Hurghada International

The World of Squash
at Your Fingertips

Online Store
Books, Subs, Videos

Squash Directory
Where to get it all

Classified Section
Job, Jobs, Jobs Something to sell ...

Hurghada International 2004
06-12 Jul, Hurghada, Egypt, $21k 

Mon 12th Jul:
FINAL

[1] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt [3] Omneya Abdel Kawy
      (Egy) 9/5, 9/1, 9/4 (41m)


 
GRINHAM DENIES
HURGHADA HOPEFULS
Photos & reports from WISPA

Rachael Grinham had only suffered two WISPA Tour defeats all year, but would Omneya Abdel Kawy be able to add to that tally in the Hurghada International final?

The Cairo based Australian hadn’t come close to dropping a game before the final, but did admit that the extreme heat, even in the cooler evenings, might present problems in an extended match. Her Egyptian opponent knew all about long matches, having played for 80 and 77 minutes in the quarters and semis, but said she was ready.

Also ready were the great sea of supporters who came over to the island and more than filled the seating. Watching on live TV wouldn’t do it for them; waving national flags, portraits of the President, chanting and generally trying to propel their girl to victory on a tide of support was the order of the day.

Unfortunately for them, and indeed President Mubarak, whom the crowd were told was watching the match in Cairo, willpower can help but the business has to be done on court, and Abdel Kawy was unable to do more than dent the Australian defences.

The world number two had played quite defensively in earlier rounds, working the hot lively ball and awaiting impatient or lax strokes from her opponents. As the final unfolded she showed no more willingness to trade punches at the front as well as the back of the court.

The Egyptian was given limited chances to flaunt her "hold" shot at the front, and red topped Grinham's sheer nimbleness was enough to get her off most hooks when her opponent got forward. Deceptively fast herself, Abdel Kawy was forced to turn and chase as the Grinham wrist and length combined to good effect

Still short of her nineteenth birthday, and sporting a white bandanna for the final, the pretender was playing with assuredness despite the pressure of the occasion, and even spurted three points ahead in the first. But that was the high point as soon Grinham's tight control began to tempt her into indiscreet attempts to win rallies.

Intense talking from coach Ahmed El Batrany between games couldn't change the flow and this became the continuing story of the whole match - competitive but not close; and ending with a final attempt at a nick that would end up careering into the top of the tin.

Grinham clearly regarded the whole event as a difficult mission, despite not dropping a game. "Omneya is just too dangerous at the front so I played it longer and waited for mistakes," Grinham said. "She is improving all the time and is becoming a bigger threat," she added.

As for the loser, she told the crowd: "I am sorry I didn't win. I tried very hard and I promise I will do better next time."

But Abdel Kawy had nothing to be upset about, having yet again proved her credentials as a real burgeoning force at the very highest level.

Now, having sandwiched a trip to compete in the Brunei International at the end of the month Grinham will try to complete an Egyptian "home" double at her base club staged at the Heliopolis Open in four weeks time.

"I am really looking forward to playing in front of the Heliopolis members who have been so good to me," she concluded before contemplating driving back there across the desert in the morning.

The win brings Grinham's tally of WISPA titles to 15.

Kawy receives the runners-up trophy
 

• Draws & Results

• Reports

• Hurghada info

2003 Event Owens tames Grinham
2002 Event Campion blown away

WISPA GIRLS FACE A 75,000 CROWD! Friday night saw no play in the Hurghada International as it was Hurghada Festival night. A large stage was erected in the centre of the city for a major pop concert. According to the Al Ahram newspaper on Saturday morning the number of people in the square, adjoining streets and watching on big screen erected elsewhere was around 75,000 ... and the WISPA players were presented to them all on stage. To rousing cheers Rachael Grinham took the microphone to greet the people of Hurghada ... in Arabic as well as English! The show was also broadcast to the whole nation on TV. As Tegwen Malik, said: "It was spectacular but daunting. Standing in front of such a sea of people is not normal for us!!"

Rachael meets her twin ...

