Growthpoint South African Open 2018
06-11 Aug, Pretoria, South Africa, $11k + $5k

Sherbini and Mohamed triumph in all-Egyptian finals ...

Egyptians second seeded Mohamed ElSherbini and Farida Mohamed, the fifth seed, lifted the respective Growthpoint S A Open Squash Championship titles when the finals were played on the All Glass Court at the Brooklyn Mall in Pretoria on Saturday.

It was the fifth successive PSA title and one of the toughest that ElSherbini has won in the past 18 months in South Africa.

The women’s final saw both Menna Nasser, the fifth seed, and Mohamed start off tentatively. Nasser playing safe squash led 6-3 and 7-5 before the more adventurous Mohamed started attacking the ball, forcing Nasser into errors, levelled at 7 all and winning the game 11-7. In the second game Nasser again got off to a strong start leading 7-1 .

A number of lets ensued together with some questioning of the referee’s decisions by the 16 year old Mohamed. Mohamed won the next 3 points to trail 4 -7. With both players not clearing the ball, the scoreline stuttered to 9-7 in Nasser’s favour when she slipped and had to leave the court with a self inflicted injury as well as bleeding. After her return to the court, Nasser held game point at 10-8 but again it was the more determined 16 year old who pocketed the game 12-10.

The third game was one way traffic as Mohamed ,a losing semi-finalist in the recent WSF Junior Women’s Individual Championships, stamped her supremacy on the match making good use of attacking drives and volleys intermixed with slower controlled accurately placed cross courts enabling her to stroll through 11-4 in 5 minutes to capture the title.

The men’s final proved a tough tussle between the number 1 seed Mazen Gamal and 2nd seeded Mohamed ELSherbini. Although ElSherbini ran up a 7-3 lead in the first game against a slow starting Gamal – perhaps showing signs of the tough 5 game tussle with 3rd seeded Masotti the previous day – it was Gamal who took control winning 11-7.

Making use of astute placings which twisted and turned the tall ,well built Gamal, ElSherbini took the second game by the same margin 11-7.

The third game was a bit of a damp squab as ElSherbini ran up a 6-1 lead before Gamal fought back to 3-6 but he then seemed to lose focus with ElSherbini winning 11-3 in 7 minutes.

The fourth game, lasting 23 minutes, proved an exciting tactical duel as both players battled for supremacy. Killing down the wall drives, interspersed with drops and deep cross court drives, long energy sapping rallies as both players tried to dominate the court with points oscillating until 7 all.

With ElSherbini leading 8 - 7 Gamal slipped , injuring his right elbow which also started bleeding . Gamal returned to the court losing the next 2 points which game ElSerbini match point. An incredibly tough long rally followed with Gamal retrieving everything thrown his way but eventually a deep drive to his forehand back corner saw him slip full length and it was ElSherbini who claimed victory at 11-8 after 62 minutes of intense thrilling squash.

It was an appropriate finish to a successful Growthpoint S A Open Squash Championship played on the all glass court which had been in storage for 15 years and which provides an ideal means of promoting and exposing squash to the public.
 

It's all-Egyptian semis in Pretoria

The Men’s and Women’s finals at the Growthpoint S A Open Squash Championships being played on the All Glass Court at the Brooklyn Mall in Pretoria will be all Egyptian affairs.

The men’s final sees what could be a battle royale between top seed Mazen Gamal and second seeded Mohamed ElSherbini, who won their respective semi-final clashes in contrasting fashion on Friday. Fourth and fifth seeds Farida Mohamed and Menna Nasser meet in the women’s final.

South Africa is a happy hunting ground for ElSherbini, who in 2017 collected 4 PSA titles : the West Rand Open, the Balwin/Assore Central Gauteng Open, the Keith Grainger Memorial /IUCT Open and the Bullring Open, having had to qualify for each event.

In his semifinal clash with 4th seeded Rui Soares (Portugal), ElSherbini’s superior length and accuracy caught an out of form Soares off guard as the second seed via a 11-7 11-3 11-6 score line entered his fifth consecutive South African PSA final.

