Aly Abou Eleinen and Sivasangari Subramaniam are the 2023 HKFC Open Champions as they prevailed in two Egypt v Malaysia finals.
[7] Siva Subramaniam (Mas) 3-0 [4] Amina Orfi (Egy) 11-9, 11-8, 11-5 (38m)
[2] Aly Abou Eleinen (Egy) 3-1 [3] Eain Yow Ng (Mas) 11-5, 5-11, 11-7, 11-7 (60m)
Super Siva captures her biggest title
[7] Siva Subramaniam (Mas) 3-0 [4] Amina Orfi (Egy) 11-9, 11-8, 11-5 (38m)
Siva Subramaniam turned in a superb performance in the first final at Hong Kong Football Club, neutralising World Junior Champion Amina Orfi’s hitting with a mixed, controlled game that the 16 year old Egyptian just couldn’t deal with.
Siva opened up a 4-0 lead, picking off loose shots from her opponent, and that set the pattern for the match. Orfi pulled back, levelling at 7-all but couldn’t advance further as Subramaniam took the lead. The second was close, but again deft touches and devastating lobs from the Malaysian won the day, as they did in the third, finishing with a lob that died in the back corner.
“I think I got my game plan right today and I’m really happy at winning today, especially 3-0 against a really dangerous player. Orfi plays a really fast pace and hits the ball really hard most of the time, so for me I know that I can’t keep up with that pace, so I just tried to break it down a bit, slow the match down and mix it up.
“I’m pretty emotional right now. After everything that happened last year, I want to celebrate and I want to scream sometimes. Deep down I’m just really proud of how far I have come and I just hope to keep going because I am doing what I love and I just want to enjoy it out there.”
Aly claims his biggest title too
[2] Aly Abou Eleinen (Egy) 3-1 [3] Eain Yow Ng (Mas) 11-5, 5-11, 11-7, 11-7 (60m)
Aly Abou Eleinen claimed the biggest title of his career following a hard-fought victory over Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng, taking the match in an hour of action.
Eleinen started the stronger, racing into an 10-2 lead, with Yow looking a little passive. He saved four game balls before eventually losing the opener, but had some momentum going into the second, which he took to level the match.
But it was the Egyptian’s turn to regroup, and he did so emphatically to take the last two games and the title.
“Like I’ve said all week, starting well, finding my length and getting to the front is so crucial. Taking advantage of the lively ball here is so crucial.
“Yow loves stepping up and volleying, so I had to make sure that I got the ball to the back of the court, and I think I was the one who was actually making him move more.
“We’ve got the Hong Kong Open next week and it’s the final event of the year and I’m really excited to end on a high note.”
PREVIEW
t’s finals day at Hong Kong Football Club, with two Egypt v Malaysia clashes to decide the destination of the PSA Bronze titles.
First up is double World Junior Champion Amina Orfi against Asian Games Gold medalist Sivasangari Subramaniam. Between them they took out the English top two seeds in the semi-finals, and for both of them this would be a first World Tour level title, although they have 20 Challenger titles between them.
Orfi has spent more time on court getting here, mainly due to her five-game semi-final, but at 16 recovery shouldn’t be a problem. They’ve only met once, this February in Washington, where Orfi was the winner but that was Siva’s first tournament back after injury.
The men’s final sees second seed Aly Abou Eleinen against third seed Eain Yow Ng, both also looking for their first title at this level of event. Eleinen hasn’t dropped a game en route to the final, although Ng has dropped just one with both looking impressive throughout the tournament so far.
The Malaysian leads the H2H 2-0, including April’s Irish Open final, and they both have a highest ranking of 17 with Eleinen currently just ahead at 19 to 21. Everything says it’s going to be close!
