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00:28Welcome
00:29to the PSA Squash Tour. It is semi-finals night here in Brisbane and the players are ready
00:35and raring to go. The tension is building behind the scenes. We've got eight athletes remaining
00:39in the tournament, four men and four women across seven different nations. But who's
00:44got what it takes tonight to deliver the goods and progress through to tomorrow night's final?
00:49G'day Brisbane. Get ready for the Squash Australian Open. Join us for an exciting showcase of skill
00:55and drama right here in our beautiful city.
01:04I know I want to...
01:07I know I want to...
01:08I know I want to stay...
01:10I know I want to stay...
01:34Good evening and a warm welcome to the Squash Australian Open
01:372026, a gold event on the PSA Squash Tour.
01:40It is one of seven gold events on the calendar.
01:43It's day five. We're into the semifinals.
01:45And we've got Sarah Fitzgerald and Lisa Aitken in the studio with us today
01:49to guide us through the semifinals.
01:51First of all, Sarah, congratulations. Welcome.
01:53Is this your debut in the Squash TV studio?
01:55Have you been here before?
01:56I've been here before, but at the British Open, not in Brisbane.
02:00So it's really nice to be on home soil and in Brisbane seeing everyone again.
02:04And Lisa, more familiar with the desk and the surroundings and the atmosphere.
02:07But we're expecting a big crowd in tonight.
02:09Yeah, I'm not so familiar with the temperatures, I must say that.
02:12But yeah, you can certainly feel the atmosphere down there.
02:15It's starting to kick off. It's filling out.
02:17And I think it's going to be packed to the rafters.
02:19And what is it that the Australians love so much about this tournament in particular?
02:24Well, it's just having a major event on home soil again where we don't have to get on
02:29an aeroplane and travel.
02:31And it's just having your familiar faces, family and friends in the crowd.
02:35Certainly a few familiar faces in the order of play.
02:37So let's show you your four semifinals.
02:40We're going to start with the women today.
02:41Siva Sangari Subramaniam, the number one seed, takes on Neila Hillis,
02:44runner-up at the New Zealand Open last week.
02:46Paul Cole, the men's number one seed, takes on Jonah Bryant.
02:49That's the master versus The Apprentice.
02:51Marina Stefannoni, the number seven seed, she's through to the semifinals.
02:55Well, she'll face the winner of the New Zealand Open, Neila Hillis.
02:58And then it's Mohamed Zakaria up against Joel,
03:00making those two playing out a 126-minute battle when they met last week in New Zealand.
03:06So what are we looking forward to there, Fitzy?
03:07We'll start with you. Pick of the bunch for you.
03:09Oh, there's some great matches there.
03:11I'm actually looking forward to just watching all of them.
03:13There's some terrific lineups.
03:15I really enjoy watching Paul Cole.
03:17And I've seen, you know, Zakaria since he was a kid.
03:20So it's absolutely wonderful to see him making it through to semifinals.
03:24And he's a terrific little player.
03:25And Siva, I really like the way she plays.
03:27She's a little pocket rocket, that one.
03:29OK, and Lisa?
03:30Yeah, Neila Siva, they've got a really cool head-to-head.
03:33It's 4-3 in favour of Subramaniam.
03:35But Neila Hillis has obviously been playing pretty well.
03:37She made the final in New Zealand last week.
03:39So I'm looking forward to that one.
03:41OK, we're going to preview all of those matches in a bit more detail now.
03:43We're going to start with Paul Cole versus Joan O'Brien.
03:46Master versus The Apprentice.
03:47They've actually got the same coach in Rob Owens.
03:50So let's just sort of see Rob's input.
03:53What will he be saying to his players tonight?
03:55And making sure he's not too biased one way or the other.
03:58Yeah, I think tonight he'll definitely be chatting to them both before they play.
04:01It'll be very general, I would imagine.
04:03There won't be too much specific detail to technical or tactical input
04:08or trying to get the other player over the line.
04:10It'll be enjoy the occasion.
04:11It's a big one.
04:12It's a major tournament on the calendar.
04:14And both players are playing well.
04:16They're in good form and just enjoy the moment.
04:18It's another big match and relish the challenge.
04:20Is it complicated having the same coach?
04:22Do you think is there a bit of...
04:24Possibly a bit of yes and no in that answer.
04:27But, you know...
04:27Give us both.
04:28Well, you'd want to obviously have, you know, very specifics.
04:32But, of course, it's hard for him because he'll be so specific to both of them.
04:36And, look, they'll have their own games that they need to work on.
04:39And, as Lisa said, you know, enjoy the moment.
04:41And I'm sure the boys know each other well.
04:43So, they'll be working on their strengths.
