Women's Qualifying Finals:                       Full Women's Draw

  Madeline Perry bt Emma Beddoes                 9/0, 6/9, 3/9, 9/2, 9/2 (69m)     plays David
  Engy Kheirallah v Dominique Lloyd-Walter     5/9, 9/4, 9/2, 9/4 (67m)           plays R.Grinham    
  Isabelle Stoehr bt Jaclyn Hawkes                  10/8, 9/0, 5/9, 9/0 (49m)          plays Abdel Kawy
  Kasey Brown bt Annelize Naude                    9/3, 9/2, 9/0 (35m)                  plays Grainger

Men's Round One:                                        Full Men's Draw

  Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned) bt Jesse Engelbrecht (Rsa)           11/6, 4/11, 11/6, 11/2 (36m)
  Karim Darwish bt Jonathan Kemp (Eng)                                      13/11, 11/8, 11/7 (40m)
  Olli Tuominen (Fin) bt Joey Barrington (Eng)                9/11, 11/5, 11/9, 3/11, 11/7 (77m)
  Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt Mansoor Zaman (Pak)                            11/8, 11/3, 11/8 (37m)

  Adrian Grant (Eng) bt Tom Richards (Eng)                          12/10, 11/2, 4/11, 11/9 (49m)
  David Palmer (Aus) bt Nafiizwan Adnan (Mas)                               11/3, 11/5, 11/6 (32m)
  John White (Sco) bt Aaron Frankcomb (Aus)                                 11/4, 11/7, 11/5 (26m)
  Amr Shabana (Egy) bt Davide Bianchetti (Ita)                              11/5, 11/8, 11/5 (33m)

  Peter Barker (Eng) bt Tom Pashley (Eng)                                     11/4, 11/9, 11/8 (40m)
  Lee Beachill (Eng) bt Daryl Selby (Eng)                                       11/8, 11/4, 11/5 (49m)
  Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt Farhan Mehboob (Pak)            6/11, 9/11, 11/8, 11/9, 11/7 (85m)
  James Willstrop (Eng) bt Aamir Atlas Khan (Pak)                 11/5, 7/11, 11/8, 11/2 (53m)

  Alex Gough (Wal) bt  Scott Arnold (Aus)                     6/11, 11/1, 11/1, 0/11, 11/9 (60m)
  Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt Jonathan Harford (Eng)                           12/10, 11/5, 11/3 (33m)
  Azlan Iskandar (Mas) bt Wade Johnstone (Aus)                            11/4, 11/5, 11/5 (29m)
  Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt Alister Walker (Eng)                       11/8, 7/11, 12/10, 11/7 (65m)
  

Getting the Echo Arena ready for the weekend ...

Karim Darwish bt Jonathan Kemp (Eng)
      13/11, 11/8, 11/7 (40m)

HIGH PERCENTAGE JONATHAN

Well, Karim didn’t want to let Joey believe that he could win a game and gave him all the due respect, not letting the Englishman escape to more than a two-point lead. And God knows that boy went off blasting from the word go, and found some astonishing tight shots. Karim had to push very hard not to lose grip, and retrieved, retrieved, retrieved…

But playing at such a pace demands such mental and physical concentration, and at 5/2 in the second, focus left Jonathan’s body, and he made a few unforced errors that allowed the Egyptian to run away with the game.

Jonathan still fought very hard in the third, and got Karim on his toes again at 7/5, where we had a stunning rally where Karim returned EVERYTHING, and that was a bleeping lot, as the difference between 7/6 and 8/5 at 2/0 up is huge.

Karim won that rally, the game, and the match. Joey made a few errors as ever, but on the warm court, and with his style of high percentage game, it was to be expected. He really gave a good scare to the number 7 Egyptian, 20 places above him in the rankings… An excellent performance for the Englishman.

"He’s got some incredible trickles and holds, and his forehand is probably the best of the circuit, so I was very weary of him.

