04/04/2009
HURGHADA INTERNATIONAL
Ramy Ashour & Omneya Abdel Kawy Retain Hurghada Titles
Hurghada
International
2009
Men's Draw
28th Mar - 4th Apr, Egypt, $62k |
Round One
30-Mar |
Quarters
31 & 01 |
Semis
02-Apr |
Final
04-Apr |
[1] Karim Darwish
(Egy)
11/7, 11/2, 11/5 (27m)
[Q] Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy) |
Karim Darwish
11-5, 11-6, 11-1 (30m)
Aamir Atlas Khan |
Karim Darwish
10-12, 11-4, 12-10, 11-7 (56m)
Gregory Gaultier |
Gregory Gaultier
7-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-8 (47m)
Ramy Ashour |
[5] Aamir Atlas Khan
(Pak)
13/11, 11/5, 12/10 (50m)
Joey Barrington (Eng) |
[3] Gregory Gaultier
(Fra)
11/5, 11/3, 11/5 (31m)
[Q] Ali Anwar Reda (Egy) |
Gregory Gaultier
11-7, 11-8, 11-4 (35m)
Farhan Mehboob |
[6] Farhan Mehboob
(Pak)
6/11, 11/8, 11/13, 12/10, 11/3 (73m)
Amr Khaled Khalifa (Egy) |
Tarek Momen (Egy)
11/9, 4/11, 11/6, 11/4 (40m)
[7] Olli Tuominen (Fin) |
Tarek Momen
11-6, 11-6, 11-6 (35m)
Ramy Ashour |
Ramy Ashour
11-7, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7 (40m)
Amr Shabana |
Omar Mosaad (Egy)
11/8, 14/12, 11/9 (42m)
[4] Ramy Ashour (Egy) |
[Q] Mohammed Abbas (Egy)
11/3, 12/10, 4/3 rtd (35m)
[8] Mohamed El Shorbagy (Egy) |
Mohamed El Shorbagy
12-10, 11-4, 9-11, 11-9 (62m)
Amr Shabana |
[Q] Amr Swelim (Egy)
9/11, 11/5, 11/4, 11/8 (38m)
[2] Amr Shabana (Egy) |
29-Mar, Qualifying
Finals:
Amr Swelim (Egy) bt Andrew Wagih (Egy) 11/4, 11/9, 9/11, 11/4 (32m)
Ali Anwar Reda (Egy) bt Karim Abdel Gawad (Egy) 8/11, 11/7, 11/6, 11/5 (65m)
Mohammed Abbas (Egy) bt Mazen Gamal (Egy) 11/6, 11/6, 8/11, 11/5 (49m)
Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy) bt Robbie Temple (Eng) 11/8, 11/8, 11/8 (40m)
28-Mar,
Qualifying first
round:
Andrew Wagih (Egy) bt Tom Richards (Eng) 5/11, 11/5, 6/11, 11/5, 10/11 disq (58m)
Amr Swelim (Egy) bt Gregoire Marche (Fra) 11/8, 12/10, 11/3 (41m)
Ali Anwar Reda (Egy) bt Omar Abdel Meguid (Egy) 11/9, 11/6, 9/11, 11/4 (53m)
Karim Abdel Gawad (Egy) bt Jesse Engelbrecht (Rsa) 11/3, 11/5, 8/11, 11/8 (31m)
Mazen Gamal (Egy) bt Rob Sutherland (Wal) 12/10, 8/11, 11/8, 3/11, 11/2 (66m)
Mohammed Abbas (Egy) bt Ahmed Hawas (Egy) 11/3, 11/4, 11/2 (18m)
Robbie Temple (Eng) bt Basem Makram (Egy) 11/9, 11/7, 11/8 (37m)
Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy) bt Karim AGA Samy (Egy) 11/6, 11/7, 11/4 (22m)
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Hurghada
International
2009
Women's Draw
28th Mar - 4th Apr, Egypt, $26k |
Round One
30-Mar |
Quarters
31 & 01 |
Semis
02-Apr |
Final
04-Apr |
[1] Rachael Grinham
(Aus)
11/6, 6/11, 11/9, 11/3 (35m)
[Q] Nour El Tayeb (Egy) |
Rachael Grinham
11-3, 11-8, 13-11 (30m)
Tenille Swartz |
Rachael Grinham
11-7, 11-8, 11-3 (30m)
Camille Serme |
Rachael Grinham
11-7, 9-11, 11-3, 11-13, 12-10 (63m)
Omneya Abdel Kawy |
[6] Engy Kheirallah
(Egy)
8/11, 11/8, 9/11, 11/9, 12/10 (61m)
Tenille Swartz (Rsa) |
[4] Rebecca Chiu (Hkg)