04:46Jonah, I think, has only taken one game off, Paul, from the three meetings that they've had together.
04:50And he's 3-0 down in those head-to-head.
04:52So, what can Jonah Bryant do differently tonight that he hasn't done in the past?
04:56Well, I think he can come in a little bit relaxed.
04:58He's obviously the underdog.
04:59You can't really compare them when it comes to what they've achieved in their career.
05:04Paul Cole's 13 years older, as we've referenced the master versus the apprentice.
05:08And I think Jonah likes that.
05:10I think he wants to get stuck in.
05:12He's obviously here to win.
05:13He's not trying to just get an opportunity on this glass core,
05:16another match against Paul Cole, my training partner.
05:18He wants to win.
05:19And every time he steps on court with him, he's trying to do that.
05:22So, he'll have watched back those last three meetings that they've had,
05:25seen what he's done well and not well.
05:26And he'll come out with a very calculated plan.
05:29Paul Cole, obviously, a former world number one.
05:31But let's take you right back to when Paul Cole was the same age as Jonah Bryant.
05:35Here's a little graph that shows where he was in his career when he was Jonah's age.
05:39He was 116th in the world.
05:41And we can see that rise just to world number 11 currently,
05:45where Jonah Bryant is that yellow line, a very steep curve indeed.
05:49Yeah, I'm looking at Paul Cole's rise there.
05:51And, look, I remember him as quite a young fella in Australia.
05:54And I liked him back then.
05:56He was just a nice, clean player.
05:58And I'm looking at that.
05:59I'm wondering if that's when he teamed up with Rob Owen
06:02and got some coaching to work on his technique.
06:04And then his game took off.
06:06Yeah, he skyrocketed.
06:07He won this event 11 years ago.
06:09Yeah.
06:09And he was number 59 in the world.
06:11Then he beat Cameron Pilly in the final.
06:13Yeah, he did.
06:13And that actually took him into the world's top 50 at the time.
06:16And that's a big milestone that you try to achieve as you go from the junior ranks to the seniors.
06:20Breaking into the top 50, it's a big celebration moment.
06:23And then you're looking at then trying to incrementally get little chunks up the rankings
06:28because it then becomes very, very difficult from there.
06:31I mean, that is an incredible rise for, if you compare it there next to Paul,
06:35former world number one and Jonah Bryant, current world number 11.
06:39And Jonah, has he sort of just come out of nowhere?
06:41Where's he come from?
06:42But do you maybe know a bit more about this, Lisa?
06:45Two very different entries into the top of the game, that's for sure.
06:48You've got Paul Cole, who wasn't that prolific junior, winning the titles,
06:52the one that the world was talking about before he got to 19 years of age
06:56and coming on to the senior tour.
06:58He'll admit this, he was pretty much a nobody in the juniors.
07:01He definitely wasn't a hot prospect to be a future world champion, world number one.
07:06Obviously, that world champion does allude to him.
07:08Jonah Bryant had a very different path.
07:09He was a star as a junior.
07:11He did have all the credentials to be a top senior player.
07:15But it just shows you can do it both ways.
07:17Yeah.
07:18Anything to add on that point of the way into the top tier of squash?
07:22Yeah, well, Paul's just a quiet achiever, I think.
07:24And I think he's certainly proven his determination that he's gone ahead
07:29and took the coaching and made changes to his game.
07:32And he wanted to go up the rankings and achieve,
07:35and that's exactly what he's done.
07:36It took some time, but he's there.
07:38I wanted to ask, what was your junior career like?
07:41Obviously, you had a prolific senior career.
07:44Whose path were yours most similar to, Jonah's or Paul's?
07:47Jonah's.
07:48I was fortunate enough to, right from a young age,
07:51I was winning my age group title.
07:53So I knew what it was to be a winner, I guess, from a kid.
07:56And as I stepped onto the senior tour, you know, I had a bit of that in my background,
08:01but it still took me time to figure some things out.
08:03And I was a little bit older when I started to win stuff.
08:06But my junior career, I stepped straight in pretty high on the senior rankings.
08:10And how did you deal with that pressure?
08:12Obviously, you're expected to then become a top player.
08:15Well, after winning World Juniors, I think everyone just thought, oh, she'll be top 10.
08:19But it took me a while mentally to get my head around that.
08:22So it hit me differently.
08:24Some juniors, when I look at, say, Shabini, they just took it in their stride and went straight up the
08:29rankings.
08:29Everyone deals with the difference differently, and it just shows it's such a mind game.
08:33Very interesting.
08:34We're going to stay with Paul Cole here for a moment now and look at some of the data that
08:38we've managed to source.
08:39You've been busy here, Lisa.
08:40You've been speaking to Scott Logan, his conditioning coach.
