It
was a double Egyptian delight as second seeds Mohamed Abouelghar and
Nouran Gohar took top honours at the rain interrupted finals of the
Macau Squash Open 2017. After a few days of good weather with the
occasional showers in the morning, the skies decided open up this
afternoon. It stopped just in time for the women’s final to start but
halfway through the first game, it came back with a vengeance and there
was no other way but to move play back to the squash centre across the
peninsula.
The
women started with a high tempo, both players eager to be in front and
taking the ball as early as possible. It was a joy watching them move
with such grace. The first couple of points were close, with both taking
turns to lead up to 3-3. Joelle then had a lucky bounce on her serve to
budge ahead that was followed by a nick. She got another two points to
7-4. The rain came pouring during the next rally and Joelle slipped
while hitting a shot on the front right corner, and water was coming
down the covers at the right back corner. A quick call was made to move
play back to the squash centre, and it wasn’t a good 45 minutes before
play resumed.
Once back at the squash centre, it seemed that Nouran had adapted
quicker and she quickly drew level to 7-7 with her power play. But
Joelle got to game ball at 10-8 with a low backhand cross court. Nouran
saves a game ball and in the next rally, her racket catches Joelle
during the swing, but was only given a let, much to her disgust. But
that seemed to have fired her up as she turned up the pace from there
and took the crucial first game 13-11.
The second game saw both players continue displaying their moments of
brilliances, Joelle with her occasional holds and soft cross court
backhands that worked effectively and Nouran with her power play, and
the rare soft touches in the front. It was close up to 7-7, before
Nouran raced the next four points for a two-game lead, with the last
point being another complete blunder by the referee, where a clear
stroke became a no let against Joelle.
Both players traded points once again in the third, no one ever taking
more than a two-point lead. Again, Joelle had a game ball at 10-9 but
was just unable to convert again. Nouran levelled, won the next two
points and the two ladies embraced. Joelle King has been dethroned by
the world number 5.
“I think I’ve had five gold events where I’ve been runner up. To win
today, it’s a big thing for me. Not so much beating Joelle, but it’s
like a victory against myself. I was a little nervous when play was
stopped earlier. It’s not something I am used to dealing with. It nearly
happened in China also, but today, play actually moved back. Joelle was
leading then and that affected me in a positive way. I’m really happy
with the way I stayed focussed mentally tonight.”
When
asked what she was looking forward to after a good start to the season,
Nouran was quick to add, “I started really well last year too. But I
wasn’t able to sustain the performance, so I hope to be consistent this
year. I do not want to think about the ranking and just play well, the
rest will come automatically.”
In the men’s, second seed Mohamed Abouelghar played flawlessly and
displayed the crowd at the squash centre with an array of shot making
attempts that drew lots of oohhs and aahhs from the appreciative
audience. The level of control he exerted onto Saurav Ghosal made things
look easy. There was only once that the Indian led, that was the first
point of the first game, and he would never lead again.
From the word go, the Egyptian was in his element. After dropping the
opening point, he
raced
through the next eleven points in succession for the lead. He followed
this up with the next six points in the second game. Saurav won his
first point with a cross court backhand from the front, which drew a
loud applause from the crowd. Next, a tin from the Egyptian and Saurav
doubled up his points. But after that, it was back to Mohamed
controlling the T and sending Saurav all over the court. In a befitting
end to the game, Mohamed leapt high into air for a soft forehand volley
drop that ended so delicately in the front.
In the third, things were no different. Mohamed always in control and
glimpses of his brilliance in shot making were at 9-3, where he hit a
counter cross court drop into the nick and what better way to end the
match than with a cross court nick off the serve. 29 minutes was all it
took for Mohamed Abouelghar to win his second $50k event.
Indian
number one Saurav Ghosal put on his A-game tonight to turn the tables on
top seed Simon Rosner in the semi-final of the Macau Squash Open.
Playing in the opening match on the all-glass court erected on Amidaze
Square, Saurav and Simon dazzled the early evening crowd with squash of
the highest level.
