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TODAY in Cairo
Daily reports from the Hurghada International
Sat 12th April, Day ONE: |
END OF DAY ONE…
 A
very strangely calm Omar Abdel Aziz controlled a tough
opponent in the person of junior Khaled Kalifa, and the score
didn't reflect the intensity of the match. For Irish John
Rooney it was a long and gruelling match, that took a lot
out of him, bless him, but nothing as hard as Tarek Momen
against young Andrew Wagih - who’ll play number two in the
Egyptian Team for the Worlds in Switzerland in August - which
was for me the match of the day.
But then again, I was late coming into the only five-setter,
between Amr Mansi and Jaymie Haycocks, and couldn’t
appreciate the intensity of it all. A very tough match, with the
Egyptian leading 2/0, to only win 14/12 in the fifth, after
saving two match balls…
Jesse Englebrect yet again put in a good performance,
although he relaxed in the third slightly, allowing young Wael
Farag to show his talent and threaten the South African, while
Amr Swelim and Yasser El Halaby didn’t take any
prisoners (25m and 15m)….
A long day is about to end. Well, as far as the squash is
concerned that is…
Now, the real work can begin. See you all tomorrow people…
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Men's Qualifying Round One:
Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy) bt Amr
Khaled Khalifa (Egy)
11/5, 11/5, 11/9 (32m)
John Rooney (Irl) bt Sherif Kamel
(Egy)
12/10, 11/4, 11/3 (53m)
Tarek Momen (Egy) bt Andrew Wagih
(Egy)
11/9, 12/10, 11/7 (33m)
Amr Mansi (Egy) bt Jaymie Haycocks
(Eng)
11/3, 11/6, 6/11, 11/9, 14/12 (72m)
Ali Anwar Reda (Egy) bt Karim
Abdel Gawad (Egy)
11/7, 11/ 9, 7/11, 11/6 (45m)
Amr Swelim (Egy) bt Chris Truswell
(Eng)
11/8, 11/8, 11/6 (25m)
Jesse Engelbrecht (Rsa) bt
Wael Farag (Egy)
11/5, 11/5, 11/8 (41m)
Yasser El Halaby (Egy) bt Jonas Laursen (Den)
11/2, 11/0, 11/8 (18m)
Women's Qualifying Round One:
Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy (Egy) bt
Kylie Lindsay (Nzl)
10/8, 7/9, 9/0, 10/8 (53m)
Amnah El Trabolsy (Egy) bt
Farah Abdel Meguid (Egy)
9/5, 9/5, 7/9, 7/9, 9/7 (68m)
Nour El Tayeb (Egy) bt Salma
Nasser (Egy)
9/6, 9/0, 9/0 (18m)
Heba El Torky (Egy) bt Sara El
Noamany (Egy)
7/9, 9/4, 9/3, 9/1 (35m)
Nouran El Torky (Egy) bt
Coline Aumard (Fra)
7/9, 10/8, 10/9, 9/5 (76m)
Salma Hany (Egy) bt Lucie
Fialova (Cze)
6/9, 9/3, 9/4, 9/7 (70m)
Eman El Amir (Egy) bt Nour El
Sherbeny (Egy)&nfsp;
9/3, 9/2,$3/9, 9/6 (30m)
Adel Weir (Rsa) bt Farida El Dahab
(Egy)
9/3, 9/1, 9/2 (21m) |
LANDED…
 If
British Airways is starting to be as late as the budget
airlines, what is the world coming to? What’s next???? I know,
that was easy at the moment (for the non Europeans, BA is in a
lot of trouble at the moment, not nice to shoot someone on an
ambulance, I know…). Still, instead of arriving at a quarter to
11pm, got to my room at 2.30am.
Not good…
 Anyway,
lovely hotel, as ever, minutes from the venue I knew, as we
played the early stages of the Worlds in 2006 here. A few
familiar faces, first Mr Andrew Shelley, of course, event
coordinator, and you know that having Andrew on a tournament is
a sign of success, as whatever life/squash throws at him, he’ll
return it with style and smile. Then, Mr Sawy, event
organiser, who welcomed me with these words: “I’ve made sure you
have the wireless internet working, I don’t want to hear you
complain for the whole week!”
