New Zealand Open: Semi-Finals – Player Reaction

The men’s Robertson Lodges New Zealand Open and the women’s Barfoot & Thompson New Zealand Open continue today in Tauranga and we’ll have reports and reaction from the glass court matches at the Trustpower Baypark Arena right here.

It’s semi-finals night in Tauranga, with home favourite Joelle King and Belgian No.1 Tinne Gilis kicking things off. The other women’s match will see Welsh No.1 Tesni Evans take on Tinne’s older sister, Nele.

World No.2 Paul Coll will take on Qatari No.1 Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi in the opening men’s match of the evening, before Mohamed ElShorbagy and Victor Crouin meet in a repeat of the QTerminals Qatar Classic final.

You can watch all the action on SQUASHTV, while live scoring is available here.

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Order of Play
(All times are local GMT+13)

King Produces Stunning Display To Down Gilis

New Zealand’s Joelle King, buoyed the home crowd, produced some of the best squash of the week to overcome the challenge of World No.12 Tinne Gilis in a sublime three-game victory.

She started incredibly well, winning nine of the first ten points with some stunning winners. King moved the Belgian around the court in the early exchanges, and despite Gilis winning a couple of points late on, the Kiwi won it 11-3.

The second game also saw a rapid start from the home favourite, as she took a 5-1 lead. Gilis fought back with some quick winners, but King then won five points in a row to clinch thee game 11-5 and to double her advantage in the contest.

A tight start in the third game gave Gilis some hope, but King went on to claim a straight games victory, after a run of seven points in eight, including some incredible front court winners. The Kiwi will now take on either Belgium’s Nele Gilis or Welshwoman Tesni Evans in tomorrow’s final.

“Yeah. I’m relieved to be honest. Tinne is a huge threat to all the top players at the moment. I was pretty clear with what I wanted to do today,” King said after the win.

“I’ve been enjoying playing on this court. I think it suits my game really nicely. I’m very happy to come away 3-0. I didn’t think I was going to [start] that way, but I was kind of just in the momentum, feeling really good on court and you know, one point at a time really and before I knew it, it was [9-1]!

“I was just asked about the pressure of playing at home and of course there’s pressure. but this week, I’ve just tried to enjoy every bit of it, who knows how many more times I’ll get to play at home? So I just want to make the most of it and be here at the end of the week. I mean, this is this is where I grew up. Like everyone loves a party here. They love and appreciate good sport, but they come to have a good time and that’s always how I’ve kind of approached squash.

“Sometimes, you know, it doesn’t always work, but this week it’s been working really nicely. ’The Mount’ is like a second home for me. I grew up coming here as a child and I feel really comfortable. I’ve said it many times.

“I think everyone’s dreamed about taking it [the title] who’s here especially the four players that are left, well, three now. So yeah, I’m going to just enjoy the night, but the job is not done. Getting into the final is one tournament in itself. The final is another thing.”

Result
[1] Joelle King (NZL) bt [5] Tinne Gilis (BEL) 3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 11-4 (36m)

Coll Downs Tamimi In Lightning Encounter

World No.2 Paul Coll and Qatari No.1 Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi thrilled the capacity crowd at the Trustpower Baypark Arena in Tauranga, with the Kiwi delighting the home crowd after winning in straight games.

The fast-paced squash started in the opening game of the match, with Al Tamimi holding the lead at 9-7. Coll fought back, though, and with three perfect rallies, he took a 10-9 lead, before a stroke on game ball went his way for him to take the opening salvo.

Once again, the Qatari showed his skills in the early part of the second game, and led 5-4, but some lengthy rallies, followed by a couple of quick winners, were enough for the two-time British Open champ to double his advantage in the contest.

The World No.2 then flew out of the blocks in the third game, winning seven of the first nine points, and it was a lead he never looked like relinquishing. The Kiwi won it 11-4 to book his spot in the final on home soil, delighting the home crowd in Tauranga.

“That was an interesting day for me. Abdulla [Al Tamimi] is one of those players that makes you very nervous. You don’t know what’s going to come at any stage of the match,” Coll admitted.

“He is so skilful. I’ve been pretty nervous all day. I’ve actually got my dad around me. He’s one of my biggest idols and one of my biggest inspirations. I had a good chat with him today I was seeing the ball as clear as I’ve seen it in months. So, really exciting. I felt good out there and the crowd’s amazing. It’s an absolute buzz for me this week.

“With a player like that, I just have to reset every rally. I know what my game plan is, it’s very clear in my head and I just focus on that rather than getting too caught up in what he’s doing and what the score of the match is. Point by point for me. That’s what I did really well today. Mentally, I thought I was very sharp, focused every single point, never switched off. I’m very proud of that.

“It’s not only the whole crowd, there is so many people that have helped my career from a junior when I was pretty average to now. Coaches, friends, competitors, family, definitely everyone in the crowd [that’s been involved] at a stage in my career this week is a bit of a celebration with them for me, we’ve achieved a lot in the last 12 months. To be home and sort of be able to celebrate with them, it’s pretty special. I’m enjoying the week just for that reason.