The opening point of the evening ended up in a let. This was followed by
numerous rallies with both players trying to get a feel of the court,
playing cautiously and the points were never apart, up till 3-3. Saurav
then launched himself forward from thereon, using the lobs and drops to
full effect, to take the opener 11-5.
The tides were reversed in the next as Simon returned the favour,
launching forward from 3-3 also and finishing in a similar score. Saurav
wins the third 11-7 and all looked lost for Simon in the fourth. He was
behind 3-4 and later 4-7 and 6-9. He looked tired and wasn’t running as
freely as he usually did.
But a second surge of energy seem to have come and the German levelled
to 9-9, then a game ball at 9-10 to force a tie break, but not before
requesting for a change of shoes and socks, which were drenched by now.
He saves another game ball at 10-11, before reaching his first at 12-11,
at which he requested for his opponent to change his shoes and socks, as
it was getting the court all wet, which Saurav duly complied. He
returns, but loses the next point to lose the game.
In the decider, the rallies were competitive and close, up to 3-3. From
here onwards, Simon once again looked worn and was struggling
physically. Saurav sensed that and went a gear up, racing to 9-3 and
wrapping up 11-4 for a place in the final tomorrow.
“It was a tough physical match. It was great, Simon played really well
despite the heat. I would’ve loved to have won in four but Simon came
back strongly to force the fifth. I’m not going to be beating Simon
outhitting him - he’s a big guy. I just had to do what I do well – I
have a good touch in the front and I used the height well. Hopefully I
recover well and play even better than I did today, so the crowd will
have a better match to watch,” said Saurav when interview by local
player Rachel Wong after the match.
In
the second semi-final of the evening, second seed Mohamed Abouelghar won
convincingly against Omar Abdel Meguid who was clearly struggling with
the court conditions throughout most of the match. After a 76-minute
opening match, the blistering pace and length of the rallies in the
first game of this match was a huge contrast. The rallies were short,
with both players going for winners at every opportunity. It was a close
opener, with Mohamed converting his second game ball for the lead.
After the break, it looked like a different Omar had come into court as
he employed a highly impatient game, often going for winners and at
times assuming they would be as he did chase the return of the shots. It
was a first telling sign he was struggling. He fell behind 1-6, caught
up to 3-6 and then lost the next 5 points in quick succession. 11-3 to
Mohamed and a 2-0 lead.
In the third, it was pretty evident Omar was not able to play as freely
as he would like to given the conditions. At 2-3, he sat down for a
moment, took a few deep breaths, before playing on. He was able to match
Mohamed up to 5-5. Mohamed then broke away to 9-5.
In the next rally, Mohamed’s shot went into the tin, and his racket
clips the calf of Omar, resulting in an injury break. Omar came back on,
won another two points but it just wasn’t his day as Mohamed would wrap
up affairs after 33 minutes.
“We train together day in and day out. We knew exactly what to expect
tonight. It’s a matter of who adapted first and I am glad tonight, I
did. I knew he had an issue with the humidity so if I lengthened the
rallies, I knew I’d have an advantage.”
“I’ve played Saurav before. He chopped me the last time, so this time, I
hope to turn things around. It’s going to be a good match because he’s
such a fair player. I’m looking forward,” Mohamed said when asked about
the final against Saurav.
In
the women’s matches, both the seeded players advanced tonight. Joelle
King, the defending champion, halted the dream run of Egyptian Yathreb
Adel, who had played through the qualifiers and took out the top seed en
route to tonight’s last four.
Joelle was ruthless tonight. She kept the pace high throughout and
forced the Egyptian so far back off the T. It was nearly flawless squash
from the Kiwi in the first game, forcing the Egyptian to play winners
from unideal situations which as many as five or more ended in the tin
in the first game. Joelle raced ahead from 5-4 onwards to win six
consecutive points for the lead.
