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Aramex Open 2011
16-19 Apr, Amman, Jordan, $5k |
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19-Apr, Final:
A Maiden title for Marwan in Amman
The atmosphere was upbeat, with the
substantial crowd anticipating a close match between the 2 Egyptian
stars, Marwan El Shorbagy and Mazen Gamal. Both had to go the full 5
games the night before in their semifinal wins over tough opponents.
In the first game, the score was close with neither player away from
the other by more than a single point. They were tied at 7:7, but
then the more agile El shorbagy forced Gamal into making repeated
unforced errors using short drop shots and quick deceiving posts.
The game ended 11:7. The more confident El Shorbagy played his best
squash in the second game proving how dangerous he can be when he is
in control of his sometimes hard temper. He controlled the T and
dominated the front of the court, varying his shots and giving his
subdued opponent no chance to recover. El Shorbagy won the second
game 11:5
Feeling the pressure and not wanting to give up easily, Gamal went
on the court for the third game with a plan to slow the game as much
as possible playing deep high drives. The impatient El Shorbagy
committed several unforced errors that provided enough fuel for the
tiring Gamal to win the game 11:4.
Realizing that he still had the upper hand in term of fitness and
stamina, El Shorbagy upped the pace in the fourth game forcing Gamal
to stay on the defense most of the time, working very hard trying to
retrieve almost impossible shots from all sides of the court. He
appeared to have mentally lost the game long before it ended with
the score of 11:5 (42 minutes) in favor of El Shorbagy.
The crowd cheered both players as they walked out of the court. The
jubilant El Shorbagy was crowned the winner of the Aramex Squash
Open.
President, Jordan Squash Federation
 "I'm
really happy to win my first PSA title here in Amman, I played much
better today I really enjoyed it.
"I just want to thank Millfield School for everything they have done
for me for the past four years, and obviously the great Jonah
Barrington and Ian Thomas, my brother as well who's been there for
me always, and finally my parents and my friends.
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  Aramex
Open 2011
16-19 Apr, Amman, Jordan, $5k |
Round One
16-Apr |
Quarters
17-Apr |
Semis
18-Apr |
Final
19-Apr |
[2] Mazen Gamal (Egy)
11/8, 11/6, 11/2 (22m)
Zeyad Tareq Alowaesh (Kuw) |
[2] Mazen Gamal
11/1, 11/3, 11/4
Navid Maleksabet |
[2] Mazen Gamal
4/12, 11/8, 12/14, 5/11, 11/7 (59m)
Ahmad Alzbaidi |
[2] Mazen Gamal
11/7, 11/5, 4/11, 11/4 (42m)
[3] Marwan El Shorbagy |
Navid Maleksabet (Iri)
11/8, 11/13, 5/11, 11/7, 11/8 (52m)
Fallah Mohammed (Kuw) |
Mohammed Alzbaidi (Jor)
11/7, 11/9, 22/24, 11/9 (38m)
Ahmad Alzbaidi (Jor) |
Ahmad Alzbaidi
4/11, 11/6, 11/8, 12/10
[4] Adam Murrils |
Steven London (Eng)
11/8, 11/4, 4/11, 11/2 (55m)
[4] Adam Murrils (Eng) |
[3] Marwan El Shorbagy (Egy)
11/8, 8/11, 11/9, 11/2 (59m)
Ammar Al-Tamimi (Kuw) |
[3] Marwan El Shorbagy
12/10, 9/11, 8/11, 11/2, 11/5
Khaled Zahran |
[3] Marwan El Shorbagy
11/5, 16/18, 7/11, 11/4, 11/5 (51m)
Robert Downer |
Khaled Zahran (Egy)
11/1, 11/6, 11/2 (11m)
Adeel Ahmed (Pak) |
Robert Downer (Eng)
9/5 rtd (7m)
Alireza Sanaei (Iri) |
Robert Downer
12/10, 6/11, 9/11, 11/9, 11/6
Ahmad Al-Saraj |
Ahmad Al-Saraj (Jor)
12/10, 14/12, 11/5 (35m)
[1] Amr Swelim (Ita) |
18-Apr, Semis:
GAMAL BRINGS DOWN LOCAL,
EL SHORBAGY EDGES PAST THE WILDCARD
Robert Downer reports
 Tonight's
matches provided great suspense and entertainment for the locals
here in Amman, with Alzabaidi on first up against the number 2 seed
Mazen Gamal the evening was kickstarted with lots of vocal support
from all of the Jordanian hero's fan club.
Gamal took a 2-0 lead even if he had not had it easy up until then,
with Alzabaidi giving away crucial points with some frustrating
unforced errors he had no luck taking either of the first 2. But
from 10-8 matchball down in the third a gunning come back looked on
the cards with the crowd getting more and more behind him as he
started to find his rhythm of tight length and creative nick shots,
he found his way taking it all the way to a decider with a 14-12 and
11-5 score comeback.
