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Ramy & Raneem Reap Hurghada Rewards
Ramy Ashour
and Raneem El Weleily triumphed in contrasting Hurghada International
finals to secure a popular home double in the international squash circuit
event in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada.
In
what he described as 'one of the toughest matches we've played together', world
No2 Ashour faced his Egyptian team-mate and fellow former world number one
Karim Darwish, currently ranked three in the world, in the climax of the
men's PSA World Tour International 70 event.
In
a repeat of the 2010 final, 23-year-old defending champion Ashour came back from
2/1 down to overcome his Cairo compatriot 11-9, 9-11, 12-14, 11-9, 11-3 in 80
minutes to claim the title for the fourth year in a row.
"We
both played well and we gave it 100 percent from all aspects," exclaimed the
champion after his marathon success. "I think it was one of the toughest
matches we've played together.
"I
wanted to finish the year with a good result, unlike the last one, and I think
the effort I did paid off.
"I
want to thank my fitness coach Mohammed El Sayed and my squash feeder Haitham
Effat, and our National Coach Amir Wagih, and ATCO."
The
win marks up the 20th PSA World Tour title of Ashour's career.
The
final of the women's WISPA World Tour Silver 20 event produced a
breakthrough win for Raneem El Weleily against her country's number one
Omneya Abdel Kawy.
Fourth seed El Weleily made her breakthrough in the previous
round when she upset Australian favourite Rachael Grinham, a three-time
Hurghada International champion.
But
in her eighth Tour clash with world No8 Abdel Kawy since June 2006, El Weleily
claimed her maiden victory – beating the title-holder and four times champion
11-5, 12-10, 11-9 in just 27 minutes.
"I
am so happy to win - I dreamed of winning this title since so long," said the
22-year-old world No12 from Alexandria.
"I
want to thank all my family and friends for being here to support me, and of
course a big thank you to all my coaches who made this possible."
The
triumph marks El Weleily's second WISPA trophy.
El Weleily Sets Up All-Egyptian Finals In Hurghada
A
major upset by Raneem El Weleily in the women's semi-finals of the
Hurghada International has set up all-Egyptian finals in the international
squash circuit event in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada.
El
Weleily was facing Australia's three-time champion Rachael Grinham in the
WISPA World Tour Silver 20 event celebrating its tenth year in Hurghada.
In
a match described by event spokesman Hesham El Attar as "a beautiful
tactical battle", fourth seed El Weleily, the world No12 from Alexandria, took
just 31 minutes to defeat the top-seeded Queenslander 11-4, 12-10, 11-9.
Grinham was expected to reach the final for the seventh time – but the El
Weleily's second upset over the illustrious former world number one this year
takes the 22-year-old Egyptian into her first Hurghada final, and the seventh
Tour final of her career.
El
Weleily will face national rival Omneya Abdel Kawy, the Egyptian number
one bidding for her fourth successive title, beat fast-rising compatriot Nour
El Tayeb, the 18-year-old world No18, 9-11, 15-13, 11-7, 11-7.
Abdel Kawy, the world No8 from Cairo, is celebrating her 27th appearance in a
WISPA Tour final.
The
climax of the men's PSA World Tour International 70 event will be the
battle between two of the top three players in the world predicted by the
seedings.
Favourite Ramy Ashour fended off Gregory Gaultier, beating his
third-seeded French rival 11-8, 12-10, 11-7 in 48 minutes.
It
was the pair's 14th Tour clash since December 2005, but world No2 Ashour was
celebrating his seventh win in a row over the world No6 from Aix-en-Provence,
but only his second straight games victory.
In
a repeat of the 2010 final, Ashour will line up against Cairo compatriot
Karim Darwish, the world No3.
Darwish ended Olli Tuominen's brave run in the event, beating the
unseeded Finn 11-3, 11-6, 11-4 in just 29 minutes.
Tuominen, the world No22 from Helsinki who made his breakthrough in the first
round where he toppled France's No4 seed Thierry Lincou, was playing for
the second time in the day after having to continue his quarter-final match
after excessive humidity in the outdoor court the previous night caused the
match to be halted.
Ashour and Darwish have appeared in more than 60 PSA Tour finals between them –
23-year-old defending champion Ashour marking his 33rd, while 29-year-old
Darwish is in his 35th.
Darwish Holds Off Momen In Hurghada
Second-seeded Egyptian Karim Darwish held off a determined quarter-final
bid by Tarek Momen in the Hurghada International - but needed
almost an hour to overcome his young fellow countryman to book a place in the
last four of the men’s PSA Tour International 70 event in the Egyptian
Red Sea resort of Hurghada.
Momen, the 23-year-old world No26 from Cairo, made an excellent start – leading
5-2 before going on to reach game-ball at 10-9, then again at 11-10.
But
world No3 Darwish reclaimed the advantage to take the game after his own second
game-ball.
"It
was a very different Momen in the second game," said event spokesman Hesham
El Attar. "Darwish dominated and took the game 11-5 in just nine minutes."
Momen was equal to the task up to eight-all in the third, then lost
concentration as Darwish closed out the match 14-12, 11-5, 11-8 after 58
minutes.
"Tarek
is one of those players coming up very strong, so there was no way that I would
be taking this match lightly," said 29-year-old Darwish, a former world No1,
afterwards. "I had to stay focused to make sure that I could control the match
throughout."
Darwish's semi-final opponent was unable to complete his quarter-final match
last night.
"The final match of the evening had to be postponed due to humidity causing a
slippery floor," explained El Attar.