11/6, 11/6, 11/7 (29m)
Orla Noom (Ned) |
Rebecca Chiu
11-9, 11-13, 11-3, 11-6 (35m)
Camille Serme |
[7] Line Hansen (Den)
6/11, 11/7, 11/6, 6/11, 11/9 (48m)
Camille Serme (Fra) |
[Q] Heba El Torky
(Egy)
12/14, 11/7, 11/9, 11/5 (45m)
[5] Raneem El Weleily (Egy) |
Heba El Torky
11-5, 11-4, 11-7 (21m)
Omneya Abdel Kawy |
Omneya Abdel Kawy
12-10, 11-6, 6-11, 13-15, 11-6 (64m)
Jenny Duncalf |
Christina Mak (Hkg)
11/2, 11/1, 11/5 (14m)
[3] Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy) |
[Q] Joey Chan (Hkg)
14/12, 6/11, 9/11, 14/12, 11/6 (52m)
[8] Sharon Wee (Mas) |
Joey Chan
11-7, 11-8, 11-7 (31m)
Jenny Duncalf |
[Q] Dipika Pallikal
(Ind)
11/8, 11/4, 12/10 (29m)
[2] Jenny Duncalf (Eng) |
29-Mar, Qualifying Finals:
Joey Chan (Hkg) bt Kanzy El Defrawy (Egy) 11/6, 8/11, 11/4, 11/3 (38m)
Nour El Tayeb (Egy) bt Olivia Blatchford (Usa) 11/7, 9/11, 11/3, 11/8 (32m)
Dipika Pallikal (Ind) bt Nouran El Torky (Egy) 11/7, 11/8, 11/8 (37m)
Heba El Torky (Egy) bt Lucie Fialova
(Cze) 11/8, 11/4, 11/9 (25m)
11/8, 11/4, 11/9 (25m) plays El Weleily
28-Mar, Qualifying Round One:
Joey Chan (Hkg) bt Farah Abdel Meguid (Egy) 9/11, 11/4, 11/4, 11/7 (32m)
Kanzy El Defrawy (Egy) bt Salma Hany (Egy) 10/12, 11/5, 11/7, 11/9 (45m)
Olivia Blatchford (Usa) bt Elise Ng (Hkg) 11/3, 12/10, 11/7 (27m)
Nour El Tayeb (Egy) bt Salma Nasser (Egy) 9/11, 11/9, 11/5, 11/8 (33m)
Nouran El Torky (Egy) bt Coline Aumard
(Fra) 11/7, 11/6, 11/3 (30m)
Dipika Pallikal (Ind) bt Eliza Kargioti (Gre) 11/4, 11/0, 11/8 (20m)
Lucie Fialova
(Cze) bt Sara El Noamany (Egy) 11/9, 11/9, 6/11, 11/8 (38m)
Heba El Torky (Egy) bt Farida El Dahab (Egy) 11/7, 11/3, 11/3 (16m)
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Ramy Ashour &
Omneya Abdel Kawy Retain Hurghada Titles
Egyptians Ramy
Ashour and Omneya Abdel Kawy retained their titles in the Hurghada
International Squash Championships - and provided the perfect
conclusion for the packed partisan crowd in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of
Hurghada after beating Frenchman Gregory Gaultier and Australian
Rachael Grinham, respectively, in the finals of the Tour event being
staged on an all-glass court at the Sindbad Beach
Resort.
Ashour, who
replaced Gaultier as world No3 in this month's Dunlop PSA world rankings, was
meeting the 26-year-old from Aix-en-Provence in the climax of the men's $61,000
PSA World Tour event for the first time since October 2007 - and looking
for a third successive win which would bring the pair's career head-to-head
tally to three-all.
And, after dropping
the first game, the 21-year-old fourth seed battled back to beat third seed
Gaultier 7-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-8 in 47 minutes.
"Before I went on
today I felt a bit sleepy - I had to throw water on my face to try to wake up,"
Ashour explained later. "I was a bit slow in the first game but got myself
moving much better after that.
