U.S. Open 2024 : It’s Farag and Gohar

Ali Farag and Nouran Gohar have captured the U.S. Open 2024 titles after defeating Diego Elias and Nour El Sherbini on finals night of the PSA  Platinum event in Philadelphia.

World Champion Gohar lifted her fourth U.S. Open trophy after she overcame top seed and defending champion El Sherbini in four games before Farag delivered a faultless performance to win the title for the third time.

Gohar said: “Ten days ago, when I was in the hospital for my broken nose I didn’t even think that I would be able to do this. I was very annoyed with myself after the end of the third game [losing three match points] because I thought I was playing very well. I didn’t want that small moment to cost me a big title. I just gave it a big fight in the fourth and made sure not to lose quick points. I told myself it was like a pressure session and to just give it my all.”

Farag said : “I didn’t watch the match back from Qatar [where Farag lost to Elias], one thing that I pride myself on is putting up a fight whenever I lose, and in Qatar I didn’t think I did that, so that was very disappointing. It questions your hunger, it makes you doubt yourself. And this week, even against Youssef Ibrahim in the quarters was still doubting myself when I lost a game. That win against Youssef though gave me a lot of confidence going into the match yesterday with Mazen and today with Diego.”

SEMIS : Top Seeds to face World Champions in Philly finals

World number ones Nour El Sherbini and Ali Farag will face current World Champions Nouran Gohar and Diego Elias in the finals after all claimed victory on semi-finals night of the PSA  Platinum event.

El Sherbini and Gohar overcame U.S. #1 Olivia Weaver and World #3 Hania El Hammamy in two hard-fought battles, while Farag and Elias sealed three-game victories over Egyptian duo Mazen Hesham and Aly Abou Eleinen.

The evening’s play started in dramatic fashion with El Sherbini holding off an inspired performance from fourth seed Weaver to eventually progress in five games. El Sherbini, who arrived into the match with a perfect 10-0 head-to-head record against Weaver, was tested all the way through the 56-minute encounter before booking her spot in the sixth U.S. Open final of her career.

After the match, El Sherbini said: “I feel the crowds supporting Olivia are a good thing, to be honest. I never take it as a negative thing. I try to say in my head that they are supporting me and not her. I think it my lapses in concentration is something that I still need to work on, to be honest. I’m not always like this in tournaments, but this week I am. That is definitely something I can work on.”

Meanwhile Gohar stretched her winning run over long-term rival El Hammamy to five matches following victory in what was the pair’s 26th PSA meeting. Gohar advanced after 56 minutes of  to set up an eighth straight major final meeting with El Sherbini.

In the men’s draw top seed Farag delivered a masterful performance to negate the dangerous attacking play of fifth seed Mazen Hesham and progress in straight games. Farag, a two-time U.S. Open champion, ultimately proved too strong for Hesham to take a dominant win by an 11-7, 11-9, 11-1 scoreline.

“You’re going to have to accept that you’re going to be outplayed by Mazen for certain patches of the match,” Farag said after the match. “You’ve got to remember that it’s a marathon. I knew that if I kept my stamina and my mental resilience for long periods of the match, I would stand a good chance of winning today. I had to pick my punches. I didn’t want to be passive but at the same time I had to be very careful of when I went short. It’s a weird mix of not being passive but also stretching the rallies out.”

Fourth seed Elias was the last winner on semi-finals night, continuing his faultless progression through the men’s draw by ending the superb run of Aly Abou Eleinen in three games. Unseeded Eleinen – a University of Pennsylvania alumni – had enjoyed a memorable week in a city he calls a second home, defeating former World Champion Tarek Momen and second Mostafa Asal on his way to the last four, but Elias ultimately proved a step too far, taking his spot in the final following an 11-7, 12-10, 11-9 win.

