PSA Gibraltar Semi finals

As the Gibraltar PSA Open entered its penultimate day only, four players remained in each draw looking for a place in the final. The women’s draw promised some good games. In their previous games both Kara Lincou (FRA) and Barb Sameh (EGY) had knocked out higher ranked players and were looking to carry this form through into the final. It was Sameh that opened the scoring in a close fought first game, inching away from Lincou. But with that first game under her belt, Sameh pushed home the advantage to take the next two games in relative comfort winning 11-8, 11-4, 11-4.
In the men’s draw form Egypt’s Moustafa Elsirty was yet to drop a game reflecting his previous top 30 status. His opponent Rhys Evans (WAL) was looking to carry on his form having recently won the Mozart Open in Salzburg. Evans drew out a number of errors from Elsirty to take an early lead 5-1, but Elsirty’s stronger play drew him back to 6-6 and to the first game 11-9. Evans recovered well to take a 6-1 lead in the second but Elsirty again reasserted himself level at 7-7 and continued to take the game 11-7. The third game followed the pattern, Evans taking a 5-1 lead, Elsirty recovering to 7-7 and converting to win the final game 11-8.
The second women’s semi final saw Germany’s second seed Katerina Tycova playing Ireland’s Breanne Flynn. Ranked 46 places higher in the world rankings Tycova was looking to ensure that rankings were respected. It was Flynn however that came out of the traps fastest taking a 5-1 lead. Flynn’s supporters desperately hoped that the 5-1 lead curse that had characterised the Elsirty-Evans game didn’t raise its head in this game too. Tycova recovered to 6-6 before exchanging points to force a tie break at 10-10, but it was Flynn that took the game. The 5-1 curse dispelled. Flynn started off stronger in the second game, quickly getting her first game ball at 10-3. On the fourth attempt she converted it to take a 2-0 lead. Flynn continued this form into the third moving away from Tycova to take the third 11-6 and book the spot in the finals.
The final semi saw Liechtenstein’s Davis Maier face Yuri Farneti of Italy. A quick poll of the crowd had Farneti as firm favourite following the world rankings. Farneti built a 7-3 lead in the first game, exchanging points to take the game 11-8. Maier utilised a full range of lunges and splits to try and prevent Farneti from taking the second, but the Italian was too strong, too consistent and took the game 11-3. The third game started in a similar vein with Farneti taking a 5-0 lead and converted his first match ball and a date with Elsirty in the final. The wisdom of crowds proving accurate this time.