TTI Milwaukee Hong Kong Squash Open 2023: El Hammamy defeats Elaraby in all-Egyptian duel 

No.2 seed Hania El Hammamy continued the defence of her Hong Kong Open crown with a hard-fought victory over Egyptian compatriot Rowan Elaraby to progress to the semi-finals.

El Hammamy picked off where she left off from her third-round match against Zeina Mickawy, finding her range early doors and hitting a punishing length down either wing. The defending champion took and early 6-2, and despite Elaraby reeling off some winners towards the back-end of game, claimed the first 11-9. 

Elaraby picked up the pace at the start of the second, competing well at the ’T’ and forcing El Hammamy into plenty of tough retrievals at the back of the court. The No.8 seed took an 8-4 lead with some fantastic squash and managed to hold off her opponent’s best efforts to take the 19-minute second game 11-8. 

The momentum swung back in El Hammamy’s favour in the third, with the constant pressure exerted from her racket resulting in a couple of ill-timed errors from the World No.14, including a drop-shot into the tin at game-ball down. 

After asking for a change of ball at the start of the fourth, El Hammamy upped the pace yet again, using the lively nature of the ball to stretch out rallies and become the aggressor in the match. The World No.3 took an early lead in the fourth and never looked back, sealing the victory after 59 minutes of action. 

After the match, El Hammamy said: “It’s always a tough battle against Rowan, we’ve had a long rivalry since juniors, and I’ve always known what an attacking player she is.

“Whenever she gets an opportunity to go short, she does that, so I had to stay on my toes throughout the whole match. I think it was a very tough first three games in which I pushed her physically, and I think in the fourth, it went in my favour due to all the work I was doing in the match.

“I felt in the third that the ball was becoming slower after playing game after game, so I felt a new ball would suit how I could make it physical and could pick up those winners.”

Result:

[2] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt [8] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) 3-1: 11-9, 8-11, 11-7, 11-3 (59m)