21/07/2007
HOUSTON OPEN
Elborolossy Takes Houston Title
BCD & SMH
Houston Squash Open,
Houston, Texas, USA
Final:
[1] Omar Elborolossy (EGY) bt [2] Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) 11-8, 8-11, 11-9,
11-4 (54m)
Semi-finals:
[1] Omar Elborolossy (EGY) bt [6] Laurent Elriani (FRA) 11-10 (3-1), 11-5,
11-4
[2] Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) bt [Q] Ahmed Maged Hamza (EGY) 11-3, 2-11, 7-11,
11-2, 11-7 (52m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Omar Elborolossy (EGY) bt [5] Bradley Hindle (AUS) 11-4, 11-7, 11-6
[6] Laurent Elriani (FRA) bt [4] Tony James (AUS) 11-7, 11-7, 11-3
[Q] Ahmed Maged Hamza (EGY) bt [Q] Gilly Lane (USA) 11-7, 11-8, 11-5
[2] Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) bt Ryan Donegan (USA) 11-7, 11-9, 11-10 (3-1)
1st round:
[1] Omar Elborolossy (EGY) bt
[Q] Andrew McDougall (CAN) 11-2, 11-2, 11-9
[5] Bradley Hindle (AUS) bt
Muhammad Sadiq (USA) 11-10 (4-2), 11-10 (10-8), 11-4
[4] Tony James (AUS) bt Khayal
Muhammad Khan (PAK) 11-6, 10-11 (3-5), 11-10 (2-0), 9-11, 11-7
[6] Laurent Elriani (FRA) bt
Patrick Chifunda (ZAM) 11-8, 11-4, 10-11 (0-2), 11-1
[Q] Gilly Lane (USA) bt [8]
Fabian Kalaitzis (GRE) 11-4, 11-10 (2-0), 11-1
[Q] Ahmed Maged Hamza (EGY) bt
[3] Wade Johnstone (AUS) 10-11 (0-2), 11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9
Ryan Donegan (USA) bt [7] Jose
Angel Becerril (MEX) 11-4, 6-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-9
[2] Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) bt
[Q] Regardt Schonborn (RSA) 11-10 (3-1), 4-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9
Elborolossy Takes Houston
Title
Egypt's former world No14
Omar Elborolossy took another significant step towards his return to the
game's elite when he beat compatriot Mohd Ali Anwar Reda in the final
of the BCD & SMH Houston Squash Open to lift the PSA Tour trophy
at the Downtown Club in Houston in the US state of Texas.
Since his Tour comeback a year
ago after an 18-month break, the 31-year-old from Cairo has shown an
impressive return to form - leaping from 306 to 43 in the world rankings,
reaching four Tour finals this year, and now clinching his second title in six
months.
After the experienced
Elborolossy took the opening game, 18-year-old second seed Reda came back from
1-6 down to win the second to draw level.
Elborolossy hung in to win the
crucial and closely-matched third game, for which both players fought
particularly hard.
"Losing the third was like
letting the air out of Reda’s balloon, who seemed deflated in the fourth, and
it was clear that he didn’t have the same fight left in him anymore," said
event spokesman Rashid Ali Khan. "Throughout the match both players
played clean squash, making every effort to get to and play the ball."
Elborolossy earned his 11-8,
8-11, 11-9, 11-4 victory in 54 minutes - afterwards thanking the tournament
sponsors, volunteers and organisers, before dedicating the win to his wife
(former player Salma Shabana, sister of world No1 Amr) and two children in
Egypt.
The win takes Elborolossy's
career haul to 14 PSA Tour titles (just two fewer than compatriot Amr
Shabana) - and is likely to see the popular Egyptian return to the world's
top 30 soon.
Top Seeds To Contest
All-Egyptian Houston Final
The top two seeds Omar
Elborolossy and Mohd Ali Anwar Reda will contest an all-Egyptian
final of the BCD & SMH Houston Squash Open after semi-final triumphs in
the PSA Tour event at the Downtown Club in Houston in the
US state of Texas.