Day SIX : Eleinen ousts Asal as quarters conclude in Philadelphia

Unseeded Aly Abou Eleinen claimed the biggest win of his career as he stunned second seed Mostafa Asal to reach the semi-finals in Philadelphia. A former University of Pennsylvania squash star, Eleinen advanced to his maiden Platinum semi-final with a four game victory over ‘The Raging Bull’ in the Arlen Specter US Squash Center.

“I’m super proud of myself,” Eleinen said. “I had an opportunity in the fourth and I took it. I’m just overwhelmed with joy right now. “I’ve been working so hard this season. I’ve been on the other side of these results so many times against these top guys. Today, it was actually really tough when I was ahead – I didn’t want to start doubting myself. Last season, when I had those opportunities, I didn’t really go for them, and I told myself this season that I would back myself up and go for it. I’ve just got to recover now and keep it going in the semi-finals.”

Eleinen will face World Champion Diego Elias in the semi-finals after the ‘Peruvian Puma’ overcame three-time U.S. Open champion Mohamed ElShorbagy in straight games.

In the women’s draw second and third seeds Nouran Gohar and Hania El Hammamy will renew their long-standing rivalry after claiming wins over Belgian sisters Nele Coll and Tinne Gilis.

Day FIVE : Hesham takes out defending champion Coll in five game thriller

World #5 Mazen Hesham produced a scintillating spell of attacking squash to overcome defending champion Paul Coll in five games and advance to the semi-finals in Philadelphia.

Hesham, who had previously never beaten Coll in eight attempts on the PSA Tour, fought back from a game and 1-8 down to eventually advance by a 5-11, 11-9, 2-11, 11-5, 11-4 scoreline at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center.

Hesham said: “Paul was doing really well in the first two games. I didn’t do much wrong; I just had to tell myself that I needed to get him away from the ‘T’ and just try to push him a little bit into the back corners. I had to hang in there in the second and just try to get more rallies in. As soon as I got like four or five points, I thought I was in it again and just tried to push him and test him mentally. I think I did that really well for the rest of the match.”

Top seed  Ali Farag awaits Hesham in the semi-finals after the Egyptian came through a stern examination from Youssef Ibrahim to advance in four games.

In the women’s event American #1 Olivia Weaver progressed to her second consecutive U.S. Open semi-final after defeating rising star Fayrouz Aboelkheir in four games.

After the match, she said: “It’s not the ideal start time when you get on late, but this is part of the job, you have to be flexible, you have to be ready to go whenever. I was disappointed not to sneak out that first game but I was happy with how I didn’t panic and I just went back to my game plan. I just tried to find my targets on the court, which I don’t think were great in the first game. If you leave anything in the middle, she’s going to put it away, so I really just wanted to shut the court down, and I’m happy with how I adapted throughout the match.”

Top seed Nour El Sherbini will be Weaver’s opponent in the last four after the defending champion held off eighth seed Rowan Elaraby in a challenging five-game duel.

Day FOUR : Eleinen downs Momen as Nele gets her revenge

Unseeded Aly Abou Eleinen claimed the only seeding upset on Day Four in Philadelphia as he came from a game down to beat seventh seed Tarek Momen in an all-Egyptian round two match in Philadelphia. He’ll meet second seed Mostafa Asal in the quarter-finals.

World #9 Mohamed ElShorbagy claimed a brutal four-game win over Sebastien Bonmalais to set up a quarter-final tie with current World Champion Diego Elias, who conquered fellow South American Miguel Rodriguez in straight games.

In the women’s draw World #5 Nele Coll avenged her recent shock defeat to Sana Ibrahim to advance to the quarter-finals of the with a four-game victory over the Egyptian on day four of the Platinum-level event.

The Belgian was stunned by Ibrahim in round two of the PSA Squash Tour’s first-ever Diamond event, the CIB Egyptian Open, a few weeks ago but managed to turn the tables on her opponent,  fighting back from a game behind to win.

“I think it was just all the tension and frustration coming out at the end,” Coll said after victory. “She’s such a dangerous opponent and especially with a court like this where it’s so dead, she just shoots, and it just made me quite edgy today.”

