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TODAY in Cairo ... Fri 18th, Day TWO
Framboise reports from Cairo, Steve from Whitley Bay, UK |
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Eight go through ...
With so many Egyptians in yesterday's qualifying draw it was no
surprise that the hosts had the strongest representation in
today's qualifying finals. In the end though it was only Ali
Anwar Reda and Omar Abdel Aziz who made it through.
Other notable winners were Mark Krajcsak, prevailing in a
93-minute marathon over Gilly Lane, and Renan Lavigne, the
French captain beating his former team-mate Stephane Galifi
in three tough games.
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Qualifying Finals:
Jonathan Kemp (Eng) bt Nicolas Mueller (Sui)
8/11, 11/7, 11/8, 11/6 (42m) v Ashour
Ali Anwar Reda (Egy) bt Steve Coppinger (Rsa) 11/6,
3/11, 15/13, 11/9 (62m) v Boswell
Mark Krajcsak (Hun) bt Gilly Lane (Usa)
11/6, 10/12, 7/11, 11/6, 11/6 (93m) v
Iskandar
Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy) bt Robbie Temple (Eng)
11/9, 11/5, 11/7 (51m) v El Hindi
Campbell Grayson (Nzl) bt Ali Farag (Egy) 11/6, 8/11,
11/6, 3/11, 13/11 (66m) v Grant
Renan Lavigne (Fra) bt Stéphane Galifi (Ita)
11/7, 12/10, 11/7 (31m) v Shabana
Tom Richards (Eng) bt Omar Abdel Meguid (Egy)
11/4, 11/9, 2/11, 11/8 (60m) v Walker
Saurav Ghosal (Ind) bt Julien Balbo (Fra)
11/3, 11/0, 6/11, 11/9 (43m) v Anjema |
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Jonathan Kemp (Eng) bt Nicolas Mueller (Sui)
8/11, 11/7, 11/8, 11/6
(42m)
SAME DIFFERENCE
Those two have the same game really. They are tall, they
therefore volley rather a lot, they luvvvve hitting hard and
close to the tin, they play at a very fast pace, use the lob a
lot, and find some great hard short shots that die at the front.
They also love their tins, don’t they…
In the first game, Nicolas played very well, fast paced
and all, and Kempy went a bit in the Unforced Errors at
Will territory. But the Englishman changed his game and
controlled the match from then on.
The fact that Nicolas never really believed he was good enough
to beat his opponent didn’t help… Too much respect, Nicolas…
But a fast, intense and extremely fair match…
 "In
the first, the ball was a flyer, and he played a better game.
"Then I changed my game, got a better quality length, and played
tighter, also managed to stay in front of him most of the time….
"It was a tough match, he is a good player, he is still young
and he’ll be really good I think."
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"He is a very fast paced player, and if I played well in the
first, I struggled in the second and third, as he played much
tighter.
"I also played too many unforced errors to beat those guys, but
I’m happy to get a game out of him, especially with the form he
is at at the moment.
"I really would like to thank Wael who’s been welcoming me in
his home all this week. He and his family have done everything
they could to make me feel welcome and comfortable…
"Good luck to Jonathan, if he gets a good draw, I’m sure he can
do well in this tournament."
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"For a few weeks now, I had a bad flu, and I’m been struggling
to breathe, and had to stay in bed for a week. Since that, I’m
really having a hard time trying to get back to normal, and this
is my first event “injury free”, and that’s a great relief.
 "Robbie
is such a good player! With that two hander, he is amazing, he
is so hard to read, so I tried to play everything on the
forehand…
"I feel today – like yesterday, I was just trying to get my
confidence back, not really trying to win, even yesterday
against that youngster. So I’m happy I played better today, my
volley was better, and I got my breathing and my rhythm back."
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Ali Anwar Reda (Egy) bt Steve Coppinger (Rsa)
11/6, 3/11, 15/13, 11/9
(62m)
Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy) bt Robbie Temple (Eng)
11/9, 11/5, 11/7
(51m)
REDA AND AZIZ THROUGH
One thing is sure, the Egyptians play 20 times more intensely
when at home. Especially the young ones, the “dark horses”.