In the second, Joelle took off from where she left, employing a very
similar game plan of staying in front. Yathreb was made to stay even
further back in this game and at times, it looks easy for Joelle.
Yathreb only led once in this game, 1-0 and never again. It got to 3-3,
and Joelle won the next eight points for the lead.
The start of the third was quick, both players attacking at every
opportunity for a quick point. Joelle went ahead 3-1 and the next rally
was a long one, with the Egyptian winning and that seem to have given
her a little confidence as the rallies were very competitive up to 6-6.
Joelle stepped up once again, went into override and overwhelmed Yathreb
and close out 11-6 for her second consecutive final.
Joelle said later, “I didn’t know what to expect really. I’ve never
played her before but like all Egyptians, I knew she had good hands. I
just kept the pressure high and not give her any options. When they get
that, they can hold and whip the ball very well. I just wanted to be in
front all the time.”
Yathreb may have lost today, but she certainly has won herself many
fans. The friendly Egyptian said, “I think the last couple of matches
has finally took its toll on me tonight. My legs felt heavy tonight. All
credit to Joelle, she played much better than I did today. I wanted to
win tonight of course, but overall, I’m happy, it’s been amazing here.
Hopefully there’s more to come, it’s only the start of the season.
I want to take this opportunity thank my coach and brother, Islam
Yathreb, for all the hard work he and I have put in to get me back
here.”
In
the last match of the evening, there was some “local” interest. Annie Au
from neighbouring Hong Kong played Nouran Gohar in a repeat of the 2015
semi-final. It was a contest of contrasting styles – Nouran being one of
the hardest hitters on the tour against Annie, who uses the lob to slow
the pace so effectively. Nouran came out the winner in straight games,
but it was anything but easy.
It was Annie who started better, racing to a 4-0 lead courtesy of some
reckless shots from the Egyptian world number 5. Nouran pulls one back
to 1-4 and then tins the next. Annie comes up with a ridiculous and gets
back her 4-point lead up to 6-2, which shook the Egyptian. Nouran comes
back strongly with some power play, drew level 6-6 and continues
unleashing her power play and wins 11-8.
Annie had her chances in the second game. Having had to come back from
4-7 down, she took five points in a row to lead 9-7, with the last point
being a very generous stroke from the referee. She got to 10-8, but tins
the next point before Nouran unleashes a low kill to force the tie
break. Another low, hard kill and a stroke would give her the 2-game
lead.
In the third, it was Nouran ahead all the way. It was a very quick game
with short rallies. There was never a doubt whose game this was going to
be. 11-7 and Nouran was in the final, and an opportunity to do better
than in 2015, where she lost the final to Laura Massaro.
Nouran was asked how it felt playing to a local crowd who was obviously
supporting Annie, to which she responded, “I love having a good crowd,
even if they’re supporting Annie, because they know good squash. Thanks
for coming,” to which the crowd acknowledged and cheered.
The
dream run of Yathreb Adel continues at the Macau Squash Open. The
Egyptian has just made it into the semi-finals and this would be her
biggest achievement to date. After taking out world number 2 Raneem El
Welily yesterday evening, she won convincingly against Hong Kong’s Joey
Chan today. Her previous achievement was a last eight appearance at the
2014 US Open. At 229, she would be the lowest ever ranked player to make
the semis of this event.
She started off with a bang, racing to a 6-1 lead before Joey settled
and clawed back to 6-6. That seem to have unsettled Yathreb, but she
manages to regroup and come back strongly to win five points in a row,
with the last three from the forehand boasts.
In the second and third, Joey seem to have found her range a lot better
and both games were close throughout. It was unfortunate that at game
ball down in the second, Joey’s strings snapped and her shot went into
the tin. After 30 minutes, it was Yathreb walking out the winner 11,6,
11-8, 11-9.
A beaming Yathreb Adel said, “I can’t be any happier really. I knew it
was going to be difficult as Joey is very skilful. I had to focus and
stay in the lead throughout. There were times I lost a little
concentration. I like to play on momentum and sometimes I get frustrated
after losing a few points. I had to regroup and start all over again. I
hope I’ll be able to play my game tomorrow and hopefully go another step
further.”