Finland's Olli Tuominen led Egyptian qualifier Mohammed Abbas 2/1
when the match was stopped. When resumed this morning, the unseeded Finn went
on to secure an 11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 11-5 win after 55 minutes.
Teenager Nour El Tayeb pulled off a notable upset in the women's WISPA
World Tour Silver 20 event to set up a surprise all-Egyptian semi-final in
the lower half of the draw.
The
18-year-old fifth seed from Cairo recovered from a game down to beat France's
third seed Camille Serme 11-13, 11-6, 11-8, 11-5 – repeating her win over
the world No9 two years ago on the same court in Hurghada.
"My
racket control was not great this evening so my main objective was to get the
ball past her and not giving her much chance to volley or attack me from the
middle of the court," explained the rapidly-improving Egyptian who made her top
20 debut in December.
El
Tayeb will now face top-ranked Egyptian Omneya Abdel Kawy. The second
seed from Cairo, who is bidding to win the established WISPA title for the
fourth year in a row, beat eighth-seeded compatriot Heba El Torky 11-8,
12-10, 11-4.
Ramy Tested In Hurghada
Egypt’s top-ranked squash player Ramy Ashour remains on course to win his
fourth successive Hurghada International title – but the world No2 from
Cairo was stretched for 78 minutes before overcoming fellow countryman Omar
Mosaad in the quarter-finals of the men’s PSA Tour International 70
event in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada.
Unseeded Mosaad, the world No16 from Cairo, took full advantage of a series of
errors from the top seed and had four game balls to open up a first game lead.
But
Ashour held off the challenge, ultimately clinching the opener 17-15 before
going on to recover from dropping the third game to win 17-15, 11-4, 8-11, 11-6.
Ashour’s next opponent will be career-long French rival Gregory Gaultier,
also a former world number one. The third seed from Aix-en-Provence, ranked six
in the world, brushed aside Egyptian opponent Mohd Ali Anwar Reda,
beating the world No27 11-5, 11-4, 11-1 in 38 minutes.
Raneem El Weleily
provided local success in the quarter-finals of the women’s WISPA World Tour
Silver 20 event after triumphing in straight games against
Dane Line Hansen.
It
was nip and tuck in the opening game which reached eight-all before fourth seed
El Weleily, the world No12 from Alexandria, moved ahead to take the game.
It
took just 25 minutes for the Egyptian to book her place in the semi-finals,
winning 11-8, 11-4, 11-6 to set up a clash with three-time former champion
Rachael Grinham.
The
top-seeded Australian, who was based for many years in Egypt, took on Egyptian
rival Engy Kheirallah, the No7 seed from Cairo currently ranked 33 in the
world.
Grinham, ranked three in the world, took control of the opening exchanges and
soon built up a two-game lead.
“Rachael was controlling the pace and using the forehand boast and volley boast
very well,” said respected Egyptian coach Hesham El Attar. “Apart from
two errors, she dominated and looked the stronger of the two when attacked.”
But
Kheirallah, a former world No11, came back in the third - and finally clinched
her fourth game ball to reduce the deficit.
The
fourth game was again close – but it was Grinham who ultimately prevailed,
winning 11-4, 11-5, 11-13, 11-8 after 43 minutes to earn her eighth appearance
in the event’s last four.
Tuominen Takes Out Lincou In Hurghada
Finland’s Olli Tuominen recorded his first ever win over France’s former
world number one Thierry Lincou when he beat the fourth seed in the
Hurghada International to claim the biggest upset in the first round of the
men’s PSA Tour International 70 squash event in the Egyptian Red Sea
resort of Hurghada.
The
two PSA Tour stalwarts have been doing battle with each other for more than a
decade – but this time it was the 32-year-old from Helsinki who finally
triumphed, winning 11-8, 15-13, 11-5 in 46 minutes to inflict the first early
round exit on Lincou for 14 months.
Tuominen, the world No22, will now face Egyptian Mohammed Abbas for a
place in the semi-finals. Abbas, a 30-year-old former world No13, is also
celebrating an unexpected quarter-final berth after first battling through the
qualifiers – then upsetting Pakistan’s world No29 Aamir Atlas Khan 11-9,
13-15, 11-3, 11-3 in 49 minutes.
Abbas is mounting a major comeback after a long-term foot injury – and has
recovered more than 30 ranking positions since falling to a ten-year rankings
low of 66 at the end of 2009.
Egyptian interest is already guaranteed in both men’s semi-finals after rising
star Tarek Momen, the 23-year-old world No26 from Cairo, beat experienced
Malaysian Ong Beng Hee 11-13, 13-11, 11-7, 11-4.
Momen will face second seed Karim Darwish, the world No3 from Cairo who
defeated Swiss qualifier Nicolas Mueller 11-8, 11-5, 11-1.
An all-Egyptian quarter-final clash in the top half of the draw
will see favourite Ramy Ashour, the world No2 from Cairo bidding to win
the title for a fourth successive year, take on unseeded
Omar Mosaad.
There were no surprises in the first round of the women’s WISPA World Tour
Silver 30 event when all eight seeds progressed safely through to the
quarter-finals.
Australia’s top seed Rachael Grinham, winner of the title three times
until 2007, defeated Egypt’s Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy 11-4, 11-8, 11-4 –
while defending champion Omneya Abdel Kawy, the second seed from Cairo
looking for her fourth successive title, recovered from a game down to beat
18-year-old compatriot Salma Hany, a qualifier, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7.
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