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En Bref #2
Party Time,
Baby Face, Chickens ... |
Tue 14th Dec, Day Three, Round One:
[1] Laura Massaro
(Eng) bt [Q] Nouran El Torky (Egy)
11/4, 11/5, 11/5
[6] Heba El Torky (Egy) bt [LL] Farah Momen (Egy)
11/5, 7/11, 11/7, 11/6
[7] Victoria Lust (Eng) bt [LL] Mehran Amr Mahmoud
(Egy)
11/9, 11/9, 11/9
[Q] Salma Hany (Egy) bt [3] Nour El Sherbini (Egy)
9/11, 12/10 rtd
[4] Nour El Tayeb (Egy) bt [Q] Sara El Noamany (Egy)
11/7, 11/4, 11/3
[8] Lucie Fialova (Cze) bt Lauren Selby (Eng)
11/2, 11/13, 7/11, 13/11, 11/4
[5] Kanzy El-Dafrawy (Egy) bt Farah Abdel Meguid (Egy)
11/7, 14/12, 11/6
[2] Raneem El Weleily (Egy) bt [Q] Yathreb Adel (Egy)
11/4, 8/11, 12/10, 15/13 |
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[1] Laura Massaro
(Eng) bt [Q] Nouran El Torky (Egy)
11/4, 11/5, 11/5
RESPECT FROM LAURA
I so respect the top players that give their opponent, whether
high or low ranked the fully respect their deserve. And that’s
how Laura was able to not fall in the Nouran trap!
Because boy can that young lady hit, and run fast, and be
patient. Of course, tiredness crept in, of course, a few tins
here and there, but honestly, Nouran won’t have anything to be
ashamed of today. She played well. And Laura, well, an excellent
first round, demanding enough, keeping her on her toes, without
taking too much energy.
"She played so
well, it was the first time ever I saw her, she kept her length
the whole time, her ball was so tight… I know I did my best
today, no regrets…"
 Dr
Samiha's View ...
Laura was dominating the match as she played with same
strategy from the start, which was tight balls at back of court
followed by side walls and sometimes followed by drop shots.
This strategy worked well especially that Nouran didn't realise
that Laura was a tall player and that she should never volley or
cross court balls but she should have played low balls whether
straight or drop.
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"It was never going to be an easy first round, with the young
Egyptian girls coming from the qualifying, they are very good…
"I guess when they are playing here, they enjoy the extra
support they get from their friends and family, and they want to
keep on playing. That’s why they are probably slightly more
dangerous here…
"I’m quite happy with my match overall, I was building up the
rallies well, and then, there was a patch in the second, I was
7/2 up, in control, and played a few tins, and again in the 3rd,
match ball, 10/2 match ball, and made a few errors, 11/5… Just
trying to finish the rallies too early, and going for too many
shots…"
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 "Today,
I was trying to prove I was not only a Lucky Loser, that I can
do it. And I know I can. I played better than my two previous
matches, so I’m happy, but I know I can play better than that
score.
"I think I didn’t play attacking squash enough. I kept on
lobbing and defending, instead of hitting hard straight and
crosscourt. I think I wanted so much to win the rally, I got
very tense…"
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[6] Heba El Torky (Egy) bt [LL] Farah Momen (Egy)
11/5, 7/11, 11/7, 11/6
One Torky through
WISPA reports
Heba eased through a match whose flow was interrupted by too
many lets, but which also showed the talent that Egyptian squash
has on tap.
Farah had only got into the main draw as a Lucky Loser, but she
responded to Heba taking the first with deft drops & volleys by
stepping up the pace and rushing her seeded opponent.
The tactic paid dividends as crisp drives produced errors and
forced Heba on the defensive. However, a poor start in the third
and she found herself down 0/3 and 3/7, and although she pulled
it back to 6/7 the damage had been done.
As Heba adjusted to the increased tempo she returned to
skilfully moving the ball round the court and eventually took
her place in the Quarter finals.
 "I
should have played better. I seem, whatever level of match I
play, to lose one game on the way.
"When I was in HK, I won the tournament, but from the first
round to the final, I won 3/1. I dropped a game every time.
"No disrespect to Farah, who played very well indeed, but there are times where my
game just seems to disappear, not half my game, just disappear.