08:44And just talk us through these graphics and what they mean exactly.
08:47Yeah, first of all, if you look at the top, you can see it says the Windy City Open.
08:51That was a tournament in Chicago back in February.
08:54The point I want to make on that is these stats are on heart rate,
08:58and they look exactly the same for every tournament that Paul Cole plays.
09:02So even though it says the Windy City there, what they've noticed when they're reviewing all this data
09:07is that this translates to every single tournament, whether he's winning it,
09:12whether he's got a different range of opponents.
09:14They're noticing that 88% of Paul Cole's average heart rate max
09:20is what he's operating at right from the word go.
09:23Round one, no matter if it's a lesser opponent, 100 in the world, 80 in the world,
09:28right through to playing Mustafa Asal,
09:29he is always operating above 88% of his maximum heart rate,
09:34which is incredibly hard.
09:36That's testament to the style of squash that he plays.
09:39He plays very fast, he's aggressive, he gets onto the ball early.
09:42So he's working very, very hard, and you can see that in the way that he plays, can't you?
09:47I wish those stats were around in my day.
09:50And look, I knew when I was playing I was really fit and I got myself very fit.
09:54And you have to be to be world number one and to maintain it.
09:58But I'd be very interested to know what my heart rate was.
10:01And at times I look at that and it just proves to me how fit he is.
10:05And I believe he used to do a lot of CrossFit.
10:07So he really has made his body overall fit.
10:12It's not just squash fit, if you know what I mean by that.
10:15He could probably put his hand to anything and be unbelievable at it.
10:18What are they doing with that sort of data, Lisa?
10:21Maybe you can give us a bit more of an insight as to what the team will now do
10:24and what Paul will be focusing on, not just for this season,
10:27but future seasons and towards the Olympics.
10:29Well, the whole plan is geared around getting a medal at the Olympic Games.
10:33He's obviously one of the older players now as well.
10:35So they'll take this data from a tournament
10:37and then they will tweak the training plan accordingly.
10:40So if he's had a very high, intense tournament,
10:44coming off the back of that, they need to recover really, really well
10:46so they can build up and peak again for the next tournament.
10:49But also they're getting to see what sorts of heart rate zones,
10:53how hard he's working, how long he's staying in every zone and what that takes.
10:58Therefore, if he's not hitting those targets in training,
11:01he's never going to be able to replicate it in a match.
11:03So one interesting thing that I found talking to Scott Logan
11:07was that they recognised that Paul wasn't warming up hard enough.
11:10So when he was getting into his matches, he was feeling tired,
11:14which is very difficult to believe.
11:15He was feeling tired quite quickly
11:17and finding it difficult to push into those higher heart rates.
11:20And they went back and looked and saw
11:22that he wasn't pushing himself hard enough in those warm-ups.
11:25So they've tweaked that now
11:26and he's doing a lot more harder, explosive warm-ups.
11:30Fantastic.
11:31That's interesting.
11:31Extra insight.
11:32There we go.
11:32That's why we pay her the big ones.
11:34His wife as well is pretty fit as far as squash goes as well.
11:38She's been to the very top inside the top five,
11:40getting up to number four in the world.
11:42Nela Gilles, let's look back at El Gunnar International 2023,
11:45that moment when she beat Noor El Shabini
11:47to make it through to her first platinum final.
11:51Yeah, this was the form of her life.
11:52As you mentioned there, she got up to world number four
11:55and thoroughly deserved.
11:56Coming into this, she had a great run.
11:58She was barely losing to anyone ranked below her.
12:01The only players that eluded her at the time
12:03were this one, Noor El Shabini, Nurong Gohar and Hania El Hamami.
12:07But getting the win there against Noor El Shabini,
12:08she's an eight-time world champion, that's very difficult to do.
12:11To manage to do that, get to her first platinum final
12:14and then got to four in the world.
12:16And then, I guess, can you relate to sort of the modern-day players
12:20and sort of see how you might have sort of fitted into the modern-day game
12:23when you look at an athlete like Nela Gillis and her sister, Tina,
12:26who we'll see tonight?
12:27Well, I see how incredibly fit-looking Nela looks.
12:30And she's amazing.
12:32And no doubt she's doing all the same sort of work that Paul does.
12:35And she'll be right beside him doing that training.
12:38Yeah, it's so hard to compare generations.
12:41And, you know, you'd like to think you'd be able to, you know,
12:44keep up with these players.
12:46I certainly would suspect I can to a certain degree,
12:48but some of their fitness levels is mad.
12:51What does she have to do to get back to the top?
12:52She's currently world number 12.
12:54She's slipped down the world rankings.
12:55I know you had a sort of dip in form in your career,
12:57but then you shot back up.