Complaining, MOI!??? I’m hurt.
Well, we did the Worlds together and I’m really looking forward
to work with him again. He is an angel of patience and
understanding, mixed with professionalism and persistence. So,
this event will be a good one, I can tell you that right now…
 And
of course, OF COURSE, our own special Marwan, brother of,
who will be helping me, and today, will be in charge of the
ladies, as he knows most of them. He’s now got a new camera, a
great laptop, his pen and paper, and is ready for action.
So, wireless working, delicious food in a pot - loved it, beats
European food every day - nice tea with a smile from the
cafeteria, players all around, a lot of faces I don’t know and
will learn to like I’m sure, a Marwan boiling and roaring to go.
All set. Let’s play squash.
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the Men's Qualifying Draw
Full Men's Draw
Philippe Signoret & Andrew Shelley |
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Women's Qualifying ... Framboise reports |
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Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy)$bt Amr
Khaled Khalifa (Egy)
11/5, 11/5, 11/9 (32m)
SOLID PERFORMANCES
 I
didn’t know that 15 and a half year old player, Amr Khaled
Khalifa, and I was impressed by his maturity. Introduced to
squash by his father, a member of the famous Maadi club, he’s
been training for two years with Samy Farrag, and firmly intends
to become a squash pro.
Well, from what I’ve seen, he is on his way. Patient, mentally
extremely mature (and he likes mathematics, you can see it in
the way he constructs his rallies), he got Omar under a bit of a
pressure in the first and in the third.
The experienced Egyptian didn’t take the junior lightly, and
gave him all due respect. And he was clever to do so. Grinding
him in the first game, he was able to close the second rather
easily, and took the lead 9/5 in the third before relaxing a
bit, and finding the tin too many times.
That little drop gave Amr Khaled winds, and nicks! He got a few
nice rolling ones after long rallies, but was just slightly
short in the end…
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 "Omar
has got a lot of experience, and very tough! So I was trying to
get as tough as he is…"
 "He
didn’t give me any opportunity at the start, I was trying to
move him around. In the middle of the second game, I could see I
was home…
"In the third, at 9/5, I started to rush, and I was off
balance. And that was it, I found myself at 9/9!"
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"All John’s shots
are deep in the back and that makes it very difficult to move
him around, and on top of that, he plays great shots at the
front…
"I was trying to play the ball harder, to speed up the pace, but
I couldn’t. Bad day today…"
"Sherif is very resilient, he never gives up.
"The conditions were very hot, the ball extremely bouncy, it was
very hard to put the ball away, and I’m glad they are now
putting the air con on…"
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John Rooney (Irl) bt Sherif Kamel
(Egy)
12/10,
11/4, 11/3 (53m)
JOHN PATIENT…
The last time those two played last year, it was a very close
five setter that John just managed to win. So today I guess, the
Irish was ready for battle, and the pressure was on the Egyptian
this time, who maybe expected a bit too much from himself.
 All
the rallies were long, and grinding it has to be said. No easy
way out, a few too many lets at the end of the first game, but
then again, the score was so close, 10/8 for Sherif, with the
Irish closing down to finally clinch a decisive 22m first game.
In the second, we could feel the disappointment and tiredness
creeping into the Egyptian's game, but although the score in the
third seems harsh, trust me, the man gave all that he had, and
more.
On a personal note, I’m really looking forward an encounter
between the Gentle Rooney and the Born Actor Omar. This will be
a match not to be missed… |
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Tarek Momen (Egy) bt Andrew
Wagih (Egy)
11/9, 12/10, 11/7 (33m)
MISSED OPPORTUNITY
Young Andrew Wagi will kick himself from here to the Heliopolis
club where he trains tonight… Up 9/4 in the first, then 10/8 in
the 2nd, he loses in three. Mmmmm…
Two Egyptians with different style of game, one hitting hard and
running a lot, Andrew, Tarek, we know him, all in touch and
timing, moving early, hence covering an enormous ground within
seconds.