New
Zealand’s Joelle King made it to her second consecutive semi-final after
ousting Donna Urquhart. She did not start very well and seemed a little
edgy. She was 9-10 down but saved a game ball before Donna finished off
the game with a backhand drop to win 12-10.
However, she found her rhythm and raced through the second game for the
loss of two points. The third was much closer but Joelle was always in
front, closing it out 11-7. Joelle was once again in her stride in the
fourth and won 11-4, closing out the match in 35 minutes.
“I felt a little nervous out there to be honest. I lost to Donna the
last time we played and she’s been having very good results lately.
We’ve been playing since juniors so we know each other’s game pretty
well. I was a little tensed in the first but I stayed confident and
stepped up the pace after that. Tomorrow I’m playing the giant-killer.
We’ve actually never played before so I’m really looking forward to it.”
Annie
Au would once again play on the last four of the Macau Squash Open after
her opponent Mariam Metwally retired in the third game through a
self-inflicted injury. It was a very contrasting match, with Mariam
being a hard-hitter and trying to take everything early, Annie tried to
float everything and force the Egyptian to the back.
Both the first two games went to the tie-break, and Annie winning both
of them. In the start of the third, Mariam landed awkwardly while
trailing 0-3 and after the 3 minute injury break, she was unable to
continue. A dejected Mariam was inconsolable as her compatriots gathered
around her outside the court.
“I played pretty well the first two games. It’s unfortunate that Mariam
got injured and I had to win this way. I am quite happy overall with the
way I played. I am feeling pretty confident right now and I hope to play
my normal game tomorrow, and not make too many errors,” said Annie.
World
number 5 Nouran Gouhar booked her place in the last four, beating Wales’
Tesni Evans in 23 minutes. The hard hitting Egyptian was in a menacing
mood as she ploughed through the three games ruthlessly. The 2015 losing
finalist will play Annie Au once again in a repeat of the 2015
semi-finals tomorrow.
“I think I played Tesni once last year. She’s a tough player and
different, she’s got good hands. I had to stay focussed from the first
point and I’m pretty happy with my performance. I think I’ll be fresh
for the semis tomorrow. I think I played Annie two years ago in the
semis also and it’s going to be interesting because we both have very
contrasting styles. She loves to slow the pace while I like a very fast
pace.”
In
the men’s, Simon Rosner and Omar Mosaad faced each other in the opening
match. It was a fitting opening game as the crowd was treated to squash
at its highest levels. The pace was ferocious and Omar’s low and hard
shots were working very fine today, especially in the second game
onwards.
Simon started off with a bang, punishing Omar’s cross courts that
weren’t deep enough. He raced to a 6-0 lead before Omar won the first
point, but the deficit was too far for the Egyptian to catch up.
In the next game, Simon continued to play well and got to 10-6 up. It
looked like a quick match was coming up, but suddenly Omar started
hitting everything low and hard which unsettled the German. Omar won six
points in a row to draw level, much to the crowd’s delight.
In the next two games, the rallies continued to be played at a high
level. Simon always edged ahead early in the games and maintained the
lead. It was a match worthy of a championship match and both men
embraced at the end of it for a befitting close to the match.
A relieved Simon said later, “That was intense and edgy. We’ve been
playing each other since we were 10 years old and it’s always been
tough. Omar has had a tough time and he’s on his way back to where he
was, and I am happy for him. I felt good out there, pretty happy with
how I played and my shots were going in. There were some stoppages, but
that’s expected when you have two big guys like us in court.”
After
a tough opener yesterday, Saurav Ghosal found himself in a much better
place today, beating Hong Kong’s Yip Tsz Fung in straight games.