12:59So what were you doing behind the scenes
13:01to get yourself back up to the top tier?
13:03I think sometimes it was just going out and training on Christmas Day.
13:06And, you know what, I know all these players are doing something similar.
13:09And it's about what's going on in the head.
13:11And as someone said to me today, you know,
13:13it's that top 2% of your brain and what's going on up there.
13:17You've got to get that right.
13:18And, you know, Nela, she's fit.
13:20She's been there.
13:21And it's just a matter of probably getting some good results
13:24to give her the confidence to get back up there.
13:26Because she's a great player.
13:27But, of course, you've always got new young players coming up.
13:30And that's the hard part.
13:32You've got to keep them at bay.
13:33Lisa, anything to add on that?
13:35Yeah, that's the thing.
13:36She was part of that group of players that was so incredibly fit and fast.
13:40And that almost changed the game.
13:41So the players had to match that.
13:43If they wanted to beat the players and push up the rankings,
13:45they had to get fitter.
13:46They had to get stronger.
13:47But I really like what you said, Fitzy,
13:49there about the mindset of Nela Killa.
13:51She's got everything to her game.
13:53She's got the movement.
13:53She's got the shots.
13:54But what's going on in her head?
13:56And I've noticed that these last two tournaments,
13:58she looks a lot calmer.
13:59She's confident.
14:00And her arm and her swing and her movement's a lot more freer.
14:03So she's turning into that fearless Nela Killaist
14:05that we did see at World No. 4.
14:07And tonight she'll be going up against Siva Sangari Subramaniam.
14:10It is filling up.
14:11It's starting to get a real buzz about the place now.
14:13We're expecting around 1,000 people in
14:15to enjoy the semifinals with us here at the Squash Australian Open.
14:18And as I said, Siva Sangari Subramaniam
14:21kicking things off when we caught up with her
14:22and Paul Hornsby earlier today.
14:24Siva, thanks for giving us a few minutes
14:26just before you step into action on this wonderful court
14:28against Nela Hillis in your semifinal.
14:31Now, it's been a bit of a slow start to this event for you,
14:34not in terms of your performance, of course,
14:35but the fact that you had an extra day off,
14:37which I suspect may have been a welcome scenario for you
14:42based on the distance travelled and the conditions here in Australia.
14:45Yeah, I mean, of course, I played my second round,
14:49obviously, first round by,
14:50second round I played against Grace on this glass court.
14:53And then, of course, Aifa had to pull out due to an injury.
14:58Hopefully, she's feeling better,
14:59but it's a bit of a different plan for me
15:01as I have now.
15:03I had two days of no matches,
15:05but obviously, I've been training
15:07and trying to get as much hits on that court
15:09to get used to the humidity and the heat as well.
15:14But no, I came here slightly earlier
15:17because of the change of travel plans and stuff like that.
15:19I didn't do New Zealand, it's just Australia,
15:21but I think, no, I feel good on the court
15:26and hopefully I can do well tonight.
15:29Cool.
15:29Well, obviously, there's a lot of talk of the Olympics,
15:32which is on the horizon,
15:33and for yourself, you've got the Asian Games,
15:35which in itself is,
15:36I know how big an event that is for squash in Malaysia,
15:39but the added spice of
15:41you could potentially be the first person in history
15:43to get their spot.
15:46Yeah, I mean,
15:47Asian Games always big for us,
15:49big for Malaysia,
15:50big for funding,
15:51for sponsorships and all this stuff,
15:53but this year, it's a ticket to Olympics.
15:56It's the first one
15:57in terms of the Continental Games and stuff like that,
16:00but again, it's always important,
16:02but slightly more important this year,
16:05I would say,
16:06for the LA 2028.
16:08There's going to be a lot of pressure
16:10for many of the girls.
16:12Obviously,
16:13me and Satomi would be the top two seats,
16:16and I don't want to think too much.
16:20Obviously, it's close,
16:20but also at the same time,
16:21I still have a couple more PSA tournaments
16:23to try to do my best,
16:26and then it's all part of the preparation,
16:28but I just want to try
16:30and take it one step at a time,
16:31not overthink it too much.
16:32That's obviously the ultimate goal,
16:34to try and win
16:35and get the ticket to the Olympics,
16:36but not to overthink
16:38and put too much pressure
16:39and just take it as it comes.
16:41Yeah, of course.
16:42That's cool.
16:43Now, the last question
16:44I just wanted to ask you
16:45is a little bit of an insight
16:46into your work with Gregory Gaultier.
16:48You've obviously been working with Greg
16:50for over a year now.
16:51Just give us a little insight
16:52as to, well, two questions really.
16:54One, what's the main impact
16:56you see that it's had on the game?
