Watanabe Ousts Orfi To Reach Maiden Platinum Semi At Hong Kong Open

World No.7 Satomi Watanabe advanced to her first PSA Squash Tour Platinum semi-final after overcoming No.2 seed Amina Orfi in five games at the Milwaukee Hong Kong Open.

Just a fortnight after her defeat to world No.3 Orfi in the final of the China Open, the Japanese No.1 avenged that loss with an aggressive but equally accurate performance on the all-glass court at Ocean Park.

Watanabe burst out of the blocks in the opening two games of the match, controlling the backhand line with some powerful striking and nullifying one of Orfi's key strengths.

After falling two games behind inside just 22 minutes, four-time World Junior Champion Orfi managed to claw her way back into the contest, capitalising as Watanabe grew increasingly distracted by traffic in the middle of the court during the third and fourth games.

However, the Yokohama-born 26-year-old recovered her composure just in time, seizing an early advantage in the decider and securing her spot in the last four after 68 minutes by an 11-6, 11-6, 9-11, 4-11, 11-4 scoreline.

"I definitely knew it was going to be a really tough match today," Watanabe said after the match. "I haven't ever beaten Amina 3/0, so I knew that she would do something different in the third game. I was quite emotional on court today. I just wanted to win so badly. In the third and fourth games, I lost my concentration and lots of my shots landed in the middle of the court.

"In the fifth game, I really tried not to engage in any conversation with the referee. I just tried to focus on my squash and that helped me. I'm just really happy to get through today."

World No.5 Olivia Weaver awaits Watanabe in the semi-finals after the U.S. No.1 put in a commanding display to defeat world No.8 Tinne Gilis in straight games.

Weaver, a semi-finalist in Hong Kong last year, dominated both the first and third games of the 37-minute encounter, but was forced to produce some gutsy squash in between, overturning a 7-0 deficit to clinch an ultimately crucial second game 14-12.

In the men's event, No.8 seed Youssef Ibrahim advanced to his second successive Platinum semi-final after overcoming 39-year-old surprise package Miguel Rodriguez in a highly entertaining three-game duel.

World No.6 Ibrahim, who arrived at the Hong Kong Open on the back of runner-up finishes at the China Open and HKFC Open, diffused the trickery of the Colombian with some rock-solid lines and lengths all throughout the 37-minute contest on the all-glass court.

"It means a lot [to reach the semi-finals of the Hong Kong Open]," he said. "I've been consistent the last couple of months and to make it to one more Platinum semi-final means a lot."

Ibrahim will play world No.2 Paul Coll in tomorrow's semi-finals, after the Kiwi dispatched world No.7 Marwan ElShorbagy in just 29 minutes.

Coll, champion at the Hong Kong Open in 2023, looked in flawless form as he raced through to take a dominant 11-5, 11-1, 11-6 over the England No.1.