Alison Waters

Omneya Abdel Kawy

Rebecca Macree

Qualifying, Cairo:

Finals, Mon 5th:
Becky Botwright (Eng) bt Nadine Baghat (Egy)  9/2, 9/0, 9/0
Salma Shabana (Egy) bt Amnah El Trabolsy (Egy)  9/5, 9/5, 3/9, 8/10, 9/2
Kate Roe (Eng) bt Hend Osama (Egy)  9/5, 9/1, 9/4
Raneem El Weleily (Egy) bt Lina El Tanir (Egy)  9/3, 9/7, 9/6

First Round, Sun 4th:
Becky Botwright (Eng) bt Shahenda Osama (Egy)  9/3, 9/6, 9/4 (23m)
Nadine Baghat (Egy) bt Nour El Tayeb (Egy)  9/0, 9/0, 9/0  (15m)
Amnah El Trabolsy (Egy) bt Aliaa Balbaa (Egy)  9/2, 9/3, 9/0 (20m)
Salma Shabana (Egy) bt Israa Sami (Egy)  9/1, 9/1, 9/3 (16m)
Hend Osama (Egy) bt Heba Tork (Egy)  9/0, 9/7, 9/6 (24m)
Kate Roe (Eng) bt Engi El Sherif (Egy)  walkover
Lina El Tanir (Egy) bt Nour Baghat (Egy)  9/0 rtd
Raneem El Weleily (Egy) bt Merihan Amr (Egy)  9/0, 9/5, 9/0 (17m)

Qualifiers move on to Hurghada

Semi-finalists in Hurghada

Sat 10th July, SEMI-FINALS:
[1] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt [7] Alison Waters (Eng)   9/4, 9/2, 9/4 (25m)
[3] Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy) bt [2] Rebecca Macree (Eng)  9/5, 6/9, 9/0, 10/8  (77m)

KAWY KEEPS
HOME CROWD HAPPY
Photos & reports from WISPA

After the quarter finals Omneya Abdel Kawy admitted to the special pressure of competing in front of her home supporters. She had squeezed through in that match against Tegwen Malik, but a semi final against Rebecca Macree promised to ratchet up the degree of difficulty even more.

The island was bathed in a warm blanket, with a swirling breeze that pulled up corners of carpeting around the court but had little effect on the two players enclosed within the glass box. The crowd was voluble in support of Abdel Kawy, but this was sensed rather than heard by deaf Macree, and so only having an impact on the focus of the Egyptian world junior champion.

On form, Macree had the edge, having recorded a 3/0 win in March when they met at the Washington Summit, but Abdel Kawy, still a month short of her nineteenth birthday has been maturing. Her maturity on court has always been beyond her years, and off court her assuredness has grown too. All in all, the experienced Macree would be facing tough package.

The result was a four act play, a drama … and at 77 minutes a full length  production.

As the first act unfolded we began to learn more about the two main characters. Abdel Kawy being focussed, going about her business unfussily. Macree, meanwhile was more extravagant in play and reaction to decisions. The Egyptian occasionally looked fearful as Macree sometimes motored towards her.

But Abdel Kawy had settled into a better length, teased more winning boasts, and as the sound of evening prayers wafted across the water she took the first game.

During the second act Abdel Kawy lost a little composure as the gaps between her opponent getting hand in and serving became longer than she would have wished, but the English player was also getting more serves as the quality of her game improved.  Meanwhile, the home player was giving away too many easy strokes in the middle of the court.

As Macree played game point she caught her opponent on the side of the face. Enter the supporting actor, referee Hatim Hassan, who adjudged the swing excessive and awarded a conduct stroke against Macree.

He continued to have to deal with traffic and other problems and received rave reviews from all informed observers. After a two minute gap for attention Abdel Kawy came back, only to lose the game after 25 minutes to little audience reaction.

But when she played the next with a freedom and exuberance, going forward and driving and dropping, the watchers really began to loudly enjoy the show again. Macree, meanwhile was indulging in the sort of exaggerated responses that characterise amateur dramatics, but could find no effective responses.