16:57The second one is,
16:59obviously, Greg travels a lot
17:00to these events.
17:00He's not here this week,
17:01so what does that combination
17:03of communication, rather,
17:05look like during?
17:06No, it's been really great with Greg.
17:08Obviously, as you said,
17:09it's been about a year plus now.
17:11We've been working together.
17:13I think we've built
17:14quite a strong relationship together
17:16on court, off court.
17:18It's been really,
17:20obviously, he's very passionate.
17:22He cares a lot about his players
17:23and I like it that way.
17:25I like someone who is hard on me
17:27and, you know,
17:28I'm hard on myself as well,
17:29so he's a great balance
17:31of giving me the both sides
17:34of trying to be very aggressive
17:35on court,
17:36but at the same time,
17:37try to take it easy on myself.
17:38And with him not being here,
17:42obviously, he's watching
17:43all my matches,
17:44communicating with me every day,
17:46keeping me on my toes
17:47on what I need to do.
17:48And, but, no,
17:51I think even if he's not here,
17:52it feels like he's here
17:52because we're always in touch,
17:54we're always communicating.
17:55And honestly, to have him,
17:57you know,
17:58to be working with him
17:58almost a year now,
18:00it's a great addition
18:01to my team
18:02and a great change
18:04of environment,
18:05great change of,
18:06a bit of change
18:07to my game as well.
18:08So I'm really happy
18:09and looking forward
18:11to working with him
18:12many more years to come.
18:12Cool.
18:13That's fantastic.
18:14Well, we're going to
18:14let you get on, Siva.
18:16Good luck today.
18:16Enjoy it out there
18:17and look forward to watching it.
18:18Yeah, thank you.
18:20Yeah, Siva Sangari Subramanian.
18:22First up,
18:22not long to wait for her match,
18:24just about 15 minutes or so
18:25until we see her on court.
18:26Paul Hornsby
18:27has joined us
18:28in the studio as well, Paul.
18:29Other little takeaways
18:30possibly there
18:31from that interview
18:32when you were speaking to her.
18:33She looks confident.
18:34She's the favourite here this week.
18:35No, it was really cool
18:36to catch up with Siva, actually.
18:37You know,
18:38I just find her really nice
18:39as a person,
18:40but I'll tell you something else.
18:41She's actually my favourite player
18:43on the women's side
18:44when she gets it right
18:45and she strikes that
18:47perfect balance
18:48between being super aggressive
18:50and keeping the error rates low.
18:51Well, she's proven that
18:53she can be unplayable
18:54for anybody in the world.
18:55So if she strikes that balance this week,
18:58she's going to be a handful for everyone.
18:59And obviously Sarah Fitzgerald
19:00still with us in the studio here,
19:02five-time World Open champion.
19:04Just your thoughts
19:05on Siva Sangari Subramanian
19:07and what she possibly has to do right tonight
19:09or her style of play
19:09or anything that appeals
19:11about her style of play.
19:13Well, I agree with you.
19:15I think she's a lovely little player.
19:16She really packs the punch
19:18for a small lady.
19:19And being the number one seed,
19:21she's got to play to win,
19:22not obviously play to defend
19:23and try to, you know,
19:25kick the players at bay.
19:26Just go out and play her best
19:27and the result will come.
19:29And she's up against
19:30Nellie Killis tonight.
19:30We talked a little bit about her,
19:32but she was on good form last week
19:33when you were in Christchurch
19:34at the New Zealand Open,
19:35making it all the way to the final,
19:37losing out to her sister.
19:38Yeah, it was a tough one
19:38for her to take, really.
19:39It got a little bit niggly
19:41at the end there,
19:41the two sisters.
19:43I mean, she took her 8-1
19:44head-to-head
19:45into that match.
19:46So she would have been
19:48desperate to win there.
19:49Obviously,
19:50she's got her family,
19:51the whole side of the family,
19:52they were all there in force.
19:54So it would have been
19:55a bit of a fairy tale
19:56for her to pick up
19:56the second New Zealand Open title.
19:59She didn't quite get there,
20:00but certainly she's looking
20:01in way better shape
20:02than she did this time last year
20:04because she actually,
20:05she had a disappointing loss
20:07in New Zealand.
20:08She was not 100%.
20:09She had a problem with a hit
20:10and she actually pulled out
20:11of this event last year.
20:12So it's great that she's here
20:13and she's, you know,
20:15she's turned up in good shape,
20:16I think.
20:16No defending champions
20:18this year as well.
20:18No Olivia Weaver,
20:19no Kareem Gawad.
20:20He beat Paul Cole
20:21in the men's final,
20:23incidentally.
20:23We will see Cole
20:24later in action.
