Massaro Wins
Sharm El Sheikh Showdown
England's
Laura Massaro justified her top billing in the Women's Sharm El Sheikh
Open by winning the $29,500 WISPA World Tour squash title at the
Laguna Vista Hotel in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh.
But the
27-year-old world No9 from Preston was pushed all the way by Egyptian rival
Raneem El Weleily in the pair's sixth Tour meeting of the year.
After taking
the first game, Massaro made too many errors in the second to let her
21-year-old opponent back into the game.
The third and
fourth games both went to tie-breaks - with world No11 El Weleily earning a game
ball in the latter.
But Massaro
kept her focus and a low cross court winner finally sealed an 11-5, 9-11, 12-10,
12-10 victory for the England international after 57 minutes.
The win marks
the seventh WISPA World Tour title of Massaro's career.
Top Seeds To
Share Sharm El Sheikh Final
In their sixth
meeting this year, England's Laura Massaro will face Egyptian Raneem
El Weleily in the final of the Women's Sharm El Sheikh Open after
surviving straight games semi-finals in the $29,500 WISPA World Tour
squash event at the Laguna Vista Hotel in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of
Sharm El Sheikh.
Massaro, the
top seed from Preston, overcame rapidly-rising Egyptian star Nour El Tayeb,
the 17-year-old fourth seed who leapt into the WISPA world top 20 earlier this
month for the first time.
The
27-year-old world No9 started strongly, keeping El Tayeb under pressure behind
her. Despite a couple of unforced errors, Massaro was in control for much of the
game before taking a one-love lead.
The Egyptian
teenager worked hard in the second, first to retrieve and then to look for the
volley winner. It paid dividends as she opened up a 9-5 lead - but Massaro
responded with four quick points to level. Two poor volley errors from the
youngster gave Massaro the second game.
Having
established a 4-1 lead in the third, the favourite maintained a stranglehold on
the match to the end, finally closing it out 11-5, 11-9, 11-6 after 34 minutes.
"I
thought I played really well today - I'm really pleased with this performance,
especially against somebody as dangerous as she is," Massaro said
afterwards. "And I needed to play as well as that to beat her.
"But for a
17-year-old, to move like that and play that type of shots, it's really
impressive," concluded the England international, now in her 14th Tour final.
El Weleily set
up a final featuring the top two seeds with a composed victory over sixth-seeded
compatriot Heba El Torky. Using her silky skills to good effect, the
21-year-old second seed had the industrious El Torky covering all four corners
of the court on the way to taking the first game.
However,
undaunted El Torky stepped up the pace in the second to open up several leads.
But the 19-year-old from Alexandria failed to capitalise on three game balls -
going down 14-12 as El Weleily found a couple of volley drop winners to edge
home.
El Weleily
quickly built up a 5-0 lead before her opponent regained her focus - but further
errors helped the No2 seed to push through to claim her 11-4, 14-12, 11-4
victory in 26 minutes.
The world No11
from Alexandria said she was very happy to reach the final: "Heba and myself
we've been playing each other for a long time - last year, she beat me in
Hurghada, and at the Nationals, and I won in Heliopolis, we always have epic
battles!
"She plays a
very random squash, you never know the shot she is going to play until she
actually plays it, you have to keep on your toes constantly, especially on that
court where the ball dies at the front," added El Weleily, on the eve of her
sixth Tour final.
Egyptians
Close In On Massaro In Sharm El Sheikh
England's top
seed Laura Massaro stands in the way of a local winner of the Women's
Sharm El Sheikh Open after Egyptians claimed the remaining three semi-final
places in the $29,500 WISPA World Tour squash event at the Laguna
Vista Hotel in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh.
Massaro, the
world No9 from Preston, defeated seventh-seeded compatriot Victoria Lust
11-4, 11-6, 11-4 and will now face fourth seed Nour El Tayeb for a place
in the final.
El Tayeb, the
17-year-old from Cairo who leapt into the top 20 for the first time this month,
beat fellow Egyptian Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy, the fifth seed, 12-10, 11-7,
13-11.
The other
all-Egyptian semi features second seed Raneem El Weleily and Heba El
Torky. But sixth seed El Torky stared defeat in the face at two-love down to
18-year-old qualifier Salma Hany. The 19-year-old from Alexandria battled
back to take the next two games, however, and led 5-0 in the decider when Hany
was forced to concede the match after sustaining a thigh injury.
El Weleily,
the world No11 from Alexandria, recorded a commanding win over Lucie Fialova,
beating the eighth seed from the Czech Republic 11-8, 11-6, 11-6 in just 22
minutes.
El Sherbini
Shuffles Out In Sharm
Egyptian
teenager Nour El Sherbini became the only seeding casualty on the opening
day of the Women's Sharm El Sheikh Open when she was forced to retire
injured after the second game in the $29,500 WISPA World Tour squash
event at the Laguna Vista Hotel in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of
Sharm El Sheikh.
The third
seed, aged just 25, took the opening game against compatriot Salma Hany -
but, after losing the second in a tie-break, conceded the match to the
18-year-old qualifier from Giza.
"I have
an injury on my knee," former world junior champion El Sherbini told
www.squashsite.com
afterwards. "I was not going to play, but I tried!"
Hany will now
face fellow countrywoman Heba El Torky after the sixth seed from
Alexandria beat compatriot Farah Momen 11-5, 7-11, 11-7, 11-6.
El Torky is
one of five Egyptians who will contest the quarter-finals - led by Raneem El
Weleily, the second seed who needed four games to overcome 14-year-old local
qualifier Yathreb Adel 11-4, 8-11, 12-10, 15-13.
| 