"The first game was very hard for me, he put me under so much pressure with his holds, and I must say that I was not expecting that kind of game from an Englishman!!!!!

"I didn’t want to give let him come back into the game, and I always tried to be ahead of him scorewise, because he is very dangerous when he is ahead…

"But I’m happy with my performance, I was solid, which is very important against him. And as this is the last tournament of the PSA season, I just hope I’ll do really well here, because my last events were not as good as I wished they would be. They were ok, but nothing special. I hope this one will be special…"

"I was physically fine, although it’s very hard on the warm court. But it was more mentally that it became very tough, at 5/2 in the second especially…

"As I was saying to DP [David Pearson] after the match, I would say that I played 80% of good squash, and then, I would switch off for 1, 2 minutes, and against players like Karim, you just can’t do that, that’s something I need to work on…

"I played OK today, but mentally, I wasn’t good enough today…"

 Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned) bt Jesse Engelbrecht (Rsa) 
      11/6, 4/11, 11/6, 11/2 (36m)

"Happy with that in the end. I won the first very fast, I didn't really get into my game.

"I thought I would win the second easily too, but he's confident after a good win against Steve Coppinger yesterday and he played some really good shots, hammered me in that gave and gave me a bit of a heart attack.

"I tightened up in the third and fourth, played straighter and got it back. I played Karim in Kuwait, so I'm looking to go one better against him this time ..."


"We played at a joke pace, and I’m happy I took a game, although I could have snapped the third too. It was a gauteng battle, and a good one!

"I think I played as well as I could on the day, and you know me, I always enjoy the game as soon as I step on the court…"

Madeline Perry bt Emma Beddoes    
          9/0, 6/9, 3/9, 9/2, 9/2 (69m)

"I started really well, and the three games I won were really good, but the other two definitely weren't, still a bit patchy.

"She played really well. I kept moving her around but she as getting everything back and playing some good tight shots. I managed to get it a bit wider, making her stretch more in the last two games and that was probably the difference.

"The ball went dead in the fourth, broke early in the fifth and the new one was a real flyer, which doesn't really help on these courts."

"That's three down and we haven't started properly yet - I guess I'm going to have to get used to all these five-setters I'm having recently ... Madeline's back, I'm just not sure it's the same one!"

Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt Mansoor Zaman (Pak)             11/8, 11/3, 11/8 (37m)

UP AND DOWN…

Those two players gave us a strange match today, with Mansoor, as ever, brilliant on an few stunning rallies, but then looking like he is stopping fighting, and Greg, who was pretty much in control of the match, but made a few unforced errors. The two together gave us a patchy match, with moments of utter brilliance, and some not that interesting rallies.

But Greg didn’t have to/didn’t want to force his talents. Like most of the top Europeans, he has Kuweit/Amsterdam in the legs along with a lot of travelling. Mansoor was happy with his performance. I thought he could have done better, so much better…

"He played well, he’s got some good shots, and he is very talented, but he seems to play half a game, and then he looks like he stops trying, so you’ve just got to stuck in there.

"But it’s a perfect game for an opening round, I didn’t stay on court too long, I didn’t spend too much energy, just a good sweat, and a good way to feel the court, as we still play on there tomorrow before we move onto the glass court, a totally different game.

"The glass court is so much more rewarding, and the traditional one lowers the difference between the players of all rankings…

"He is such a good player, he plays to tight, so well in the back corners, and he is so fast at the front. I’m a stroke player, I tried and played my game, but he wouldn’t allow me to do so. And his fitness too, is better than mine…

"I’m satisfied with my game, the first and third were pretty close, and I should have won the third, I was 8/5 up. But I learned a lot from such a match, from playing against such a good player. And if I could play more often with top players like Greg, Lincou, I would definitely be in the top 10.

"And I wish good luck to Greg for the rest of the tournament…"

Olli Tuominen (Fin) bt Joey Barrington (Eng)      9/11, 11/5, 11/9, 3/11, 11/7 (77m)

"He played well again, but it was a very close match and a real struggle.