"Before the game my
coach and my brother told me I had to keep it in the back corners, it's very
dead on this court and if you can get it there you have a big advantage. I did
what they told me, then went for my shots when it came to the front.
"It's always hard
with Greg though, he never gives up until the last point and I was so pleased to
win it, so pleased," concluded Ashour, who now boasts 12 Tour titles from 18
final appearances.
Omneya Abdel Kawy
and Rachael Grinham were celebrating their sixth successive meeting in the
Hurghada championships - and their fifth clash in the last six finals! Since
losing to the 23-year-old from Cairo in last year's semi-finals, former world
number one Grinham has twice beaten Abdel Kawy - once also in Egypt.
The climax of the
2009 $26,000 WISPA World Tour event was an evenly-contested affair which
went the full distance. Twice the Egyptian led, and twice Grinham drew level -
then built up a 9-6 lead in the decider.
But Abdel Kawy
fought back to draw level at nine-all - then had four match-balls before finally
clinching her 11-7, 9-11, 11-3, 11-13, 12-10 victory after 63 minutes.
"I don't know what
happens when I get game balls! Maybe I'm thinking too much about winning the
match, I never seem to play them well - I'll have to work on that with my
coach," admitted Abdel Kawy, after winning her third Hurghada title since 2006.
"We both played
very well today I thought, we had some very long rallies, especially in the
fifth.
"She was leading
and helped me back in by giving up a couple of easy points - maybe she has the
same problem finishing it off as me, but she gets it sooner!
"The crowd
obviously helps, although sometimes they get a bit too much, I wanted to get on
with the game and I had to try to tell them to calm down
"I'm really glad to
win this one, I dedicate this to my family and my coaches, and all my friends
who came down from Cairo to watch and support," said Abdel Kawy, now with six
WISPA titles to her name.
Gaultier
& Ashour Take Out Top Seeds In Hurghada
Top-seeded
Egyptians Karim Darwish and Amr Shabana crashed out of the
semi-finals of the Hurghada International Squash Championships
after third seed Gregory Gaultier and fourth seed Ramy Ashour set
up an unexpected final of the men's $61,000 PSA World Tour event being
staged on an all-glass court at the Sinbad Beach Resort in the Egyptian
Red Sea resort of Hurghada.
The final of the
women's $26,000 WISPA World Tour event will feature top seed Rachael
Grinham and third seed Omneya Abdel Kawy - who will be
meeting for the sixth successive year in this eighth staging of the women's
championship!
Gregory Gaultier,
the world No4 from France, levelled his career head-to-head record with Darwish
to six-all - and repeated his victory in last month's Super Series Finals
in London - when he recovered from a game down to beat the world number one
10-12, 11-4, 12-10, 11-7 in 56 minutes.
"I really wanted to
win that one, especially here," an ecstatic Gaultier told
www.squashsite.co.uk afterwards. "I knew it
wasn't going to be easy, there would be a lot of things against me. I had to
stay focused and keep my cool.
"I tried to keep
the pace high all the time to stop him being able to play his shots, and I think
I did that well, it was a tough, close game. I'm really happy with my
performance and looking forward to the final now," added the 26-year-old from
Aix-en-Provence, now in his 34th Tour final.
Gaultier faces Ramy
Ashour in Saturday's final - in which the 21-year-old Egyptian will also be
looking to draw the pair's head-to-head record level. The battle against his
national rival Amr Shabana, the former world number one, was also a repeat of
their recent Super Series Finals' meeting - but this time Ashour avenged his
defeat at Queen's Club by winning 11-7, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7 in 40 minutes.
"I'm really glad
with how I played today," said the new world number three from Cairo. "I got a
few lucky shots in the middle, but it's never going to be easy to beat Shabana.
You always have to have a lot of things go your way to do that. You have to be
very focused and clear, and I was pleased with that aspect today," explained
Ashour on the eve of his 18th PSA final.
When third seed
Omneya Abdel Kawy took the opening two games against England's Jenny Duncalf,
it looked as if the 23-year-old Egyptian was on the way to a fifth
straight games upset over her higher-ranked opponent.
The pair were
meeting in Egypt for the first time since Abdel Kawy crushed Duncalf 3/0 on the
way to Egypt's historic defeat of England in the World Team Championship
final in Cairo in December.
