It was obvious from the first minutes of the first game that both players have not fully recovered from the grueling semifinal matches they both had to endure the day before. Both were moving at a slower pace trying to win points as fast as they could avoiding long rallies.

Unforced errors and bad tactic decisions were the rule. Adel El Zarka won the first game 11:7. The sleepy Ahmad Alzabidi easily conceded the second game 11:5.

In the third game Ahmad started to show some life. Supported by the huge crowd, he led much of the game, but was unable to extend the lead beyond one or two points against the increasingly agitated El Zarka. Ahmad eventually took the game 11:9.

In the fourth game both players were more aggressive combining short drop shots and long drives, using all sides of the court. El Zarka’s backhand drop shots were difficult to deal with for Ahmad. The game was again tied at 8:8, 9:9 and 10:10. Two unforced errors by Alzabidi lost him the game 12:10 and the match 3:1.

The match was attended by a huge local crowd led by Princess Rahmah Al-Hassan, the Egyptian ambassador to Jordan and Mr. Jamal Habash representing Novartis, the main event sponsor.


President, Jordan Squash Federation

"I still can't believe how well I've done here, I always thought I could do well at this tournament but the past year I didn't play so many high level matches so that's the most surprising about this result. I will keep training and improving and also get stronger and next time I am finding myself with this opportunity i will be ready again and I'm looking forward to that moment. Thankyou for all the players also to the Princess coming today and for Ramzi organising another great tournament."



"What a talented player! That was'nt easy! I found myself so unsure of the accuracy of his next shot because often he playing very low and tight which is difficult to retrieve and then sometimes I find myself chasing an outright winner, and not possible to pick up.

"I'm so happy to win my first PSA, it's been a great experience for me. I would like to thank my friends, family and my coaches they have been a great support, and last I would like to thank Ramzi for making this tournament happen, thankyou.

12-14 , 11-4, 7-11, 13-11, 11-9 (52m)

[6] Adel El Zarka

11-7, 11-5, 9-11, 12-10 (48m)

Ahmad Alzabidi

11-8, 5-11, 11-9, 11-9 (50m)

Ahmad Alzabidi

Qualifying finals-

Ahmad al Saraj (Jor) bt Saad Hijazi (Jor)             13-15, 11-3, 11-8, 12-10
Mohammad Zubaidi (Jor) bt Saheed Shaban (Jor)             11-6, 11-5, 11-0
Mohammad abou Hamad (Jor) bt Raad al Anaswah (Jor)    11-5, 11-5, 11-3
Waqas Mehboob (Pak) bt Wael el Tabbalat (Jor)                11-9, 11-6, 11-3

Qualifying round one -

Raad al Anaswah (Jor) bt Saif Breakat (Jor)                 13-11, 12-10, 12-10

Robert Downer reports

It was a great evening of squash at the Al Hussein sport centre, my own match and the two pakistan boys' match nearly dragged out for an hour each also both 5 sets of gruelling rallies from start to finish.

Florent Pontiere of France made the big upset of the day when he took out the number one seeded Egyptian Ahmed Hawas 3-1, Florent was nervous in the first and hanging back a little bit, then for the next three games he became so determined hitting great length and width and some excellent retrievals, he was the deserved winner of the match.

Adel Zarka eased through higher seeded Mosnik in straight games in just over 20 minutes.

The bottom half of the draw featured the most competitive battles both matches could have swung either way quit easily.

As for tomorrow's semi-finals only one European remains, and both of the semi-finals again look to be matches with an unsure outcome. I look forward to seeing which players will have recovered from this evening's tough squash ...

"What a nice match! I was leading 2-0 after two hard games and then from the third I found myself under so much pressure from Robert, from that game he changed the way he was playing and he played so well for the third and fourth game, the fifth game we both played so strongly but I was so unsure who would win until 8-8 in that game where I found some luck to go match point and managed to finish off the match with a hard cross court nick.

"For tomorrow I hope to continue my good form, I hope I have fitness remaining and also more good luck.



"Today I played very well and very positively, I gave it everything I had, and in the end it came down to 2 or 3 points right at the end. I'm proud of my performance, particularly in the third and fourth games, he is an excellent player, with such a high range of attacking shots, also in front of his relatives and many supporters of Jordan this made a great but very tense atmosphere. Tomorrow I'm going to visit the dead sea, and probably do little bit of training before I head home on Saturday."