"I had a good second and third games, a bad fourth game, I wasn't really too happy with the way I played, I was too careless at times and didn't keep my concentration well enough.

"I was happy to win my first match tough, and we'll see what happens against Greg tomorrow.

"I'm still feeling it a little after six matches in four days at the Europeans, but that was good match practice for me and I feel much better for it - I was expecting to play better today but Joey was too good to allow me to do that."

"Olli played really well, he kept the pace high and played well at the right times.

I was in and out, leading in a few of the games but not being able to consolidate on it.

"I'm a little disappointed, happy that my body is in one piece though and all credit to Olli ..."

Engy Kheirallah bt Dominique Lloyd-Walter                  5/9, 9/4, 9/2, 9/4 (67m)

"I've always had really close games with Dominique anyway, and it's really warm on there, making it very difficult to go for short or hit winners.

"It's tough having to play three qualifying matches, especially since we had out Nationals last week - I won a five-setter against Raneem in the semis on the 4th so had to pull out of the final against Omneya so that I could get here.

"All the matches here have been tough but I'm feeling ok though, even though you spend a long time on court it's so bouncy you're not really working too hard ..."

Engy Kheirallah

David Palmer (Aus) bt Nafiizwan Adnan (Mas)
          11/3, 11/5, 11/6 (32m)

ALL THE RESPECT…

David Palmer is one of the most professional players on the circuit, and that, my friend, starts with not taking any opponent lightly, and making it as hard for them as possible.

And today, that’s exactly what the number 5 in the world did against Wan, ranked 70. He applied pressure from the start, took a good lead every time, and although the Malaysian was able to wrong foot him several times, and also found some lovely short shots, David never left the head of the race….

On a personal note, we saw today how fair and honest that young player is, as several times I know a few players who would have asked lets for some shots, but he never asked for, and on the last shot of the second game, David, who couldn’t see his own shot at the front, asked Wan if the ball was good. Would have been so easy for him to say, “not sure”. But he said, “yes yes, absolutely”…

Like I told you yesterday, a real gem that Wan is, and I hope he’ll do well on the circuit, we need players like him…

"I was really nervous to start with, playing the world Champion and three times British Open Champion. From the start, his length was so good, and he put me under so much pressure. He volleys everything, he moves so fast at the front, and he gets everything back…"

"I had a few bad results in my last events, so I’ve got to do everything possible to find my form again…

"I didn’t see him play, but I knew he is training with Peter Genever and Azlan, and I knew he had to be a good player. I tried to play a few hard rallies each game to keep him under pressure, and that paid off.

"He was probably a bit tired from the two qualifier rounds, but for what I could judge, he is pretty explosive, and I made sure that I applied enough pressure to make him play a few unforced errors.

"Obviously, he is a strong, dedicated player, good with a racquet, and his move to the UK prove that he is really serious about it, so I’m sure he’ll have some excellent results. And it’s nice to see another Malaysian on the tour apart from Bengy and Azlan."

Isabelle Stoehr bt Jaclyn Hawkes                  10/8, 9/0, 5/9, 9/0 (49m)

"It's difficult conditions on there, much warmer compared to Amsterdam. It's in your mind that you have to play three matches to qualify, so you want to try and win them 3/0 but they all end up being tough.

"The first was really crucial because I knew she was tired, so even when I lost the third I was fairly confident I could go on to win.

"It's all in my mind, more than physically, I just tend to play the ball late and a bit too slow sometimes. When I'm down I'm much better at pushing to get it back than I used to be - in the fourth I just told myself to push, push, push, I could see she was tiring.

"I've been beating people around me in the rankings consistently over the last few months, which gives me confidence that I can push it higher. I already proved to myself in Amsterdam that my fitness was ready, so now I'll relax and prepare for tomorrow.

"Whoever I get in the main draw it will be hard, but my goal isn't to be in the top 20, so I have to be beating people in the top ten ..."

