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Salma Hany (Egy) bt Haidi Lala
(Egy)
11/8, 11/5, 11/0
SALMA NERVOUS BUT…
If Salma Hany was very stressed to start with, allowing her
young opponent, Haidi Lala, 15, to lead 4/1 and 6/2, Salma found
some length and power that got the better of Haidi. Add to that
some lovely backhand attacking boasts, and you have a pretty
good idea of what happened…
Still, although in my mind there was only ever going to be one
winner, Haidi didn’t do much wrong, and showed an excellent
fighting spirit. I feel she’s got something, and should
persevere.
And Salma, well, as a lot of players, it’s all in the head.
She’ll need to find a way to let her squash impose itself, and
not put so much pressure on her young shoulders…
 "I
found the court a bit slippery tonight, so it was a bit
difficult for me to move as I wanted.
It’s the first time I've
played against Salma in a WISPA event, but we’ve played many
times, and she always beats me, 3/0, 3/1…
"Today, I feel she was doing the right thing by taking me to the
front, but I kept her too much in the back, and didn’t bring her
to the front enough…"
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 "I’m
always very nervous before a match, so I’m trying to warm up
very hard, to forget about it all, to forget I’m about to
play!!!
"I’m not too happy with the way I played, but she helped me a
lot!!!
"I think that tomorrow, I’ll have to be calmer if I want to play
better… And I know I can play better than this."
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 "I’m
not training as much as I would like, because I’m working hard on my
HR Management studies. So I train as much as I can in Gazira Club,
with my three coaches.
"I work mainly on my concentration, as you’ve seen today, I lose
it a lot, and of course, on my fitness.
"Nihal is a very good friend of mine, and we actually played
three weeks ago. Normally, we play close games, and if I win some,
it’s never easy matches! Like me, she can lose her concentration,
but when she stands on the ball, she can take her shots very well."
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CHRISTMAS TIME
 Those two were so kind to each other, keeping giving each other
tins … Awhhhhhh, isn’t that nice.
Joke apart, we saw a very good first three games, with Farah
hitting hard and volleying very well, finding lovely lengths,
and Nihal counterattacking beautifully, stretching her body to
the extreme to retrieve her friend’s shot, to the point of
elongation, actually! The anti pain spray was used a few times
after some splits trying to get the ball back…
If the level of fitness/concentration dropped a bit in the
fourth, it was a good match, between two motivated, fair and
gifted players. Lovely to watch, and one of those matches where
it’s sad to have a loser.
 "The
court was very slippery, very hard for me on there, I couldn’t
run….
"We’ve been friends for six years now, and actually, we are room
mates here in the hotel! I’m very happy for her, and I wish her
well in the tournament.
"Last month, we played in a tournament in Egypt, and she beat me
3/0, and I feel I played better today, so I’m not too
disappointed."
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