To a great cheer and the sort of singing and dancing that is so definitely Egyptian, Abdel Kawy walked back to her bench two games to one ahead.

The pattern continued as she sailed to 8/2 match ball in the fourth, but that reckoned without a dramatic finish to the fourth act. As so often happens, an elbowed shot into the tin can signal a recovery, and Macree took her cue. Shouts of encouragement were beginning to get more desperate as Macree moved towards parity, and having saved two match balls at 2/8 and a further pair at 7/8 she levelled at eight all when Abdel Kawy was refused a let for a Macree forehand drive that she couldn't reach.

Hands changed, the crowd was mesmerised, but after a further two match balls the Egyptian brought the curtain down with a crunching volleyed forehand drive. What a drama!

Beaming broadly, the heroine told the crowd that she couldn't have done it without them. In terms of detail she explained: "I wanted to let nothing get into my head and just keep thinking about my squash. Now I am just so pleased to have won for everybody who supported me".    

GRINHAM BEATS GRITTY WATERS
The second semi seemed much easier to call, pitting as it did the world number two with a player ranked twenty five places below her. To her credit, Alison Waters was unfazed by the gulf, and though Rachael Grinham was able to win comprehensively, she found herself up against a resourceful and dogged opponent.

Perhaps Waters was helped by the fact that this was not the first time she had faced such elevated opposition; indeed she had played the Australian in the first round of the World Open last December – though managing a haul of only six points.

The twenty year old from North London had a height and reach advantage over the elfin-like Grinham; both have deceptive wrists, but Grinham's speed, general ball placement and simple experience was more than enough to bring the curtain down on the Waters campaign.

Very few people watched, little was memorable, but after the efficient performance Grinham was clear that: "The final will be tough as Omneya is playing very well, and especially hard with the crowd helping too."


Sunday is another rest day, caused by TV scheduling issues, so the finalists have time to recover before the final island battle on Monday.

Abdel Kawy can certainly use it, and bearing mind that national TV have shown every round live, even including qualification, it never seemed unreasonable to create a schedule that worked for them.    
  

---

WATERS WALTZES INTO
HURGHADA SEMIS ...
Photos & reports from WISPA
All of the top eight seeds had secured semi final berths, and as so often when an event reaches the quarters stage, some interesting match ups were on offer to squash enthusiasts, holidaymakers and local people who came across the wooden footbridge to the island sited glass court.

08-Jul, Quarter-finals:
[1] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt [8] Engy Kheirallah (Egy)  9/3, 9/3, 9/2  (38m)
[7] Alison Waters (Eng) bt [4] Pamela Nimmo (Sco)  1/9, 7/9, 9/4, 10/8, 9/6  (68m)
[3] Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy) bt [6] Tegwen Malik (Wal) 3/9, 9/6, 9/4, 8/10, 9/7 (80m)
[2] Rebecca Macree (Eng) bt [5] Carla Khan (Pak)  9/2, 9/7, 9/3  (45m)

GRINHAM DRIVES INTO SEMIS
Rachael Grinham was not only strong favourite, but afforded the luxury of playing close to her long term Cairo base. She had driven across the desert to reach the Red Sea, her only concern being that she could make out the road signs to Hurghada in Arabic.

Her opponent Engy Kheirallah, being Egyptian, would have had no such trouble, but the world ranked 26 from Alexandria did have more than a little difficulty as far as the match was concerned. She had taken a game off the Australian in their last meeting, but that was in 2001 since when the Grinham star has shone still brighter.

Grinham was relishing the court time and didn't attack her opponent, simply rallied until an error was induced from Kheirallah. Crowd support was welcomed but could have little influence as Kheirallah found herself being pulled around the court and eventual defeat.

WALTERS WINS CLASSIC
She would play the winner of fourth seed Pamela Nimmo and seventh placed Alison Waters. This was a tie that had the makings of being close, because although Nimmo has an extra six years of experience, Waters, a member of the World Junior winning team from 2001, had the boost of a win in their encounter previous last October in Atlanta.