Adrian Grant (Eng) bt Tom Richards (Eng)
           12/10, 11/2, 4/11, 11/9 (49m)

"It's tough, not much air on there which you don't expect in England, but we play in plenty of hot places so it's nothing we're not used to.

"He's improved a lot and I was very aware of that. He's not afraid to take the game to you, and if you're not careful he can rush you. I knew that if I kept it steady, kept the momentum then I'd be able to come through, but it wasn't easy ..."

"The first round is always tough, especially when you play one of your best mates. I just hate playing my friends…

"I thought I moved well, and hit well today, that what saved me. And I just love warm courts, people very often make the mistake to think because I’m an attacker, I like cold courts. But I don’t, I love warm courts…

At" the end of last year, I took a few weeks off, and they did me a hell of a lot of good. Now, I’m rested, I’m fresh, I don’t have any wrist injury, it’s so easy to play squash and enjoy it now… It’s only my fourth tournament in four months, and I’m really happy about it.

"It would be nice to win this tournament, I never managed to win it, even as a junior. I came close, third, even second in 2004, but I never won it. It’s the last one I miss…"

Amr Shabana (Egy) bt Davide Bianchetti (Ita)        
              11/5, 11/8, 11/5 (33m)

MA MAMIA…

…. As Flamboyant Davide exclaimed after Shabana found a nick while returning his serve yet again….

Shabana was like a fish in the Red Sea today, although he was slightly gasping for air due to the warm temperature on the court for a few rallies in the second.

Davide played an excellent match, one of the best games I’ve seen him play for a long time, he was inventive yet patient, positive, counter-attacked superbly, and stuck right on Shabana’s heels for the whole time.

But the Prince of Egypt just knew when to play THE shot that was putting the most pressure on his opponent, pushing Davide right back in the corners, and then finishing him off after some attritional rallies.

A match between two gentlemen, not a word against the ref, not a dissention of any kind. And the sustained applause that gave them the crowd at the end was in complete appreciation of a stunning encounter.
 

Kasey Brown bt Annelize Naude                9/3, 9/2, 9/0 (35m)

"I was trying to focus on getting a good length to put pressure on her. It seemed to work ok, and to get off in 35 minutes is pretty good for me.

"I gave a bit of a groan when I drew Natalie since I got chopped by her last time we played in Cleveland, so hopefully I can do better this time.

"To be fair though, I would probably have grumbled whoever I'd drawn!"

John White (Sco) bt Aaron Frankcomb (Aus)                 11/4, 11/7, 11/5 (26m)

"Whouah. That was quite an experience.

"It was humiliating really, I don’t know how or what happened! No rhythm, there is just no rhythm against him, and every time you think you are starting to get into any kind of comfort, he takes it away from you, a few shots, and it’s all over.

"I gave it my best shots today, but he was just too good. And I know he is beatable, but here I am, trying to figure out what I could have done better, or differently, so yes, he is beatable. But HOW?????

"Well, back to base, and going to try and work. And I wish him all the very best for the rest of the tournament…"

"It was a hit and miss game, and it all came off!!!!!!!!

No, it was one of those days, my short kills were going in nicely, my three wall boasts were going in nicely, and he didn't know what to expect, he was not used to the pace, and he found himself on the back foot for most of the match.

"I think he would have preferred some long rallies, but I wouldn't have it!

"And after that, he started to get frustrated with himself, because there was not much he could do....."

John White

"You're never quite sure to expect when you get drawn against the wildcard, but Tom played really well today.

"I managed to get a good lead in all of the games, but he dug in and made it hard.

"I'm happy to win 3/0 without too much drama, saving a bit of energy for tomorrow ..."

Peter Barker (Eng) bt Tom Pashley (Eng)
      11/4, 11/9, 11/8 (40m)

"I was certainly doing most of the work there, it was very hard to get control of the rallies.

"I tried to stick in and not fall away, but he's very tough and it's hard to finish a rally off against him.

"For my first time in the British Open main draw, I tried not to put too much pressure on myself, wanted to relax and play the best I could and I was happy with how I played.

"I was really putting a lot into the last two rallies when he had match ball, and although I thought the final 'no let' was a little harsh, he probably did me a favour!

"I've been struggling with injuries since christmas, but over the last couple of months I've been putting in some good training and feeling much stronger the and it's beginning to pay off in the results ..."

Lee Beachill (Eng) bt Daryl Selby (Eng)                     11/8, 11/4, 11/5 (49m)

"Honestly, I don’t think that the calls were too far off the mark really, the no lets he got I think were just because I played better shots than he did at that time, and if he could watched the video, he would realise that maybe the ref wasn’t that wrong.

"And yes, maybe at the end, I got one or two lets, because by then he got on the wrong side of the ref. I don’t think that it helped him, actually, to have those arguments with the ref.

"I think that maybe he also got frustrated because I played pretty well, and that every time he put me under pressure, my defence was pretty tight, like it’s been for the past few weeks, it’s been spotless…

"But I like to see young English players getting frustrated, I’m sure that when Daryl saw the draw, not sure if he expected to win, but he surely expected to play better, and it would be a bad thing not to see him getting annoyed. That frustration means that it’s going to force those young players to do something better…

"On those courts, you need to find the right balance between attacks at the right time, but not too much, because most of the time it’s going to come back, and you are going to waste a lot of energy there…

"I haven’t set foot on court for the past two days, but today it was just a run of the ball, everything I was playing deep in the corners would find the right angle, and my width was so good that anything I was playing right to left was finishing close to the nick.

"Overall, I hit the ball pretty well."

"The rallies were pretty even, I never thought that he was controlling the rallies all the way, sometimes he was in front of me, sometimes I was in front, it was pretty balanced. But when he had the opportunity, he took it.

"I was actually quite happy to stay in the rallies that well, as Lee’s got such a good length, but he made something like three errors the whole match, where I probably made two winners…

"And it all comes down to statistics - I hit more errors, he hit more winners…

"It's frustrating, I was 2/0 up and 8-all, he hit a couple of good shots and I made a couple of mistakes.

"Then in the fifth he takes another good lead, I come back and he hits another backhand drop that I just can't get to.

"I'm happy with my performance, Bengy's a great player, he's beaten most of the top guys and always performs well in the British Open, so I have to be pleased to push him that close.

"We'll see next time ..."

Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt Farhan Mehboob (Pak)
     6/11, 9/11, 11/8, 11/9, 11/7 (85m)

"I told you I was getting my money's worth these days!

"When you play someone who has no pressure, who's fresh, and hungry, it's never going to be easy. In the first two games he was just too good, attacking with no fear and hitting some great shots.

"I just needed to wake up mentally, I went 2/0 down so quickly, and even in the third it was 8-all. I always knew he was very talented and fast, definitely one to watch for the future.

"If tomorrow I can take Jimbo to five I'll be pleased - I've reached a few British Open quarter-finals, but that one will be the toughest one I've faced to get there. At least I'm not on that side court any more, I know it's the tradition and everything but it's tough playing a major tournament on there, we don't get those types of court anywhere in the world these days ..."

 Alex Gough (Wal) bt  Scott Arnold (Aus)   6/11, 11/1, 11/1, 0/11, 11/9 (60m)

"That was one of the strangest matches I've ever played in!

"He played really intensely at the start, but in the second and third he just seemed to stop moving. So in the fourth I thought I was going to win easy again but then he started moving and playing well again.

"The whole match felt like it was nothing to do with me - he was playing well, then not, then playing well again ... the fifth was probably a fair reflection of how the match should have gone.

"But that was a cracker of a shot to win it - I hadn't got one of those all night, it was so tight to the wall but it came cleanly off the racket and straight into the nick!

"It wasn't a case of 'well played', more like 'good shot' ..."

"I felt good at first, then completely switched off for two games. I came back into it but gave him a few too many cheap points in the fifth.

"I thought I was going to win it when I got back to 9-all, then made a cheap error to give him match ball, but what about that finish - the spawniest shot ever on the biggest point of my life!

"I can only laugh about it, it was that ridiculous ... I guess that's what 37 years of experience does for you ..."

"It’s so hard to play on those courts without any kind of preparation, I guess that he must have played at least one game on that court during the qualifications. I just didn’t have any marks, didn’t have a clue how to react to the ball, if I had to play long, short, hard, not a clue really. Not to mention that from a few weeks now, we play on hard court, then on glass, then hard, then glass, then hard again…

"Then, at 10/3 down, I thought, as I’m about to lose that one, might as well make him work as much as possible, and just put the ball back in play. I took more my time, and he started to get tense, then to make errors, and to panic.

"In the second and third, I was able to take the ball earlier, and I didn’t have to suffer his control, I did have the choice of shots… And then I started playing better and better…"

Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt Jonathan Harford (Eng)                 
          12/10, 11/5, 11/3 (33m)

TYPICAL LINCOU

The man has done it so many times, you can’t even comment on it anymore without repeating yet again the same thing… A terrible start against a perfect Jon Harford, no length, absolutely no width, a lob that was hardly one inch above Jon’s head (ok, slightly exaggerating here, but you see the point), and from 10/3 down, the Frenchman walks away 12/10, stringing 9 points in a row.

”Forget”, screamed Jon Harford to himself as he was down 3/1 in the second. But how do you forget that you were up 10/3 against the world number five, and let him back in? And by that time, Thierry’s game was slowly getting more and more in place, his tight drives preventing Jon’s short game.

By the third, the Englishman was not applying any more pressure on the Comeback Man, allowing him to play as he wished, and a Frenchman full of confidence even found some great winners, not in his usual game.

Like I said, typical TitiTight Lincou, as the players call him…

"In my head, I won the first game, because at 10/5, I was sure that that let call was actually a stroke. And then he started playing better and better, and I started to panic, he got a few shots in, I played a few errors. Before I knew it, it was 10/9, 10/10, and he was right back in there.

"I knew that Thierry is a slow starter, so I got right in there, took the ball quickly. And I was playing really well, I thought. And then, it was went pretty wrong. I’m really disappointed with the way I played, especially in the third game…

James Willstrop (Eng) bt Aamir Atlas Khan (Pak) 
               11/5, 7/11, 11/8, 11/2 (53m)

JAMES ON THE VERGE OF EXHAUSTION

It’s not every day that you see the Pontefract Man white as a sheet, looking more like a lost boy than the great squash champion that he is, clinging to his racquet to play one more shot, just one more shot, and just one more…

He got one of the shortest straws of the first round, it’s got to be said, as playing Aamir Khan is one of the toughest draws you could get in this event’s first round. And if I tell you that the Pakistani played so well that he won the crowd against the British Champion, would you believe me? They were clapping, and cheering when the little boy got the second game…

But you should have heard them when that call, at 9/8 for James in the third, awful/unfair – in my eyes and in the eyes of the whole crowd present, but what do we know –, a let decision that seemed such an obvious stroke that would have placed Aamir at 9/9, and back on track, instead of 10/8 with an upset player, and zoom, 11/8 in a flash… If Aamir was not happy, and his spirit broken, the crowd wasn’t impressed either.

But at the end of the day, Aamir let the fourth go, mentally having thrown in the towel, whereas James, completely exhausted, hardly being able to lift his racquet, was fighting each point, finding superb volley drop shots, giving it 250% as he ALWAYS does. That’s determination, that will to survive one more rally, is what put James at the top of the Tree, on which Aamir is desperately trying to climb on…

Like the 17 year old said, Inshallah, maybe one day soon, he’ll be the one sitting on that branch all the way up there. He certainly got the legs, the racquet, the shots, the speed, the will, and the heart. Maybe a little lack of fitness..?

"That let, that call at 8/6 in the third was the turning point, it’s such a crucial point, and it’s such a bad call. It’s the turning point for me, for my game.

"Still, it’s good for me to play hard matches like that with the world number three. Maybe one day, Inshallah, I’ll be at his place. This was a good experience to try and get used to the pace at that higher level.

"Now, back to work, to get more fitness, more stamina…"

"Like the rest of the boys, the travelling, the hard matches, all that is catching up with me, and it’s all a matter of getting through it, to get passed it.

"You know, it seems like I’m very strong, and calm, but it’s all bubbling away, and between games, I get very complicated, and I needed some reassurance today, that’s why I asked David and Vanessa to come down and watch the match.

"But like David was telling me after the match, I shouldn’t feel sorry for myself, I’ve got to think about the motivation, what I’m here for, that it’s a big tournament. And the way to do that, is to realise how lucky we are, we, squash players, to live the life we do…. And to just get on with it…

"You know, I’m a pretty simple guy, I live a very simple, happy and uncomplicated life, but sometimes, people come and see you play, they’ve got expectations, they expect something from you. And sometimes, it’ not that simple…"

Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt Alister Walker (Eng) 
      11/8, 7/11, 12/10, 11/7 (65m)

UNSETTLED RAMY

A few figures. Ramy made 6 unforced errors in the first game; 8 in the second; 7 in the 3rd up to 10/5, none after; 2 in the 4th.

As I was aware that the Egyptian was not in the best of mental and physical shape, I made sure that I actually caught the match from the start – which I normally fail to do – as I truly believed that he could have an early exit. And what I saw was the sight of a lost soul, talking to himself, unsettled, reeling tin after tin… The young man was not on the court really.

In front, Ali didn’t have anything to lose, and was playing, as ever, out of his skin, fighting for every single shot, forcing Ramy on the backfoot, playing at a ridiculous pace, not letting the Egyptian breath or enjoy the ride. Never did the words “applying pressure” make more sense on a squash court.

Ali was extremely disappointed after losing the match, but he didn’t do anything wrong, expect maybe trying to finish the points a bit too early in the third, and losing what he does best normally, finding the right balance between attacking and caution. But then again, at that point, the Egyptian had switched on some mysterious key in his neurones….

The key of the match was in Ramy’s brain, in Ramy’s mind. Without the confidence in his own body, the Egyptian doesn’t have any mark. He is an instinctive player, he doesn’t have a plan A or B. He just plays as he senses it.

They say a great champion is somebody who can still win when he plays badly. Is that case, Ramy was a great champion today. He had a bad day, got out victorious, frustrating an up and coming player who played his role to perfection, and who went that close to creating the upset of the tournament….

"When I was 10/5 up, instead of attacking, I just waited for things to happen, and he didn’t make any more errors.

"And we could talk about other things, but it’s mere details. But that’s about it. That’s the turning point.

"But he is such a good guy, I like him a lot, and I have a lot of time for him. Really a great guy…"

"Strong mentally, but unlucky.

"Strong mentally, because when I was 10/5 down, I suddenly had that thought in my mind that I have to play like I was hitting the first balls of the match. And also, I used his energy, I could see he was pumped up, so I just used his energy to get back… I was so lethargic, it’s only after wining the 3rd that I started to be positive.

"And unlucky because I’m still injured, the same injury that I had in Kuwait, I wasn’t sure if I was going to pull out or not up to this morning. And that injury takes away all confidence I have in my game.

"But I what I tried to do today, what I tried to do nowadays, when I’m playing badly because of an injury, I still trying to play the ball as if I was confident, as if I was playing well, and I still go for my shots, because then, when I’m not injured, I’ll be twice as confident. I have to, because I want to make sure that it’s not my mind that is driving me, but me that is driving my mind.

"And I’m still looking forward to tomorrow’s match."