The 5th game was neck and neck all the way till they reached 7-7 and
from there it was Alzabaidi who eased into his "Tin-hitting zone"
and allowed Gamal several easy points to take the match and reach
the final.
SHORBAGY KEPT IT ENGLISH,
DOWNER MIXED IT UP
 Down
to my semi final, now before the match there was a great vibe
between myself and Marwan about their having been a long wait for us
to finally get a chance to officially compete with each other.
The match started at a very slow pace with Marwan keeping it simple
and both of us trying to find a way to dominate the rallies, I found
myself not stepping up to take on the volleys and to take my game to
him and this put Marwan in a great position to get to a 1-0 lead in
games and also an 8-2 lead in the 2nd, but a relaxed approach to
just go for my shots and a step off the pace from Marwan and I
managed to claw my way back to 10-10.
At 10-10 in 2nd game I was managing to wrong foot and get Marwan
stretching deep in the back corners which allowed me to go in short
with a lot of power and meaning, a marathon tie break ending in an
18-16 win to me got me thinking to believe I was now in the match
and was in with a chance overall. The third game I kept it the same
varying the height and pace of my length to force again more loose
balls to put winning shots away, then with the third game under my
belt and a 2-1 lead It was at 6-6 in the 4th when luck started to
head Marwan's way a few hard fought rallies resulted in myself
feeling weak and unable to continue the same pace. A simple game
from Marwan managed to be more than enough to make a come back and
take the match 3-2 after 51 minutes.
All credit to Marwan we both played a nice and fair game and am
happy for both having given my best and for a good friend to make
the final.
Marwans report of our match
It was a fair match, I think Robbie played really well he surprised
me with his crazy shots today. I just can't get used to the court
still ... been playing on the court for 3 matches now and still
can't get used to it, its just different than any other court. I
will keep pushing and just need to be positive for tomorrow and try
and win my first PSA title here in Amman.
Also had a lot of fun on there.
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17-Apr, Quarters:
QUARTERS IN AMMAN
Robert Downer reports
THE BIG FOREHAND JUST TOO STRONG
Adam Murrils v Ahad Alzabadi always looked to be a close encounter,
with a packed out Jordanian crowd in full support of the local
talent Alzabadi.
It was Murrils however who came out strong in the first game with a
solid tight game moving Alzabadi into all four corners of the court
and making minimum mistakes to take a 1-0 lead. The next three games
all went Alzabadi's way with Muzza losing control on his length and
playing too easily into the Jordanian's powerful and accurate
forehand, Alzabadi managed to take control from coming behind from
6-3 down in the third and put himself a 2-1 lead and full of
confidence. Murrils kept pushing and matches Alzabadi till 8-8 but
it was too late and with some excellent finishing shots it was a 3-1
home win and straight into his third semi-final at his home centre
in Amman.
Alzabadi now will play the number 2 seed Mazen Gamal who has glided
through to the semi's in less than an hours court time, will the
sound of the emphatic Jordanian crowd see their hero make another
PSA final..
EGYPT JUNIOR CLASH, ZAHRAN PUSHES EL SHORBAGY THE FULL
DISTANCE
 The only controversial match of the day saw Marwan El Shorbagy
pushed to a 5 game thriller by fellow compatriot Khaled Zahran. The
first game was very close with influence of ref decisions going in
Shorbagy's favour from 9-9, Shorbagy was struggling on the glass
court to play how he tactically was planning to and with Zahran
hitting very accurate and low length the ball was often fading into
the back corners.
Zahran was rewarded with this tactic in the next 2 games by storming
to a 2-1 lead and looking very much in control of the court and of
Marwan. But the fourth game saw a different Marwan come back onto
centre court a very focused and determined player had arrived, with
a strong and disciplined performance he clawed back the next 2 games
with relative ease to put himself into the semi final.
El Shorbagy now play's English wildcarder Robbie Downer (MYSELF), we
are two good friends and I'm sure Marwan will be looking to his
first competitive match with me outside of any training.
LAST BRIT STANDING ENDS SARAJ'S RUN
 And lastly for my match ... after seeing Swelim the top seed go down
3-0 to this young Jordanian talent, I had been having doubts that I
could still win this match but with some guidance from my dad, Steve
London and Muzza I was able to find a way to win even if It did take
me best part of an hour.
The first game Saraj looked nervous and very erratic and I managed
to control the pace and length nicely to go 1-0 up. The next game
began like a blur with Saraj firing in 4 rolling winners in a row to
go 4-0 ahead leaving me to try and get back into the game.
It was my opponent however who took the 2nd and also the 3rd game by
playing in that of a similar fashion as he had taken down Swelim, It
took me until half way through the 4th game to slow the pace down
again and to try and hold and frustrate Saraj's movement and power.
In a hard fought 4th and 5th game I managed to come through probably
the toughest PSA match of my short career.
And after a 12-10 6-11 9-11 11-9 11-6 victory in 61 minutes I was
glad to get off court and get my breath back. So for Marwan tonight
I hope he is feeling the affects of his 5 game match of yesterday
and hope I can continue to play some good quality squash and also to
have a lot of fun on there!!
