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TODAY in Egypt ... Mon 30th March, Day THREE
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Hurghada here we come ...
The flights to Hurghada are booked, but a few of the ticket
details had to be changed as the final day in Cairo saw five
upsets.
Only one in the Men's draw as Tarek Momen - the new
Egyptian National Champion - overcame seventh seed Olli
Tuominen, but in the women's event only half the seeds will be
travelling as Tenille Swartz, Joey Chan, Camille Serme and
Heba El Torky all beat seeded opponents to reach the
quarter-finals ... |
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Men's Round One:
[1] Karim Darwish (Egy) bt [Q] Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy)
11/7, 11/2, 11/5 (27m)
[5] Aamir Atlas Khan (Pak) bt Joey Barrington (Eng)
13/11, 11/5, 12/10 (50m)
[3] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt [Q] Ali Anwar Reda (Egy)
11/5, 11/3, 11/5 (31m)
[6] Farhan Mehboob (Pak) bt Amr Khaled Khalifa (Egy)
6/11, 11/8, 11/13, 12/10, 11/3 (73m)
Tarek Momen (Egy) bt [7] Olli Tuominen (Fin)
11/9, 4/11, 11/6, 11/4 (40m)
[4] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt Omar Mosaad (Egy)
11/8, 14/12, 11/9 (42m)
[8] Mohamed El Shorbagy (Egy) bt [Q] Mohammed Abbas (Egy)
11/3, 12/10, 4/3 rtd (35m)
[2] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [Q] Amr Swelim (Egy)
9/11, 11/5, 11/4, 11/8 (38m)
Women's Round One:
[1] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt [Q] Nour El Tayeb (Egy) 11/6, 6/11, 11/9, 11/3 (35m)
Tenille Swartz (Rsa) bt [6] Engy Kheirallah (Egy)
8/11, 11/8, 9/11, 11/9, 12/10 (61m)
[4] Rebecca Chiu (Hkg) bt Orla Noom (Ned)
11/6, 11/6, 11/7 (29m)
Camille Serme (Fra) bt [7] Line Hansen (Den)
6/11, 11/7, 11/6, 6/11, 11/9 (48m)
[Q] Heba El Torky (Egy) bt [5] Raneem El Weleily (Egy)
12/14, 11/7, 11/9, 11/5 (45m)
[3] Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy) bt Christina Mak (Hkg)
11/2, 11/1, 11/5 (14m)
[Q] Joey Chan (Hkg) bt [8] Sharon Wee (Mas) 14/12, 6/11,
9/11, 14/12, 11/6 (52m)
[2] Jenny Duncalf (Eng) bt [Q] Dipika Pallikal (Ind)
11/8, 11/4, 12/10 (29m)
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[1] Karim Darwish (Egy) bt [Q] Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy)
11/7, 11/2, 11/5 (27m)
[5] Aamir Atlas Khan (Pak) bt Joey Barrington (Eng)
13/11, 11/5, 12/10 (50m)
Darwish sets off safely ...
Top seed Karim Darwish made the quarter-finals without too much
sweat - working Omar Abdel Aziz hard in the first game,
dominating him in the second and pulling clear from 5-all in the
third as his opponent's error-count piled up.
He'll meet Aamir Atlas Khan in the quarter-finals after
the speedy Pakistani came through a tough three games against
Joey Barrington. Although the Englishman took two of the games
to extra points he could never quite conjure up a game ball, and
Aamir finished the match off in fine style with two successive
nick kills.

"That
was a close 3/0! This court is a little bit bouncy, so I had to
go for shots as the way to beat him today, that was my plan and
I thought I played well today.
"Tomorrow I'm playing the world number one, so I hope to play my
best and have a good match with him."
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"I
tried to slow it down as much as I could, but he can read all my
shots so well, he's there to attack it almost before I've played
it. He so deserves to be number one, he's the best player for
the last year. I'm happy with my performance, and I got a new
lesson today ..."
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"He played very
well, he surprised me, he is a great player, he improved a lot
and he will improve.
"I think I was more experienced than him to
win the fourth game. I was playing a fast game which made him
very tired, hopefully I can play well against Greg and looking
forward to Hurghada."