20:25Is it a bit odd
20:26not to be at a tournament
20:27where the defending champions
20:29aren't there to defend
20:29their titles?
20:30Is that normal?
20:31Well, I guess it's
20:32a stepping stone for them,
20:34you know,
20:34as they're moving up
20:35the rankings
20:36and they're looking
20:37for bigger points
20:38or whatever the case may be.
20:40And sometimes it just
20:41doesn't fit into their schedule.
20:43And, you know,
20:44I'm sad to not see Olivia here.
20:46And as you said,
20:47she won it last year
20:48and I got to spend
20:49some time with her
20:49and she's a lovely girl
20:50and it's a shame
20:51she's not here
20:52defending the title.
20:52What do you make of her then?
20:53Because she's obviously
20:54this big prospect
20:55for Team USA
20:56in the next Olympics
20:57in LA in 2028.
20:59So she could be
20:59the flag bearer.
21:00She could be
21:01and she's got Marina
21:02now on her heels.
21:04So, you know,
21:05both girls are going
21:05to be working hard
21:06to take that position
21:07for the USA.
21:08Yeah, we'll talk a bit more
21:09about Marina Stefano
21:10shortly.
21:10Ahead of that though,
21:11Mohamed Zakaria
21:12and Joel Makin.
21:13They are up fourth
21:14this evening
21:14in the semi-final rundown
21:16in our order of play.
21:17So let's talk about
21:18them a little bit.
21:19Zakaria,
21:20the current world
21:21number nine
21:21playing in his highest
21:22world ranking to date
21:23against Joel Makin
21:24the number two seed.
21:25So, Paul,
21:25where do you want
21:25to start with this one?
21:27Well, Joel Makin
21:27has arrived.
21:30It was a repeat
21:30of last week's semi-final
21:31but it's just
21:32it's the same two players
21:34but a completely
21:35different scenario.
21:36126 minutes
21:37this one went.
21:37Yeah, it was
21:38it was a crazy match.
21:39It was a shame
21:41that somebody
21:41had to lose it actually.
21:42He did have match ball
21:43but didn't quite convert
21:44but I do feel
21:46that the way that
21:47Joel Makin's come through
21:48to the semi-final
21:49this week
21:49is stacked in his favour
21:51really.
21:51I mean, we saw him play
21:53Nicholas Muller
21:54last night
21:54and although
21:57Nicky Muller
21:57threw absolutely
21:58everything
21:59into that first game
22:00and he was really
22:01delighting the crowd
22:02here
22:02he just couldn't
22:04quite hang on to it.
22:05A lot of errors
22:06as well
22:06a huge amount of errors
22:07from the Swiss player
22:08and really
22:09it was clever
22:10from Joel Makin
22:11he just sort of
22:12set his stall out there
22:13to just be
22:14relentlessly retrieving
22:15the ball.
22:16He was having a bit
22:16of fun out there
22:17he said afterwards
22:18that he really enjoyed
22:19the match
22:19it was not particularly
22:21physically demanding
22:21for him
22:22and yeah
22:23he got the job done
22:24and got off early
22:24and got an early night
22:25in bed.
22:26And his opponent today
22:27will be the two-time
22:28world junior champion
22:29I know you said
22:30that you sort of
22:30had eyes on him
22:31at an even younger age
22:32Mohamed Zakaria
22:33and just what a quality
22:34player he was
22:35and still is
22:35and will be
22:36in the future.
22:37Absolutely
22:37I first saw him
22:38at the world juniors
22:39in Melbourne
22:40a couple of years ago
22:41and obviously
22:41he was terribly
22:42disappointed
22:43he lost that year
22:44but you could see
22:45straight away
22:46that kid was going
22:46to go somewhere
22:47and he won
22:48the world juniors
22:48the following year
22:49and now look at him
22:50top ten
22:51he's pretty amazing
22:52for his age.
22:53Yeah two-time
22:53world junior champion
22:54breaking into the top ten
22:55after his win
22:56in Karachi
22:57in January
22:58of this calendar year
23:00making him
23:01the third player
23:02there
23:02and the youngest players
23:03to enter into the top ten
23:04the only two players
23:05ahead of him
23:06Jansha Khan
23:07and Jahangir Khan
23:08so two big names
23:09ahead of him
23:10he's 18 years old
23:11and four months
23:11when he became
23:12the world number nine
23:13and I guess he's in
23:15pretty illustrious company
23:16there Paul.
23:16Well I tell you what
23:17if you're ever going to be
23:18third on a list
23:19then the two people
23:20above you
23:20you don't really mind
23:21if it's Jahangir
23:23and Jansha Khan
23:23do you?
