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England’s world No. 2 Laura Massaro held off a strong challenge from Team USA’s Amanda Sobhy to reach the 2016 PSA Dubai World Series Finals semifinals Thursday on the doorstep of the world’s tallest building—the Burj Khalifa—in the United Arab Emirates.
The 2014 world champion was aided by fortuitous video decisions late in the first game, which saw her fight off a game ball on her way to winning the first game 13-11.
Massaro continued her advantage in the second game where Sobhy made a late push, fighting off three match balls before volleying into the tin on a fourth match ball to lose 11-9 in thirty-minutes.
With her third victory in Group A, Massaro advances to the semifinals where she will face world No. 1 Nour El Sherbini, while Sobhy’s tournament comes to an end with two losses and one victory in the group stages.
“I was a little bit results orientated instead of performance orientated tonight knowing that I needed a game but I don’t want to sound like I have sour grapes about it – I’m really happy to be through and win three from three, ” Massaro said.
“That first game was one of the toughest that I have ever played because I knew that I needed one game to go through and Amanda knew she needed to beat me. But I think when it got to those big points I naturally back myself and up the intensity. So I was glad to get through that and play those big points well.”
Friday’s semifinals are streaming live on SquashTV.
Visit www.worldseriesfinals.com for full tournament coverage.