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 PetroSport
EN BREF 5th Edition
Everything you never knew you needed to know about the Sky
PetroSport Open ... |
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INTO THE FUTURE…
 Within
two years, this place will become one of the nicest place to be in
the world, a seven stars resort, with an hotel with 200 rooms,
several restaurants of course, billiard rooms, we already have a
football ground with four grounds, one being used for official
matches, several gyms, training grounds, pools, well, lagoons more
like, gardens of all sorts....
The building that will proposed the restaurants, six to be precise,
is around 35.000m2 I'm told, and will be decorated & designed by
Noman, one of the most famous architect in Egypt.
When I mention that it made me think about the South of France as a
feel, the gentleman who was showing me the resort had a little smile
"That's exactly what Noman said, he is getting inspiration from that
part of the world..."
Well, spot on!
I didn't realise it, but we actually on the highest point of Cairo -
we are in New Cairo, around 20km from the Centre, which obviously
makes the scenery pretty special here.
Already I can see the dramatic changes from last year, so I can
imagine what it will be next year - the restaurant building with the
gym facilities will be finished by then, and the following year, the
hotel should be finished.
Inshallah I may come and show you the evolution for the coming
years..... |
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CLINGING TO IT…
When you drive around New Cairo, you cannot not notice hundreds
and hundreds of non finished houses, buildings, appartements
of all sorts.
I had the explanation given to me yesterday.
Years ago, the grounds around here were not worth much, and were
given away. Now, like everywhere else, prices have gone up
tremendously.
There is a law apparently in Egypt that says that if you do not
use a land that has been given to you by the State, it can be
taken away from you and redistributed to someone else.
So the owners took all the money they could put their hands on,
and build, build, till the money run out, buying themselves some
time I guess....
Which explains why you drive for miles among unfinished houses,
with nobody working on them... |
PetroSport
EN BREF 4th Edition
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PetroSport Open ... |
M. & Mrs Shabana |
Starts
young |
Shorbagy's worried parents |
FAMILY PRESSURE…
It’s when I see “my” players with their parents that I realise how
young, how fragile, how insecure they really are.
 Suddenly,
they are like kids again. For Ramy, it was only the
second time his dad saw him play.
The first time was when he came to New York, I remember how all over
the place the young man was then already. And what about Wael
tonight, performing not only in front of his brother, but for the
first time ever, in front of his dad... Talk about pressure...
And the outcome can be positive, like for Wael last year here, who
took the title, or frankly a disaster, like for Shabana, who has won
everything on the surface of the globe, and not just once, but who
still has yet to win a tournament at home… |
ON, OFF, ON…
You may remember that we did have a few problems with the glass
court flooring when we were able to use it on the second round.
After Karim and Reda played on it, one of the floor boards didn’t
behave the way it should have had and the next three matches
were played on a traditional court.
The next day, although the floor had been fixed, all the quarter
finalists went and practiced/tested the glass court, and the
consensus was that it was still not up to scratch.
The Sky Team worked all day to make it right, and at the end of
the quarters, it was announced that we would be able to play the
semis and the final on it, much to the relief of all here –
probably except Ali Walker, who thinks that the traditional
court suits him fine, thank you very much!
It will be really nice to actually see the Champions in action
out there, I still didn’t manage to catch a glimpse of it… |
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STILL MATES...
 When
I tell you in my reports that this player is very friendly with
that one, you may think, yeah, course he is.
I can prove it.
Look at Mathieu Benoît, physio to Greg Gaultier, who came
especially from France to look after our champion. Well, right
after the Greg/Wael match, the Egyptian was not feeling right, and
was suffering from his foot.
Mathieu straight away had a look, saw what the problem was -
ligament inflammation - and started treating him right away,
while Wael and Greg were chatting about the match.
"Yeah, you
gave me a hard time at that point". What about when you threw me
out on the wall there?". "But that was after you kicked me there"...
"Yeah, you're right, oh well, that's just the game ain't it"...
You may think that I'm pushing it here, but I'm not. That was
the essence of the conversation less than two minutes after the
end of the match.
Good friends? Oh yes... |
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PetroSport Open ... |
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IT’S ALL HAPPENING…
You may have noticed that we didn’t play on the glass court in the
first round – where we announced three matches to be played on
there, and that on the second day, only one match was played on it.