“The score line is better today. I played much better than I did
yesterday and Yip is a good player. He made a good start and somewhere
in the first game, I think around 7-4 onwards, I managed to get my feel
around the court. I felt I was hitting well the whole game and had a lot
more rhythm. I’m happy to be in the semis again and I hope to play
better than today. The most important thing is for me to enjoy playing.
Winning and losing, it’s all part of the game,” Saurav said later in the
post-match interview.
Seventh seed Omar Abdel Meguid shrugged off a slow start to upset 2015
champion and last year’s finalist Max Lee in four games. The lanky
Egyptian looked lost in the first game as he lost a 2-11 game. The
rallies were short and Max was playing effortlessly.
But come the second game, we saw a different player in Omar coming onto
court – a far more patient and organised player. The rallies were well
constructed and he forced Max to play another shot, which worked
brilliantly. He continues to do so in all the next three games and is
awarded with a last four berth.
Omar
Abdel Meguid said, “I’m one of the worst starters on tour but I’m
working on it! I wasn’t mentally prepared to play the long, hard rallies
in the beginning. Once I started doing that in the next game, I was much
more stronger and got a lot more patient. This is my second semis in
Macau and I’ve always done well here, so I look forward to doing one
better tomorrow. Both Mohamed (Abouelghar) and Rafael (Kandra) are my
friends and we know each other’s game well, so we’ll see how it goes
tomorrow. It’ll be all out there.”
In the last match of the evening, Mohamed Aboulghar of Egypt, the second
seed of the event booked his last four place by ousting German qualifier
Raphael Kandra. Both players have a very similar style, loving to hold
their shots to the last minute and cross court drops from the back were
aplenty. But the accuracy and fresher legs of the Egyptian was superior
this evening and it’s evident in the score line and the 22 minutes match
duration.
“I knew Rafael had a tough game yesterday so I was just trying to extend
the rallies as much as possible. We’ve played each other a few times and
it went to five, so I knew what to expect. I’m glad I’m through and I
play another Egyptian tomorrow. Omar and I, we train together, so we
know each other’s game inside out,” said Mohamed Abouelghar, who is
playing in Macau for the second time.
Barring any extreme weather conditions, play for the semis and finals
will be moved to the Amidaze Square in Macau town tomorrow and Sunday.
In
the opening day of the main draw of the Macau Squash Open, top seed and
world number two Raneem El Welily suffered a shock defeat in the hands
of giant killing compatriot Yathreb Adel. Comeback kid Yathreb Adel,
who’s playing in her first event since January 2016, prevailed in a see
saw match that saw both players taking turn to dominate different parts
of the match.
In the first, Raneem had come back from 0-3 down to win 11-4, winning 7
points in a row to close the game. The second saw Yathreb winning the
game 11-7, but from just two run of points. The third was completely
Raneem’s game as she showed her flair and not making a single mistake.
She won 11 points straight from 0-1 down.
In the next two games, the scores were close and both players were never
more than three or four points apart. Yathreb’s patience and resilience
eventually paying off as she scores the biggest upset of the day.
The 21 year old world number 229 was clearly elated with her win, “I
can’t believe it! Since I was injured, it’s been tough and I’m just
very, very happy to be back playing squash. Raneem is one of my role
models and it’s never easy playing her of course. I came here with no
expectations and no pressure at all. Winning this match surely will give
me a lot of confidence and a huge push for myself to go for it in the
next round.”
Defending
champion Joelle King of New Zealand started her defence well with a
straight games win Egyptian Nadine Shahin. The Kiwi was given a tough
start by the hard hitting Egyptian and was 7-10 down in the first. A run
of five straight points saved the game for the Kiwi who now led.
In the second and third, the games were both tight, but it was Joelle
who would nudge slightly ahead and kept the lead till the end.
“I played pretty alright. I don’t get to play these younger Egyptians
often and they’re all very good. I’m glad to have come off 3-0. Nadine
puts in some good shots and puts the pressure on you. I was 3 game balls
down and I’m glad to have won that one. The first game is always
important.”
