Joelle King Into Semis At Manchester Open

Another satisfying win has seen Kiwi squash pro, Joelle King progress to the semifinals at the PSA Silver Manchester Open.

Ranked No.5 in the world King had to battle at first but then built up her momentum to make short work of England’s Alison Waters in the third game.

“I was 2-0 up so I didn’t want to give Al (Alison) a sniff or allow her back into the match. “I’m happy to be off in three. She was down and out in the fifth yesterday and she managed to come back and win. She is so dangerous when she goes for it and on this court her kills are pretty dangerous, so I’m pleased to be off in three,” said the 30-year-old from Cambridge.

For King the 12-10, 11-9.11-6 victory in 31 minutes was ideal preparation for her semifinal match where she’ll face the much improved Amanda Sobhy ranked eighth in the world for a place in the final.

The Kiwi has a 6-1 head-to-head record over the American, however the majority of those matches were more than a year ago.

“It’s been a while – the last time I was near in the final was in Hong Kong when I went onto win it. It’s nice to be in contention for the final, but I’ve got a tough opponent in front of me in Amanda. She has just come back really strong after an Achilles injury. She’s young and hungry and I’ve got to try and weather the storm, so we will see tomorrow.”