Squash On Fire Open QF Afternoon Roundup: Top Seeds Gilis and Crouin Into Semis

Belgium’s Tinne Gilis and Frenchman Victor Crouin were among the first batch of players to reach the semi-finals of the Squash On Fire Open on Friday afternoon.

World No.13 Tinne Gilis got the day’s play underway, as she got the better of England’s Katie Malliff in a tight three-game battle, to book her spot in the semi-finals of a competition for the third time this season, having done so in Nantes and New Zealand.

The Belgian was on fire to start with, winning the first six points of the match, as her short game clicked into gear. She went on to take the first 11-3, before the young Englishwoman started the second strongly.

Malliff led 5-3 in the midpoint of the game, but the World No.13 was able to show her fighting spirit, and she came through to take it 11-9 to double her advantage, and keep the momentum in her favour.

The 19-year-old World No.59 then had a chance to keep the match alive in the third, as she led 9-8. However, Gilis showed her class with some perfect drop shots, to win the last three points to take the game 11-9, and to become the tournament’s first semi-finalist.

“I knew I had to be good today to beat her because she has been playing some amazing squash lately. She beat one of the seeds yesterday,” Gilis said.

“I had to be very focussed on me today, because she has good shots when you play it loose. I had to make sure my quality was good enough, which I struggled a little bit with today, but I managed to find a way out, especially in the last two games!”

She will now face World No.17 Farida Mohamed in the last four, after the Egyptian exacted revenge over compatriot Sana Ibrahim, putting a defeat at the DAC Pro Squash Classic just 17 days ago behind her, to win in four games and to move through to the semis in Washington, D.C.

The lower-ranked Ibrahim was the player in the ascendency in the early exchanges, with some quick movements and winners being too much for Mohamed to keep up. She went on to claim the first 11-7, to hold the advantage in the contest.

The second game was fractious to start with, but after a couple of her decisions went against her, Mohamed showed her qualities to open up a five point lead. Although Ibrahim fought back, the World No.17’s pace and power was too much, as she levelled the match at one game apiece.

Ibrahim improved once more to hold a lead in the third, but Mohamed saved two game balls to send it to a tie-break, before then firing in two perfect drop shots on the backhand side to move into the lead in the match for the first time. She then carried that momentum into the fourth game, winning it 11-7 to book her spot in the last four.

“It feels amazing! I played her a month ago, I guess, and it wasn’t the best squash! So today I want to win so badly to take my revenge,” Mohamed explained.

‘I knew Sana was going to be tough anyways, we have been playing since juniors and I am really happy to be through. I talked with my coaches about an hour before my match, and we made the plan really well! Really, I am glad I was able to focus today!”

France’s Victor Crouin, the men’s top seed, got the better of Egypt’s Moustafa El Sirty in a fraught three-game contest, which featured injury breaks, plenty of refereeing decisions, and flashes of brilliance from both players.

Crouin ran out into an early lead in the first, as he won eight of the opening ten points. El Sirty’s sluggish start allowed the World No.10 to cruise through the rest of the game, despite the Egyptian hitting some lovely winners in the latter stages.

The scores were level at 3-3 in the second game, when a tangle of legs saw El Sirty go down with an ankle injury. After almost 15 minutes receiving treatment, the Egyptian returned to court to applause from the crowd. It was Crouin that was able to use the colder ball to his advantage though, firing in some quick drop shots to move into an 8-4 lead. El Sirty won three points in a row, but the Frenchman was able to take a two-game lead, clinging the second 11-9.

The Egyptian started the third game strongly, but a couple of poor errors in the middle of the game allowed Crouin to fight his way level. Nothing could separate the two throughout the third game until the very end, as the Frenchman hit a couple of great winners to move to 10-8 with two match balls. El Sirty saved the first but Crouin took the second to secure victory and move through to the semis.

“I am very happy to win, very happy to be through after having had a tough five-gamer yesterday. I knew I had to be really up for it mentally and not to do the same mistakes,” Crouin said.

“The first game was a surprising one. I wasn’t expecting it to be over so quickly, and especially in my favour. There were a lot of tins, strokes and mishits from both of us.”

Crouin will now take on Spain’s Iker Pajares Bernabeu in an all-European clash in the first semi-final on Saturday afternoon. The Spaniard defeated Hong Kong’s Tsz Kwan Lau in a pulsating five-game contest to end the afternoon session.

The Spaniard was in the ascendancy in the first game, and he did not allow Lau to get any sort of rhythm or momentum. Pajares showed his class to take it 11-4, but the Hongkonger fought back in the second. He was narrowly ahead for the majority of the second game, forcing the Spanish No.1 to move to all four corners. However, from 8-8, two quick points gave Pajares the momentum, and he claimed the game 11-9 to double his advantage in the contest.

Lau, the World No.50, came out firing in the third game though, winning six of the opening seven points. That form continued throughout the game, with the Hongkonger wining it 11-4. That prompted Pajares to request a new ball prior to the start of the fourth game.

Lau continued his form into the fourth game, and held a commanding lead at the midpoint of the game. The Spaniard managed to level it at 7-7, but the World No.50 was able to come through, clawing his way back into the contest to level it up at two games apiece ahead of the fifth and deciding game. The fifth would eventually go the way of the Spanish No.1, with Pajares claiming the victory after almost 70 minutes of action, as he took the deciding game 11-5.

“I am so happy to win that match in five games! I knew the first two games very very important. I was fast at the beginning, so I took the first two games but then I got tired,” Pajares admitted.

“He plays a lot in the front, so many drop shots and then so many lobs. I need to jump to volley them and then move to the front, and then again and again and again. It was just tough, you know!”

The Squash on Fire Open continues with the quarter finals continuing at 17:30 (GMT -5) on Friday, February 24. Matches will be streamed live on the PSA World Tour website.

For updates on the Squash on Fire Open, follow the PSA on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

Men’s Results – QF Afternoon Session: Squash On Fire Open
[1] Victor Crouin (FRA) bt [6] Moustafa El Sirty (EGY) 3-0: 11-7, 11-9, 11-9 (52m)
[8] Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) bt Tsz Kwan Lau (HKG) 3-2: 11-4, 11-9, 4-11, 9-11, 11-5 (69m)

Women’s Results – QF Afternoon Session: Squash On Fire Open
[1] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bt Katie Malliff (ENG) 3-0: 11-3, 11-9, 11-9 (36m)
[3] Farida Mohamed (EGY) bt Sana Ibrahim (EGY) 3-1: 7-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-7 (43m)