"I played very
well, I just did my best, I got tired at the end, I really
couldn't move. I was just unlucky today in the fourth game, I am
just happy that I had the chance to beat a top 20 player.
"I
would like to thank my coach Hesham El Attar, Mohamed El
Defrawy, Amir Wagih and The Egyptian Federation for all their
supporting to me."
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[6] Farhan Mehboob (Pak) bt Amr Khaled Khalifa (Egy)
6/11, 11/8, 11/13,
12/10, 11/3 (73m)
[3] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt [Q] Ali Anwar Reda (Egy)
11/5, 11/3, 11/5 (31m)
Farhan Survives....
The 16 years old Amr Khalifa the wildcard of the tournament
surprised Farhan today with his squash, Khalifa had the chance
to win the fourth game when he was up 9/7, He played quite well,
he did his best...BUT farhan made too many errors as well, and
strange shots not in the right time..
First game Khalifa was just in control, hitting the ball,
volleying everything, make him under pressure. in the second
Farhan found his game started to play until 8/5 in the fifth,
than he started the errors which made khalifa to come back more
strongly, 8/8 9/9 then Khalifa saved 2 game points at 10/10
Khalifa dived twice at that ball, and he took a let at the end
of it, but he was able to win the game at then end, Farhan was
playing a fast game which made Khalifa very very tired, in the
fourth Khalifa was leading 9/7 then Farhan came back to 10/9
with 2 errors from Khalifa and a tight one from Mehboob, at
10/10 Mehboob hit the nick, which gave the advantage to him to
win that game.
Then in the last game Khalfia couldn't move at all, he got
tired, and Mehboob survived and he got to the quarter he will
play against Gregory Gaultier, who eased past Ali Anwar Reda in
straight games.
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Tarek Momen (Egy) bt [7] Olli Tuominen (Fin)
11/9, 4/11, 11/6, 11/4 (40m)
[4] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt Omar Mosaad (Egy)
11/8, 14/12, 11/9 (42m)
Tarek makes the upset,
Ramy edges past Omar
Tarek
Momen played much better than Olli today. The first game was so
close point by point but Tarek was able to win it. They both
were playing at fast pace, they both were volleying a lot. Oli
got tired at the end of the third, 6/6, then Tarek won it 11/6.
Last game Tarek was completely in control, he played better,
He did better than last year, he is in the quarter final, he
will play against Ashour.
Talking of Ramy, the World Champion still looked far from his
usual self as he beat Omar Mosaad in three close games. Making
some strange shot decisions, more than a few errors, and talking
to himself constantly during the match, Ramy will have been
pleased to see Omar, at 9-all in the third, put his last two
service returns into the tin.
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"I played well today, this is court is different , I started to
get used to the court late in the match, He was volleying quite
well and my movement started to get better in the game, I played
Ramy like a million times so I hope to do my best."

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"I played a quick
today coz I knew he is injured, he couldn't move on the front on
the backhand, so I was dropping from the back of the court, He
didn't take any volley coz he doesn't have any confident on his
game, when I knew I will play with him, I got nervous coz I am
playing with one of the best player in the world and he was top
16 before.
"I am happy to get through, I played Shabana last week in
England so I need to speak to Jonah to see what I am going to
do."
"My leg was hurting me today, I couldn't move, I was pushing
with one leg today, but it was too much for me so I had to
stop."
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[8] Mohamed El Shorbagy (Egy) bt [Q] Mohammed Abbas (Egy)
11/3, 12/10, 4/3 rtd (35m)
[2] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [Q] Amr Swelim (Egy)
9/11,
11/5, 11/4, 11/8 (38m)
Shorbagy on form...
Abbas
was trying and trying but today he didn't complete the match, he
couldn't push all the match on one leg, and El Shorbagy didn't
give him the chance to play as well. Abbas will need to rest now
to get a good recovery for his leg.
In the second game Shorbagy was attacking from every where he
took the lead 8/6 but then Abbas started to be more patient than
El Shorbagy and he made some errors, but El Shorbagy was able to
win the game at the end, in the third Abbas couldn't continue
the match on one leg and he decided to stop.
And El Shorbagy will face Shabana again in the quarter finals -
they played last week in the Canary Wharf, and last year in the
same event, so it should be interesting to watch ... |
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[1] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt [Q] Nour El Tayeb (Egy)
11/6, 6/11, 11/9,
11/3 (35m)
Grinham just gets through....
Nour El Tayeb made the number one seed under pressure today, she
was hitting winners from everywhere, she had a chance to win the
third game which was going to help her a lot but Racheal is much
more experience than her of course so she was able to win the
match.

First game they started very well, 5/5 but from here Rachael
took the lead and won the first one, second game El Tayeb
surprised her and played some good shots.
The third game was so
close 6/6 7/7 8/8 9/9 and it was a great show from Nour, but
Rachael was able to win that game and the match, and she got to
the next round. |