“I am only the fourth seed here so even though I’m the defending
champion, I’m the underdog here. It’s an all new tournament anyway and I
love coming here. It’s close to New Zealand!” Joelle added when asked
how she felt coming back as the defending champion.
In the all-Aussie showdown, Donna Urquhart took four very friendly games
to take out former world number one Rachael Grinham. The pair, who make
a very formidable doubles pairing, played in a way all referees dream
of. There were no need for difficult calls, no fishing of lets and
whatsoever.
Donna explained later, “Rachael’s my team mate and doubles partner. It’s
a shame we had to play each other so early in the competition. It’s
difficult to be competitive and have that fighting spirit when you play
someone that close sometimes, and today I struggled with it. We’ve
played many of times and it took me a long time to get over the respect
I have for her. I love her game and I have lots of respect for her.”
Things
were not as friendly in the following match as Mariam Metwally took to
court against Mayar Hany. The pair of 20-year old hard hitters fought
tooth and nail in a match that went to the wire. It wasn’t the most
pleasant one to watch as every other rally seem to end up with someone
asking for a let, with more than half of those being denied.
The pair split the first two games, with each one finishing strongly
towards the end to wrap up with a series of points. Mariam took the
third with a strong finish in the end once again and was 10-7 up in the
fourth. She blew all of them off and a tin brought the score level to
10-all. Another tin gave Mayar game ball which she converted the first
time asking. In the decider, Mariam once again finished strongly,
stringing together six straight points from 5-all to earn a place in the
last eight tomorrow.
Tesni Evans of Wales also booked her quarters berth after winning a 3-1
battle against former world number two Jenny Duncalf. After falling to a
two game deficit, with the second being a tie-breaker, Jenny came back
strongly to take the third 11-8. She even played well to stay in the
fourth, but at 8-8., Tesni manages to win three points in a row to seal
the match 11-8.
Seventh seed Joey Chan won the all-Hong Kong battle, beating qualifier
Vanessa Chu in four
games
to progress, while compatriot Annie Au had an easy afternoon against
local wild card Liu Kwai Chi, who was dissatisfied with her performance
today, citing “I had prepared myself to play with Annie, but when she
started to play at a slower pace and put in all her lobs, that threw me
off a little. I feel I could do better, but I’m just not very happy with
myself today.”
In the battle of the world junior champions, Nouran Gohar, the world
number five came out tops after a four game battle against pint-sized
Rowan Elaraby. But it was nothing easy at all as her younger compatriot
played with no evident fear and matched her hard-hitting opponent rally
for rally.
While the pace of Nouran’s shots were a handful to handle, Rowan’s flair
on court and deft touches would inflict the harm to Nouran. Four close
games and a number of tough refereeing decisions later, Nouran was
through in 52 minutes for a last eight berth against Welsh Tesni Evans.
“Rowan has just won the World Juniors and she’s beaming with confidence
now. The girl has no fear right now. She’s also had a few PSA events so
she knows what to expect. It’s good that I had such a tough match to
start off with. Even though Raneem is out, it doesn’t change anything
for me. It just shows how much depth we have in the women’s game these
days. I just have to be aggressive from the start and stay hungry,” said
Nouran Gohar, the second seed of the tournament.
In the men’s, top seed Simon Rosner was in devastating form as he took
out English qualifier Joshua Masters in straight games. The lanky German
was always in front and never allowed Joshua to lead, eventually
wrapping the match in 34 minutes.
The German world number 11 said, “I am happy with the way I played
today. I did well and concentrated all the way. I’m happy to get through
in three. It’s my first trip to Macau, and also first time top seed in a
$50k.”
Omar
Mosaad, the 2013 champion, was fully tested by Indian qualifier Harinder
Pal Sandhu. After taking an easy first game for the loss of just a
single point, Omar was surprised by a rejuvenated Harinder who took the
second game. The next two games went one way each, but the decider was a
tame affair with the “Hammer of Thor” exerting his powerful shots to
romp home 11-2.