"Very good match I had with Waqas, it was so tough he played many variety of shots, he is always hitting the ball so nicely, he made me move all over the court, I had to do SO MUCH running. The last part of the match came down to luck, Waqas made some errors on big points which gave me advantage. This win gives me a lot of strength for tomorrow which will be another very tough match."



 "I played very well today, so much better than yesterday, my opponent made many mistakes which gave me a lot of points. I hope to play well tomorrow, my chances are good."



"In the first game I felt fit, but made some mistakes, I felt confident but not controlled. From the second game I started to make him work hard, my length and width became very tight, my opponent didn't like to run so much.

"The third game went to a tie-break with him getting 2 game balls, this game was the most important game, and i believe this game won me the match.

"The last game I was so determined when I went on back on court, he tried to take a lot of time between points and I managed to stay focus under this pressure, and at 10-4 match point he conceded.

"I would also like to thank the coach in my corner Robert Downer, he managed to give me a great game plan to beat my opponent. Tomorrow I would like to feel relaxed about my game, I can see tomorrow being more difficult, just going to going to give my best again."

Draw & Results

"This tournament has been a great chance for our players to see the level of PSA tournaments, so they can gain more experience and we still search for more experience. We are hoping to develop our youngsters to reach a top level, our squad of juniors is very promising and it excites me so much.

"All the players I train, I am their mental, physical and tactical coach and since moving from Egypt to Jordan I find it so nice to see these players so keen to learn and improve. The future of Jordan squash looks promising."


Jordanian National Coach

Robert Downer reports

The first round of the Novartis Open in Amman saw three seeded players lose out. Today's upsets were the number two seed Mohamad Reza and number three seed Basem Makram losing out to myself (unseeded) and Waqas Mehboob, a qualifier, while Jordan's Ahmad Alzabidi ousted eighth seed Maeka Kosuke.

Tomorrow's quarter finals will include all three European entrants and one Pakistan semi-finalist is guaranteed. The top half of the draw shows Egyptian promise, and the bottom half of the draw includes only one seeded player.

The atmosphere here is great, lots of locals coming here to support their players and hospitality everywhere I have been has been a real treat.

Some very interesting quarter finals, I not only look forward to my own but also to watching the other matches.

"Today was a nice match for me, I played very well and I managed to find my natural game. It helped me a lot that he played well so I was able to focus more on my own game and for tomorrow if I want to win I must repeat this level of squash."


"I started very well, I feel good on the court physically. My opponent played a very basic game and when he was attempting to play short he often made mistakes, however this changed after the first game and for the next two a he made no mistakes and was very difficult to win the next two games. I hope to feel nice and relaxed tomorrow so that i can be 100% for my match."


"The match was not easy at all! My opponent was a local and he played very well, it's my first round so I find I'm not at my peak just yet, I hope tomorrow my performance will be a higher level, and of course I hope to win."


"The first game I felt confused as the centre court I played on had glass side walls which made the ball difficult to see on and it didn't help that my opponent was hitting the ball SO HARD! Then from the second game onwards he became tired and he lost his fast pace, I then started seeing the ball better and took control of the match. For tomorrow I feel fit and hope to play my best."


"This first round was an interesting match because I had to play on the show court against one of the top local Jordanians, the court was different to what I am used to but I was very happy to win 3-0. I hope I can beat Waqar tomorrow."


"The match was good because I managed to win 3-1 over the number three seed, it ended badly with my opponent retiring. Tomorrow I play my fellow countryman Mohammad Saqib, I hope to get a good win over him."

 

"My match was comfortable today, I am looking forward to my quarter final tomorrow, I hope to find some luck."





"In my first round I played number two seed and world number 187 Mohamad Reza the number one from Iran.

"The first two games I played very good squash and my opponent seemed nervous on court. The third game was Mohammad's best game because he made no errors and forced me to the back of the court with a lot more purpose this game ended with me winning in a tie break 12-10.

"The quarter final tomorrow I have Jordanian number one Ahmad al Zubaidi, I believe I must be wary as he hits a lot of nicks!"

"Squash is improving in Jordan these days, the president of the national team and organiser for both the recent Royal Jordanian open and this Novartis open Ramzi Tabbalat is working very hard with the national team players.

"Ramzi has put three of his promising youngsters onto the PSA circuit with his own backing and support, and is also making big efforts to increase participation of squash in Jordan, where he is hoping to host five PSA events this year."


Jordan U17 #1