Camille 2/0 Omneya
The French girl dominated the
first game, 10/7, only to see Omneya clawing back, only bowing
11/9. The second was close the whole way, the Egyptian lady had
a game ball at 10/9, saved a match ball, but it's a French
victory, 13/11 in 23m...
 Camille
Serme
"I have played the World Series Finals before but it has been a
while since so it felt a little strange and quicker than normal
– especially against Omneya because she plays such short
rallies.
“It wasn't an easy win at all so I'm just really happy to come
away with the victory. There's extra stress as well because you
can't give anything – you have to be 100 per cent from the start.
I told myself to just play as accurate and tight as I could and
not give her any angles of opportunities to attack. Even though
I can reach a lot of balls she can still hit winners from
everywhere and in the end I got a little lucky as she hit the
ball out.
“We're all so close in the rankings and we've all had a lot of
very close battles over the season. I'm playing two more
Egyptians so I know what to expect and I'm going to focus on my
game.”
Cameron 2/1 Omar
The Egyptian came on court heavily bandaged on the left knee.
He seemed a bit slow to start, while Cam was as blastering as
ever in the opening game. Second, dominated by Mosaad, 7/2, but
the Australian started to reassess, and if he lost the 2nd, he
was comfortable the whole game.
 Cameron
Pilley
“I had a practise hit this morning
with Simon [Rösner] and we were both hitting the ball very hard
and I was ready for it to come off the front wall quite quickly
and, playing Mosaad, we hit the ball as hard as each other, so
it was always going to be a hard and fast game.
“I’ve made a little change to the way I hold my racket, believe
it or not, this season and I’ve switched up my training methods.
I needed to do something new, something fresh to give myself a
kick up the bum and it seems to have paid off. I think all of
that together has helped me move around the court a lot more
fluidly this past season.”
Raneem 2-0 Nour
First game extremely close, 5/5, 6/6, 8/8, and Raneem taking
the game on her second game ball, 12/10. Then a superbly paced
second game, Nour up 7/4, but Raneem coming back, 7/7 8/8, two
game balls for Nour, 10/8, but again, Raneem claws back 10/10.
Long story short, Nour will have 4 game balls in all, and Raneem
takes the match on her fourth - on a very lucky bounce at the
back of the court...
Raneem El
Welily
 “I
didn’t think I had it, especially at the end where I had four
match balls and couldn’t finish the match off.
“But I’m happy to be through, there are so many emotions playing
the World Series Finals. There’s zero pressure, but you also
want to do well. You want to win, but you’re actually relaxed,
so you don’t know what to do or how you should feel or act on
court.
“I’m happy with the way I played today. Nour is obviously
playing well. I’m pretty sure she has been very busy lately in
Egypt with the media, the exams and everything, so full credit
to her for how well she played today with everything going
around her.
“It’s my first time in Dubai, it’s been great so far, and it’s a
great court and a great venue.”
Grégory 2/0 Simon
 Grégory
Gaultier
“It is warm out there and you expect to struggle to breath but I
am fit and in good shape so I didn’t struggle with the
conditions physically.
“But the conditions make the court bouncy and makes the rallies
longer so you have to be careful not to be too aggressive or try
and finish it off too quick – there’s a balance between patience
and aggressive.
‘I was playing well and in the first especially I felt good. He
was pumped up in the second and I was maybe a little passive.
Playing best of three is tough because it’s hard to take your
opponent into a really tough physical battle so I was happy to
be able to push through and take the match in two games and
enjoy the afternoon now.”
Laura 2/0 Nouran
 Laura
Massaro
“If it wasn't for Nour El Sherbini, Gohar would be breaking
records all over the place – to be that mature at that age is
really special.
“I was breathing a sigh of relief when she hit the out line
during the closing stages of the second game. She's so lethal if
you give her too much space but we've played each other a lot
over the past year so I know her game quite well and was able to
read her a little better because of that.
“I came here on holiday when I took a break from squash a few
months ago, and I love it here. As a squash player, your life
revolves around training and food and, if I'm on holiday, the
only thing I'm bothered about is the food, so it's brilliant to
come here and experience everything in Dubai. It's great.”
Mohamed 2/0 Mathieu
Not much to say about that match, with a Pharaoh on a mission,
and a Mathieu on one leg (an injury sustained during the last
European Teams a few days ago) who did his best to entertain the
crowds in the second, but there was always be only one winner.
 Mohamed
Elshorbagy
“Playing the shorter, best of three format is definitely good
for me.
“The end of the season has been very tough – playing, winning
and then trying to re-focus and go straight back into training
after a few days of enjoying lifting a trophy is tough. It's not
easy to recover mentally after each match and tournament.
“But the best of three completely changes the whole dynamic of
the game. You have to constantly adapt – I changed my whole
training just for the this tournament. If you lose focus a few
points can slip and then all of a sudden you are a game away
from losing a match – you have to be on your toes from the very
first points.
“I was just trying to play the best I can today because the
biggest challenge to me in this tournament is pushing past the
tiredness in my body and I'm really pleased to be playing here
in Dubai because it is such an amazing city.”
Nicol 2/0 Amanda
 Nicol David
“This is my first time playing in Dubai and it’s just
spectacular to be competing here in front of the Burj Khalifa.
All the players are really excited to be here and it just spurs
us on to play even better squash.
“Amanda played some very good shots today and I let her in at
times and she took it on when she had an opportunity. But I just
stuck to my guns and managed to get the win in the end.
“The best of three format really does mean you to be on your
game from the very first point and I think because of that
everyone is upping their level – and it’s great for the crowd as
well to see that intensity. You don’t want to let anyone in
confidence-wise and I was very happy to win 2-0 in the end.
“I had to keep my head firm on the ground through the match
because this format just makes you sharper.
“It’s tremendous that the event is back on the calendar. The
girls are all really happy to be part of event with the men and
to showcase the sport – how tough it is – and bring it to a new
audience and show them what squash is all bout is great for us
all.
“I’m excited to play Laura tomorrow in the WSF again. It’s good
to be here in Dubai and I think we’ll both bring our best games
and push each other again.” |
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