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TODAY in Hurghada
Daily reports from the Hurghada International |
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Thu 17th, Day SIX ...
quarter-finals part two |
Shabana and Darwish challenged in Hurghada
 Egyptian
number one Omneya Abdel Kawy faced a determined challenge
from young Nour El Tayeb, but Kawy's experience proved
decisive. It was the same story in the first men's match, with
world number one Amr Shabana facing a
tougher-than-expected match against upcoming Mohamed El
Shorbagy. The BJO champion took one game, and might well
have taken two.
Women's top seed Rachael Grinham stayed on course to
defend her title with a comfortable win over Manuela Manetta,
and in the last match Karim Darwish had to save two match
balls in the fourth as he beat compatriot Mohamed Abbas.
[3]
Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy) bt [Q] Nour El Tayeb (Egy)
9/2, 10/8, 9/2 (34m)
[1] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt
[7] Manuela Manetta (Ita)
9/6, 9/1, 9/1 (34m)
[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt Mohamed
El Shorbagy (Egy)
11/5, 14/12, 6/11, 12/10 (54m)
[3] Karim Darwish (Egy) bt [5]
Mohammed Abbas (Egy)
9/11, 11/9, 8/11, 14/12, 11/4 (80m) |
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 "We
played together two weeks ago, and she didn’t play as well as
she played today. I thought that she played so well, she’s got
some beautiful shots, she is so deceptive, sometimes I could see
her hand, and then the ball would go somewhere else.
"And it’s such a great achievement for her, still a junior, to
reach the quarters of a WISPA tournament for the first time, I
wish her all the best for the rest of her career…"
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[3]
Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy)
bt
[Q] Nour El Tayeb (Egy)
9/2, 10/8, 9/2 (34m)
NOUR RAN AND RAN…
What legs that young girl has! And what determination, and shots
to make it all complete.
She places, she lobs, she covers a lot of ground… And although
against Omneya, it was not enough tonight, she was quite rightly
delighted with her performance.
Of course, we all know about Omneya's superb hard drives and
drop shots, that made poor Nour run all around the court,
throwing herself to the four corners, bless her sweet little
cotton socks.
A good match from the junior, who probably will realise that she
needs a bit of length to be able to threaten the senior players…
But I’m sure she knows…
 "I
didn’t expect to play that well today, I mean, Omneya is such a
good player, she is the Egyptian number one.
"I came on court trying to play my game, my nicks and drop
shots, and tried to keep her at the back.
"I’m so happy I was in the quarters of the Hurghada tournament,
it’s such an experience for me, and I’ve learned a lot from this
event…
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[1]
Amr Shabana (Egy) bt Mohamed El
Shorbagy (Egy)
11/5, 14/12, 6/11, 12/10
SHORBAGY SO SOLID
Two unforced errors. That’s all that the boy did today against
the world number one, taking one game and nearly a second one
from him. Honestly guys, it was the first time that Shabana
played Mohamed, and he probably didn’t expect such a solid,
patient, mature and intelligent player.
If ever any Egyptian player understood the word “length”,
Mohamed is the one. His depth, his drives are just perfectly
angled and placed. He puts just enough weight on the ball, he is
so grinding, and pushed our impatient Prince of Egypt into a few
unforced errors he surely could have done without.
But of course, Shabana is so experienced, he was able to find
THE shot, THE wrong footing, THE change of pace. Still, from
where I stand, Mohamed is about to explode on the PSA circuit.
Just watch.
 "Like
for my match against Beng Hee, I was very nervous, but I’m
pleased with the way I played today, especially on the glass
court, I gave it all, it was such a great experience for me.
"We played at a very fast pace, but I liked it. I tried very
hard to win the second game, I was up 10/8, but I couldn’t.
"I’m happy, I’m so happy with my tournament, and now, I’m going
to concentrate on the world Juniors."