It all came down to experience on that one. And guess what.
That’s exactly the reason he is here, the youngster, as he is
number 2 in the Egyptian junior team that will go for the title
yet again in Switzerland this summer, came for. Acquire
experience…
 "I
never felt confident today. In the first I made too many errors,
and got myself in a lot of trouble, and realised that I had to
play it safe, and change my game…
"I didn’t expect him to play so well, although I knew he was a
good player…"
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"Today I ran a lot, he is such a
good player, but he made a lot of unforced errors.
"In the first, I found myself up 9/4, and I thought he was going
to take risks, but he didn’t, and started playing very well.
"And again in the second, I was up 10/8, but I made too many
errors…
"It’s so good to play in this event, to play against Tarek,
because we are all here to try and get some experience… And
that’s what I feel I got today, I feel I learned a lot..."
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"Tough!
 "I
completely changed my game in the third. In the first two games,
I was confident, quick, and alert. Then at the start of the
third I lost three points in a row, and changed my game
completely, playing the way he wanted me to play, as in slowing
down the pace, and allowing him to move me around, by playing
everything too short in the middle of the court.
 "At
two-all I tried to find my game again, you know how it is, and I
just couldn’t! I’m so happy to win this game, so happy.
"Now I’m playing Tarek, I played him three weeks ago, and he
beat me 3/2 in a very tough league match. So, I will have to
play very well tomorrow…"
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Amr Mansi (Egy) bt Jaymie Haycocks
(Eng)
11/3, 11/6, 6/11, 11/9,
14/12 (72m)
 "I
can’t believe it.
"I thought I won one of the match balls I had, but it was a let…
"The first two games went very quick, he didn’t miss much, and I
wasn’t moving very well. Then maybe it took a lot out of him, I
don’t know, he was so quick, and suddenly, the next three games,
he played really slow, and that suited my game fine.
"I tried to play one game at a time, but at two-all I thought to
myself, you’ve got to believe you can win this one, and I became
a bit nervous, a bit edgy. I kept on repeating to myself, don’t
do a silly error, you didn’t come all the way to Egypt to lose
on a silly shot…
"I’m pleased with the way I played, but I’m so disappointed, the
difference between winning the match, going through to the next
round, and not winning, is immense…
"I can’t believe that I got back into the match, and I can’t
believe that I lost the match. Especially as I lost my last
tournament 11/9 in the fifth…
"It hurts…"
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Ali Anwar Reda (Egy) bt Karim
Abdel Gawad (Egy)
11/7, 11/ 9, 7/11,
11/6
ALI’S COMING BACK
I must say I was a bit surprised by the lack of fluidity in the
movement that Ali Anwar Reda, 19, displayed today, and also by
the amount of unforced errors he made.
Well, he is just coming back from injury, that’s why… A painful
adductor kept him away from the court for two months, and today
was his first match back.
He did ok, I’m sure he would have liked to play a bit more
accurately, but the movement is fine, the racquet still lethal.
 And
it needed to be, as Karim, 17 was not here to play second
fiddle, and found some lovely attacking shots. That boy, who
bears a real resemblance with French Player Julien Bonetat, is a
fighter, and believed in his chance, offering us some high
quality counter-attacking and retrieving…
A happy Ali is looking forward to playing tomorrow…
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"I’m glad that I was able to win after two months not playing at
all. So, I didn’t feel too comfortable, especially as he played
very well, slowing down the pace to take control of the rallies
and attacking well.
"In the third he attacked much better than I did, and rightly
took the game. So in the fourth I made sure I upped the pace,
and was able to take the lead. But all credit to him, he played
extremely well."