Frenchman Laurent Elriani
was put on the defensive from the start of the match against favourite
Elborolossy. Despite some superb retrieving, the sixth seed was unable to
take a game from the talented Egyptian as Elborolossy claimed an 11-10
(3-1), 11-5, 11-4 victory to reach his fourth PSA final of the year.
In the other, more
evenly-matched, semi-final between two Egyptians, qualifier Ahmed Maged
Hamza thrilled the spectators with his shot-making, putting number two
seed Mohd Ali Anwar Reda under pressure that he hadn’t anticipated.
After losing the first game,
Hamza struck back to win the next two by playing an array of low percentage
shots which found the nick more often than not. A shell-shocked Reda changed
his game strategy after the third game and played tight rails, giving Hamza no
opportunity to make shots.
The strategy worked, giving
Reda the game to take the match to the fifth game. It was during the decider
that fatigue finally set in for Hamza, who was playing in his fifth match of
the week. Reda smelled blood early in the last game, ending Hamza’s dream
week after 52 minutes by winning 11-3, 2-11, 7-11, 11-2, 11-7.
The success takes the
18-year-old from Cairo into his sixth career PSA Tour final - but his fifth of
this year!
Egyptians Home In On Houston
Title
Frenchman Laurent
Elriani will be trying to prevent an all-Egyptian climax to the BCD & SMH
Houston Squash Open after three Egyptians fought through to the semi-finals
of the PSA Tour event at the Downtown Club in Houston in
the US state of Texas.
Sixth seed Elriani pulled
off his best result of the year when he upset Australia's No4 seed Tony James
11-7, 11-7, 11-3. The 31-year-old - who is now based in Greenwich, USA -
will face top seed Omar Elborolossy for a place in the final.
Elborolossy, the former
world No14 from Cairo - who is also 31 - defeated fifth-seeded Australian
Bradley Hindle 11-4, 11-7, 11-6.
New York-based Egyptian
Ahmed Maged Hamza will face fellow countryman Mohd Ali Anwar Reda in
the other semi.
Hamza, again a
31-year-old, ended fellow qualifier Gilly Lane's run - beating the
21-year-old from Philadelphia 11-7, 11-8, 11-5.
Local interest in the
event faded when former Houston-based Ryan Donegan lost out to second
seed Mohd Ali Anwar Reda in an 11-7, 11-9, 11-10 (3-1) scoreline.
Qualifiers Lane & Hamza In
Houston Breakthrough
Qualifiers Ahmed Maged Hamza
and Gilly Lane
will meet in the
quarter-finals of the BCD & SMH Houston Squash Open after causing notable
first round upsets in the PSA Tour event at Downtown at the Met in
Houston
in the US state of Texas.
Egyptian Hamza claimed the
biggest scalp, beating Australia's No3 seed Wade Johnstone 10-11 (0-2),
11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9. The US-based 31-year-old from Alexandria will meet
fellow qualifier Gilly Lane, a 21-year-old from Philadelphia who celebrated his
first match on the PSA Tour with an unexpected win.
It was Lane's fifth qualifying
bid since February 2005 - and he celebrated his breakthrough by beating
eighth-seeded Greek Fabian Kalaitzis 11-4, 11-10 (2-0), 11-1.
There was a further unexpected
US success when unseeded Ryan Donegan fought back from 2/1 down to beat
Mexico's No7 seed Jose Angel Becerril 11-4, 6-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-9. The
25-year-old from St Louis now meets second-seeded Egyptian Mohd Ali Anwar
Reda for a place in the semi-finals.
Quarter-final line-up:
[1] Omar Elborolossy (EGY) v [5]
Bradley Hindle (AUS)
[4] Tony James (AUS) v [6]
Laurent Elriani (FRA)
[Q] Ahmed Maged Hamza (EGY) v
[Q] Gilly Lane (USA)
[2] Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) v
Ryan Donegan (USA)
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