But, in Hurghada,
second seed Duncalf fought back to take the third, then saved four match-balls
in the fourth to draw level. But, spurred on no doubt by the partisan local
crowd, Abdel Kawy stuck to her task and went on to record a 12-10, 11-6, 6-11,
13-15, 11-6 victory after 64 minutes.
"My movement wasn't
the best today, but she played really well," said the former world junior
champion, now in her sixth final in a row. "She never starts well against me,
but after the worlds I could tell she was focusing to get revenge so I knew it
was going to be much tougher for me.
"I'm looking
forward to the final - it's nice to have a rest day. It's like a grand slam in
tennis! I'm hoping to fix a few things and play better then."
Australian
favourite Rachael Grinham comfortably beat unseeded French opponent
Camille Serme 11-7, 11-8, 11-3 to reach the final for the sixth time.
"I'd never played
her before, only seen her play twice and she looked quite good - good racket
skills and good on the volley - so I wanted to play as simple and safe as I
could at the start, not do anything
stupid," said the
Cairo-based top seed who will be seeking her fourth title in Hurghada.
"She put up a tough
fight in the first two, but I was a bit more confident going into the third, and
it was a long way back for her from two down," added Grinham, now in her 52nd
Tour final.
Serme Scores
Surprise Semi In Hurghada
Camille Serme
became the only unseeded player to reach the semi-finals of the Hurghada
International Squash Championships after the 19-year-old from France
upset Hong Kong's No4 seed Rebecca Chiu on the second day of
quarter-final action on an all-glass court at the Sinbad Beach Resort in
the men's and women's Tour event in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada.
Serme, the
three-time European Junior champion from Creteil, scored her second successive
upset in the women's $26,000 WISPA World Tour event with an 11-9, 11-13,
11-3, 11-6 victory over Chiu, the world No14 ranked more than 20 places higher.
"It's so nice to
play here - it's huge for me to make the semis," a jubilant Serme said
afterwards. "I now have to find a way to get my name printed onto the back of
my shirt - I've never needed to have that before!"
Both players were
struggling with their footing on the court: Chiu added: "It was getting
slippier all the time. I couldn't do much in the end - I couldn't stop, and
when I did stop I couldn't get started again. My ice skating skills aren't very
good!
"But she played
well, and she moved better than me today."
There were no
further upsets for Tenille Swartz, the unseeded South African who ousted
Egypt's sixth seed Engy Kheirallah in the first round in her first match
since returning to the Tour after more than a year's absence following shoulder
surgery.
The 21-year-old
faced Australian Rachael Grinham, the world No3 seeded to win the title
for a fourth time since 2004. The Cairo-based favourite won 11-3, 11-8, 13-11
in 30 minutes.
"Her experience
definitely showed through there, she holds the ball so well, you have no idea of
where it's going most of the time," said Swartz, currently ranked 215 in the
world. "I didn't really know what to do in the beginning, but I got more into
it as the match progressed.
"I'm happy with my
game and how I played - I played the game I should have done against her. But
well done to her!"
Two all-Egyptian
affairs brought the quarter-finals of the men's $61,000 PSA World Tour
event to a close. In their second Tour meeting in seven days, former world
number one Amr Shabana faced his country's latest star Mohamed El
Shorbagy, an 18-year-old from Alexandria who is already ranked 21 in the
world.
The teenager
extended the master for more than an hour before Shabana finally emerged a
12-10, 11-4, 9-11, 11-9 victor after 62 minutes.
"It's pretty tough
to see the ball on there, and when you're playing someone who has no pressure on
them, who keeps attacking and attacking, it's difficult," said second seed
Shabana. "I thought I did well considering I couldn't see the ball and I was
always on the defensive, trying to contain him all the time.
"Every time he
plays the top guys, it's more experience and a learning process for him. He
reminds me of myself when I was coming up, playing the top guys with no pressure
on me - it's different when you're up there!"
Defending champion
Ramy Ashour took one step closer to the final when he beat unseeded
Tarek Momen 11-6, 11-6, 11-6. The 21-year-old from Cairo, who is also the
reigning World Open champion, was pleased with his performance:
"I've been a bit
lacking in rhythm, I've been trying to get back the appetite of winning, to
focus more before I go on court, make sure I'm up for it, trying to get myself
going as fast as I can. I know if I'm ready before I go on court I'll play well,
whether I win or lose," explained the fourth seed.