It turned out to be a minor classic. Both players started by abstaining from going short, but the extended rallies were more often eventually taken with a tight drive by the Scot, and it was already proving to be hard work.

Nimmo was supported by her holidaying mother Elizabeth who was to be found on the bench in conversation with her daughter between games; but perhaps the ministrations of Middlesex teammate Dominique Lloyd-Walter were more effective as after the lost first Waters started to attack the ball. She went further forward and began to influence the shape of rallies more. While the 20 year old was punishing the ball Nimmo was trying to maintain enough tightness to minimise the damage, her durability keeping her in front.

The ball was lively in the heat, but even as the match became a fascinatingly extended affair both players showed little sign of slowing. Waters was coming back and pulled away in the third to bring the score back to 1 / 2 after just shy of 40 minutes. As the fourth unfolded Nimmo regained the initiative with a series of short winners and stood at match ball at 8/3. Here she tinned and the dynamic slowly altered. As Waters commented afterwards "At match ball I said to myself let's get going, picked up a few points and she got a little tense". The eventual outcome was a climb back to eight all and the game taken snatched on the second time of asking with a flicked cross court drop.

Waters then moved on to 5/3 in the fifth before Nimmo, now berating herself, clawed back to parity. But in the end, Waters was not to be denied and having been all but beaten, had now definitely won – after 68 minutes of compelling action.

KAWY DOESN'T DISAPPOINT
The third match featured the darling of the home crowd, Omneya Abdel Kawy. Before the match she had told journalists "People are expecting me to do well. Playing in Egypt can make it more difficult". Pitched against Tegwen Malik, a dangerous but relatively unknown quantity, only added to the pressure. They hadn't met on court before, yet are similar in that their games are both based on touch, variety and use of the whole court.

This mirrored the Nimmo / Waters match after Malik made a strong start before the Egyptian settled into a rhythm. She then found herself similarly down and nearly out in the fourth. This time Abdel Kawy was 8/5 ahead and already two games to one in front. But Malik was still moving wonderfully freely, weaving patterns with the ball and causing Abdel Kawy concerns. The Egyptian, like Nimmo, tensed enough to offer an escape route, and much to the chagrin of the large voluble crowd Malik levelled.

Both players continued to find great width and telling boasts, but Abdel Kawy was up 7/3 in the decider before the pendulum swung again. An exquisite Welshwoman drop levelled matters at seven all, but there was to be no sting in the tail for the third seed as an overhead backhand straight drop took Abdel Kawy to match ball and victory when a desperate Malik lunge onto the back wall fell short of the front. The players hugged, had played the second great match of the evening and the local crowd and national TV audience went away happy. Indeed, the winner was informed that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had watched the action on television.

"I knew that it would be difficult. She plays really well and runs so I was worried" said Abdel Kawy. "I wanted to win to please the crowd", she added.

MACREE'S LATE NIGHT
She now plays Rebecca Macree, the second seed winning the battle of training partners by beating athletic Carla Khan, just as she had done when they had met in the British Open. Since then Macree had overcome a serious looking ankle injury and having just turned 33 is playing as well as she has ever done.

The four semi finalists have the luxury of a rest day before Saturday semis as the Hurghada Festival concludes in the evening with a major pop concert at which the players will be presented to the tens of thousands of revellers who are attending.

However, bearing in mind that Khan and Macree came off court at 12.30am, half an hour into Friday, perhaps technically there is no rest day!
 

---

07-Jul, Day TWO:

First round, bottom half:
[2] Rebecca Macree (Eng) bt Rebecca Botwright (Eng)    9/3, 9/0, 9/6 (26m)
[3] Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy) bt Dominique Lloyd-Walter (Eng)  9/2, 9/2, 9/6 (35m)
[5] Carla Khan (Pak) bt Sharon Wee (Mas)  0/9, 9/4, 9/6, 9/0 (42m)
[6] Tegwen Malik (Wal) bt Raneem El Weliely (Egy)   9/2, 9/1, 9/0 (22m)
 

HURGHADA THERMOSTAT
STUCK ON HIGH ...
Photos & reports from WISPA

As ever, the Hurghada heating thermostat was stuck on high for the bottom half of the draw at the Red Sea resort.

