British Open Quarter Finals: King Overcomes Elaraby In Five

The opening quarter final of this year’s British Open went the distance, with New Zealand’s Joelle King defeated Egypt’s Rowan Elaraby to advance to the last four.

The Kiwi had never beaten Elaraby on the PSA World Tour before, and she fell behind after the first game. King did have a game ball in the early stages of the tie-break, but the World No.9 fought back to come through and win it 13-11 to hold the early advantage.

The New Zealander, who sits a place below her best world ranking of World No.3, battled back brilliantly in the second game, as she restricted the opportunities for her opponent. However, she would find herself behind once more, as a better length from Elaraby saw the Egyptian take the third game and move into the lead for a second time.

A quick start in the fourth saw King run away into a huge lead, and it was one she wound not relinquish, as she pushed the contest into a decider. The fifth went almost the same way as the fourth did. The New Zealander was able to carry the momentum, and she eventually got over the line to take the victory, becoming the first semi-finalist at this year’s British Open.

“Phew! I mean, I was really nervous coming into today. I think the older you get, the more you think about how many times you will play big events like this,” King said.

“I was really excited to come out here, probably too excited. Rowan has beaten me the last couple of times, she is an extremely talented player and I had to pull out all my tricks to get away with that in the fifth.

“Having the right people around you! My team know me and it was about getting the balance right. I was probably over stimulated a little bit, I know I am a Kiwi but I live down the road in Bristol. I could hear a few people cheering for me! It all plays a part, you know! Every time I step on court, I want to play as well as I can. Sometimes you can’t do that, but you have to find a way to win.

“Two very different players but both class. Nouran [Gohar] has been World No.1 for over a year, which is an incredibly hard task, especially with the calibre of players we have. SJ [Perry] is at home she will be excited to come out and play in front of a home crowd. Let’s hope they have a five-gamer as well!”

Result:
[4] Joelle King (NZL) bt [6] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) 3-2: 11-13, 11-5, 10-12, 11-4, 11-5 (68m)