The finalists Waters and Abdel Kawy have been battling for almost 11 years, with the Londoner currently leading 10-9 in the head-to-heads. The semi-final exit of the event’s top two seeds has led to a surprise Anglo/Egyptian Carol Weymuller Open final between 3rd seed Alison Waters and No5 seed Omneya Abdel Kawy at Heights Casino in New York.
Londoner Waters recovered from two games down to beat 2nd-seeded Egyptian Raneem El Welily 7-11, 9-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-3 to reach the 20th Tour final of her career, whilst Cairo-based Abdel Kawy will celebrate her 30th Tour final after seeing off top seed Laura Massaro, the reigning World Champion from England, 11-2, 7-11, 11-8, 11-5.
“Being 2/0 down I still felt confident because I had played well in the first two. I knew that if I kept persevering I could get the errors from her, especially as I knew she’d had a tough match last night – I told myself to keeping pushing away”, Waters said.
“I’m happy to win this one,” added Abdel Kawy. “It’s my first gold final in a long time, maybe since 2010. So tomorrow, no pressure, just relax and enjoy it!”
Final:
[5] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) v [3] Alison Waters (ENG)
Semi-finals:
[5] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt [1] Laura Massaro (ENG) 11-2, 7-11, 11-8, 11-5
[3] Alison Waters (ENG) bt [2] Raneem El Welily (EGY) 7-11, 9-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-3
Quarter-finals:
[1] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt [Q] Salma Hany Ibrahim (EGY) 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 9-11, 11-4
[5] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt [Q] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) 11-8, 4-11, 11-8, 11-9
[3] Alison Waters (ENG) bt Nicolette Fernandes (GUY) 14-12, 11-2, 11-4
[2] Raneem El Welily (EGY) bt Emma Beddoes (ENG) 13-15, 11-6, 7-11, 11-4, 11-4
1st round:
[1] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt Sarah Kippax (ENG) 11-5, 11-9, 11-8
[Q] Salma Hany Ibrahim (EGY) bt [6] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) 11-6, 11-9, 12-10
[Q] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt [4] Madeline Perry (IRL) 11-2, 11-4, 11-4
[5] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt [Q] Samantha Cornett (CAN) 11-5, 11-6, 11-3
Nicolette Fernandes (GUY) bt [7] Rachael Grinham (AUS) 7-11, 11-6, 11-8, 6-11, 11-9
[3] Alison Waters (ENG) bt Line Hansen (DEN) 11-6, 11-8, 11-5
Emma Beddoes (ENG) bt [8] Amanda Sobhy (USA) 11-7, 12-10, 11-4
[2] Raneem El Welily (EGY) bt [Q] Samantha Teran (MEX) 11-5, 11-7, 11-4
