We’ve reached the finals day here at the National Squash Centre as four players will battle it out for the Manchester Open title.

First onto court, No.1 seed Sarah-Jane Perry from England will take on World No.5, Joelle King. Both players survived two brutal five-set matches. Perry overcame fellow-Brit Tesni Evans, whilst King defeated Nele Gilis in an 86-minute clash.

Following that match will be a rematch of the Squash On Fire Open final between No.1 seed Mohamed ElShorbagy and Joel Makin. The Egyptian No.2 beat compatriot Karim Abdel Gawad in an entertaining battle and Makin beat surprise semi-finalist Patrick Rooney in straight games to reach back-to back finals.

You can watch every moment at the Manchester Open finals live on *SQUASHTV*. If you are unable to watch, then you can keep up to date with live scores *here*.

For more information on the event, visit the *tournament website*. You can also follow the PSA World Tour on *Twitter*,  *Facebook*, *Instagram* and *TikTok*.

Order Of Play

Opening finals day at the Manchester Open 2022 was 2019 winner Joelle King against No.1 seed Sarah-Jane Perry. Perry was looking to claim her 12th PSA World Tour title and add the Manchester Open to her trophy haul.

King started the match in terrific form, finding her targets with supreme accuracy and stretching Perry into all four corners of the court. King took the opening game 11-8 in just nine minutes to take the lead in the match.

The New Zealand No.1 continued this momentum into the second game, taking time away from her English opponent and firing the ball short with pace. King earned herself a game ball at 10-9 and after a video referee decision, King doubled her lead.

Perry had to find something different in the third game to give herself a lifeline in the match but started poorly as King ran out to a 5-2 lead. Perry gathered some momentum to claw back to 8-9 but after a solid rally from the No.2 seed, King had two championships balls. She converted at the first time of asking to win her second Manchester Open title.

“I'm actually quite emotional,” admitted King afterwards. “It's been a long time since I won an event, a lot has happened in my life since then. I've been through a lot of downs and to be at this point winning a tournament against the calibre of players we have on tour means so much. It's nice to have so much support, some of my team aren't here and my body is in bits so it's just so nice and emotional. 

“It's been three years since I've seen anyone in my family, and I love them, this is what all the sacrifices are for. I wanted to give my squash everything that I have and this one is for them and to everyone who stood by me. When you're doing well there's so many friends and people but it's those that are there when things aren't doing so well that mean so much.

“Everyone has the World Championships at the top of their minds. I'm choosing to miss the other tournaments to be at my best for that but everyone will go about it in different ways so let's see what happens.”

Result:
[2] Joelle King (NZL) bt [1] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-9, 11-8 (41m)

Makin wins biggest title to date in Manchester

King claims second Manchester Open title in style

Following on from the women’s final, No.1 seed Mohamed ElShorbagy and Joel Makin took to the court to go head to head for the men’s title.

The match is a repeat of the Squash On Fire Open final that took place earlier in the year with ElShorbagy winning on that occasion in a 69 minute 3-0. Makin made sure that wasn’t going to be the scoreline again as he took the opening game in this encounter 11-7 in 18 minutes.

ElShorbagy responded in the second game and started to pick off Makin’s drives, causing the Welshman to cover a lot of ground to retrieve the Egyptian’s attacks. The former World Champion took the game 11-5 to equalise.

Makin started the third game superbly, narrowing ElShorbagy’s angles of attack and counterpunching with great accuracy. ‘The Golden Tiger’ set himself up with five-game balls to take the lead. ElShorbagy started to fight back however and impressively won the next five points to set up a tiebreak. Makin recovered and after squandering another game ball, took the game 13-11.

Makin continued to press on in the fourth game and his relentless energy and intensity was proving too much for the World No.3 to deal with. The Welshman ran out to a 5-1 lead and showed no sign of slowing down. The World No.9 earned himself with six championships balls at 10-4. Makin only needed one attempt to secure his first title since winning the Arnold Homes Tring Open 2018 and his biggest title to date.

Makin had this to say after his match:

“That was a massive push for me, I’ve been close to getting a win like this for a while. You feel like you’re putting in the work and you get close and then you lose. You put together matches but you don’t quite get it together all through the week. I’ve managed to get off 3-0 in earlier rounds here, which has been great for me and I was able to have a big push in the final then.
 