23:24Not at all
23:24but what else
23:26do we take away
23:26from that
23:27I mean he's just gonna
23:28is he going to go on
23:29and be as good as them
23:30as great as them
23:31well he's showing
23:31all the signs
23:32isn't he
23:32he's still out there
23:34with his eyewear on
23:34he's still a junior
23:36but yeah
23:37he's just a real
23:38one off for me
23:39Mahmoud Zakaria
23:41he's been gifted
23:42with an amazing squash brain
23:44he clearly spends
23:45hours and hours
23:45and hours on court
23:46every day
23:47but yeah
23:48the ball control
23:49that we see from him
23:50and the movement
23:51the screeches
23:52around the court
23:52it's impressive
23:54to say the least
23:55he had a tougher night
23:56last night
23:56in his quarterfinal match
23:57this one went
23:5879 minutes
23:59so 30 minutes longer
24:01than Joel Makin's
24:0249 minute match
24:03against Nicky Muller
24:04it didn't finish
24:05till midnight
24:05now is that gonna be
24:06a factor
24:08do you think
24:08here tonight
24:09Fitzy?
24:10It depends
24:10I mean every player
24:11handles it differently
24:12if you get used
24:13to being last match on
24:14you get used
24:15to the time zone
24:16and sometimes
24:17it'll just depend
24:17on what the weather
24:18is like here
24:19if it's a bit hot
24:20and humid
24:20and if it's different
24:22weather from last night
24:23how would you describe it
24:24is it hot and humid
24:25here tonight
24:25well I've come up
24:26from Victoria
24:27so it's certainly
24:28a bit more humid
24:28than down there
24:29but you know
24:30the players are used
24:31to it
24:31he's from Egypt
24:32so it won't be a problem
24:33for him
24:34he's used to the heat
24:35do you think
24:35that'll play a factor
24:36or the recovery time
24:37or the lack of it
24:37that he had
24:38between then and now
24:39yeah
24:40if you think about
24:41the time between
24:42Joel Makin coming off
24:43court after an easy match
24:44to Zachariah coming off
24:46after a brutal match
24:47it's significant
24:48I think it will play a part
24:49tonight
24:50just one point
24:51I would make on that match
24:52is I must admit
24:536 all in the third
24:55game
24:55I thought we could see
24:56an upset
24:56just because
24:57Enyao played so
24:58exceptionally well
24:59up to that point
25:00but physically
25:01wheels just fell off
25:02again for him
25:03unfortunately
25:03and we've spotted
25:04Dame Susan DeVoy
25:05I think she's here
25:06as well
25:07so the legends
25:07pouring in
25:08we've got
25:09legends of squash
25:10and Heather Mackay
25:11next to her as well
25:12and she's been inducted
25:13into the hall of fame
25:14I believe you were
25:15at that early
25:16did you manage to
25:16tell us a little bit
25:18of a scoop
25:18from that
25:19celebration
25:20well actually
25:21the squash
25:22Australian
25:24took note
25:24of all the past
25:25champions
25:26and all Australian
25:27representatives
25:27so it was a really
25:28nice touch
25:28to the day
25:29and having
25:30Heather be present
25:31and being inducted
25:33she got a standing
25:34ovation
25:34everyone was so
25:35pleased to see her
25:36and she's so humble
25:37and such a lovely
25:38lady
25:39and it was a great
25:40moment
25:40and she was
25:41she was really
25:42quite pleasantly
25:43surprised
25:44and you know
25:44Heather's won
25:45everything
25:46seen and done
25:47everything
25:47but moments
25:48like that
25:48still you know
25:50make her very
25:51well up almost
25:52so it was beautiful
25:53and how did you
25:55rate her
25:55and the history
25:57and the heritage
25:58that players like
25:59Heather bring
25:59to the game
26:00and to the sport
26:00and the fact
26:01that we've still
26:02got them coming
26:02here to support
26:03the Australian Open
26:04it's brilliant
26:04it's absolutely amazing
26:05I've never had
26:06the pleasure
26:06of meeting Heather
26:07but certainly
26:09look at the history
26:10it's unbelievable
26:11what she achieved
26:12and as you said
26:13for it to still be
26:14you know
26:15turning up
26:16at events like this
26:17is fantastic
26:18our final match
26:20to review very quickly
26:21is Tina Guinness
26:21versus Marina
26:22Stefanoni
26:23Belgium versus USA
26:24let's start with Tina
26:25and go back
26:26all the way to
26:26Singapore
26:27this was the moment
26:28that she took on
26:30her sister
26:31in her first ever
26:32gold final
26:33at the Singapore Open
26:34and losing out
26:36to Neila Gilles
26:37in the final
26:38to her sister
26:39so a disappointing
26:39end to this one
26:40but what else
26:41did we learn
26:42from her then
26:43well I actually
26:44commentated that match
26:45it was absolutely brutal
26:47it was an unbelievably
26:48physical affair
26:50loads of really long rallies
26:52and that was when
26:53Neila was
26:54in her absolute prime
26:56physically
26:56so it was a tough
26:57ask for Tina
26:58obviously she got one
26:59back on her last week
27:00which will be
27:01significant I think
27:02yeah three years ago
27:03as well
27:03that 2023
27:04and like you say
27:06that big win in
27:06Christchurch last week
27:08Tina Guinness
27:09we'll take on
27:10Stefano
27:10Marina Stefano
27:11another one of these
27:12players that we're
27:13saying look out
27:15for this girl
27:15she's on the way up
27:16world number 19
27:17playing in the highest
27:18world ranking today
27:19how do you rate her?