Coll now meets second seed Nouran Gohar, while younger sister Tinne Gilis faces a quarter-final against third seed Hania El Hammamy.

Day THREE : Elaraby claims comeback win as Round Two begins

Eighth seed Rowan Elaraby fought back from two games down to defeat Satomi Watanabe on day three of the, booking her spot in the quarter-finals of the Platinum-level event.

Japanese No.1 Watanabe reached the final of last week’s Silicon Valley Open final and looked as though she was going to reach the quarter-finals in Philadelphia, but with coach Wael El Hindi in her corner Elaraby fought her way back, claiming the victory after 64 minutes of play.

“I was trying just to calm myself down because I was actually very nervous about this match,” Elaraby said. “I’ve never beaten Satomi in my entire career, I think even when we were juniors she used to beat me. “I was just trying to listen to what Wael was telling me in between games and try to stick to it, and I’m glad it worked.”

Elsewhere Egypt’s Youssef Ibrahim reached his first Platinum quarter-final for two years after overcoming Youssef Soliman in a hard-fought all-Egyptian duel, booking a last-eight tie with top seed Ali Farag. Farag and fellow World #1 Nour El Sherbini continued their faultless starts to the event after recording straight-games wins over Patrick Rooney and Melissa Alves.

Day TWO : Eleinen enjoys Philly return as round one concludes

University of Pennsylvania squash alumni Aly Abou Eleinen delivered one of the standout performances of day two at the U.S. Open, defeating American #1 Timothy Brownell in four games at the Platinum-level event.

Eleinen, who previously studied and competed in the heart of Philadelphia at UPenn, backed up his recent visit to the semi-finals of the Silicon Valley Open with a 10-12, 11-9, 11-5, 11-8 victory over Brownell at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center.

Eleinen said: “That’s a big win for me. Timmy is never an easy player to come up against, especially on this court. He’s probably the person who trains on this court the most, he probably knows every inch of this court, so it was really tough today. It’s so nice playing here. Seeing familiar faces and walking around in Philadelphia, it feels like my second home. I have got my family and friends here, so hopefully I can keep going.”

In the women’s draw fifth seed Nele Coll produced her most accomplished performance of the season so far, knocking out home favourite Amanda Sobhy in three games. The Belgian #1 has endured a tricky start to the campaign, losing out in the quarter-finals of both the Paris Squash and QTerminals Qatar Classic, but displayed the levels that saw her reach World#.4 last season to progress to victory in just 35 minutes of play.

Current World Champions Diego Elias and Nouran Gohar also got their U.S. Open campaigns underway with  three-game victories over Auguste Dussourd and Tesni Murphy.

Day ONE: Aboelkheir and Ibrahim in Day One upsets in Philadelphia

Unseeded Egyptian duo Fayrouz Aboelkheir and Youssef Ibrahim delivered the first major shocks of the 2024 U.S. Open as they both fought from behind to defeat sixth seeds Gina Kennedy and Karim Abdel Gawad in five games.

Aboelkheir, who recently defeated Kennedy in five games at Paris Squash, replicated those heroics at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center as she came from 2-1 down, saving three match balls in the fourth game, to advance to the second round of the Platinum-level event.

“I’m really happy to be through today,” said Aboelkheir. “Gina is such a hard player to come up against; she’s so quick around the court and had match balls in the fourth game. I just think about it [being match ball down] in a very easy way. You’re already losing, so you have nothing else to lose. You can just go for your shots a lot more in those moments.”

In the men’s event World #17 Ibrahim battled from 2-0 down to defeat Gawad in an entertaining five-game duel on one of the two side courts in use in Philadelphia, to record his second victory over Gawad from three meetings.

Elsewhere World #1s Nour El Sherbini and Ali Farag both safely booked their spots in the second round, while defending champion Paul Coll got his title defence underway with victory over Nicolas Mueller.