It’s a bit complicated really. First day, we couldn’t play because
this is a holiday period here, and the white balls, compulsory to
play on a glass court, didn’t arrive in time in the country.
Well
they did arrive, but where stuck somewhere in a depot within the
Cairo area. Thank God Lee Beachill, PSA COO arrived with a few dozen
in his luggage, which allowed us to play on the second day.
Trouble is then, the court was a bit slippery, no problem with that,
Lee, along with Robert, saved the day. But then, one of the floor boards went a
bit wrong, and play couldn’t go on for the second match.
Back we were on the traditional court.
But no worries, people, the flooring has now been fixed, and we are
due to be back on the glass court tonight from six ... |
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Name
it... |
Paul
Selby helping out... |
New look for
David |
COLOURING IT…
 There is an aspect of the game I never really paid attention to, the
differentiation between players on court. I know most of them, and I
can always ask around if I don’t, there is always somebody to help.
But what happens if you are Jo Bloke who is watching a match, and
don’t know zip about squash? How do you recognise the players? I
know that WISPA has imposed the girls to have their name on their
tops for their top events, and that’s an excellent initiative.
Let me tell you a little story. In Paris last year, I invited the
Director of Versailles Theatre, who thought of having the glass
court within his walls. He doesn’t know squat about squash, or
sports in general, ok? He watches Greg play Borja, and when the
match is finished, I go and ask him what he thought about the match.
“What a show, he says, pretty spectacular. One thing I didn’t
understand though, is did they replace one of the players during
play?...”
I scratched my head on that one at first. Then I understood. Change
of shirt. Greg changed his shirt, and went for a complete different
look, that threw my friend completely. That’s how important
shirts/gear is to the spectator.
Back to Cairo. Look at Karim/Reda during the opening match on the
glass court. No explanation needed really, is there….
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NO WAY ADRIAN…
 I guess the ONLY really nice moment – no, not really, but you see
what I mean – of the ALI/ADRIAN match yesterday was at the end.
Poor Adrian was struggling badly with cramps, one in his shoulder,
one on his calf. All that at the end of the fifth, and just before
match ball – may I remind you there were 7 lets on that one, and it
was obvious he was in a lot of pain, walking between games like a
duck, really, no other way to describe it.
 As Ali is about to serve, Adrian looks at him and says “You know
what’s happening, don’t you. You KNOW I’ve got cramps don’t you???!”
“Yes, I know, but what do you want me to do about it???”
“I don’t know, a massage would be nice….”
“I’M NOT A MASSAGE THERAPIST” fused out of Ali’s mouth….
And the fun went on… |
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 RAMY
FOR SALE ???
Look at that brand new Tshirt the
world champion is wearing. Nice, isn’t it? Well, this is the
first ever that Ramy is buying.
“Can you believe it? All those years, I never paid for sport
clothes, and now, I actually bought this shirt!!!!!”
Come on, people, surely there is somebody out there that would
like his brand on those gorgeous shoulders???? |
DAVID IN CAIRO…
 Oh
boy. You cannot ignore how my mate David Barry,
SquashSite and PSA’s official photographer – in that order, sue
me – is a real “rules must be applied” man. You may remember how
worried he was not to find security belts in a bus in Kuwait
last year, and I thought at the time, I hope he never comes to
Cairo.
Well here he is….
“They don’t have speed limits here, don they”…. And you should
have seen him as our driver dared going to a blasting 60 miles
an hour in a zone that was clearly mark at 40. “Those figures in
a round circle don’t mean anything here, do they!!!!” we heard a
deep voice say at the back of the car…
But his best line so far will stay in my mind for a while. Here
I am about to sit at my desk, and under my rear end, I feel
something rather surprising. I look, and see that I had actually
put my camera on my seat.
"Well, that's something that's not about to work again!" he
drops.
Charming, really, si si, j'insiste, charming....
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Great Hat, David... |
REFEREEING
YOUR PEERS…
Never easy to do it, ain’t it.
The players prefers to be refereed by their colleagues, of course, trouble
is, they don’t like doing it for most of them!
