[2] Hania El Hammamy (Egy) 2-0 [7] Joelle King (Nzl) 12-10, 11-5 (25m)
A typical comeback from Hania bless her, with Joelle completely in control, full of the confidence that comes from beating your opponent in your last encounter, 3/0.
And the Kiwi just went on with the same energy/momentum in the first game, completely outplaying the Egyptian Gazelle, 2/0, 6/2, 9/3. Then a few errors crept in, a few stunning retrieval from the Egyptian, a few winners as well, and we are back at 9/9.
A let transformed into a stroke for Joelle, 10/9 game ball. But then two errors on the last two points, 12/10 for Hania in 15m.
Hania never looked back in the second from 2/0 down, to 8/3, 10/4, 11/5 in 8m, Joelle visibly saving a bit of energy for the semis tomorrow!
“It was really tough in the first game, the gap was huge between us,”
“I just felt like I was enjoying myself even if I was down, I kept pushing. I’m happy to be back at this tournament, back at this tournament, I’m the defending champion, so I’m definitely eager to be back in the final and the semis and hopefully win the tournament.
“I’m playing against the top eight players in the world, it is never easy against them. I’m really happy to win the three matches 2-0. Today’s match was a little different, I think Joelle might have been saving a little bit for her semi. It’s always tough against Joelle, so hopefully we will have more battles.”
