Kiwi Joelle King beat Egypt’s Jana Shiha 11-7, 11-8, 11-9
Ngāti Porou.‘s Joelle King continues to turn back the clock and keep the results on a high as the 34-year-old won her quarterfinal at the Tournament of Champions in Grand Central Station, New York in straight sets.
It is the sixth consecutive PSA World Tour semi-final for the fourth-ranked King, as she beat Egypt’s Jana Shiha 11-7, 11-8, 11-9 in 28 minutes.
King had beaten Shiha in their previous encounter earlier in the season 3-2 at the U.S. Open but looked sharp and focused as she moved ahead in game one and never let her lead slip, winning 11-7.
The Waikato player continued to pile the pressure onto Shiha, who was appearing in her first PSA Platinum tournament quarters, and the Egyptian struggled to find areas in which to expose King’s movement.
King used her experience and accurate hitting to keep moving Shiha into all four corners.
Despite a better showing from the young Egyptian, King was too strong on the day as she claimed the next two games 11-8, 11-9 to move into another semi-final on the PSA World Tour.
“Two days ago I had a pretty big match with Nele [Gilis]. Sometimes the rest day is good and sometimes it’s not. Today I felt a little out of rhythm, probably playing a young Egyptian, they’re so dangerous. I’m just happy to get off in three and happy to be in the semi-finals,” King said.
“I was trying to hit a good width. With Jana, she’s so attacking and I tried to put pressure on her by playing an extra ball. I was pretty on top of the serve and searching for the next shot which I think surprised her and I think I played a solid game.”
King will play either top seed Nouran Gohar or sixth seed Nour El Tayeb, both of Egypt for a place in the final