It’s mental…"
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[Q] Salma Hany (Egy) bt [3] Nour El Sherbini (Egy)
9/11, 12/10 rtd
Sherbini limps out
WISPA reports
Hampered by a strapped knee Nour recovered from 7/9 in the first
with two drops that stuck to the wall and enabled her to take
the first 11/9.
The second followed a similar pattern with Salma speedy around
the court, and Nour using height and width to control things.
A squandered game ball at 10-9 by Nour set up a tie-break, she
saved one game ball but a tinned cross-court drop gave Salma the
game at the second point, at which point Nour decided that she
wasn’t going to be able to continue and offered her hand to
Salma.
"I have an injury
on my knee, I was not going to play, but I tried..."
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"I played her in the Greek open, I knew what to expect, and I
was not disappointed! Believe me, I wish I’d been disappointed….
She is so talented, she puts the ball away when it’s there to be
put away, but thankfully, she made a few errors.
"I didn’t play very well, so I just had to dig in, and run a
lot…"
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[7] Victoria Lust (Eng) bt
[LL] Mehran Amr Mahmoud
(Egy)
11/9, 11/9, 11/9
VICKY’S HARD WORK…
At no point did the English girl think this was going to be a
walk in the park, and trust me, it wasn’t.
I really enjoyed watching Merhan yesterday, it was so great to
discover that player I never got the chance to see play before.
And I suspected that Vicky would have a tough day…
The match was played at a very fast pace, Mehran placing the
ball extremely well, and forcing Vicky to cover an awful lot of
ground, going corner to corner, only saved by a few errors here
and there. The score says it all, 9, 9, 9.
In the end, it probably came down to self belief and experience.
But a close encounter, for sure.
 "I
played her two weeks ago in the Greek Open, and she beat me 3/0,
but I can see the difference, today, and I’m playing better, so
I’m happy!
"I know that because we’ve played already, she was a bit
worried, and anyway, because we are Egyptians, players are
scared of us, as if we all had Ramy Ashour’s talent, whether we
are good or not!!!
"I did well today, I had my chances. But like I told you
yesterday, I’m still playing like a junior, I don’t have that
confidence to think I can win the rally, I can do it in training
but I still miss that mental awareness in my game…"
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[4] Nour El Tayeb (Egy) bt [Q] Sara El Noamany (Egy)
11/7, 11/4, 11/3
NORMAL DAY AT THE OFFICE
No disrespect to Sara, but I felt that the winner was never in
doubt today. Her opponent, in the middle of her studies,
probably didn’t have much time to train either, but Nour is now
top girl on the tour, and it showed.
A few lack of concentration here and there, a few unforced
errors, but overall, Nour in control, against a player that
never gave up, fit and willing….
 We
only played twice before, like 4 years ago, and then a year ago,
there is always a lot of time in between games it seems.
I’m not sure if it’s because I’m in the middle of my semester
that my eyes couldn’t really focus at time, and that I lost
concentration a lot, but it doesn’t change the fact that Nour is
such a talented player, and she would read my game so well,
predicting my every move.
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I’ve been poorly for a few days, so after losing the first, I
realised that I had to put the thinking cap on, and use my head,
and think about things really, because it was the only way I was
going to win today.
I had a good chance in the 4th, but after that, in the 5th,
after the collision, I’m not sure what happened, I just don’t
remember!
Between my cold, and the pain shot the doctor just gave me, I’m
a bit out!!!!
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[8] Lucie Fialova (Cze) bt Lauren Selby (Eng)
11/2, 11/13, 7/11, 13/11, 11/4
Lucie wins a thriller
WISPA reports
Lucie got off to a flier, powering her way through the first
reaching game point in one hand before Lauren got on the
scoreboard!
However, Lauren quickly put that behind her take an early lead
in the second cleverly using her full array of shots to break up
the pattern of play and finishing off the rallies with some
lovely drops.
Lucie saved two games balls and set up one of her own, but a
tight drive from Lauren saved that and another set up another of
her own which ended with Lucie rightly being given a no-let
chasing after another dying length from Lauren.
The match ebbed and flowed in the third with neither player able
to take full control, until Lauren pulled away from 7-7 to take
the game as 11-7.
Little changed in the fourth with both plays striving to get on
top, Lauren saved a game ball, Lucie a match ball before
leveling it at 2-2.
A nasty clash of heads at 2-0 in the second, saw both players
hit the floor and require a time-out and a check up from the
doctor. Having been given the all clear it was Lauren who seemed
the most affected falling behind 0/5, and never getting back on
level terms as Lucie raced away to take the match.
