Egyptian star Nour El Sherbini has reached an incredible 10th final in a row at the PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family after she came back from 2-1 down to defeat United States No.1 Olivia Weaver in a pulsating clash in Chicago.
The seven-time World Champion was just three points away from defeat after finding herself 8-3 down in the fourth game after a terrific performance from World No.4 Weaver put her on the brink of becoming the first American ever to reach the title decider.
However, El Sherbini kept her composure and rattled off eight successive points to send the match to a gripping decider.
That broke Weaver’s resistance as the pressure she was putting El Sherbini under virtually disappeared, with the Egyptian nullifying her to complete an 11-1, 7-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-4 triumph.
El Sherbini is now just one win away from matching the record of eight World Championship titles, currently held by Malaysian legend Nicol David. World No.3 Hania El Hammamy will be El Sherbini’s opponent.
“I was almost out and I don’t know how I came back,” said El Sherbini after reaching her 11th World Championship final
“I’m proud and happy to win this match. I tried to be calm and tried to have a good mindset. The last phase I wasn’t that calm and I was too emotional and everything wasn’t coming together.
“I tried to work on my mental game, tried to think positive and tried to relax a little bit to make sure I could produce the performance I wanted to produce.
“Olivia is marking her place on the fourth [ranking] position for two seasons and she’s raised the bar for US squash. She’s an amazing role model for all the US juniors and she’s getting closer.
“I know all the supporters were backing her and they should be proud to have a player like Olivia here.”
Result
[2] Nour ElSherbini (EGY) bt [4] Olivia Weaver (USA) 3-2: 11-1, 7-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-4 (53m)