For them, the support of their friends and family, the pride to
play at home gives them wings. And that was the case for Reda,
who made us feel his life depended on the win, and Aziz,
who ALWAYS makes us feel like his life depends on the win…
On the court, we had first Steve Coppinger v Ali Reda – for
short! – playing an intense, long rallies game. So many lets on
that game, they seemed to always be in each other way,
especially coming in and out of the left wall, a situation that
did create a bit of tension between the two.
At 2/2, it was everybody’s game really, but Steve put more
pressure on himself by picking the pace up, and when it worked,
it was fine. But unfortunately, it made him play a much higher
percentage game, hence more errors, that eventually cost him the
match…
I know I’m right on that one, he told me that himself!
 As
for my Omar Abdel Aziz, with the support of his friends and
especially his girlfriend Miriam, he played the best I’ve
seen him play for a long time.
Still completely an atypical player, doesn’t play like anybody
else, doesn’t even play like an Egyptian either, he moves as if
he doesn’t have hips or knees, and still manages to be quickly
on the ball.
I didn’t see the first game, but when I arrived, I had the
feeling that Robbie was not at his best movement wise. As
he was a bit late on the ball, he made a few too many unforced
errors, and as he was also frustrated by a few calls that he
didn’t agree with at all – although he didn’t complain much –
maybe his concentration was not at his best.
Still, after losing the second game, Robbie was not as intense
as in the first two games, and it’s quite rightly that the
Egyptian wins his qualification for the main draw…
"My body is still
not 100%, I was a bit slow to move. Yesterday, I felt fine, but
today, really slow. Maybe it’s just nerves, because last time I
was in Egypt, I played him, and really it was the same thing…"
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Mark Krajcsak (Hun) bt Gilly Lane (Usa)
11/6, 10/12, 7/11, 11/6, 11/6 (93m)
"I won the first game very easily, I was leading the whole game,
same in the second, 7/3 then 8/4. But then I think I maybe
switched off, I kept on opening the court by playing too short.
"I have to say I didn’t believe he could win the third, he
surprised me. In that game, I was playing fast, but I was not
controlling the shots. So, in the fourth, I slowed down the
pace, to try and tire him both mentally and physically. And from
that point on, he couldn’t speed up the pace because we were
playing 20, 30 shots, so he didn’t have the confidence to go for
winners..
"I’m happy I stuck to my game plan, as in not to take the
opportunity to try and finish it early even if I could have, I
lost so many matches I should have won, just like that, by
changing my game…"
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 "Gilly
played a bit too safe today, he was a bit waiting for his
opponent to make the error. He was very positive at the start of
each game, but became a bit too negative as the game went along.
"Also, far too many unforced errors, he could have attacked
more, but there, he was going a bit for silly winners, too close
to the tin.
"Still, a close and tight game, he played well throughout…"
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Renan Lavigne (Fra) bt Stéphane Galifi (Ita)
11/7, 12/10, 11/7 (31m)
Renan wins French feud
Always strange to watch two Frenchmen play against each other,
especially two from the same generation, who have a long history
behind them, ups and downs, with a lot at stake… Not only a
qualification for a big tournament, but also something of a
“French” supremacy, although Galif is now Italian…
Close, intense, but in a strange way. At times, you could have
thought they were playing a routine training, as they seemed so
detached from it all, and suddenly, two of three rallies where
they nearly tore the wooden floor to throw the logs at each
other – it’s an image, of course, but you see the drill,
suddenly, rushing like lunatics, and saving stunning “winners”…
Renan made the running, as ever, and Galifi barely moved.
Problem is, with Renan, it’s coming back 99.9 of the time, and
that must be 1. Frustrating like hell – the court was warm – and
2. Very tiring mentally, not to mention physically.
And that put Galif under a lot of pressure, and made him find
the tin, far too many times. Add to that a few “silly” unforced
errors of his own, and you have the match. You can picture it.
Renan running the four corners, very long rallies, with Galif
ending in the tin.
Renan was really very very happy to qualify, not only to win,
but to win in three, keeping a few bits of fuel in the tank for
tomorrow…
 "I’m
trying to forget it’s Stéphane, who I’ve been knowing inside out
for so many years, so I’m trying to blank my mind out.
"He was the qualifier everybody was dreading, because he is not
at his correct ranking, and of course, I’m the one who pulls the
short straw…
"I think I was able to make him going out of his comfort zone,
and that way, open the match a bit for me, although the first
two games were very close indeed.
