Jaume and Cardenas Both Reach Maiden World Tour Final In Action-Packed Squash in the Land Semi-Finals

In an action-packed day of squash, Bernat Jaume upset No.2 seed Youssef Ibrahim, Leonel Cardenas defeated No.3 seed Greg Lobban, Georgina Kennedy survived a resurgent Sivasangari Subramaniam and Nour El Tayeb knocked out home favourite Olivia Weaver.

In the third match of the night, Spain’s Jaume earns a place in the first World Tour final of his career after beating World No.18 Youssef Ibrahim in the semi-finals of Squash in the Land.

The pair traded points to 2-2, but Ibrahim was the aggressor in the match, and he began to widen the gap between them to a comfortable 6-2. The Egyptian cruised to a 10-3 and claimed the first game with a shot into Jaume which forced the Spaniard into a reactionary shot that left the court.

Jaume seemed acclimatised to the aggressive style of Ibrahim in the second game. The World No.58 maintained a narrow advantage throughout the game, but Ibrahim remained within a few points. The Spaniard found himself with three game balls through a combination of composure and well-timed attacking play, and converted on the second time of asking with a delicate flick across court from the front-right corner.

Ibrahim took a resounding 5-1 lead at the start of the third game, but Jaume rallied, and slowly reduced the deficit until the pair were level at 9-9. The ‘Gunslinger’ found himself with the first game ball opportunity, but Jaume restored parity after a contentious no let decision. Ibrahim squandered a second chance to go 2-1 up after hitting the tin, and another tin hit from the Egyptian followed by precise flick from Jaume gave him the lead in the match.

Jaume looked refreshed as he dominant the early stages of the fourth game, accruing five unanswered points capped off with a vicious straight drive. Ibrahim looked out-of-sorts as the Spaniard kept creating issues for the fading Egyptian until he held a 7-4 lead. Ibrahim regained his footing in the match and levelled that score at 7-7 after Jaume conceded a stroke. Jaume clinically dispatched his No.2 seed opponent with four successive points, and finished the match with a roller to secure his spot in Sunday’s final.

“I had nothing to lose, said Jaume after the match. “I knew it was going to be a very tough challenge. He [Youssef Ibrahim] schooled me in the first game and I had to do something different. I had a 6-0 lead in the fourth and I could see the finish line and he managed to come back. If it went to a fifth it would have been very tough. This is the biggest win of my career so far, this is an amazing venue and it still feels surreal. When I go back home and I’m with my close family when I can chill by myself, it’s going to be emotional for me. But I don’t want to think too much because there’s one more to go and hopefully I can produce the same quality again tomorrow.”

Mexico’s Leonel Cardenas produced yet another upset to down Scotland’s Greg Lobban after five exacting game in the Squash in the Land semi-finals to reach his first World Tour final of his career.

Lobban was moving far more comfortably than his opposition in the early stages of the first game. The World No.26 cruised to a 5-0 advantage, with the highlight coming on the fifth point as the Scotsman rattled a shot into the nick from the front court. Lobban earned himself six games balls, and despite some heroics from Jaume at 4-10 to win a rally that saw both players running to every corner of the court, he was able to convert his advantage with a lob that fell perfectly into the back-left corner to take a 1-0 lead.

The Mexican accrued an early 4-2 lead, but Lobban recovered, winning four consecutive points to take a narrow lead of his own. The second game was plagued with traffic issues from both players, but Cardenas kept calm and took the ball early, piling pressure onto the Scotsman and earning himself four game balls after scoring six successive points. The Mexican levelled the match after a mistake from his opponent.

The rallies were long in the third game, but Cardenas was getting the better of them as his lead grew to 10-5, taking a 2-1 lead with a cross-court drive that Lobban chose not to chase. The new ball, requested by the Scotsman, seemed to work wonders for Lobban as he rediscovered the dominance of his first-game win. The colder ball made Lobban’s accurate winners even harder to get, and the No.3 seed soared to six game balls. The match was taken to a fifth game after a poor movement from the Mexican gifted Lobban a stroke.