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Amr Swelim (Egy) bt Chris Truswell
(Eng)
11/8, 11/8, 11/6 (25m)
"25minutes? It
felt longer! I thought I played well, all the rallies were sharp
and intense, it was hard work, but he is such a good player… I’m
tired…
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Jesse Engelbrecht (Rsa) bt
Wael Farag (Egy)
11/5, 11/5, 11/8 (41m)
JESSE IN FORM…
 If
the two first games were rather easy for the South African, the
third was much more of a battle, and young Egyptian Wael Farag
got on top of his opponent, 7/4, after a few strange decisions
from the ref (the first ones of the day, I must say, as the
refereeing has been excellent so far from what I could see).
But the “new Jesse” – see quote, and try very hard not to
laugh too hard – kept his act together, back to basics, and
squeezed the third out of a disheartened young man who looks so
much like Ramy (you know, about three years ago, all legs and
arms which seem to get into knots when he moves!)
Wael was very disappointed with his performance today. He
shouldn’t be. Jesse is a very tough opponent, and the youngster
didn’t play badly at all, showing also excellent fair-play
skills during the encounter… |
"First visit to
Egypt, first victory. You hear so many things about this
country, such a great squash nation, you build it up in your
head… So I guess I was a bit edgy from the start.
"But I’ve turned 25 now, I’m much more mature, no more junior
squash!" [Yeah right, FG]
"I really felt under a lot of pressure in the third, when I got
down 7/4, but he made three easy errors, and that allowed me to
come back to 7/7. I thought I’d give it a last push…
"Those youngsters, you never know what you are going to get,
hey…"
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Women's Qualifying ... Marwan reports |
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Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy (Egy) bt
Kylie Lindsay (Nzl)
10/8, 7/9, 9/0,
10/8 (53m)
Kanzy shocks Kylie
Kanzy is just 14 years old, and she started the match very
nervous and made lots of mistakes, but then she back strongly in
the first game from 0/5 to win 10/8. The second game was very
close, Kanzy was up 7/5 but she lost the concentration and gave
the advantage to Kylie to win the game.
The third game was very quick as Kanzy was just controlling the
T, and the fourth was the same story until 8/5. Kylie came back
strongly to level at 8/8 then she made two silly shots.
 "I
didn't believe that I could win when I was 8 in the fourth so I
made lots of mistakes when I was up.
"But then I said to myself to concentrate on one point at a time
to win the match..."
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 "I
was ready for that match. I know her very well because we are in
the same club, and I thank GOD for that win and hope to do well
tomorrow ..."
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Nour El Tayeb (Egy) bt Salma
Nasser (Egy)
9/6, 9/0, 9/0
(18m)
Nour eases through
Nour was just controlling the match with some very good shots
taking lots of volley and Salma made lots of mistakes, it was a
bad day for her
First game was point by point until 6-all, then Nour played two
drops in a row to win the game. In the second and the third
Salma was just returning the serve into the tin
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Amnah El Trabolsy (Egy) v
Farah Abdel Meguid (Egy)
9/5, 9/5, 7/9, 7/9, 9/7
Trasbolsy takes Five
In the first two games Amnah was controlling the T with some
very good shots and Farah was just trying and fighting to every
ball. In the third game Amnah got tired and started to make the
mistakes and Farah took the advantage to win the game.
In the fourth Amnah was up 7/0 and we thought that the match was
finished, but Farah came back very strongly point by point to
win that game. In the last game Amnah was very tired as Farah
was playing some very good shots and took the lead 7/4 then she
couldn't believe that she could win and lost her concentration
as Amnah used her experience to win the last game and the match.
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 "I
haven't played a wispa tournament for long time. I tried to make
the rallies longer and I got tired at the end of the match, but
then I used my experience to win in the end.
"I know her very well, she is younger than me so I didn't want
to lose ..."
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 "I
wasn't happy with my match and the ball was very fast, that
helped her a lot especially at the beginning.
"I know that I am always asleep at the start of my matches, but
it's the first match and I hope to do well in the next round
..."
