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TODAY in Cairo ... Thu 17th, Day ONE
Framboise reports from Cairo, Steve from Whitley Bay, UK |
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Back
to Sky
The second edition of the Sky Open gets underway today at
Cairo's spectacular Sky Petrosport Club, with the
qualifying draw set for 11am. For once the time difference isn't
an issue - for Europeans at least - with Cairo running on
Central European time (that's +1hour on the UK).
There were some late changes to the draw with Borja Golan
and Aamir Atlas Khan forced out through injury, promoting
Omar Mosaad and Tarek Momen to the main draw
(although as Omar and Tarek get to play the top two seeds,
perhaps they would rather have taken their chances in
qualifying!).
It's bad news for Borja, who was injured the final in Colombia a
couple of weeks ago. We've just learned that he'll be undergoing
surgery on a ruptured knee ligament this week and is expected to
be out of action for up to a year, meaning he'll miss all the
big events coming up.
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QUE LA FÊTE
COMMENCE….
« May the fun begin »….
 Well,
we are about to start play here, with the few normal worries
that come at the start of every tournament.
A few little
troubles with the courts, the floors have been sanded a bit too
late, as in yesterday, whereas the PSA book says a few weeks are
necessary to let the dust settle. But the courts have been fully
cleaned since, several times an hour, to ensure players' safety,
obviously paramount here.
Also, as we have only two official referees, Nasser Zahran,
world ref from Egypt, and Mike Collins, from South
Africa, and that we are operating the three ref system on all of
the three courts, we are bit short. Hence, a schedule has been
carefully prepared by Nasser, tournament ref, to organise the
players to act as referees.
To be duly noted, the fact we are living the last days of
Ramadan, which means that 99% of the people who work on the
event, plus most of the Egyptian players, are fasting during the
day, and living during the night. Which means that I feel a bit
guilty every time I get a sip of water in the office… And there
were a few yawns among the locals, as a 10h30 call is like the
middle of the night for most of them…..
Apart from that, nothing new, a lot of new names I never heard
of, three courts to follow matches on, little me – Marwan had to
stay in England for school, blast! – but thank god, I have
David Barry to assist me with the photo side of things. That
will make a big difference.
Please wish me luck, people… |
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Qualifying Round One:
Jonathan Kemp (Eng) bt Mazen Gamal (Egy)
11/3, 11/7, 12/10 (28m)
Nicolas Mueller (Sui) bt Wade Johnstone (Aus)
11/1, 11/8, 11/6 (30m)
Mark Krajcsak (Hun) bt Wael Farag (Egy)
11/1, 11/8, 11/6 (29m)
Gilly Lane (Usa) bt Islam El Fiky (Egy)
11/7, 11/4, 11/5 (22m)
Ali Anwar Reda (Egy) bt Amr Kkalid Khalifa (Egy)
11/3, 11/9, 9/11, 11/4 (50m)
Steve Coppinger (Rsa) bt Andrew Wagih (Egy)
11/8, 11/6, 3/11, 11/9 (49m)
Ali Farag (Egy) bt Aaron Frankcomb (Aus)
13/11, 11/6, 8/11, 10/12, 11/7 (76m)
Campbell Grayson (Nzl) bt Ahmed Hawas (Egy)
11/3, 13/11, 11/7 (35m)
Robbie Temple (Eng) bt Amr Mansi (Egy)
11/1, 11/6, 11/7 (16m)
Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy) bt Mohamed Abou Eighgar (Egy)
12/10, 11/4, 11/4 (43m)
Omar Abdel Meguid (Egy) bt Martin Knight (Nzl)
9/11, 11/4, 11/5, 11/6
Tom Richards (Eng) bt Mohamed Elkady (Egy)
11/2, 11/7, 11/7 (28m)
Stéphane Galifi (Ita) bt Basem Makram (Egy)
11/4, 11/6, 11/8 (27m)
Renan Lavigne (Fra) bt Karim Abdel Gawad (Egy)
12/10, 11/5, 11/6
Julien Balbo (Fra) bt Karim Ali Fathy (Egy)
11/4, 11/4, 11/0 (27m)
Saurav Ghosal (Ind) bt Sayed Mahmoud Aly (Egy)
9/11, 11/9, 7/11, 11/5, 11/1 (66m)
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"He plays at such a fast pace, I just didn’t expect it. I tried
and changed my game, as I was aware that it just couldn’t cope
with such a pace.
"The third was very close, I should have won it, but I’m happy,
as next time I play him, I’ll know what to do and will be able
to play better against him.
"I thought I was unlucky to get the top seed in the qualifier,
he doesn’t belong in the qualifiers, actually, he is main draw
material!!! Never mind, thank God I didn’t have to fly far
away to play in the event, I’m in my country!!!"
