TTI Milwaukee Hong Kong Squash Open 2023: Defending Champion El Hammamy Storms Past Gilis

Defending champion Hania El Hammamy produced an outstanding performance to defeat Belgium’s Nele Gilis in straight games and progress to the Hong Kong Open final. 

The match started with a number of lengthy rallies, with the pair working their way into the new all-glass court at the Xiqu Centre. However, as the first progressed, it was the No.2 seed who began to dominate the middle of the court, hunting down volleys and forcing her opponent into some tough recoveries at the front of the court. 

The Egyptian stormed into a 7-0 lead early in the second, punishing Gilis with a string of powerful winners. Despite World No.4 Gilis firing in a few shots of her own, it was El Hammamy who doubled her lead through an 11-5 scoreline. 

The momentum continued to move in El Hammamy’s favour in the third, with the World No.3 countering any threats that Gilis threw her way with some immaculate movement across the court.

Gilis, who had already fought through two five-game encounters on her way to the last four, had no answers to El Hammamy’s ruthless hitting, dropping deeper in the court and falling 4-0 behind. From there, the Egyptian worked her way towards the finish line with confidence and composure, securing her berth in the final after 32 minutes of action.

After the match, El Hammamy said: “I’m definitely pleased with my performance today, although I feel as though Nele wasn’t at 100% today – usually we have more physical matches. She had a really tough run to make it to the semi-finals, so that probably affected her a little bit. 

“I don’t want to take anything away from me, I played so well today. The court we played on up to the quarters was very bouncy and here the court plays different, the weather is different and I think I adapted well on this court and found my targets well at the beginning of the match. 

“I’m super excited [for the final]. I think it is the first time I have played against Amanda in a final, so it’s going to be big. She had a huge win against [Nour] El Sherbini today so she must be pumped up, and hopefully we can put up a good show.” 

Result:

[2] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt [4] Nele Gilis (BEL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-1 (32m)