But in this particular event, there are, like I told you, only
two official refs, Nasser and Mike. So, all the players
from the main draw have been asked to participate.
It’s never easy to do so in a major tournament, but we do not
have any other choices under the circumstances….
So, thanks to all the players who have been helping their mates
to play in good conditions… |
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PetroSport
EN BREF 1st Edition
Everything you never knew you needed to know about the Sky
PetroSport Open ... |
BACK TO SKY…
I just love Cairo. I know I’m not the only one, as 20 million people
live in it. There is something here, in the atmosphere, the energy,
the warmth, the originality that emanates from those streets is
palpable. And the light here, even I can make acceptable photos
here, that tells you how great the light is!!!!
Again, we were welcomed at the airport, escorted through the
customs, and whizzed through in minutes what normally can take up to
an hour. A lovely car was waiting for us, at the Meridien Heliopolis
Hotel, again, we didn’t have to wait, our rooms were ready on
arrival…
It may seem trivial to you, you may think yeah, so what? Well,
people, it just makes a huge difference when you come and work, when
you spend your life travelling hours and hours, being treated like a
Useful Human Being and not a Second Class Citizen allows you to get
to work quicker, and to produce a better performance, whether
player, media, or referee.
And what a pleasure to meet the people I came to work with and
appreciate last year…. In the press/tournament office, Adorable Ahmed,
IT Wizard Onsy, Hard Working Amgad (assistant to
Robert) who do not know
what to do to make my life easier, from finding a higher chair for
my table to get me drinks during the day despite Ramadan, not
forgetting a stunning connection that hasn’t gone down once since we
arrived. People who know the region will appreciate that detail…
At the hotel, are based Hassan Kheir, PR, who again helps her
to make our stay more pleasant, and Tarek Mouneer.
Example, by allocating us a car, we
can travel at the good time, in good conditions (the venue is about
30m to 1h30 away, depending on the time of day), and arrive quickly
to our destination. Tarek Mouneer makes sure that we always
have a car available, even between 5.30pm and 7.30pm, when people
are breaking fast.
Another example. Because of Ramadan, most of the people are living
during the night, hence, logically making a lot of noise in the
corridors. So Hassan made sure that I was changed to a room that was
a bit remote, and quieter. Attention to details. Sleeping better,
means working better, means, serving the tournament better.
Simple, but soooo efficient. |
HILLY
 It
was good to see Anthony Hill looking good, although it was the first
time for a month he was up so early – around 9am – as he was
fasting. He is working in this huge complex that is Sky, and was
here to make sure that everything was up to scratch with the courts
and all.
It was a bit of a rush as ever, the courts were nearly ready as we
started play, and we were really happy to have the second glass
backwall with seating reinstated around 3pm, allowing us to finish
the day quicker and in excellent condition, with a new flooring with
court 3 that is, according to the players who tried it, excellent.
For our readers who are wondering about Hilly’s son, he is now
completely out of danger, and he is now standing up and going
stronger by the day. He may require an operation when he is 4 – he
is now 2 and a half – but that surgery will be without consequence
else than allowing to grow up with no memory of what happened when
he was a baby.
That is excellent news indeed… |
AIR CON…
One of the things I remember from last year was constantly changing
from Air con office/press room to an open corridor/glass backwall
courts, then to two air con glassback courts.
Well this year, no problem anymore.
The corridor has been “glassed out” and all the courts are now fresh
and good to use.
That makes a big difference…
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The Workers....
 
The
Results on the Wall
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SKY BY NIGHT...
Hady Samir Fahmy, Chairman of the Championship Higher Committee,
along with the new Egyptian Federation President, were kind
enough to invite us on the last night of the qualifications to a
nice party under the stars.
Actually, it was organised where the glasscourt was erected last
year - the court has now moved to have a full view of Cairo in
the background...
The technical staff I told you earlier had organised for us a
little "wall presentation" that allowed us to do the draw live,
and to see immediately who was playing who, which was really an
excellent idea.
 One
little detail that I particularly appreciated was the great
effort put into imaginative non non alcoholic drinks! I know we
are in a muslim country, but still, they went to a lot of
trouble to offer us different real fruit juices, mixes of all
sorts, milk shakes, etc.
And for a Ttotal like me, that was a pleasant surprise... |
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