"I was determined to win, thanks to Paul Sciberras [Thierry’s
coach] motivation speech just before the match, he really knows
how to find the correct words to motivate you.
"We know each other’s game so well, all the French we’ve been
playing each other for what, 20, 25 years, it’s so hard to
surprise ourselves. So we are trying to change the routine, to
find new tricks, but we fall quickly back to our old ones…"
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Campbell Grayson (Nzl) bt Ali Farag (Egy)
11/6, 8/11, 11/6, 3/11, 13/11 (66m)
"Ali is such a
gutsy player!!! And for a 17 year old, I find extremely mature
mentally…
"I’ve been training very hard back in NZ with Anthony Ricketts,
he shows a lot of faith in me, he inspires me, both by the way
he plays and the way he coaches. And it’s only because of the
work I’ve been doing with him and my physical coach that I was
able to get through tonight.
"Still, I’m disappointed with the way I played, I started well,
then at the end of the second, I made too many unforced errors,
and let him back in the match. He played well, he chopped me in
the fourth, he is so talented, and I predict him a great future…
"In the fifth, I went back to basics, trying to play up and down
the wall, but it was not working, he was letting me do all the
running, so I changed my game, and decided to be more positive.
I went for shots, and went for gutsy. It worked…
"But I need to be better tomorrow…"
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 "I’ve been pretty
poorly last week, and honestly in the first and second game, I
was having no feeling of the ball, couldn’t do anything with the
ball, wondering what I was doing here!!!
"He is so hard to play, he is fast, quick to the front, and
picks up a lot of things, in any case! And you find yourself
running for taxis, and scoring 3 points in two games…
"I tried to come back in the third, be more positive, but in the
4th, he tightened it at 8/4. Shame I couldn’t take that one,
that was a good 5 setter to play…"
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Saurav Ghosal (Ind) bt Julien Balbo (Fra)
11/3, 11/0,
6/11, 11/9 (43m)
SAURAV ON FORM…
When I arrived, late as ever at the start of the third, I had to
wonder what happened for Julien to be two love down. He was
hitting the ball beautifully, finding some exquisite volley
drops or kills, and was all over poor Saurav that really didn’t
know where to run anymore.
But at 8/4 in the fourth, I understood… Julien’s pace was
slightly off, Saurav found the same great volley drop shots or
kills, found his length, and dictated the rallies from the T,
leaving Julien to do the running and to find the tin…
Saurav was once again impressive tonight, like yesterday, he
never lost his head, kept the eye on the ball, literally, and
will be happy with a victory in four. He’ll need energy
tomorrow…
"I played well in
the first two games, I never gave him a chance to get to the T,
but in the third, I tried to go for the easy route, and he gave
it a big push, while I went for too short.
"In the fourth, I was down 8/4, so I stepped up to the T, doing
more stuff with the ball, and got it back. We’ve played three
times recently, and the third and fourth was the best he played
against me.
"I’m glad I took the fourth, it was getting tough…"
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Tom Richards (Eng) bt Omar Abdel Meguid (Egy)
11/4, 11/9, 2/11, 11/8 (60m)
NOT IMPRESSED…
For the last match of the day, we were not to have the best game
of squash in history, to say the least. You know me, I’m not
exactly one to criticise easily, and it takes a lot for
negativism to pass through the filter of my keyboard.
But I cannot sugarcoat this report. This match was not good
squash. Meguid, an Egyptian from the same generation as adorable
Tarek Momen, as in 21 years old, thought it would help his game
to include his rear end in the execution of a few shots. As in,
his butt was too often in Richards’ way to be a good game of
squash, especially in the last game.
I do understand the pressure those young and gifted Egyptian
players are under here. They have very few tournaments, maybe
they play at that kind of level only once a year, and they want
to do well.
Actually, they are desperate to do well. But if that match had
been videoed, I’m sure that he himself wouldn’t have like what
he would have seen. I’m sure this was a one off, born from
pressure, desperation to win, and the opportunity of a lifetime
to get into the main draw of a major.
His coach, all credit to him, told Omar off immediately as he
lost the match and got off court, sending the right signal to
all. Egyptian players have far too much talented, even genius,
to have to be using such silly weapons…
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