“I know what Mohamed has been doing to get back, he set six months aside to get back. I know he was hungry to get the win here today, he pushed hard and he was tactically difficult at the start of the match. A tense third game as well, it was tight but that’s what you want, to be able to compete like that. I enjoyed all of it and it’s great to be back here. We had the Manchester Open last year but we didn’t get to have a big crowd and this is what we want, people here enjoying the sport and tight, hard matches.
 
“The form coming into this tournament wasn’t where I wanted it to be, I just kept working hard and wait for a week to come together like it has done.”
 
Result
[3] Joel Makin (WAL) bt [1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) 3-1: 11-7, 5-11, 13-11, 11-4 (70m)

It’s finals day at the Manchester Open – and you can stay up-to-date with reports and reaction right here.

England No.1 Sarah-Jane Perry and No.1 seed Hania El Hammamy will contest a thrilling fixture first, before Wales’ Joel Makin takes on Diego Elias, who knocked out top seed Marwan ElShorbagy in the semi-final.

Schedule
All times local (GMT)

You can catch all the action live from Manchester on SquashTV, the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour (excluding Europe and Japan) and on the channels of contracted broadcast partners.

You can also keep up with the live scores from the event here.

For more information on the Manchester Open, please visit the official tournament website or follow the PSA on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Flawless final from El Hammamy delivers Open

No.1 seed Hania El Hammamy avenged her 2020 Black Ball final loss with a comprehensive win against No.2 seed Sarah-Jane Perry.

Speaking ahead of the match, El Hammamy made it clear that last year’s final, in which the Englishwoman came from two games down to shock the Egyptian in Cairo, was providing extra motivation ahead of today’s match. “I’m definitely looking for revenge… she beat me in my home crowd, so hopefully I can beat her in hers,” she said.

Both players, each a semi-finalist in last year’s edition, had come into the match in excellent form. 31-year-old Perry, having won the Manchester Nationals one week ago, had only dropped one game in this tournament, an 11-8 loss in the first game of her semi-final victory over Tesni Evans. 20-year-old El Hammamy, meanwhile, could boast a clean slate, having beaten Rachel Arnold, Tinne Gilis and Emily Whitlock without dropping a game.

Both players started the first game well, and the game was even at 4-4. El Hammamy, though, soon began to dominate. Perry struggled to deal with El Hammamy’s creativity and shot variety, with the Egyptian cruising to a 10-5 first-game victory.

Perry continued to struggle in the second, with El Hammamy more than sharp enough to punish the Englishwoman’s inaccuracies and taking a 9-3 lead. Perry, though, fought back, just as she had done in Cairo. The 31-year-old found the power and accuracy that had been lacking and reduced the deficit to 9-8. However, when presented with a golden opportunity to level by El Hammamy’s poor shot, Perry could only tin, giving El Hammamy two game balls. Although Perry saved one, she could not do the same with the second, as El Hammamy took the second game 11-9.

If Perry was to complete another historic comeback, it would need to be a special third game from the World No.6. Although she initially looked to be on her way to doing so, ultimately it proved to be too much to do, as World No. 7 El Hammamy took the Manchester Open with an 11-7 win in the third.

“I was so angry while playing, I was so eager and so hungry… there is a lot of stuff in my mind that I want to prove to myself.”

Hear from the new Manchester Open champion as @HaniaaElHammamy catches up with @MichaelAbsalom #MCROpen pic.twitter.com/pv0dnkTIQE

— PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) August 13, 2021

After the match, El Hammamy said: “I’m so happy and relieved with that win. I think it was obvious that I was so angry in my play. I was so eager and hungry. That’s not because I wanted revenge against SJ but a lot of stuff in my mind that I want to prove to myself. It felt like I just wanted to prove to myself that this is what I’m capable of. I’m really glad I managed to perform like this and push, even when I was leading and SJ found her way back in the second game, I kept fighting and didn’t want to let it go easily.”

On who she is thinking of after the win: “Well definitely my parents. They go through a lot with me. I give them a hard time when I lose and they give me a hard time when I lose, too. They are the first people that come to mind when I win a tournament or have a positive week in my career. They’re watching now and I want to thank them for everything.”

