The 21-year-old won 11-9, 5-11, 11-8, 11-8 to reach her sixth PSA Tour final, though she did need close to an hour to complete the win.
The finals take place from 6pm local time (5pm GMT) on Saturday, March 9th, and you can watch all the action live on the Odense Squash Club YouTube channel.
Results: Men’s Semi-Finals
[4] Owain Taylor (WAL) bt Moustafa Elsirty (EGY) 3-2: 15-17, 11-9, 11-9, 5-11, 14-12 (94m)
[7] Declan James (ENG) bt Darren Pragasam (MAS) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-7 (35m)
Results: Women’s Semi-Finals
[1] Nardine Garas (EGY) bt [3] Lauren Baltayan (FRA) 3-2: 11-5, 6-11, 7-11, 16-14, 11-8 (51m)
[6] Amina El Rihany (EGY) bt Nadien Elhammamy (EGY) 3-1: 11-9, 5-11, 11-8, 11-8 (53m)
Fixture: Men’s Final
[4] Owain Taylor (WAL) v [7] Declan James (ENG)
Fixture: Women’s Final
[1] Nardine Garas (EGY) v [6] Amina El Rihany (EGY)