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Jonathan Kemp (Eng) bt Mazen Gamal (Egy)
11/3, 11/7, 12/10 (28m)
Nicolas Mueller (Sui) bt Wade Johnstone (Aus)
11/1, 11/8, 11/6 (30m)
Quick starts ...
A quick start to the day for Nicolas Mueller, who was playing
against a Wade Johnstone who struggled on the court for most of
the game really, but especially in the first.
Nicolas, who has been staying here in Egypt for a few days, was
a bit more used to the conditions, and took advantage of the
situation, not giving Wade much time to settle down…
 "Wade
struggled a lot, especially in the first game. What helped me is
that I played twice on this court, I knew what to expect, and
also I did practice with Egyptian players, they play such a
different game, that surely helped me in the first!
"In the second, he found a good length, and I struggling a bit
more. I was lucky to take the third really.
"I’m glad to play Kemp, I had the feeling I would. He’s been
playing very well lately, he won Wolverhampton, and I’m really
looking forward to the match.."
Whereas Kempy, he was playing
against a tough opponent I thought, Mazen Gamal, who kept very
well in the rallies, but was just pushed out of his comfort
zone. The third game was very close indeed, but the Englishman
closed it down in three, only just, 12/10…
 "I’m
quite happy with the way I played, apart from the end of the
third game, where I stopped concentrating, and he started
playing very well.
"Glad to get my first match out of the way, and also to have
finished it off in three …"
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Mark Krajcsak (Hun) bt Wael Farag (Egy)
11/1, 11/8, 11/6 (29m)
Stéphane Galifi (Ita) bt Basem Makram (Egy)
11/4, 11/6, 11/8 (27m)
Julien Balbo (Fra) bt Karim Ali Fathy (Egy)
11/4, 11/4, 11/0 (27m)
France, Hungary, Italy ...
If the score for the Julien/Karim match seems severe, it was not
a walk in the park for the French man AT ALL. “Karim is like all
the young Egyptian players, a pretty good arm, and every time
they set up an opportunity, they don’t ask themselves questions,
and just go for the shot!” said Julien.
“I know the score may look severe, but you just cannot relax at
any point, because you can find yourself losing 3, 4 points in a
row, and under a lot of pressure” concluded the Frenchman.
Karim is very young, he looks 14/15 to me, he is pretty gifted,
and God willing, he’s got a great future…
 Now,
Mark Krajcsak's opponent made me think of a puppy that's grown
too fast! Long legs, long arms, you know the type! A bit like
Ramy a few years ago. I had a spy on the court, Omar Abdel Aziz, who made a pretty precise report…
“Mark was very consistent throughout, Wael played some pretty
good shots, but he maybe doesn’t have the maturity enough to win
the big points. He has a good touch, but I’m not sure that
choosing to play Mark at a fast pace was a good tactical choice
for him. Still, the last game was very tight, and could have
gone either way”.
Thanks Omar.
For Stéphane Galifi, now Italian (he’s got double Nationality,
French Italian), he was THE man that players came to see.
“He is so smooth, his movement, it’s so simple, little effort,
and he doesn’t have to move that much anyway, as he reads the
ball so well…” I could hear the players commenting. So true, he
is a joy to watch, a bit like when you sit in front of a
fireplace, and look at the logs burning, mesmerising…
Basem Makram didn’t do anything wrong, he played his best, but
was forced to make far to many unforced errors, and had very
little opportunities to impose his own squash today….
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Tom Richards (Eng) bt Mohamed Elkady (Egy)
11/2, 11/7,
11/7 (28m)
Gilly Lane (Usa) bt Islam El Fiky (Egy)
11/7, 11/4,
11/5 (22m)
Richards & Lane race through
Tom Richards was probably too good today for a very disappointed
Mohamed El Kady, who I feel was never comfortable against the
young Englishman.
 "Tom
just played far too fast today, I just tried to match his game
for the two first games, but that was probably not the best of
things to do. Then I actually changed my game in the third, I
slowed down the pace and went for more shots.
"But still, Tom was just too good today."
But I really enjoyed watching 18
year old Islam El Fiky play. He is a bit, how shall I say, “enrobé”,
a bit too much weight on, as we say in French, but like it’s
often the case, he is compensating with a lovely touch, great
deceptions and good reading of the game.
He suffered a bit in the end fitness wise, and Gilly Lane really
played an excellent game, very precise and focused, with very
few unforced errors. This was a very pleasant match indeed, I
enjoyed it fully…
 "I’m
training at the Heliopolis Club, with Mohamed Medhab and Amhed
Mattany. This is only my second PSA, I did this event last year…
"I’ve been having a bit of a fever for a few days, and that made
me a bit slow, but I also need to lose some weight if I want to
qualify for the World Juniors next year, I was struggling a bit
on my movement.
"I know I can play much better than that, but Gilly was really
consistent, and playing at a very fast pace."