“It’s definitely really special to be back here and able to have a good performance after the World Championships. It was definitely a positive week for me before going to the British Open. The crowd was amazing, I actually struggle playing English people in their own country or Americans in their own country, but this year was amazing with crowds. It’s much better, with a good vibe, I was really happy here.”

Perry said: “It’s fantastic to have crowds back in the UK… congratulations to Hania, she played fantastic today. She had the bit between her teeth wanting revenge. I tried what I could today and kept fighting. I’ll be looking to improve next week at the British Open.”

Result [1] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt [2] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-9, 11-7 (39m)

Incredible Elias beats Makin to end British hopes

World No.8 Diego Elias produced a masterful display to end British hopes of a home winner, as the Peruvian beat Wales’ Joel Makin 3-0.

Elias went into the match in good form, both at this tournament and against today’s opponent. The No.3 seed beat No.1 seed Marwan ElShorbagy 3-0 in the semi-final and boasted a 4-1 PSA record against No.4 seed Makin, with the most recent encounter a 3-0 win against the Welshman in the 2020 Windy City Open.

Makin’s route to the final had been less serene than his opponent’s. The Golden Tiger’s semi and quarter-final matches both lasted for more than 80 minutes, and the 26-year-old went into the final having played 89 more minutes than Elias.

Elias took the first game, which was even and gritty, in dramatic fashion. Despite Makin having two game balls, Elias kept cool to flip the game, sealing the 22-minute melee 12-10. Worryingly for Makin, Elias appeared to be improving significantly as the game wore on.

Elias’ improved form continued in the second, with the Peruvian Puma finding his range impressively and storming into an 8-3 lead. Although Makin fought hard, with Elias showing his frustration a number of time, the Peruvian retained his composure to taking the second

Elias continued to show his best form in the third, avoiding risks and moving the ball around well, as Makin struggled to find a way into the match. Point after point fell to Elias, as Makin struggled to read his opponent.

Makin did manage to make some headway as the third went on and a hint of a comeback was on the horizon as he pulled the score back to 8-5. Elias, however, was in no mood for a fourth game, finishing the championship with another 11-6.

“This is going to give me a lot of confidence.”

We caught up with @diegoelias96 to discuss his Manchester Open triumph #MCROpen pic.twitter.com/9z06QV1NRE

— PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) August 13, 2021

Speaking after the match, Elias said: “I’m really happy with this tournament, I think it’s going to give me a lot of confidence. I was struggling with injuries, I had a problem in my hip at the start of the year. I’m just really happy to be back playing here.

“I want to thank everyone who helped me get back to playing like this. First of all my dad, who was with me when I couldn’t even walk after the last tournament of last year. He was with me for two months just watching TV and trying to do little thing with my hip. All the people who helped me in Florida, too. My fitness coach and physio. I also want to thank Jonathon [Power, his coach] who’s been helping me a lot with my game. Those are the most important people right now in my squash and I want to thank them for being there.

“I also want to thank everyone for coming. It was my first time playing in Manchester and I’m really happy to be here, my first first win on SQUASHTV! so I’m happy. [I want to thank] my sponsors who have been with me no matter what, for so many years. Also my family who are always supporting me. Thanks too, to all the PSA team. They did an amazing job this week. Thanks everyone.

“It’s the first time in a while that I’ve played four matches in a row in a tournament. My body’s a bit tired but I still have three or four days to recover. I can’t imagine how Joel feels after ten days of two hours a day of matches. It was very impressive what he did today, he ran until the last point and I want to congratulate him. I think [the British Open] next week is going to be good and I look forward to it.”

Reflecting on the match, Makin said: “Overall I’ve had a great two weeks. I’ve enjoyed it, this week was good, I got through a couple of tight matches, a couple of 3-2s which were really tough back to back. Diego was quality today, he was working me, he was out-positioning me to be fair. I left it all out there and couldn’t have done any more. I thought I was trying to play tactically right but I didn’t quite get it right.”

Result: [3] Diego Elias (PER) bt [4] Joel Makin (WAL) 3-0: 12-10, 11-6, 11-6 (59m)