World No.5 Nele Gilis has become the first Belgian in history to qualify for the last four of the Xbox PSA World Tour Finals after she overcame United States No.1 Olivia Weaver at Bellevue’s Boys and Girls Club Hidden Valley Field House today.
Gilis has finished second in Group A of the women’s event after winning 11-9, 4-11, 11-6 in 50 minutes to dash home hopes.
World No.1 Nour El Sherbini overcame Gilis’ younger sister, Tinne, in straight games earlier in the day to ensure that she finished top of Group A on 11 points, four ahead of Nele.
Defending champion Nouran Gohar finished top of Group B after beating fellow Egyptian Nour El Tayeb 2-0 to make it three wins from three, ensuring she ended with the maximum 12 points on offer. Last season’s runner-up Hania El Hammamy defeated England’s Georgina Kennedy to finish second, five points behind Gohar.
Gohar will play Gilis next as she aims to become the first woman to reach the title decider of the Xbox PSA World Tour Finals for the fourth time in a row. El Sherbini and El Hammamy will go head-to-head in the other women’s semi-final.
No.7 seed Tarek Momen defeated No.2 seed Paul Coll to finish top of men’s Group B. Diego Elias’ withdrawal through injury put Hesham second in the group, meaning Momen needed to defeat Coll – who was unbeaten before today – to qualify for the last four.
The 36-year-old delivered though, with a composed performance seeing him ease to a 2-0 victory to reach the semi-finals of this tournament for the first time since the 2020-21 season.
World No.1 Ali Farag topped Group A ahead of defending champion Mostafa Asal in second. Farag ended on 12 points after today’s opponent, Mohamed ElShorbagy, withdrew through injury, handing Farag a 2-0 win via a walkover.
Asal is one win away from a fourth World Tour Finals title decider after he beat Karim Abdel Gawad to secure second in Group A, five points behind Farag. He will play Momen next, while Farag and Coll will meet for the fifth time this season, with Coll winning three of them.
Results – Third Round: 2023-24 Xbox PSA World Tour Finals Men’s Group A
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [8] Mohamed Elshorbagy (ENG) w/o
[3] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt [5] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) 2-1: 11-7, 10-11, 11-3 (55m)
Results – Third Round: 2023-24 Xbox PSA World Tour Finals Men’s Group B
[7] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [2] Paul Coll (NZL) 2-0: 11-6, 11-3 (17m)
[6] Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt [4] Diego Elias (PER) w/o
Draw – Men’s Semi-Finals: To Be Played June 21st
[2] Paul Coll (NZL) v [1] Ali Farag (EGY)
[3] Mostafa Asal (EGY) v [7] Tarek Momen (EGY)
Results – Third Round: 2023-24 Xbox PSA World Tour Finals Women’s Group A
[1] Nour ElSherbini (EGY) bt [8] Tinne Gilis (BEL) 2-0: 11-4, 11-9 (16m)
[6] Nele Gilis (BEL) bt [4] Olivia Weaver (USA) 2-1: 11-9, 4-11, 11-6 (50m)
Results – Third Round: 2023-24 Xbox PSA World Tour Finals Women’s Group B
[2] Nouran Gohar (EGY) v [7] Nour El Tayeb (EGY)11-4, 11-3 (15m)
[3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) v [5] Georgina Kennedy (ENG)11-6, 11-9 (23m)
Draw – Women’s Semi-Finals: To Be Played June 21st
[2] Nouran Gohar (EGY) v [6] Nele Gilis (BEL)
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) v [3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY)