Henrik Mustonen (Fin) 3-1 Charles Sharpes (Eng)
             11/9, 7/11, 11/9, 11/2

CHARLES WAS HUNGRY

I was very impressed by Charles positive game today, and in particular by his ability to counter drop. That’s is a layer he’s added to his game, and I’m sure it will pay dividends soon..

Strangely enough, he had like a focus drop – or an energy one – in both the 1st and the third, about 5/5 in the first and 4/4 in the 3rd. He managed to come back pretty close, 9/10 in the first from 10/6, and 9/9 in the third, and hadn’t he dropped, we would have had a different game!

But then again, according to Henrik, that drop is due to the hard work/fast speed imposed by the Fin.. Fair enough!

The fourth, the hard work produced in the previous games took its toll on the young Englishman, but he showed what is was able to do with his racquet, nice attacks as well as accuracy at the back, and the 2nd game he took was also a good sign for him.

As for Henrik, his patience paid off, and it’s lovely to see him so at ease on a glass court, taking his chances….

"I think the difference today is the speed I was injecting which I think is probably superior to his. And it normally shows in the middle of the game, but all credit to him, he came back every time and played some great shots as well.

"Luckily for me, I was able to pick up a few, and he played more shots than I did! But like I said, I was able to play just a bit faster than he did today."

The Qualifiers

Mohamed Abouelghar (Egy) 3-1 Muhd Asyraf Azan (Mas)
             11/4, 8/11, 11/6, 11/8

RANDOM SQUASH

Without doubt, this was the most RIDICULOUS match of squash I ever saw. If I thought that Abouelghar could at times be a birdbrain, I had never seen Asyraf in full action yet.

How to describe the Malaysian. First of all, probably of the most gifted players I ever saw. Both quick hands and amazing physical abilities, able to fly on a shot and to move as a flash from one side to the other. But what a character!!!!??? Every time he waits for a decision, you feel that the whole world is about to fall in his shoulders. And when the decision is taken, the world actually falls on his whole body. Bless him.

Sorry, but it’s actually quite funny!

And what about tinning at will? If I though Abou was bad yesterday, once again, I didn’t see Asyraf play today. My Lord does that young man make it difficult for himself.

So, this is exactly the type of game Abou doesn’t need to play against. As he opens the court a lot, Asyraf was having a ball finding winners and nicks all over the place. I am not exactly sure how Abou managed to win the third and fourth. Maybe because he is slightly less birdsbrain than Asyraf? Not much but just enough…

Oh well, don’t expect an detailed analysis from me. Abouelghard did his best to keep focused at all times, and reduced his tins numbers considerably today compared to the day before, so well done for that. As for Asyraf, well… What can I say… When you finish your squash career, young man, consider acting. You have a superb talent to express emotions and entertain a crowd. You certainly entertained me today!!!!

Egyptians in the main draw, Mosaad, Abouelghar, Momen

Kristian Frost (Den) 3-0 Eddie Charlton (Eng)
             11/6, 11/7, 11/9

KRISTIAN, FINALLY

What a gruelling match that was. Nothing much between the players the whole time. Very long intense rallies, played at mid pace, very accurate, with Eddie attacking but Kristian retrieving it all. Lots of pressure on both players.

First two games, Kristian managed to establish a good lead, 10/6 each time, to take them 11/6 and 11/7.

In the third, Eddie changed his tactic to start with, and upped the pace beautifully I thought, taking the Danish out of his comfort zone. But difficult to keep both accuracy and speed up at the same time. And soon, the Danish Grinding Machine was back in his own pace. That third was close all the way, 1/1, 2/2, 3/3, 4/4, 5/5, 6/6, 8/8. Match ball 10/8. The second one will be the good one…



An interesting fact. Last year, during the same tournament, Eddie won against Kristian in the final of the qualifying, 3/2. But then, by a funny twist, somebody dropped out of the main draw, and Kristian was the lucky loser. And who did he get to play? Eddie of course. And again, he lost again...

So, needless to say that the scream that came out of Kristian after he scored the match ball was full of that frustration from 12 months ago. And happy doesn’t start to describe Kristian tonight…
 

"Last year, I let him too much in my head. And I was so sad, so disappointed with my performance, losing 12/10 in the fifth.

"It was strange, I got the lucky spot, again, like for the 3rd time, and I drew him. And I just couldn’t get my head around it, I thought I could win, but in fact, he beat me quite easily.

"So this year, it was meant to be, when we saw the draw, we both thought… yeah, it had to be…

"This year, I think I managed to keep the game more fluid, even if we were in the way of each other, we were still trying and managing to play the ball. That is very positive I think. And yes, I am very happy."

"I saw Jaymie playing against Greg Marche in El Gouna, so I knew what to expect, contrarily to yesterday. I know how good he is if you let him get in his rhythm. So in the first, I play very powerful shots to the back, and it worked very well for the first two games, I was twisting and turning him really well.

"But little by little, he was getting into the match more and more, and in the third, it was a question of me believing I was playing well, and that I could keep on playing well. Like I say, it’s a question of consistency. If I can keep on playing like that, then, things are going to be ok, and my ranking is going to go up again hopefully.

"I would like to thank my wife and my family, but also my fitness coach, Talha, who is the one that kept having confidence in me, and when I wanted to give up squash, kept me going.

"So, thanks for believing in me."

Ali Anwar Reda (Egy) 3-0 Jaymie Haycocks (Eng)
              11/2, 11/7, 11/9

JAYMIE, GETTING USED TO THE PACE…

If Jaymie was completely overwhelmed in the first game 8/0 down to lose it 11/2, he gradually got his head round the Egyptian mad pace, and by the third, had found ways to slow him down, mixing nicely crosscourt lobs, height, and volleying as beautifully as ever.

But the incisiveness of Reda at the front was just too good and paying off on this glass court, but it needed two superb winners at the end from 9/9 to Takashi to close a very close indeed third..

Nervous times, drawing out the main draw spots ...