In contrast the second men’s semi-final between top seeded Gamal and 3rd seeded Frenchman Baptiste Masotti provided an exciting torrid tussle lasting 74 minutes.

Five unforced errors from Masotti cost him the first game against Gamal who won the game 11-6 . A determined Frenchman returned to the court and aided by some shots into the tin by Gamal as well as some accurate drops from his own racket, Masotti took the game 11-4. The third game was marked by long rallies interspersed with killing drops but again 3 unforced errors by Masotti allowed Gamal to win the game 11-9.

The 4th game saw Gamal take a 6-1 lead before Masotti found his length and fought back to level at 6-all. 1 stroke : 3 lets: a conduct warning for Masotti : some unnecessary barging and Gamal held match point at 10-6. The game then took a sudden twist with Masotti reeling off the next 4 points to level at 10-all. Gamal held a second match point at 11-10 but Masotti again levelled at 11 all winning the game 13-11 on his first game point.

The start of the fifth game saw the referee give both players a warning to allow each other freedom of movement. It was Gamal who eventually edged through 11-6 to enter the final.

24 year old Menna Nassar, the 5th seed will play 16 year old fellow Egyptian 4th seeded Farida Mohamed in the women’s final.

In the first women’s semi final Nasser triumphed 11- 4 11-8 9-11 11-6 over Alexa Pienaar, the 2018 S A Universities champion. Nasser’s more accurate placings put Pienaar under pressure and she was unable to counteract the variety of pace and length from her Egyptian opponent’s racket.

Mohamed, who was a semifinalist in the recent WSF Under 19 Junior Women’s Under 19 Championships in Chennai, India showed maturity beyond her years as she outplayed the South African number 2 ranked player, Milnay Louw. Louw played sound controlled squash to win the first game 11-9 gainst an opponent, who did not like some of the refereeing calls. Playing attacking squash a focussed Mohamed then took 14 minutes to race through the next 3 games 11-4 11-7 11-5.

Photos by Gary Plumstead

Stage set for semis in Pretoria

The stage is set for the semi-finals of the 2018 Growthpoint S A Open Squash Championships to be played at the Brooklyn Mall, Pretoria on Friday 10th August 2018 from 16h00.

The contractors led by Benjamin Hunt , son of former World Champion Geoff Hunt, worked through Wednesday night sanding the floor of the All Glass Court , which had proved too slippery to play the first set of quarterfinals on Wednesday evening . The court was declared good to play on on Thursday and the second set of quarterfinals were completed on Thursday evening.

In the first quarterfinal played, 24 year old Rui Soares, the fourth seed from Portugal, had the measure of his opponent unseeded Blessing Muhwati (Zimbabwe) winning the first game 11-7. Muhwati, a student at UJ turned the tables in the second game. Although Soares saved 4 game points, Muhwati clinched the game 11-9 to level matters.

Soares wasted no time in racing through the third game in 6 minutes dropping only 1 point. The fourth game turned into a tussle as Muhwati’s placings had Soares moving all around the court with the Zimbabwean taking a 7-4 lead. Making use of deeper tighter drives , Soares regained control and rattled off 7 consecutive points to win the game 11-7 and the match on his first match point.

Soares will clash with second seeded Mohamed ElSherbini in the semi final on Friday .

A string of unforced errors by unseeded South African, Christo Potgieter, who had upset 7th seed Ben Coates (Eng) in the second round, allowed ElSherbini ranked 70, to pocket the first game 11-4 in only 6 minutes. With both players attacking at every opportunity points seesawed in the second game until 7 all.

The Egyptian held game points at 10-7 and 10-8 eventually winning the second game 11 – 8. Despite having broken strings while trailing 1-3 and having to change his racket, El Sherbini clinically tied up the match at 11-6 in the third game.