 It’s
the second time I played her, last time was also very tough,
3/2. And it’s my first victory in Sharm!
In the first game, I played very well, and I surprised myself!
It was quite easy, but in the next 2 games, she raised her game,
and played very well. The match was really close then, all the
rallies very close.
Then in the 4th, she had a match ball, but I saved it. At 2/0 in
the 5th, we collided, and had to stop for a while. At the end,
it was not a pretty match, I think we were both very tired…
I’m living in Cairo now, training with Amr Wagih for a year and
a half. And although I’m getting more and more confident about
my game, in training I see I’m getting better, I don’t see the
results in match yet, I’m still waiting…
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[5] Kanzy El-Dafrawy (Egy) bt
Farah Abdel Meguid (Egy)
11/7, 14/12, 11/6
CLOSE ENCOUNTER…
It may have been a 3/0, but the first two games were fast and
furious! Stunning squash, disputed rallies, with a sprinkle of
strong arguments with the ref(s), blood injury, and the come
back of all come back from Kanzy, 10/4 down to win the game
14/12, saving seven game balls…
I so love to watch Kanzy on court, bless her, she is quite a
character, the only lady I know who throws herself on the shots
as men do, and still gets to win the rally!
Her opponent today didn’t do much wrong. But the loss of the
second game was fatal, both mentally and physically…
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 I
knew from the start it was going to be a hard match, last time
we played, it was 14/12 in the 5th, and it’s always like that
between us!
We are very good friends, we are even room mate here, and we
have absolutely no problem between us. Yes, there were a few
discussions, she was a bit worried about my drop shot, the way I
was not clearing the way too well, but it got sorted very
quickly, I never meant to prevent her from going to the ball…
I’ve been training really hard for the past weeks, and I knew I
could beat her 3/0 if I stayed concentrated the whole time. And
in the 2nd, I was down 5/0, then 6/1 then 10/4. And I told
myself, if it’s 1/1, it’s going to be very hard, and I’m going
to lose a lot of energy.
So I decided to play basic squash, and keep the ball in play.
And when I got two games up, she got discouraged, especially
after one of the balls she thought was good was called down.
But if I hadn’t won the second, I’m not sure I’d won that match…
I don’t know what I did to lose 3/0. I really don’t know what
happened…
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I played really well I thought, I
felt inside I could win the match. But so many times, I was
constructing well the rallies, and that the moment to conclude,
I would put the ball in the tin! So frustrating!
At the end, I got very tired, I was running so much, so I guess
I should have played a bit more tighter, and not open the court
that much.
And I hope that next time I play, I’ll be less stressed, and
more happy about the chance to play somebody as talented as
Raneem.
I so enjoyed playing against her today…
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[2] Raneem El Weleily (Egy) bt [Q] Yathreb Adel (Egy)
11/4, 11/8, 15/13
Raneem tested ...
Having traded the points to 4/4 Raneem raced to the first in
double quick time. However, her younger opponent wasn’t
disheartened as she bounced back from 3/6 in the second to lead
7/6 and then 9/8.
Her passion and determination appeared to unsettle Raneem
forcing a crucial error to set up the game ball before slamming
in a straight volley to take the game and tie things at 1-1.
A short blood break delayed the start of the third, as Yathreb
had a cut on her knuckle tended to but she she still game out
fighting in the third putting Raneem under pressure with
fiercely struck drives.
In probably the highest quality encounter of the evening the
youngster again and again tested the second seed, but having
failed to capitalize on a game ball at 10/9 showed her
inexperience with a tinned return of serve when facing one
herself.
However, unfazed Yathreb recovered from 0/3 to lead 6/5, served
out but bounced back to 7/6. Some incredible retrieving at full
stretch, and even almost doing the splits took her to 9/8, a
volley winner to 10/8, but despite five game balls it was Raneem
who sealed the crucial one to take the fourth game 15/13.
 Normally,
I get really nervous and excited when I play young Egyptians,
like Nour El Tayeb or Sherbini, but today, I tried to stay
concentrated at all times, which is not easy for me.
For some reason, I just had trouble finding my length and lobs
on that court, the ball seemed to bounce a bit funny, so I went
for a lot of crosscourts…
We played in Hurghada last April, but she improved so much!
Today, she never stopped at all, neither mentally or physically,
she was relentless.
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