"Tarek played well, he made a few
errors but we both did that. I'm happy with how I played; I hope I can keep
going like this without thinking too much … which is my problem."
Top Seeds
Untroubled In Hurghada
There were no
surprises in the quarter-finals of the Hurghada International Squash
Championships on the first day of action in the men's and women's Tour event
in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada on an all-glass court at the
Sinbad Beach Resort.
Top seed Karim
Darwish, the world number one from Cairo, delighted the partisan crowd by
cruising to an 11-5, 11-6, 11-1 win over Pakistan teenager Aamir Atlas Khan,
the fifth seed, in the men's $61,000 PSA World Tour event.
A Pakistani fell in
the other men's quarter-final match when Frenchman Gregory Gaultier
brushed aside sixth seed Farhan Mehboob 11-7, 11-8, 11-4.
Darwish will now
face Gaultier for a place in the final - hoping for his first win in his third
meeting with the world No4 this year.
There was Egyptian
success too in the women's $26,000 WISPA World Tour event: Third seed
Omneya Abdel Kawy needed just 21 minutes to quash compatriot Heba El
Torky, an 18-year-old qualifier from Alexandria, 11-5, 11-4, 11-7.
Later, England's
second seed Jenny Duncalf claimed her anticipated place in the last four
when she beat Hong Kong qualifier Joey Chan 11-7, 11-8, 11-7.
Duncalf and Abdel
Kawy will go head-to-head for a place in the final for the first time since the
26-year-old from Harrogate in Yorkshire lost to her lower-ranked rival in the
final of the Women's World Team Championship in Cairo in December.
Tenille Takes
Out Cairo Heroine Kheirallah
Appearing in her
first tournament for more than a year, South African Tenille Swartz
stunned Engy Kheirallah in the first round of the Hurghada
International to oust the sixth-seeded Egyptian from the $26,000 WISPA
World Tour squash event in Cairo.
It was the first
day of the championships at the Egyptian capital's National Squash Stadium
- which also includes a men's $61,000 PSA Tour event - before
moving to the Sinbad Beach Resort in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada
from the quarter-finals onwards.
Engy Kheirallah,
the world No21 now based in Cairo, was making her first appearance at the
National Stadium since clinching the Women's World Team Championship
title for her country in a dramatic final against England last December.
But the 27-year-old
was unable to repeat her historic success. Swartz, out of action since March
last year while recovering from shoulder surgery, twice came back from games
down, then survived a tie-break in the decider to win 8-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9,
12-10 in 61 minutes.
"Not a bad
comeback," said the 21-year-old underdog, ranked 215 in the world, "It's my
first match back, so it's a bonus to win – especially against someone like Engy,
here in Egypt."
There were there
further upsets in the women's event – with more Egyptian disappointment when
fifth seed Raneem El Weleily went down 12-14, 11-7, 11-9, 11-5 to
qualifier Heba El Torky, also from Egypt.
El Torky, 18, from
Alexandria, goes on to meet third-seeded compatriot Omneya Abdel Kawy,
the defending champion who took just 14 minutes to defeat Hong Kong's
Christina Mak 11-2, 11-1, 11-5.
The only upset in
the men's event saw the lower half of the draw become an all-Egyptian affair.
Tarek Momen, a 21-year-old from Cairo, booked his seat on the flight to
Hurghada when he downed Finland's No7 seed Olli Tuominen 11-9, 4-11,
11-6, 11-4 in 34 minutes.
Momen, fresh from
his title success this month in the Egyptian National Championships, now faces
Cairo compatriot Ramy Ashour, the title-holder.
"I played well
today," conceded the world No24. "He was volleying quite well and my movement
started to get better in the game. I've played Ramy like a million times - so I
hope to do my best."
Egypt's rising star
Mohamed El Shorbagy, a quarter-finalist in last week's Canary Wharf
Classic in London, faced former star Mohammed Abbas, the former world
No13 who has slipped to 42 in the rankings while fighting back from an Achilles
injury. But the new-kid-on-the-block was too good for Abbas – and the
28-year-old qualifier became troubled by a hamstring injury in the third game,
causing him to retire as El Shorbagy claimed an 11-3, 12-10, 4-3 (ret.) win
after 35 minutes.
In a repeat of
their quarter-final battle in London Docklands, Shorbagy will now face former
world number one Amr Shabana, the No2 seed from Cairo who beat Egyptian
qualifier Amr Swelim 9-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-8.
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