Egyptian teenager Amina Orfi reached her first ever PSA Gold-level final after the 17-year-old claimed victory over Malaysian World No.9 Sivasangari Subramaniam in the semi-finals of the VITAGEN Singapore Squash Open.
Orfi had beaten Sivasangari in the final of the ACE Malaysia Squash Cup last week, with the 17-year-old finally prevailing after five intense games. This time around, Orfi required just four games as she recorded an 11-5, 11-6, 10-12, 11-8 victory, moving into the biggest final of her career so far.
“I knew it was going to be a tough match because Siva was here to take revenge,” said Orfi afterwards.
“We played literally five days ago, so I had to be ready. I knew we would both be tired as she played two events before this and I played the last one.
“My dad told me to close my eyes and focus on how I was going to play my game. I was leading in the third, but she came back like she did yesterday in the quarters. He told me to trust my game and I think that paid off pretty well. I want to showcase my squash as one of the best in the world.”
The World No.10 will now appear in her ninth PSA final and will aim to lift the sixth PSA trophy of her career. Her opponent will be top seed and World No.3 Hania El Hammamy. Orfi will look to beat El Hammamy for the first time after two previous defeats.
El Hammamy came into her semi-final match with No.3 seed Tinne Gilis boasting a 12-0 record against the Belgian. El Hammamy was in the zone as she outmatched the World No.5, winning 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 after 34 minutes to reach her 28th PSA final.
El Hammamy will now look to win a 14th PSA title – and her first of 2024 – when she takes on No.5 seed Orfi in tomorrow’s final.
“We [El Hammamy and Gilis] have played a lot already this season and in our careers so far,” said El Hammamy.
“We played in the last event, so we both knew how to approach the match today. I didn’t change much in my game plan from the last event because I was happy with how I played, so it was all about the targets on the court.”
The men’s final will be contested by World Champion Diego Elias and World No.1 Ali Farag after they overcame New Zealand’s No.2 seed Paul Coll and Malaysia’s No.5 seed Eain Yow Ng, respectively.
Elias has reached his third final of the season after fighting back from two games down to oust World No.4 Coll. Coll dictated the tempo of the opening two games as Elias looked some way below the kind of form that saw him win the QTerminals Qatar Classic last month.
However, the Peruvian came alive in the third game as he slowed the pace down and started hitting his targets. Elias will now compete in his 38th PSA final and he will look to avenge his defeat to Farag in last month’s U.S. Open final. A win for the 28-year-old will see him win his 20th PSA title.
“I was thinking about what my dad was going to say on the phone afterwards,” said Elias.
“He would say that I didn’t try and that I didn’t push myself. Even if I lost I wanted to come back and give it 100 per cent. Paul played amazing in the first two games, we haven’t played since the start of the year, and he played with a lot of pace. I wasn’t used to it and it took me a while to adapt.”
Meanwhile, Farag has reached the final of this tournament for the second year running. The defending champion defeated Ng by a 13-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-6 scoreline. Farag will now contest his 75th PSA final and will aim to win his 43rd PSA trophy.
“I feel like I got sucked into his pace today,” said Farag afterwards.
“He plays at a metronomic pace and he is so good at it. He moves the ball around well and he is very light on his feet. I tried to match him, it would have been better to play a different game plan, but kudos to him. You try to play the shot that limits your opponent’s options so you can read the next one, but I don’t think that I did that very well today.”
Results – Men’s Semi-Finals: 2024 VITAGEN Singapore Squash Open
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [5] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) 3-1: 13-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-6 (52m)
[3] Diego Elias (PER) bt [2] Paul Coll (NZL) 3-2: 5-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-3 (72m)
Draw – Men’s Final: To Be Played November 24th
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v [3] Diego Elias (PER)
Results – Women’s Semi-Finals: 2024 VITAGEN Singapore Squash Open
[1] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt [3] Tinne Gilis (BEL) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 (34m)
[5] Amina Orfi (EGY) bt [4] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) 3-1: 11-5, 11-6, 10-12, 11-8 (64m)
Draw – Women’s Final: To Be Played November 24th
[1] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) v [5] Amina Orfi (EGY)