30/09/2005
WOMEN'S ALEXANDRIA SPORTING CLUB OPEN
Kheirallah & Stoehr In Surprise Alexandria Final
TOURNAMENT
Women's Alexandria Sporting Club Squash Open, Alexandria, Egypt
RESULTS
1st round:
[1] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt [Q] Georgina Stoker (ENG) 10-8, 9-0, 9-3 (32m)
[8] Aisling Blake (IRL) bt Margriet Huisman (NED) 9-4, 2-9, 9-5, 9-2 (54m)
[4] Engy Kheirallah (EGY) bt Jana Smeralova (CZE) 9-1, 9-1, 9-3 (20m)
[5] Lauren Briggs (ENG) bt [Q] Hend Osama (EGY) 9-1, 10-8, 9-7 (25m)
[7] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) bt Charlie de Rycke (BEL) 10-8, 10-9, 9-0 (24m)
[3] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) bt [Q] Nehal Yehia (EGY) 9-1, 9-0, 9-0 (20m)
Amnah El Trabolsy (EGY) bt [6] Eman El Amir (EGY) 4-9, 9-1, 9-7, 9-6 (60m)
[2] Annelize Naude (NED) bt [Q] Sara Badr (EGY) 9-1, 9-6, 9-2 (20m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt [8] Aisling Blake (IRL) 10-9, 9-4, 9-0
[4] Engy Kheirallah (EGY) bt [5] Lauren Briggs (ENG) 9-5, 9-0, 9-4
[3] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) bt [7] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) 9-3, 9-5, 9-5
[2] Annelize Naude (NED) bt Amnah El Trabolsy (EGY) 5-9, 9-4, 4-9, 9-4, 9-6
Semi-finals:
[4] Engy Kheirallah (EGY) bt [1] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) 9-5, 9-4, 9-1
[3] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) bt [2] Annelize Naude (NED) 10-9, 9-1, 9-4
Final:
[4] Engy Kheirallah (EGY) bt [3] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) 6-9, 9-4, 9-10, 9-1, 9-2
REPORTS
Kheirallah Comebacks Lead To Alexandria Title
Local star Engy Kheirallah twice came back from behind against France's third seed Isabelle Stoehr in the final of the Women's Alexandria Sporting Club Squash Open to win the inaugural WISPA World Tour title in her own club in the Egyptian city of Alexandria.
Kheirallah, the 23-year-old fourth seed from Alexandria, took her place in the final after toppling top-seeded compatriot Omneya Abdel Kawy in the semi-finals.
Stoehr had also reached the final without dropping a game – in the semi-finals upsetting second seed Annelize Naude in straight games.
And the eight-times French champion took the first game in the final – and, after Kheirallah levelled to one-all, Stoehr sneaked the third in a tie-break.
But in the pair's first meeting on the WISPA World Tour, it was the Egyptian who then took the upper hand – dropping just three further points as she raced to a 6-9 9-4 9-10 9-1 9-2 victory – much to the delight of her Alexandria Sporting Club fans.
Kheirallah's impressive victory extends her 100% record in WISPA finals – in which she has won three out of three since first claiming an Egyptian Circuit event in July 2003 in Cairo.
Kheirallah & Stoehr In Surprise Alexandria Final
French champion Isabelle Stoehr and local star Engy Kheirallah are the surprise finalists in the Women's Alexandria Sporting Club Squash Open in the Egyptian city of Alexandria.
Both players reached the last four without dropping a game – and maintained this momentum in their semi-finals against higher-ranked opposition.
Kheirallah, the 23-year-old fourth seed from Alexandria, toppled top-seeded compatriot Omneya Abdel Kawy 9-5 9-4 9-1 in her first WISPA World Tour victory over the world number eight.
After a first close game which went to the wire in the other semi-final, third seed Stoehr took control of the match against No2 seed Annelize Naude, from the Netherlands, winning 10-9 9-1 9-4.
The success marks the eight-times French champion's first appearance in a WISPA final since returning to live in France, in Chambery, after being based in Manchester, England, for more than a year.
While Stoehr boasts seven WISPA final appearances to date, with three wins, Kheirallah has a 100% record in her two Tour career finals so far.
Trabolsy Troubles El Amir In Alexandria Opener
Home club advantage led Egypt's Amnah El Trabolsy to produce a significant upset over compatriot Eman El Amir in the first round of the Women's Alexandria Sporting Club Squash Open in the Egyptian city of Alexandria.
Unseeded El Trabolsy, 20, from Alexandria, defeated the Cairo-based sixth seed 4-9 9-1 9-7 9-6 in exactly one hour – the longest match of the day - to set up a surprise quarter-final appearance against Annelize Naude, the second seed from the Netherlands who took just 20 minutes to defeat Egyptian qualifier Sara Badr 9-1 9-6 9-2.
There is home interest in all four quarter-finals of this $10,000 WISPA World Tour event, led by Omneya Abdel Kawy. The top-seeded Egyptian dismissed English qualifier Georgina Stoker 10-8 9-0 9-3 in 32 minutes – and will now face Ireland's eighth seed Aisling Blake for a place in the semi-finals.
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