New Zealand Open SF: Gilis Beats Azman To Reach ‘Home Final’

In the first Barfoot & Thompson New Zealand Open semi-final, Belgian top seed Nele Gilis overcame Malaysian No.4 seed Aifa Azman to move through to the final.

Gilis, a popular figure with the home crowd thanks in part to her engagement to local favourite and men’s top seed Paul Coll, was roared on as she began well, with the World No.5 taking game one 11-8.

Azman, whose swashbuckling ultra-attacking style contrasted intriguingly with the more careful rally construction of Gilis, struck back in game two, levelling with an 11-6 victory.

Gilis regained the upper hand in game three, moving ahead again against the Malaysian – who became increasingly troubled by injury concerns towards the end of the game – with an 11-3 win.

After receiving injury treatment between games, Azman eventually returned to court for game four, but struggled to chase down Gilis’ shots, with the Belgian coasting to an 11-6 victory.

Afterwards, Gilis said: “It feels amazing. In front of pretty much a home crowd, it’s very special and means a lot.

“I feel like I’m only playing against attacking players in this tournament. A complete opposite to my game and she made me very uncomfortable on court and I’m happy to get through. I hope she’s ok.

“I’m glad I was on [before Coll, who plays Victor Crouin in the semi-final]. I can’t bring that kind of stress on court!”

Result: Barfoot & Thompson New Zealand Open Women’s Semi-Final

[1] Nele Gilis (BEL) bt [4] Aifa Azman (MAS) 3-1: 11-8, 6-11, 11-3, 11-6 (38m)

Watch the rest of the day’s play live on SQUASHTV.

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