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Campbell Grayson (Nzl) bt Ahmed Hawas (Egy)
11/3, 13/11, 11/7 (35m)
Renan Lavigne (Fra) bt Karim Abdel Gawad (Egy)
12/10, 11/5, 11/6
Saurav Ghosal (Ind) bt Mohamed Sayed Mahmoud Aly (Egy)
9/11, 11/9, 7/11, 11/5, 11/1 (66m)
Saurav stretched ...
I just cannot keep up with things at the moment people. Matches
are finished before I get to them, and I’m really struggling to
catch up with news…!
Didn’t see anything from Campbell/Ahmed Hawas, but caught up
with the New Zealander. From the Renan match, again, wasn’t able
to see anything, but Renan sent me a little quote as he often
does.
"Even if I did not
know him, I did not take him lightly as I know how good all the
Egyptian juniors are and how dangerous they can be, especially
playing at home.
"Plus I am probably twice his age! I made sure I played solid
and steady squash, not giving him too much at the front."
Still, I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the “match of
the day” so far, the 20 years old Engineer student Mohamed Sayed
Mahmoud Aly – as Robert joked, you’ve got to change your name! –
against second seed Saurav Ghosal.
“Saurav lost a game,” David Barry was kind enough to let me
know, as that was pretty unexpected. Still, by the time I made
it to the court, the young Egyptian was leading 2/1.
And not because Saurav was playing badly, or taking his opponent
lightly. Not at all. Mohamed was just playing extremely well. I
had the feeling to see another Shorbagy! Patient, slowing down
the pace at will, tight to the side wall, lovely height and deep
crosscourt, and yes, too many unforced errors, just like
Shorbagy when he is not being patient enough.
What saved Saurav I feel is that he trains with James, and
retrieves the Yorkshire man every other day! What the Indian
saved today was impressive, as Mohamed found some stunning drop
shots and perfect length…
I was very impressed indeed with the young man I must say, even
if his wheels sort of came off in the fifth, both a mental and a
physical tiredness actually. Clever, patient, intelligent, so
mature… He intends to keep on working on his university for
another two years, and then try and spend two years on the Tour.
Well, if he does, he’ll be a threat very quickly indeed. What a
talent that young man possesses…
 "Mohamed
was slowing down the pace very well, and playing very good
squash. He especially reads the game very well, and he’s got
that lob when you get him to the front, the same Ramy and
Shorbagy play.
"I didn’t really panic as such when I got down 2/1, because I
knew that although I was playing ok, I was not at my best, that
there was still some margin there. But I thought, I’m one game
away, time to act.
"I stepped up the T a bit, cut off the ball a bit more,
volleying more often, moving the ball around more too.
"And I kept on thinking, no, I’m not going to lose in Egypt
again! I’m going to pass this round and qualify!!!!!"
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"I started well and felt quite comfortable but in the second, I
started to struggle with my movement, I was slipping a lot.
"I tried to not lose my calm, to be patient in the third, and
not to go for shots too early. I’m now looking forward to
tomorrow’s match…"
 "Recently,
I found that I had trouble with my game, so I changed my routine
to improve my movement, my fitness, and my unforced errors.
"I think that I’ve improved my movement and fitness, but that
I’m still doing far too many unforced errors. My coach counted
an average of 6 per game, and at that level of play, is just not
good enough.
"I hope that next year, I’ll be able to get to qualify, and I
wish all the best of luck to Saurav, who is a smashing person
both on and off the court….
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Ali Farag (Egy) bt Aaron Frankcomb (Aus)
13/11, 11/6, 8/11, 10/12,
11/7 (76m)
HIT, HIT, AND HIT AGAIN
Looking at Aaron and Ali playing today, Malcolm Willstrop's
assessment about young hopefuls John White and David Palmer’s
game came to my mind: “you won’t be able to get through the
other side, stop hitting that hard!!!!”
Boy those two punished that wall tonight! They have a bit the
same kind of game. Hard hitting, very fit boys, lots of running,
and a few nice short shots as well.
Aaron did pretty well to come back from 2/0 down to force a
decider, but at 7/5 in the fifth, he maybe went a bit negative,
sort of waiting for the mistake to come from his opponent
instead of really try and win the rallies. And to be fair, Ali
played extremely well when it mattered…
 This
is my best win ever!!!!
Today, I was able to keep up the pace, but at the end of the
second, I started to panic because I thought, no, I can’t beat a
world number 40! So in the fifth, both my brother and my coach
told me to speed up the pace again.
And it worked! I hit the ball as hard as I could, it helped me
to get the stress out. At 7/5, I thought I’d lost the match, so
I just let go of my shots, hit the shots, to try and get some
confidence, volleyed a bit more, and went for winners…
Let’s hope I can do the same tomorrow!
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