Welsh number one Tesni
Evans celebrated a long-awaited breakthrough in the Women's Sharm
El Sheikh International Squash Championship in Egypt where she upset
Heba El Torky in the final of the WSA International 25
event at the Youth & Sports City Hall in Sharm El Sheikh
to win the first Tour title of her career.
It was the No.7 seed's second
triumph over a higher-ranked opponent - and her third five-game win in a
row.
Evans, ranked 31 in the
world, fought back from 2/1 down - and overcame a deficit in the decider
to beat home favourite El Torky, ranked five places higher, 12-10, 6-11,
7-11, 11-7, 11-5 in 67 minutes.
"I'm very happy to win
this," Evans (pictured above, right, in the
final) said afterwards. "I was 2/1 down, and at
that point, I was really down.
"I couldn't see a way
through, I couldn't see the end," explained
the 22-year-old from Rhyl.
"So I told myself, this is
it. Push. And when I got the fourth, I thought, OK, just one more game."
Tesni & Heba To Contest Sharm
Showdown
Welsh number one Tesni
Evans denied the hosts of the Women's Sharm El Sheikh
International Squash Championship an all-Egyptian final when she
defeated Cairo-based Yathreb Adel in the semi-finals of the
WSA International 25 event at the Youth & Sports City Hall in
Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
Evans, the No.7 seed, twice
stemmed comebacks by Adel to beat the world No.35 11-6, 7-11, 11-9,
7-11, 11-8 in 69 minutes to set up a final meeting with Egypt's No.5
seed Heba El Torky.
Tesni's triumph takes the
world No.31 into her fourth - and biggest - WSA World Tour final.
"Sooo happy to have won today
in another 5 setter!!!" the 22-year-old from Rhyl told her Twitter
followers. "Tomorrow final vs Heba El Torky! One last match!! #comeon
#loveafivesetter #sharmelsheik)"
It took El Torky less than
half the time to earn her place in the final, beating Denmark's sixth
seed Line Hansen 11-8, 11-8, 11-4 in the other semi.
Home heroine El Torky, the
world No.26 from Alexandria (pictured above, left, with Hansen), is now
celebrating her 12th Tour final and looking for her ninth title.
Top
Seeds Quashed In Sharm Quarters
A semi-final line-up devoid of any of the top four seeds
will see the Women's Sharm El Sheikh International Squash
Championship play out its penultimate day of action after further
upsets in the WSA International 25 event at the Youth & Sports
City Hall in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
Fifth seed Heba El Torky
now becomes the top contender for the title after pulling off the
biggest quarter-final upset. The 24-year-old world No.26 from Alexandria
battled back from a game down to beat second seed Nicolette Fernandes,
the world No.20 from Guyana, 8-11, 12-10, 11-7, 12-10.
El Torky now faces Line
Hansen, the No.6 seed from Denmark who ended Coline Aumard's
run, beating the French qualifier 11-8, 11-8, 5-11, 11-4.
Fast-rising Welsh star
Tesni Evans claimed one of the biggest scalps in her career to earn
a surprise semi-final slot. The world No.31 from Rhyl survived a
five-game marathon against Salma Hany Ibrahim, beating the
fourth-seeded Egyptian - ranked 12 places higher - 7-11, 14-12, 11-8,
11-13, 11-7 in 85 minutes.
Evans will now take on
another Egyptian for a place in the final. Cairo-born Yathreb Adel
ousted event giant-killer Deon Saffery - the unseeded Welsh
player who upset top seed Rachael Grinham in the opening round -
11-9, 11-6, 5-11, 13-11.
Grinhams Go In Sharm Shake-Up
It was
a disappointing day for the Grinham sisters on the opening day of main
draw action in the Women's Sharm El Sheikh International Squash
Championship, the WSA International 25 event at the Youth
& Sports City Hall in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
Former
world number one Rachael Grinham, the top seed from Australia,
crashed out 11-6, 11-8, 11-8 in 25 minutes to unseeded Welsh opponent
Deon Saffery. It was the 27-year-old Welsh international's first
Tour win over Grinham, the ex-world champion who boasts 34 Tour titles.
Younger sister Natalie Grinham, who now represents the
Netherlands, twice led Coline Aumard - but the French qualifier
battled back in the decider to upset the third seed 6-11, 11-7, 8-11,
11-9, 11-5 in a 51-minute battle.
While
Aumard progresses to face top-ranked Dane Line Hansen, Saffery
moves on to play Yathreb Adel, one of three Egyptians fighting
for places in the semi-finals.