“Obviously, [Mohamed ElShorbagy is] in great form. He battered me up last week and he’s very impressive, hands down. He was a beast out there. He was doing what he does, the format suited him, but he’s looked like he’s carried that form over to this week. Victor [Crouin] is in career-best form. So hopefully it’s a battle. They get off court at midnight and don’t sleep. But yeah, let’s see!”

Result
[1] Paul Coll (NZL) bt [7] Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 11-4 (37m)

Evans Fights Back To Beat Gilis

Wales’ Tesni Evans is into her first final in over three years after coming from a game down to defeat Belgium’s Nele Gilis at the Trustpower Baypark Arena in Tauranga.

It was the Belgian who started the stronger of the two, with some clinical play down the backhand side, particularly on the volley. Evans saved a couple of game balls, but it was the World No.13 that claimed it 11-8.

Evans sits just a place below Gilis in the World Rankings, and she showed her class in the second, controlling the pace of play and dropping just four points as she levelled up the scoreboard.

After a scrappy start to the third, in which there was some pauses for refereeing decisions, Evans continued to produce some sublime squash. Gilis saved a single game ball but it was not enough, with the Welshwoman claiming the game 11-5. She then started the fourth quickly, and never looked back. Evans will now face off against Joelle King in a repeat of the 2019 Manchester Open final, which was the last final the World No.14 featured in.

“Oh, that was amazing. Yeah, the crowd was, I think it was pretty much 50:50. Really happy to win that match and come back from 1-0 down. I got a bit outplayed in the first and my tactics were a little bit wrong,” she explained.

“She was just out-playing me to be honest down that backhand side. I had to go tighter and hit it better and hit it through a little bit more, which then helped open up the rest of the court. I had a lot of opportunities in the middle, which is what I try and create. So yeah, pretty happy with my quality today.

“Yeah, it was pretty nice, I had a lot of people in the crowd with my partner Ben being from New Zealand. I had a lot of his friends and local people come to support today, which was so nice. So they were rowdy, they were drunk and they really got into it and that really helps me fire me up. They massively help, so let’s hope they come back tomorrow.

“I was thinking this morning, actually, when I was coming down to practice, I was like, the last time I was in a final was in Manchester, which is, I guess sort of home for me and how cool it would be to replicate that and almost play in her [Joelle King] home now. So yeah, she absolutely thrashed me that day. I’m hoping for something a bit better tomorrow, but I know it’ll be a great final and honestly, like, it’s an honour to share a final with her in New Zealand. I think it’ll be pretty special.”

Result
[6] Tesni Evans (WAL) bt [4] Nele Gilis (BEL) 3-1: 8-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-3 (52m)

ElShorbagy Downs Crouin To Reach Final

For the second time in a week, Mohamed ElShorbagy and Paul Coll will meet in a final, after the Englishman got the better of France’s Victor Crouin in the last four on Saturday evening.

‘The Beast’, who helped England to the Carrus Nations Cup title last Sunday, has continued the incredible form he has been in into the New Zealand Open. That showed in the early exchanges in the semis, but Crouin fought back to level the first game at 1-1. He then saved a game ball, but ElShorbagy took it 11-9.

The second game was also tight, but the Englishman was able to come through it again, showing his qualities in the latter stages of the game. He took it 11-8, and from there, he was in compete control.

The World No.4 got off to a quick start in the third game, and he dropped just four points, to set up another meeting with home favourite Paul Coll in Tauranga. In moving through to the final, ElShorbagy ties Nick Matthew with 75 PSA World Tour final appearances, moving into joint 5th on the all-time list.

“Very happy to win in three. Victor is a very dangerous player who just made the top ten, made his first Platinum event final. I was definitely very up for it. I knew I had to raise my game today and definitely I was raising my game each game,” he admitted.

“I was playing better and better, and I’m really happy about the match. Matches like these can make you feel even better tomorrow so I’m really happy about the win. 

“I mean, Paul [Coll] knows how to beat me, I know how to beat him. It’s going to depends on who is going to control the match, who is going to play the match tactically better. If I lose tomorrow, it is not going to be the end of my career. It’s not going to be the end of my life. The match tomorrow is not going to get you to World No.1.

“But I know he wants to win in front of his family. That’s why it’s so important for him. And I get it because whenever I played back home, it mattered for me, the things that I could see it all the week in his face. He has all his family here, all the crowds. It’s his first time to play at home. And these things can make you play ten times better or can make you play ten times worse. And it will show when I play him tomorrow at the beginning of the match, it will show how he’s feeling. I will have to adapt to how he is feeling as well.

“I actually do know that if I win tomorrow, it would be my 500 wins on the tour, and a lot of players don’t even get to 500 matches in their career, I’m very proud of those stats. But again, you know, if you look at these stats and if I focus on this stat, then I’m not hungry anymore at the same time. So I know this is going to be my 500th win if I win tomorrow. I know, as you said, 75th final is great, but I want to go to 600 wins. I wanna go to 700 wins.”

Result

[2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) bt [3] Victor Crouin (FRA) 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 11-4 (40m)