In the women’s quarterfinal 5th seeded Menna Nasser (Egy) was too experienced for her opponent, unseeded Jennifer Preece, a second year student at UJ as she comfortably controlled the game 11-2 11- 8 11-4 in 18 minutes.

Nasser’s opponent in the semi-final will be third UJ student, Alexa Pienaar, the 2018 S A Universities champion. Pienaar caused an upset by defeating second seed Farah Momen (Egy) in straight games in the first round.

Pienaar had a tough tussle with Cheyna Wood (Central Gauteng) winning through 11-8 12-14 1-8 11-1 n 45 minutes.

Photos by Gary Plumstead

Quarters under way in Pretoria

Top seed in the GrowthPoint S A Open Men’s Squash Championships, Mazen Gamal was the first player to reach the semi-finals when he outplayed

5th seed JP Brits 11-4 11-5 11-4 in the quarter finals, which were moved back to the Pretoria Country Club on Wednesday evening .

A fluid mover Gamal, took a 3-1 and the 7-4 lead before rattling off 4 points to clinch the first game 11-4. The second game followed a similar pattern with points oscillating until 6-5 in Gamal’s favour and he took 5 points in a row to take the game 1-5 and then raced through the final game 11-4.

His opponent in the semi-final will be Baptista Masotti of France, the third seed , who needed 28 minutes to account for the 6th seeded Yannick Omlor (Germany), the 6th seed.

Milnay Louw, runner-up in the 2017 Growthpoint S A Open , completely dominated her quarterfinal match against unseeded opponent, Linda Shannon, winning through 11-3 11-4 11-4 .

Louw’s opponent in the semi-final will be 5th seeded Farida Mohammed, a semi – finalist in the 2018 WSF Junior Women’s Championships. Mohamed saved two game points from 8-10 in the first game against Lauren Siddall but then dominated the next 2 games 11-5 11-5.

Thursday’s men’s quarterfinals scheduled for the All Glass Court at the Brooklyn Mall sees second seed Mohamed Elsherbini (Egy) play unseeded Christo Potgieter and 4th seeded Rui Soares (Por).

The women’s quarterfinals sees unseeded Alexa Pienaar clash with unseeded Cheyna Wood and 4th seeded Menna Nasser (Egy) play unseeded UJ Student Jennifer Preece.
 

Down to the Quarters in Pretoria

Winner of the 2017 Growthpoint S A Open, Christo Potgieter, and Blessing Muhwati (Zimbabwe) caused the upsets in the second round of the 2018 Growthpoint S A Open Championships played at the Pretoria Country Club on Tuesday evening when they ousted 7th seeded Ben Coates (Eng) and 8th seeded Ahmed Hassan (Zim) respectively in straight games.

The women’s event also saw two upsets with UJ student, Alexa Pienaar, accounting for second seeded Egyptian Farah Momen 11-8 11-4 11-9 and SA Country Districts’ number 1 player, Lauren Siddall beating 3rd seeded Jelina Dutina of Serbia, also in straight games.

Number one seed Mazen Gamal advanced to a third round clash with 5th seed, South African J P Brits on the All Glass Court at the Brooklyn Mall having beaten fellow Egyptian Omar Elkatten 11-8 12-10 11-2.

In a highly entertaining encounter Mohamed El Sherbini, the second seed, eventually subdued spirited opposition from fellow Egyptian, Youssef Ibrahim after 46 minutes. Both players delighted with their athleticism, fast reflexes , attacking drives interspersed with pin point drops and volleys.

Baptiste Masotti, the third seed from France, advanced to the quarterfinals via a 11-6 8-11 11-6 11-6 win against Egyptian Khaled Labib with fourth seeded Rui Soares (Portugal) registering a straight game win over Wayne Sithole.

Top seed in the women’s event South African Milnay Louw was in fine form defeating Christine Ferreira (SA)0for the loss of 7 points

The quarterfinals in both the men’s and women’s events will be split over 2 days – Wednesday and Thursday – at the Brooklyn Mall, Pretoria.

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