Top Seeds To Contest All-Egyptian Houston Final

The top two seeds Omar Elborolossy and Mohd Ali Anwar Reda will contest an all-Egyptian final of the BCD & SMH Houston Open after semi-final triumphs in the PSA Tour squash event at the Downtown Club in Houston in the US state of Texas.

Frenchman Laurent Elriani was put on the defensive from the start of the match against favourite Elborolossy. Despite some superb retrieving, the sixth seed was unable to take a game from the talented Egyptian as Elborolossy claimed an 11-10 (3-1), 11-5, 11-4 victory to reach his fourth PSA final of the year.

In the other, more evenly-matched, semi-final between two Egyptians, qualifier Ahmed Maged Hamza thrilled the spectators with his shot-making, putting number two seed Mohd Ali Anwar Reda under pressure that he hadn't anticipated.

After losing the first game, Hamza struck back to win the next two by playing an array of low percentage shots which found the nick more often than not. A shell-shocked Reda changed his game strategy after the third game and played tight rails, giving Hamza no opportunity to make shots.

The strategy worked, giving Reda the game to take the match to the fifth game. It was during the decider that fatigue finally set in for Hamza, who was playing in his fifth match of the week. Reda smelled blood early in the last game, ending Hamza's dream week after 52 minutes by winning 11-3, 2-11, 7-11, 11-2, 11-7.

The success takes the 18-year-old from Cairo into his sixth career PSA Tour final - but his fifth of this year!

Semi-finals:
[1] Omar Elborolossy (EGY) bt [6] Laurent Elriani (FRA) 11-10 (3-1), 11-5, 11-4
[2] Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) bt [Q] Ahmed Maged Hamza (EGY) 11-3, 2-11, 7-11, 11-2, 11-7 (52m)