PSA Cognac SF: Allinckx and Elmasry To Meet Top Seeds

Egypt’s Abdallah Elmasry and Switzerland’s Ambre Allinckx are into the finals of the PSA Cognac, and will take on the two top seeds on Sunday afternoon.

Switzerland’s Allinckx won the Open Feminin du Jeu de Paume earlier this month, and she had already gotten the better of two of the top six seeds to make the semis in Cognac.

She then took on No.5 seed Katriona Allen in the last four, and fell behind early on after losing the opening game 12-10. However, she reversed that scoreline to win the second, before going on to take the third 11-8. The fourth game was also tight, but Allinckx came through it to win in four and to move through to the final.

She will take on top seed Menna Hamed, after the Egyptian had to battle through a five-game contest against Japan’s Akari Midorikawa. The Egyptian won the second game 14-12 to level things up, before then winning the third 11-1. She then lost the fourth in quick fashion as Midorikawa set up a deciding game, one Hamed won 11-9 to get over the line after just under an hour.

The men’s final will also feature an Egyptian, as No.6 seed Abdallah Elmasry knocked out the only remaining Frenchman in the competition. He and Toufik Mekhalfi were level after two games, after the pair traded 11-7 scorelines. From there, though, it was Elmasry that took control. He won the third 11-5, before taking a tight fourth game 11-9 to book his spot in the final.

The Egyptian will now take on top seed Ivan Perez, after the Spaniard won in five on semi-finals day. He took on Germany’s Valentin Rapp, and found himself two games down. Perez then won both the third and fourth games 11-9 to set up a tantalising deciding game. In the end, after both men had their chances, Perez won it 13-11 after 91 minutes, to move through to the final.

The finals of the PSA Cognac will take place on Sunday, November 27, with all the action being streamed live on the Squash Cognac La Belle Allee Facebook page. You can also keep up to date with live scores from the finals here.

Men’s Semi-Final Results: PSA Cognac
[1] Ivan Perez (ESP) bt [4] Valentin Rapp (GER) 3-2: 9-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-9, 13-11 (91m)
[6] Abdallah Elmasry (EGY) bt [8] Toufik Mekhalfi (FRA) 3-1: 11-7, 7-11, 11-5, 11-9 (64m)

Men’s Final Draw: To Be Played Sunday, November 27
[1] Ivan Perez (ESP) v [6] Abdallah Elmasry (EGY)

Women’s Semi-Final Results: PSA Cognac
[1] Menna Hamed (EGY) bt [3] Akari Midorikawa (JPN) 3-2: 6-11, 14-12, 11-1, 2-11, 11-9 (57m)
Ambre Allinckx (SUI) bt [5] Katriona Allen (SCO) 3-1: 10-12, 12-10, 11-8, 11-9 (42m)

Women’s Final Draw: To Be Played Sunday, November 27
[1] Menna Hamed (EGY) v Ambre Allinckx (SUI)