The ball warming up favoured the Mexican, and Lobban struggled in a similar manner to the end of the third game. The underdog accumulated point after point with a growingly-frustrated Lobban unable to find a response. The Mexican found himself with six match balls and Cardenas took down Lobban on the first time of asking with a precise reverse boast to earn a spot in his first World Tour final of his career.

“I had a slow start,” said Cardenas after the match. “I didn’t feel comfortable with Greg, he’s a great player and he’s got a lot of experience and it seemed like he had all the answers to my game. At the beginning I couldn’t find a way, but then I kept working and I feel great. I just keep working, keep grinding. I felt I’ve been having up and downs recently but i always give my 100% and I’m feeling great, I’m playing great and I’m feeling good with my physicality and my mind.”

England’s Georgina Kennedy earned a chance to defend her title with a thrilling five-game encounter with Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam in the semi-finals of Squash in the Land.

Kennedy took an early 4-1 lead in the first game after catching Subramaniam out with a well-disguised straight drive. The Malaysian fought back, but the Englishwoman maintained a fine lead to 9-8. Subramaniam had the first chance to take a 1-0 lead, but Subramaniam squandered two chances at game ball to give the No.1 seed her own opportunity. Kennedy converted her 12-11 position with a tight backhand drop.

The No.1 seed found herself with a dominant lead at 8-3 in the second game and despite a late fightback from Subramaniam, Kennedy took a 2-0 lead with thunderous shot into front-right corner that the Malaysian couldn’t retrieve. Subramaniam looked revitalised at the start of the third game. The No.4 seed kept a marginal lead to 9-8 before Kennedy caught up to force a tie break. Subramaniam didn’t allow the Englishwoman a single game ball, and halved Kennedy’s lead in the match with a backhand straight drive at 13-12.

The Malaysian quickly accrued a 6-1 lead over the defending champion. Subramaniam kept her commanding lead and played quality squash to earn five game balls, restoring parity with a cross-court that Kennedy made little effort to return. Both players stayed conservative at the start of the fifth game. The pair remained inseparable to 7-7, but the England No.1 showed her quality as she won a sting of points to earn her first match ball of the encounter at 10-8. The Englishwoman claimed her chance to defend her title after an error from Subramaniam.

“That was ridiculously tough,” claimed Kennedy after the match. “I said to Siva at the end that it was one of those matches that no one deserved to lose.”

Egypt’s Nour El Tayeb claimed the last place in Sunday’s Squash in the Land finals after a ruthless performance to beat out home favourite Olivia Weaver in straight games.

The Egyptian accumulated five unanswered points to start the match. Weaver’s physicality couldn’t make up for the pin-point accuracy of the No.2 seed, and El Tayeb cruised to a 1-0 lead. Weaver kept up with the No.2 seed in game two, trading points to 3-4 in long, demanding rallies, but despite some excellent squash from the American, she wasn’t able to take a lead in the game. El Tayeb looked the more clinical as she pushed on to give herself four game balls, but only needed one.

The No.3 seed played her best squash of the match as she pushed to establish a foothold in the match, but the burst of energy couldn’t last for the entire game, and the American slowed down and allowed El Tayeb back into the game. El Tayeb stayed as consistent and ruthless as she had been for the previous two games, taking an 8-6 lead in the match. At 10-8, a backhand straight drive gave El Tayeb a place in the final.

“I felt confident, but then she [Olivia Weaver] takes it away from you when she’s hard to beat for every point,” said El Tayeb after the match.

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Result: Squash in the Land Presented by Greater Cleveland Squash 2024 Semi-Finals
[6] Leonel Cardenas (MEX) bt [3] Greg Lobban (SCO) 3-2: 6-11, 11-7, 11-5, 4-11, 11-4 (71m)
[1] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bt [4] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) 3-2: 13-11, 11-8, 12-14, 6-11, 11-9 (64m)
Bernat Jaume (ESP) bt [2] Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) 3-1: 3-11, 11-8, 13-11, 11-8 (60m)
[2] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt [3] Olivia Weaver (USA) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-8 (38m)

Draw: Squash in the Land Presented by Greater Cleveland Squash 2024 Finals
14:00 [6] Leonel Cardenas (MEX) v Bernat Jaume (ESP)
(follow) [1] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) v [2] Nour El Tayeb (EGY)