In the women’s final, World No.3 Hania El Hammamy and World No.2 Nouran Gohar will go head-to-head in a repeat of October’s U.S. Open final following respective wins over World No.1 Nour El Sherbini and World No.6 Joelle King.
El Hammamy achieved a magnificent comeback from two games down to end El Sherbini’s title defence and her unbeaten run in Chicago, which stretched back to 2018 after 20 straight wins in the ‘Windy City’.
“I have no words to explain how happy I am with today’s win,” said El Hammamy.
“I’ve beaten Nour twice before, but I think today is a little more special. Being 2-0 down is amazing to be able to win in five. She’s been World No.1 for 17 months and been a World Champion and she needs no introduction. Her confidence and stamina are so hard to break, and to win that after being 2-0 down means a lot to me.”
Gohar, who won that U.S. Open final bout with El Hammamy, was ruthlessly efficient against King as she dispatched the Kiwi in straight games after just 32 minutes of play.
The 24-year-old will now appear in her first Windy City Open final and will look to win her third Platinum title in a row.
“I’m very happy with it, having a 3-0 match before the final definitely helps to prepare for that as it’s the most important match of the tournament,” Gohar said.
“I train really hard for these kinds of matches and I’m very happy with my performance today, Joelle is such a good player and I’m so happy I won in three and can go to bed early tonight. Last time, Hania beat me, it’s always tough playing her and you can never take her for granted. Even if you win a few times in a row, she’s definitely one of the best players right now and I’m really looking forward to that match.”
The Windy City Open finals take place tomorrow (March 2) and play begins at 18:00 (GMT-6). All of the action will be shown live on SQUASHTV as well as the channels of PSA’s broadcast partners.
For more information on the Windy City Open, visit the tournament website or follow the event on Twitter, Facebook and Insta
Results - Men’s Semi Finals: 2022 Windy City Open Presented by the Walter Family
Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) bt [6] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) 3-2: 11-5, 6-11, 9-11, 11-1, 11-0 (56m)
[2] Paul Coll (NZL) bt [4] Tarek Momen (EGY) 3-2: 12-10, 8-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-5 (89m)
Draw - Men's Final: To Be Played March 2nd
Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) v [2] Paul Coll (NZL)
Results - Women’s Semi Finals: 2022 Windy City Open Presented by the Walter Family
[3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt [1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) 3-2: 5-11, 15-17, 11-5, 11-6, 11-5 (66m)
[2] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt [5] Joelle King (NZL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-3 (32m)
Draw - Women's Final: To Be Played March 2nd
[3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) v [2] Nouran Gohar (EGY)