"I didn't play
bad, she was hitting winners from everywhere, she is a very
talented player. she guess very well when I play the ball in the
front, So I was trying to play a lob but she made lots of good
nicks. I am lucky to win the third game which was very
important."
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[Q] Joey Chan (Hkg) bt [8] Sharon Wee (Mas)
14/12, 6/11, 9/11,
14/12, 11/6 (52m)
Chan wins a thriller....
One of the best match of the tournament, Joey saved two match
points.
In the first game Joey had a slow start, and Sharon was able to
take the lead 8/4 up, then everything has changed Joey started
to play and won 6 points in a row, 10/8 and then 11/10 but
Sharon was able to save 3 game point. At 13/12 Joey hit a tight
length to win the first game and to take the lead, second game
Sharon was in control, she was hitting some nice shots.
Third game was very close 7/7 8/8 9/9 but at 10/9 Sharon hit a
trick shot to win that third game. The fourth was very
interesting, Joey saved three match points.
She was trying to save the ball as she can, and she didn't do
any error, and that game gave her the confident to win the fifth
game and the match. and she made the first upset. |
"That's
one of my best ever wins! It was good to come back, saving those
match balls in the fourth. In my mind I just told myself to
fight for every ball, to keep it going and make no mistakes.
"Through the whole match I tried to keep the pace high, then
when she put it loose attack the ball. I had to remind myself to
run and run and not make mistakes.
"I was tired at the end, but I knew she was tired too, I
couldn't afford to let her get in control.
"I'm very happy to qualify for the quarters of a big tournament
like this for the first time, and it's a bonus because I've
never been to Hurghada ...
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"I am pleased to
win 3/0, It's my first time to play Dipika, She hits the ball so
hard, she strikes it, but luckily she made some errors at the
time, the court is bouncy as well.
"I am looking forward to
Hurghada this evening."
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[2] Jenny Duncalf (Eng) bt [Q] Dipika Pallikal (Ind)
11/8, 11/4, 12/10
(29m)
Good Start for Jenny..
Jenny was in control today most of the match, she lost her
concentration a bit at the end of the match but she was able to
get through to the quarter final.
Dipika had a chance to win the
last game, she was up 7/4 and 10/8 but Jenny was able to win
that game with her experience as Dipika got tired at 10/10. |
Tenille Swartz (Rsa) bt [6] Engy Kheirallah
(Egy)
8/11, 11/8, 9/11, 11/9, 12/10 (61m)
Tenille's Back !
"Not a bad comeback," was Tenille Swartz's description of her
first competitive match after a long spell out through injury.
You can say that again, it was a real thriller as she matched
Engy all the way for an hour of compelling combat.
Tenille reached match ball at 10/9 in the fifth, saw Engy
granted two lets which may well have been refused on other
occasions, breathed a sigh of relief when Engy was awarded a
third let for what looked like a clear stroke.
Engy saved it on the fourth attempts, but Tenille kept the ball
tight, got the better of two lengthy final rallies to claim a
notable scalp and a flight to Hurghada ...
"It's
my first match back so it's a bonus to win, especially against
someone like Engy here in Egypt.
"I was very nervous at the start, I was just telling myself to
be patient. She's so consistent, you have to be patient and be
ready for really long rallies - patience was my tactic today and
it worked!
"I've always wanted to go to Hurghada, so this is a great
opportunity ..."
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[Q] Heba El Torky (Egy) bt [5] Raneem El Weleily (Egy)
12/14, 11/7, 11/9, 11/5 (45m)
El
Torky shocks Raneem...
One of the biggest upset in the tournament - Heba had just
beaten Raneem last week in the Nationals, 3/2, and she beat her
again today.
Heba had a game point in the first but she couldn't win it and
Raneem came back and won the game, but after that Heba started
to play with the right tactic and won 3/1 to get to Hurghada,
with one of her best wins in WISPA.
"After
Pakistan that's my best win!
"I beat her 3/2 last week but I know she always plays better in
WISPA tournaments so I had to put that match out of my mind and
start again.
"I'd packed my bags ready to go back to Alexandria, so I suppose
I'll have to take them to Hurghada now !!"
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[3] Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy) bt Christina Mak (Hkg)
11/2, 11/1, 11/5 (14m)
Kawy eases through
The defending champion Omneya Abdel Kawy played a good match
today and started her defence well. Christina Mak is injured as
well so she couldn't run as well as she would have liked. El
Kawy is going to Hurghada, she will play against the 16 year old
Heba El Torky
"I started very
nervous because of Engy and Raneem already losing.
"I know Raneem lost to Heba, but as you know Raneem is very
close to me and we always go to Hurghada together. I took
confidence from first game, I think she was injured as well she
couldn't run at all. In the third game she started to play
better but I was relaxed.
"Anyway I am happy to get through tomorrow I will play against
Heba in Hurghada I hope we will play a good match."
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Camille Serme (Fra) bt [7]
Line Hansen (Den)
6/11, 11/7, 11/6, 6/11, 11/9 (48m)
Camille completes the Upsets
The last women's match of the day produced the fourth upset as
French champion Camille Serme overcame Denmark's seventh seed
Line Hansen in a five-game rollercoaster.
The Frenchwoman eked out a lead in the decider, picking off the
volleys very well, and managed to hang on to despite the
determined efforts of Line, it to secure a quarter-final place.
"We were both very
nervous at the start, and that probably led to both of us making
a few too many mistakes early on. We train a lot together and
know each other's games, so it's hard to find the right shot to
play when you need to.
"I tried to keep the ball as straight as I could today, but it
was a very close match. Philippe says that it's good to win even
if you don't play at your best, so I'm just happy to win and
excited to be going to Hurghada for the first time ..."
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