27:21yeah look
27:21this is a great
27:23opportunity for her
27:24hopefully she's
27:25going to maintain
27:26that high
27:26that she had
27:27from yesterday's win
27:28and really take it
27:29out there today
27:31you know
27:31she'll be after
27:32a position in
27:33Olympics
27:33chasing Olivia Weaver
27:34so you know
27:35she's got something
27:36to prove out there
27:37and I wish her all
27:38the best for tonight
27:38and she's been here
27:39before she's made it
27:40through to the
27:41semifinals of a gold
27:42event at the Texas
27:43Open
27:43she took on
27:44Noor El Shabini
27:45just missing out
27:46it was three love
27:47in scoreline
27:48but she was there
27:48and she would have
27:49learned a lot of
27:49lessons that day
27:50against Noor El Shabini
27:51100% she would
27:53yeah and it's great
27:53for Stefanoni
27:55that she's backed it
27:55up in you know
27:57in quick succession
27:58by coming through
27:59to the semifinal
28:00here she actually
28:01beat Salma Hani
28:02to get through
28:02to that gold semifinal
28:04but it was a different
28:06Salma Hani
28:06we saw last night
28:07in the quarters
28:09I absolutely loved
28:10that match
28:10yeah what did you
28:11love about it
28:12it was a real
28:13engaging match
28:14it was a fascinating
28:15match because
28:16Salma Hani
28:16came out
28:17firing in
28:18left right and
28:19centre
28:19didn't miss a thing
28:20but the
28:22thing that really
28:23impressed me about
28:23Stefanoni
28:24was how she
28:25dug deep mentally
28:26and kept her
28:28focus
28:29kept her tactics
28:30together
28:30we saw the crowd
28:32really get behind
28:33which was cool
28:33and the reaction
28:35at the end
28:35just set it all
28:36for me
28:36it was a stunning
28:38performance
28:38so hopefully
28:39she's still got
28:39plenty in the tank
28:40tonight to be able
28:41to really get stuck
28:42into tonight
28:42alright let's go back
28:43to the top of the bill
28:44and get a prediction
28:45from you both here
28:46so we can hold you
28:46accountable at the end
28:47of the show
28:48so Siva Sangari
28:49Subramaniam
28:50the number one seed
28:51taking on
28:52Naila Gillis
28:52the number four seed
28:53based on everything
28:54you've heard here
28:55tonight on the preview
28:56show
28:56who are you going to
28:57be going for Sarah
28:58Siva
28:58okay why
29:01I just like her
29:02as a player
29:02and I like her style
29:03and you know
29:05just as the number one seed
29:06hopefully she's got
29:07something to prove
29:07and she can do it tonight
29:08okay Paul
29:09who are you going to
29:10be going for this evening
29:10in the first match
29:11of the evening
29:12it's 4-3 actually
29:14in the head-to-heads
29:14in favour of Naila Gillis
29:16they've met seven times
29:17before on the PSA squash tour
29:18well I
29:20as I said earlier on
29:21I really do like
29:22Siva Sangari's style of play
29:23I do give her
29:24just the edge
29:26just the edge
29:27and the reason why
29:28I say that
29:28is because I sense
29:30that something's coming
29:31from Naila Gillis
29:32in the near future
29:34obviously she fell short
29:35against her sister
29:36last week
29:36but physically
29:37she looked good
29:39technically
29:39she's solid
29:41and I just feel
29:42like the tide
29:42may have turned
29:43for the older
29:44Hillis sister
29:44but I still think
29:46it could be
29:47a win for Siva
29:48okay brilliant stuff
29:49thank you very much
29:50for your company here
29:51in the studio
29:52for our preview show
29:53we're ready to get
29:53the main show
29:54underway if you like
29:55thank you very much
29:56for joining us for this
29:57let's get into the thick of it
29:58with all the squash here
29:59on semi-finals night
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