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 "The
conditions on the court are very tough, it’s very windy, and if
you lose concentration for a second, it’s hard to come back…
"I thought I was ok until the second game, but then he started
playing very well. He is one of the players who are going to go
up very fast, because he is only 17, but he plays a much more
mature game than his game. He is an amazing player, and I had to
play very well today to beat him."
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[1]
Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt [7]
Manuela Manetta (Ita)
9/6, 9/1, 9/1
A BIT OUT…
If Manuela tried very hard, and visited Egypt trying to keep up
with Rachael in the rallies, the match was a bit onesided. A few
great rallies, where the Italian showed her athletic skills and
remarkable touch for redrop, but she was no match for Rachael’s
unorthodox game today…
 "I
never felt confident or comfortable on the court today. I was
struggling to see the ball, I couldn’t find my length, which is
normally what I do best I think. I was only able to find my
length in patches, but the rest of the time, she was doing
whatever she wanted with the ball.
"I wish I could have done more, and better…"
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"It was tough at the beginning, I
really struggled to keep up with her, because she was attacking
it very early. But after that, I have the impression that she
slowed down, maybe my length was a bit better, but it was much
easier for me to control the game, as she was not taking it as
early…"
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[3]
Karim Darwish (Egy) bt [5]
Mohammed Abbas (Egy)
9/11, 11/9, 8/11, 14/12, 11/4
(80m)
OF COURSE IT WAS TOUGH…
This was the match that we all waited for, it was going to be
one of the$matches of the tournament. And boy, did they deliver.
An 80m match, where both players had winning positions each
tleir turn, but with an Abbas who, like he did so many times in
his career, froze at the wrong time. The fact he had problems
with his Achilles tendon and athlete's foot probably didn’t help
either…
 I
could quote a few matches, among which against Shabana in the
Worlds in Cairo, against Thierry in the British Open last year,
and again tonight, where he had a match ball, and$just put it in
the tin when he had the court open, Karim being out and gone on
that rally.
Not to mention the six tins of the last game…
Both players have the same style, both patient, relentless at
the back, and seizing every opportunity to attack, or to
counter-attack, and to kill the ball cross court whenever they
can… And tonight, we had a festival of drops, volley drops,
forehand and backhand, some astonishing battle of front court,
trickle boast, drops for outside the back door, standing on one
foot… The lot. I would say a match for the “connoisseur”, all in
touch, subtleties, and exquisite accuracy.
First and second games could have been anybody's, first went to
Abbas, the second to Karim, on a pick up from Karim that Abbas
saw not up, he stopped playing, but the ref saw the ball good,
and that seem to anger an Abbas who came back with a vengeance
in the third, having something to prove, and taking that care
rather easily compared to the rest of the games (he led 10/4
before Karim came back 10/8).
And we arrive to the fourth, where Karim changed his game, sped
up the pace, and started to put his opponent under
tremendous pressure. And it worked, as Karim went up 8/4, then
9/5 to set up his first game ball 10/7.
That’s the moment Abbas decided to throw caution to the wind,
and clawed back with some superb attacks, 10/10, then match ball
12/11. And the tin…
You know the rest of the story. It was such a difficult
encounter that one, so many lets, no lets, strokes, so many
decisions… Abbas will not be happy to have lost this one, but
Karim looked possessed, and a man on a mission: winning. He
looked hungrier for victory, and maybe that made the difference… |
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 "It
was really a tough match, a long match. It’s so hard to beat
Abbas when he is focused, but I really didn’t want to lose this
match, because I’ve training so hard for this event.
"I don’t like the conditions of the court, it’s very windy, and
we are not used to such conditions, so it made it hard to get
the ball to the back of the court, and against Abbas, I had to
get the ball far more to the back to get control because he is
so good at the front.
"At the end, I had to play a more aggressive game to win, and I
kept pushing, I had to pick up a few very tough shots at the
front…
"In the fifth, I think he lost his concentration, got tired, and
I just picked up the pace…"
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