Fellow Egyptian Omar Abdel Meguid also made it into the last eight with
a straightforward 3-0 win against England’s Chris Simpson.
Things were not as straightforward for last year’s semi-finalist Saurav
Ghosal who battled back from two games down to win a thriller in badly
umpired game. Not taking away anything from Saurav’s opponent Mazen
Gamal who played well to his advantage, but there were far too many
calls that even a novice referee would’ve gotten right. Twice in the
second game, Saurav requested for a change of referee, but was denied.
It didn’t help that the decisions were in the hands of a single referee
system which was being used for this event.
However, the Indian’s experience eventually kicked in and slowly, but
surely, he did what was necessary to chalk up a great comeback win. Ever
the professional he is, he should be given credit for the way he handled
the situation so well.
“Personally, I didn’t play as well as I should, especially in the
beginning. It was difficult mentally to focus given the circumstances
like you saw out there. I am glad I managed to turn things around and
carve my way out of that deep spot. Credit to Mazen, he took advantage
of the situation and played well throughout,” Saurav said.
Ivan Yuen blew away a 10-4 lead in the first game in his straight game
loss to Hong Kong’s Yip
Tsz Fung. With less than 10 places separating the pair in the rankings,
this had the promise of a close one. Ivan had started very well, playing
patiently and waiting for his opportunities to attack, which more often
than not were lethal. However, after taking a huge lead to 10-4, he
seemed to have lost his concentration a little as it went to 10-10
through several easy errors in quick succession, with the last one being
a tin. Ivan managed to save 2 game balls before bowing out 12-14.
The loss of that game was costly as the effects of that is evident into
the following game, where Yip raced to a 7-0 lead. Ivan manages to get
back to 3-9 and 5-10, but the damage at the start of the game was too
much to catch up. In the third, Yip breezed through once again; 6-1 then
8-3, but Ivan came back to 7-9 and 9-10. A cheeky attempt on the
backhand ended up in a complete miss of the ball and the match to the
Hong Kong number 2.
It wasn’t a good day in the office for the Malaysian camp as their
number one Nafiizwan Adnan crashed out to a very determined Raphael
Kandra. Like Ivan, Nafiizwan was in control for most of the first game
but a lapse of concentration saw him lose it. He manages to take the
next two games to lead, but it was evident towards the later part of the
third, he was struggling physically.
Raphael saw his opponent struggling and capitalised on it, quickly
taking the fourth. In the decider, the Malaysian number one hung in
there for as long as he could, but Raphael was not going to let this win
slip off his grasp.
“I’m very happy to get through. It’s my first time making the quarters
of a $50k. I’ve played Wan three times and I lost all of them. I noticed
he was surprisingly tiring out in the third, so I extended the rallies.
It’s also never easy staying focused when something like this happens,
so I am glad to make it there,” Kendra said later.
Macau’s
local wild card Van Keng Hei was overwhelmed by second seed Mohamed
Aboulghar expectedly, but the young local player did give a good account
of himself especially in the first game. While the score would not have
suggest so, there were some rallies he managed to stay in to trouble the
skilful Egyptian.
Van Keng Hei said after, “It’s my first time playing someone that highly
ranked and it was obvious we are very different in terms of skills. I
felt I stayed in pretty well in the first game but after that, I just
couldn’t maintain the kind of pace he was playing in.”
In the last match of the evening, Max Lee won another all-Hong Kong
battle against Leo Au. As expected, it was a close affair given how well
the pair knew each other’s game.
Egyptian
youngsters Yathreb Adel and Rowan Elaraby ran riot over their more
illustrious opponents from Hong Kong to gate crash into the main draw of
the $50k Macau Squash Open. Yathreb Adel continued her giant killing run
from yesterday with a hard fought four game win over Tong Tsz-Wing,
while world junior champion Rowan Elaraby took out Liu Tsz-Ling in
straight games.
