Squash ace Laura Massaro out of British Open after semi-final loss

Chorley's defending champion Laura Massaro has been eliminated from the 2018 Allam British Open after falling to a 3-2 defeat against World No.1 Nour El Sherbini inside Hull's Airco Arena on semi-finals day.
Laura Massaro in action against Nour El SherbiniLaura Massaro in action against Nour El Sherbini
Laura Massaro in action against Nour El Sherbini

Massaro, a two-time British Open champion, was appearing in her fifth semi-final here in six years and the 34-year-old from Preston took a 2-1 lead against 2016 champion El Sherbini, who she beat at the same stage of last year’s tournament.

However, from the fourth game onwards it was the player from Egypt who looked the more comfortable of the two on court and the momentum shifted in her favour as she closed out an 11-13, 11-4, 11-13, 11-7, 11-5 victory in 70 minutes to reach her third final at the sport's longest-running tournament.

“I’m really happy to win this match,” said El Sherbini.

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“It’s always really tough to play Laura in Hull, she was playing so well here but I’m really happy that I managed to get back and win the fourth and happy to be in another final.

“The British Open is one of the biggest tournaments we have on the tour, it’s an honour to win it once and hopefully I can go on to do it again.”

Massaro’s defeat means that there will be no British interest in the final after compatriots Sarah-Jane Perry and Alison Waters and Wales’ Tesni Evans all fell in yesterday’s quarter-finals.