Mazen Gamal beat Navid Maleksabet 3-0 in 25 minutes, I missed
most of the match but it was fairly comfortable for the Cairo based
player.
The semi finals start from 7pm tonight (5pm english time.) |
16-Apr, Round One:
SARAJ COMES OF AGE,
SWELIM NOT THERE YET
Robert Downer reports
 Last
night 16 year old Ahmad Saraj made squash history in Amman
lover at the Al hussein sportcity by beating number one seed and ex
world#39 Amr Swelim.
Saraj is currently second in the Jordan Men's rankings but has shown
he can compete at the highest level. Swelim has had difficulty
getting back from injury over the last months so with the fast pace
of the all glass court combined with Saraj's fine hard hitting and
speedy retrievals It was always going to be a tough condition for
him to put Ahmad away the way it looked on rankings. Saraj now faces
myself and no doubt he will be looking for another home win, full of
confidence and determination he will be a very tough opponent.
 I
was 9-5 up in the first game against Iran's ex national champion
Alireza Sanaie before he put his hand out to concede the match.
I saw early signs during the game that he was struggling with some
pain in his lower back and eventually several tough rallies forced
Ali to stop play.
Ali said to me after the match "Well Robbie, it's frustrating to
come over here and not give my best against you. It is just a shame
that it had to happen this way. I hurt my back in training last week
back in Tehran and it has been tender since then. I do hope it gets
better soon as I'm very keen to get playing at the moment."
MAROMAN TESTED
 The
rising Egyptian Marwan El Shorbagy faced an interesting
opponent in the name of Ammar Al Tamimi of Kuwait, last
night. In the first three games Ammar held his own and was frustrating
Marwan with many low boasts and great retrieving. It looked like the
third was the key game of the match - with the players level at
8-8 some questionable ref decisions and very long tough rallies
often ending in let balls.
It was Marwan who kept his head to take the game and to race on the
take the fourth 11-2. Marwan faces countryman and qualifier Khaled
Zahran in the quarter finals tonight. Khaled is competing in his
second PSA to date and both have been in Amman. Both Marwan and Khaled are
experienced juniors and are hungry to make a big impression on the PSA tour.
Khaled Zahran in the first round faced Adeel Ahmed of
Pakistan who is competing in his first ever PSA tournament, it was
the shortest match of the day with Khaled taking the match 11-1,
11-6, 11-2 in 11 minutes.
MUZZA FLEW FROM LONDON
ONLY TO TAKE DOWN LONDON
 Well
the three English contenders, myself, Adam Murrils and
Steve London all coincidently flew out together, with Adam and
Steve wanting to get on court the day before and also the morning
prior to their first match they were training together which made it
all the more interesting when it came down to their actual match.
A good start from London in the first saw him go 6-3 up but then
Murrils seemed to find tighter and more consistent length and pushed
London deep into the back corners to take hold of the T. Murrils
dominated the first two games by always getting that extra ball back
and taking the ball in well to all four corners of the court,
It was only one hard push in the third game from London that he was
rewarded by his efforts. At 2-1 to Murrils he did not hang around
and with London losing control of the T and going short too early he
was punished with an 11-2 for Murrils to move to the quarters.
Number four seed Murrils (Team 305), will now take on local hero
Ahmad Alzabadi the Jordanian number one and who has previously
made one final and one semi-final here in Amman in two satelite
events last year. Alzabadi took on not just any opponent and not on
any normal day, it was his 22nd Birthday and he faced older brother
Mohammed Alzabadi a qualifier. It was a 3-1 win to the
birthday boy but he did not have it easy with one game stretching to
24-22 in favour of the older brother. The home packed crowd enjoyed
seeing the brothers battle it out for a quarter final place and as
usual in Amman he will have the crowd behind him tonight.
GAMAL KEEPS IT SIMPLE
 Number
two seed Mazen Gamal of Egypt played Zeyad Tareq of
Kuwait. He came from 5-0 down in the first game to then find his
length and rhythm on the all glass court taking the first game 11-7.
The next two games followed in similar fashion with Zeyad gearing
himself up from the start of the games but not having the confidence
and shot selection to put Mazen under more pressure resulting in a
11-8, 11-6, 11-2 win for Gamal.
Gamal's quarter final opponent is Navid Maleksabet of Iran
who came back from 2-1 down against Kuwaity Fallah
Mohammed. Both Navid and Fallah were battling it out with a lot
of hard hitting and gutsy pick-ups. It was Navid however in the fourth
game who stepped up and put his name on the match when he put
himself in better positions on the court to volley and take more
control of the points.
With top seed Swelim out it looks to be an open title, El shorbagy
and Murrils looking for first time glory on the circuit and Gamal
looking to add another to his four tour titles already claimed. The
matches start from 5:30pm tonight all matches to be played on new
all glass court.
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