In
the other match featuring a Hong Kong player, qualifying top seed
Rachael Grinham avenged her loss to Hong Kong’s Ho Tze Lok at the HKFC
International two weeks ago with a convincing 3-0 score line.
Vanessa Chu was the only Hong Kong player who survived the afternoon
after the 23 year old took four games to score an upset over the higher
ranked Milou van der Haiden to earn a match against compatriot Joey Chan
in the main draw.
Coincidently, all the qualifiers have been drawn to play fellow
compatriots, Yathreb and Rowan to face top 2 seeds Raneem El Welily and
Nouran Gohar, and Rachael to play lefty Donna Urquhart.
In the men’s, affairs went according to seeding once again. Qualifying
top seeds Raphael Kendra and Mazen Gamal both dropping a game in their
3-1 wins over Spain’s Iker Pajares and Kiwi Evan Williams respectively.
Raphael’s win earns him a berth against Malaysian Nafiizwan Adnan while
Mazen will face Saurav Ghosal of India.
England’s Joshua Masters took out Hong Kong’s lefty Tang Ming Hong in
just 24 minutes and will play top seed German Simon Rosner tomorrow.
In
an all-Indian clash, Harinder Pal Sandhu beat his young compatriot 11-6,
11-6, 12-10 in 36 minutes and will play Egypt’s “Hammer of Thor” Omar
Mosaad.
It was all according to the seeding in the men’s
qualifying, with top seed Raphael Kendra leading the way, easing into
the next round after seeing off Thailand’s Arnold Phat in just 20
minutes. The German number 2 came out victorious with a convincing 11-3,
11-6, 11-6 score line and plays Iker Pujaris for a place in the main
draw. The Spanish was kept on court for nearly twice as long by his
opponent, Henry Leung of Hong Kong, but also came out straight games
winner.
India
will be assured of another player in the main draw as both Harinder Pal
Sandhu and Abhay Singh won their matches to set up a clash tomorrow.
Harinder was in devastating mood as he took out local Manuel Gassmann
for the loss of only 4 points while British Junior Open finalist Abhay
Singh won in 3 close games against Hong Kong’s Wong Chi Him.
In the lower half of the draw, England’s Joshua Masters halted James
Huang of Taiwan in straight games to set up a showdown with Hong Kong’s
Tang Ming Hong, who was put through a gruelling 76 minute encounter by
Czech Martin Svec in the longest match of the day.
Steven
Liu, the host’s top male player, failed to progress further after losing
out to Evan Williams in 21 minutes over three games. Mazen Gamal of
Egypt awaits Evan tomorrow after he took out UAE’s Ali Miski with
relative ease in exactly the same duration of 21 minutes.
While
it was less eventful in the men’s, the women’s matches had a lot more
drama, with world junior finalist and qualifying second seed Hania El
Hammamy being booted out by compatriot Yathreb Adel over five games. She
plays Hong Kong’s Tong Tsz-Wing who went through an equally tough
encounter against Egyptian Farah Momen before winning in five.
The
all-Hong Kong affair between Liu Tsz-Ling and Lee Ka Yi proved to be
another cracker. Lee Ka Yi, ranked nearly 50 places below her
compatriot, came back from 1-2 down to force a decider, but it was the
more experienced Tsz-Ling who scraped through. She plays world junior
champion Rowan Elaraby, who had no trouble disposing China’s Peng Zhen
Ni in 15 minutes.
Ho Tze Lok booked her place in the qualifying finals tomorrow after
beating Indian Janet Vidhi in straight games. The 21 year old from Hong
Kong will take on top seeded Aussie Rachael Grinham in a repeat of the
HKFC International first round match a fortnight ago, where she upset
the books to make the last eight.
Vanessa Chu, fresh from her final appearance at the Malaysian Circuit
5k, was in devastating form as she saw off China’s Duan Si Yu in just 15
minutes and will be facing Netherland’s Milou van der Heijden tomorrow,
who survived a close third game in her straight games win over Filipino
Jemyca Aribado.