Zakaria Outlasts Makin in 125-Minute Epic To Make New Zealand Open Final

Mohamad Zakaria, the 18-year-old World Junior Champion, came through the longest PSA Squash Tour match in well over two years, to clinch his spot in the final of the New Zealand Open, outlasting world No.6 Joel Makin in a 125-minute epic.

On a night that set up an all-Gilis women's final, continued Kiwi No.1 Paul Coll's hat-trick title hunt, and kept the possibility of a husband-and-wife double in play, it was rising star Zakaria who stole the show with an incredible 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 13-11 victory inside a packed out Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch.

The two-hour-five-minute-long contest saw both players exchange long, intense rallies throughout, each pushing the other's stamina and shot-making to the extreme.

After trading games into a decider, the fifth proved to be a tense, see-saw battle, which saw both players hold match balls at 10-9 and 11-10, respectively. It was Zakaria, though, who ultimately prevailed from the brutal encounter, squeezing Makin down the backhand wing to seal his spot in Sunday's title decider at the Silver-level event.

"I'm super happy that the cramping ended at the end and that I get to fight another day," Zakaria said after the match.

"I swear I was thinking back to every time I was in the gym and not wanting to do something - it's for the sake of matches like these. I'm so happy that it has paid off because I have been really working hard.

"I've been doing loads of work on my squash with JP [Jonathon Power], and I think he'll be happy with this - he won't be happy with the length, though, but he will be happy with the result!"

Zakaria will face off against New Zealand No.1 and two-time defending champion Paul Coll in the final, after the home favourite eased past Spain's Iker Pajares in straight games.

Picking up where he left off from his dominant quarter-final win over Eain Yow Ng, world No.2 Coll rarely put a foot wrong throughout his 37 minutes on court, powering past the world No.34 by an 11-3, 11-5, 11-1 scoreline.

In the women's draw, sisters Tinne and Nele Gilis set up a blockbuster title decider after coming through their respective semi-finals with Marina Stefanoni and Torrie Malik.

Top seed Tinne moved through to her first final on the PSA Squash Tour since October 2024 after defeating world No.21 Marina Stefanoni by an 11-9, 11-5, 13-11 scoreline.

Despite a third-game wobble in which the Belgian No.1 let a 7-1 lead slip into a third-game tie-break, Tinne regained her composure to move through to the final after 41 minutes of play.

After the match, Tinne said: "I thought I started really well. Obviously, Marina, being Marina, does some ridiculous stuff. She made me work so hard to get over the line at the end of the third game there. That's the fighter she is.

"I always say that if we have to play each other, I'd rather do it in a final," Tinne added on the upcoming final with older sister Nele. "So playing the final against her tomorrow is amazing. Obviously, we both want to win, so no matter what, I'll definitely give it my all."

No.3 seed Nele, meanwhile, saw her semi-final with the unseeded Torrie Malik cut short due to a retirement from the Englishwoman early in the third game.

A visibly upset Malik, who yesterday battled through a hyperextension injury in her left knee, was forced to withdraw from the contest at 11-4, 11-7, 2-0 down.

World No.13 Nele will be looking to win a second New Zealand Open title alongside husband Coll, with the pair lifting the same titles together back in 2023.