Makin Ousts Zakaria in Epic 107-Minute Rematch In Brisbane

World No.6 Joel Makin avenged his 125-minute defeat to Mohamad Zakaria at last week's New Zealand Open with an equally energy-sapping 108-minute semi-final victory at the 2026 Squash Australian Open.

Exactly a week on from their blockbuster clash in Christchurch, the pair produced a sequel every bit as compelling in Brisbane, trading blows for nearly two hours in front of the 1135-strong crowd at the stunning South Bank Piazza.

In a match that once again saw high-quality, attritional rallies throughout, No.2 seed Makin and No.3 seed Zakaria traded games into a decider as the clock ticked beyond the 90-minute mark.

The nip-and-tuck nature of the match continued in the fifth, with the scoreboard moving to 7-7, from where Makin finally managed to edge ahead.

The Welshman sealed victory in fittingly dramatic circumstances, diving full stretch into the front right to retrieve a drop, as Zakaria simultaneously lost his footing in a sweat mark and wasn't able to put the ball away into the open court.

After clinching his epic 11-7, 9-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8 victory, Makin said: "I thought I played better than last week, to be honest. He stepped up as well, though.

"I thought I put some really good work in, especially in the second, although he nicked some points at the back end and levelled. I've got to give him credit, for an 18-year-old, he's gutsy. He kept coming back even though I kept feeling I was playing better.

"His work down the backhand wall, he was slow-balling it nicely and getting back into rallies - credit to him, that was really tough, but I stuck to it, I was more aggressive tonight, and I took it to him a bit more."

Makin will face world No.2 Paul Coll in the final of the Gold-level event after the 2015 champion dispatched rising star Jonah Bryant in straight games.

Top seed Coll entered his match with training partner Bryant with three wins from their three meetings on tour, and the Kiwi No.1 continued this winning run thanks to a commanding 11-3, 11-9, 11-6 victory over the world No.11.

Coll's court-craft and smart manipulation of the ball were evident all throughout their 53 minutes on court, never letting Bryant gather any real foothold or momentum in the match.

Meanwhile, in the women's draw, world No.19 Marina Stefanoni continued her giant-killing run, stunning No.2 seed Tinne Gilis to advance to her maiden PSA Squash Tour Gold final.

The 23-year-old from the USA delivered potentially the finest performance of her career to defeat the world No.10 by an 11-8, 4-11, 11-3, 11-8 scoreline.

Central to Stefanoni's upset win was her variation of attacks all across the court, stalling the renowned movement of Gilis in the hot, humid conditions in Brisbane.

Despite Gilis responding well to an early one-game deficit and later rallying from 6-1 down to lead 7-6 in the fourth when looking ever more exhausted, it was Stefanoni who remained composed to seal the win after 43 minutes of play.

After the match, Stefanoni said: "I've wanted to prove to myself that I can be in there with the top girls in the world. I'm incredibly happy right now.

"It feels amazing. It was exactly a week ago that I lost 3/0 to Tinne. That day, she was beating me in the back of the court, but I tried to turn it around and play fearlessly. I felt super good today."

Stefanoni will take on top seed Sivasangari Subramaniam in tomorrow's title decider after the Malaysian No.1 was forced to produce a battling performance to defeat world No.12 Nele Gilis in three games.

Despite the straight-game scoreline, the 50-minute contest was ultimately decided by fine margins, with Malaysian No. 1 Sivasangari finding her best squash in the match's pressure moments.

After overturning a game ball on her way to clinching the second game 13-11, Sivasangari took full advantage of the deader ball in the subsequent third, punching her ticket in the final by an 11-8, 13-11, 11-4 scoreline.