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Day 3 | Semi-Finals set up after fantastic Friday in Brisbane

Published Sat 15 Mar 2025
France's Auguste Dussourd is through to his maiden Gold-level semi-final on the PSA Squash Tour after outlasting Spain's Bernat Jaume in an 89-minute cage match at the Easy Times Brewing Co Squash Australian Open, while USA's Olivia Weaver dethroned reigning champion Salma Hany of Egypt in the women's event.
 
Tonight’s match in Brisbane's South Bank Piazza represented a major opportunity for Dussourd and Jaume. Both men playing a Gold-level quarter-final for the first time after Dussourd upset No.8 seed and compatriot Baptiste Masotti in round two, while Jaume’s match against defending champion Youssef Soliman was cut short by an injury to the Egyptian.
 
With each eying a chance to make history, neither gave any quarter on court and at times tempers boiled over. After one particularly heated exchange, Jaume appeared to direct an obscenity towards members of the crowd as he invited them to keep their opinions to themselves, while in another Dussourd angrily refused a hand up from his opponent after yet another collision, which was met by mock tears of derision by Jaume.
 
When Dussourd and Jaume were not at each other's throats, some excellent squash broke out, with Dussourd sharp in the middle of the court and Jaume attacking the front brilliantly, and both men threw caution to the wind as they chased down everything.
 
World No.35 Dussourd will perhaps feel he should have won the match in three games when he squandered match ball when 2-0 up and leading at 10-9 in game three and the Frenchman was punished severely by the World No.50, who dug in commendably to force a fourth and then fifth game.
 
Dussourd appeared to have let the match slip through his fingers yet again when he saw a 9-5 lead evaporate in the decider, but this time he held his nerve and the 29-year-old knocked off the final two points needed to bring five-game grapple to a close and make personal history.
 
After the match, Dussourd opted to reduce the tension, saying: "Bernat is so good and so skilful and I was struggling in the front, I wasn’t feeling good on my legs. It was hard and I battled against myself today.”
 
Dussourd will play former World No.1 Karim Abdel Gawad of Egypt after the 33-year-old former world champion overcame 17-year-old rising star Mohamad Zakaria.
The other men's semi-final will be a replay of last week's New Zealand Open final between Paul Coll of New Zealand and Marwan ElShorbagy of England. In an all-British battle,  ElShorbagy fought his way past Scotland's Greg Lobban, while Coll made short work of Egypt's Yahya Elnawasany, who was playing in his first PSA Squash Tour Gold-level quarter-final after upsetting No.7 seed Sebastien Bonmalais yesterday.
 
In the women's event, top seed and US No.1 Olivia Weaver was in uncompromising form as she took down No.8 seed Salma Hany, with Weaver accelerating away after a tight first game to win 12-10, 11-6, 11-3.
 
Standing in Weaver's path is Egypt's Amina Orfi after the 17-year-old World No.6 followed up her victory over Satomi Watanabe in last week's New Zealand Open final with another win against the Japan No.1.
 
The second women's semi-final will pit Belgian No.2 seed Tinne Gilis against Egyptian No.4 seed Rowan Elaraby after both women overcame Malaysian opponents.
Gilis went up against unseeded Aifa Azman - who had upset No.7 seed Fayrouz Aboelkheir yesterday to reach her first Gold-level quarter-final - and was merciless, recording the tournament's first 'bagel' [11-0] as she wrapped up an 11-0, 11-4, 11-5 win in just 23 minutes.
 
Elaraby, meanwhile, was up against No.5 seed Sivasangari Subramaniam. The Egyptian looked to be coasting into the semis when she won the first two games and built a lead in the third, only for Sivasangari to come back and force her into a fourth and then fifth game. Elaraby managed to regain her focus in the decider, though, with the 24-year-old pulling away from 3-5 down to 11-5 in a stunning reversal.
 
The semi-finals of the Easy Times Brewing Co Squash Australian Open take place tomorrow, 15 March, with play beginning at 18:30 (GMT+10) at South Bank Piazza live on SQUASHTV, SBS Australia (Australia only) and select partner channels of the PSA.
 
Secure tickets for the Easy Times Brewing Co Squash Australian Open at squashausopen.au
 
Results: 2025 Easy Times Brewing Co Squash Australian Open Women's Quarter-Finals
[1] Olivia Weaver (USA) bt [8] Salma Hany (EGY) 3-0: 12-10, 11-6, 11-3 (31m)
[4] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) bt [5] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) 3-2: 11-9, 11-6, 7-11, 6-11, 11-5 (65m)
[3] Amina Orfi (EGY) bt [6] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) 3-1: 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 11-3 (55m)
[2] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bt Aifa Azman (MAS) 3-0: 11-0, 11-4, 11-5 (23m)
 
Results: 2025 Easy Times Brewing Co Squash Australian Open Men's Quarter-Finals
[1] Paul Coll (NZL) bt Yahya Elnawasany (EGY) 3-0: 11-2, 11-5, 11-6 (34m)
[3] Marwan Elshorbagy (ENG) bt [6] Greg Lobban (SCO) 3-1: 11-6, 6-11, 11-6, 12-10 (61m)
Auguste Dussourd (FRA) bt Bernat Jaume (ESP) 3-2: 11-6, 11-9, 10-12, 8-11, 11-9 (87m)
[2] Karim Gawad (EGY) bt Mohamad Zakaria (EGY) 3-1: 11-5, 11-9, 10-12, 11-8 (56m)
 
Draw: 2025 Easy Times Brewing Co Squash Australian Open Women's Semi-Finals (To be played 15 March)
[1] Olivia Weaver (USA) v [4] Rowan Elaraby (EGY)
[3] Amina Orfi (EGY) v [2] Tinne Gilis (BEL)
 
Draw: 2025 Easy Times Brewing Co Squash Australian Open Men's Semi-Finals (To be played 15 March)
[1] Paul Coll (NZL) v [3] Marwan Elshorbagy (ENG)
Auguste Dussourd (FRA) v [2] Karim Gawad (EGY)
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