GillenMarkets London Squash Classic Semi-Finals: The Stats & How To Watch Live

It’s semi-finals day at the GillenMarkets London Squash Classic 2024, with four blockbuster matches to come from the stunning all-glass court at Alexandra Palace in London.

Play will begin at 15:00 (GMT) with Sivasangari Subramaniam against Nele Gilis, before Joel Makin and Paul Coll take to the court. Then, at 17:00, Egyptian duo Nouran Gohar and Hania El Hammamy will square off in what could be an incredibly tight match, before home Wildcard Declan James will look to continue his incredible run against Mostafa Asal.

Watch every moment of the action live on SQUASHTV or on the PSA’s Broadcast Partners. You can also keep up to date with the latest scores on the PSA Live Scores page.

For more information on the London Squash Classic, visit the tournament website here. You can find out more about the PSA World Tour by visiting the PSA website or following the PSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

Order of Play (All times are GMT)

Nele Gilis v Sivasangari Subramaniam

A brilliant opportunity awaits both Belgium’s Nele Gilis and Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam here after the latter blew the draw right open by defeating World No.1 Nour El Sherbini.

World No.16 Subramaniam, who prior to the quarter-final contest had never taken a game off the seven-time World Champion, let alone beaten her, was in sublime form to knock El Sherbini out by an 11-9, 11-9 scoreline. The No.7 seed enjoyed particular success in the front left corner – an area which Gilis is also renowned for attacking – and will likely look to deploy this tactic again and test Gilis’ movement.

Meanwhile, during her quarter-final bout against home favourite Georgina Kennedy, Gilis overcame a slow start to reach yet another semi-final on the PSA World Tour. This visit to the last four in London will be her fifth of the campaign, with two titles also already etched to her name.

The change back to a best-of-five format may also suit the Belgian’s physicality more and possibly take away from the quick-fire shotmaking that Subramaniam produced against World No.1 El Sherbini yesterday.

Paul Coll v Joel Makin

Paul Coll and Joel Makin have served up some brutal head-to-head matches over the years, with both players renowned for their incredible physicality on court, and never wanting to give an inch to their opponent.

The pair’s three clashes since the start of 2023 have averaged 88 minutes, with Makin winning two of these encounters. However, overall, it is Coll who comes out on top in the head-to-head stats, coming away victorious in 11 of their 15 meetings.

Despite having had a number of injury concerns this season, Wales’ Makin has looked strong and measured on court this week, coming through a nip-and-tuck tie-break against Marwan ElShorbagy in the last round – saving match ball along the way. The 29-year-old will be looking to lift his first title since the Canadian Open 2023 in February of last year.

If Makin is to lift his first title of the season though, he will have to come past top seed Coll, who has been enjoying one of the seasons of his life on the PSA World Tour. The Kiwi has kicked off where he left off from his title victory at the Optasia Championships, defeating Timothy Brownell and George Parker on his way to the last four. If the World No.2 were to lift the trophy at the end of this event, it would be his fifth of the campaign.

Nouran Gohar v Hania El Hammamy

World No.2 Hania El Hammamy and World No.3 Nouran Gohar look set to reignite their thrilling rivalry when they meet in the third match of the afternoon at Alexandra Palace.

The pair have already met 21 times on the PSA World Tour to date, with the ‘Terminator’ having won 14 of these matches, and taking the honours in their most recent encounter at the Platinum-level Windy City Open, winning in four games after 70 minutes of action.

With El Sherbini knocked out on the other side of the draw, both players will be hoping to capitalise and pick up their first titles of 2024. For Gohar, it would also be a first title since returning from a plantar fascia injury that ruled her out for four months earlier this season. The No.3 seed has powered into the last four with a pair of strong performances against Hollie Naughton and Sarah-Jane Perry, not dropping a game and looking in imperious form. El Hammamy, meanwhile, was tested by up-and-coming star Fayrouz Aboelkheir in her quarter-final bout, but managed to recover from a game down to book her spot in the semi-final.

This match looks too close to call on paper, but those within Alexandra Palace can be sure to be treated to some incredibly high-quality squash.

Declan James v Mostafa Asal

The final match of the evening will see English Wildcard Declan James look to continue his dream run in front of his home fans against World No.4 Mostafa Asal.

World No.76 James, who this week is playing his first PSA World Tour event in over a year due to a serious achilles injury has been in irresistible form in London, recording wins over World No.19 Mohamed ElSherbini in round one, World No.14 Baptiste Masotti in round two, and World No.5 Karim Abdel Gawad in the quarter-finals. James will be competing in his maiden Gold semi-final on the PSA World Tour, and will be hoping to feed off the home crowd to knock out yet another seed in this year’s event.

However, ‘The Raging Bull’ Mostafa Asal is the man standing in his way, and on the evidence of his two composed and clinical performances against Nick Wall and Aly Abou Eleinen, looks a tough nut to crack. Asal has former World No.1 James Willstrop in his corner this week and will be looking to capture a second title of the season, after previously tasting success at the Florida Open in January.

The pair have met three times on the PSA World Tour before, but not since the Black Ball Open in 2021, a match which Asal took in straight games. Both players have changed their games noticeably since then, so this match could be a tantalising finish to semi-finals day.