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Heba El Torky (Egy) bt Sara El
Noamany (Egy)
7/9,
9/4, 9/3, 9/1 (35m)
Safe start for Heba
In the first game Heba was controlling the play until 6/4. After
that she lost some concentration and that gave the advantage to
Sara to win the game.
In the next three games Heba was focusing well again and
controlled the match very well.
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Nouran El Torky (Egy) bt
Coline Aumard (Fra)
7/9, 10/8, 10/9, 9/5 (76m)
Nouran wins a marathon
They played in the BJO earlier this year and Nouran won in
straight games. In the first game Nouran was really very nervous
as Coline was concentrating well controlling the play very well.
The second game was the same story until 4/0 to Coline then
Nouran started to play her game with some good shots and took
the lead 8/4. Coline came back again to 8/8, then the referee
made a strange decision and that gave the advantage to Nouran
who won the game 10/8.
The third game was really very close until 6/6 then Nouran some
good shots ... Coline back very strongly to 9/8 ... then Nouran
made two nice shots to win the game 10/9.
In the fourth Coline took the lead 4/1 but she got tired and she
tried to win on every shot and Nouran came back very well to win
the match and to follow her sister into the next round. |
 "The
ball was very fast and Coline played much better than the last
time in the BJO.
"The court was much better this time but I didn't play my game -
in the British I was playing some drops and lobs.
"I hope to play better tomorrow..."
 "I
played a better match than in the BJO, I ran more this time.
"Nouran played well and I am unhappy because I lost but well
done to Nouran.
"Thanks to the Organisation and see you next year."
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 "I
played very well I was controlling the T and that was the most
important thing.
"She was just running, she was getting in the way a lot but
thanks to God for that win, and I hope to do well tomorrow
against Nouran.
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Salma Hany (Egy) bt Lucie Fialova
(Cze)
6/9, 9/3, 9/4, 9/7
(70m)
This was a very tough match for
both players. Salma was playing very well at the start and she
took the lead 6/2 but then lost her concentration and Lucie took
advantage with that to come back and win the first game 9/6.
In the second game Salma started to control the game, although
the referee made some strange decisions. Mn the third game Salma
continued her control with some good shots and Lucie started to
talk to the referee and losing her concentration.
The fourth game was the same story until 6/3 then Lucie was
injured. She stopped for three minutes and when she came back
she was playing well, getting to 6-all. Salma started to play a
basic game to the back of the court and won it 9/6.
Tomorrow she will have a tough against Nouran so we will see two
top junior players ...
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Eman El Amir (Egy) bt Nour El
Sherbeny (Egy)
9/3, 9/2, 3/9, 9/6
(30m)
Advantage to Eman
Nour is just 12 years old, she won the British Junior Open twice
in a row she and is playing in my club so I know her level in
squash, I know she has a good future and she is number one under
15 in Egypt now. Eman is an experienced player, she played lots
of Wispa Tournaments.
In the first two games Eman was playing very well and
controlling the T and Nour was trying very hard to do something.
In the third game Nour started to play her game and she was
controlling with some good drop shots And Eman got tired at the
end of that game.
In the fourth game Nour continued the control of the game and
took the lead 5/0, but after that Eman came back strongly to 6/6
then Eman made two nice shots, and a silly shot from Nour gave
the advantage to Eman and to win the match.
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"I was playing
very well at the start but then I don't what happened - she was
playing very very well.
"If I hadn't won the fourth I don't think I would have won the
match."
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 "I
played very well, I am training in Qatar now with the great
player Geoff Hunt and Ahmed Abdullah so they are helping me very
much in my squash and on my movement on the court.
"I think Farida had an injury, but I hope to do well in the rest
of the tournament ..."
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Adel Weir (Rsa) bt Farida El Dahab
(Egy)
9/3, 9/1, 9/2 (21m)
Easy for Adel
The last match of the day was very quick as Farida had an ankle
injury so she couldn't run and or push on it.
Adel was just controlling the match and the play, she was moving
well, concentrating on the match.
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