Light daytime practice in the outdoor court oven was supplemented by routines on the indoor courts at the Marriott Beach Resort Hotel before the evening programme of matches.

The first match featured the English Rebecca's. Botwright (R) had come through the qualification in Cairo to be drawn to face the second seed Macree (R), a Hurghada veteran.

Macree, after a couple of months enforced absence after sustaining ligament damage at the last World Open has returned in fine fettle and was in no mood to let her guard slip against the willing outsider. She started the match hitting low and hard, and it was only when she started to employ boasts and drops on a more regular basis that Botwright was able to buy into the match, trading rallies more regularly. She got to 6/7 in the third before being wrongfooted twice with wristy cross court drops and the chance of securing a game was gone.

The Egyptian TV audience watching the live transmission at home had their best hope playing in the second match. World junior champion Omneya Abdel Kawy, an experienced campaigner of all of 18 years, was not about to disappoint them. Opponent Dominique Lloyd Walter, like Botwright a Hurghada debutant, tugged hard at the cord of tee control but was never able to prise it away from Abdel Kawy for sustained periods. Rallies were extended but Lloyd-Walter had little to show for her 35 minutes on court. As she said ruefully afterwards, "The court was really good, certainly not dead; but Omneya had too many shots and anything I hit short left me in trouble"

The players themselves judged the third match to be the most likely to be close during the evening, and so it was. Fifth seed Carla Khan, sporting braided a hairstyle concocted by the hotel hairdresser, was up against resurgent Sharon Wee. Tee Malaysian had last month beaten Chiu (R!) to take the silver in the Asian championships and so Khan was likely to be stretched. Wee snaffled the first game with Khan looking uncomfortable as she got used to the court, but from that point the Pakistani began to take control with her high octane athleticism. Her opponent was trading punches until she began to slowly unravel at the end of the third.

Khan's win set up a quarter final against training partner Macree.

Finally, the unarguably superb Egyptian prospect would take her turn. Fifteen year old Raneem El Weliely has all the pieces of the jigsaw ready to fall into place for a hugely successful career and demonstrated them to the full in her match against Tegwen Malik. The Welsh player had the experience and control to deal with the threat now and won 3/0, but Malik was quick to praise her young foe . "She has fantastic potential. She already has a great all round game and only needs to develop the patience which will come with match practice".

Malik, a deceptively fast mover with a languid all court game, will be the next challenge for Abdel Kawy in the quarters. "I haven't played Omneya before and I am looking forward to it. It should be interesting", she concluded before returning across the wooden bridge to the mainland.

With the weather forecast indicating warmth, as it does every day, it is likely to be mirrored by the heat of last eight battle.

06-Jul, Day ONE:
HURGHADA DEBUTANTS
SPILL SUPERLATIVES ...
Photos & reports from WISPA

The summer Egyptian sun shone strongly on several debutants in the Hurghada International 2004; all of whom were liberally spilling superlatives about the glass court set on a tiny Red Sea island reached by a wooden footbridge from the Marriott Beach Resort Hotel.

As Canadian Runa Reta told a local journalist "This is the most beautiful venue I've ever seen. The yachts, Red Sea and resort are awesome".

As darkness fell the lights from boats bobbing nearby provided a twinkling backdrop to an opening ceremony featuring energetic local dancing - with the WISPA players joining in before their own televised parade preceded the action.

The sun finished its unbroken tour of duty for the day but the temperature was still in the mid twenties Celsius, though tempered by a sea breeze.

The five Egyptian players in the main draw were led off by Engy Kheirallah, with all the matches covered by live television throughout the evening. She was up against England's Kate Roe, aged 25, who had come through the qualification to fetch up against the eighth seed from Alexandria.

Kheirallah, who had beaten the current world number 10 Jenny Duncalf in Washington in March was simply too steady for her opponent. The reason became clearer afterwards when Roe explained that not only had she not played outside before, but had never competed on an all glass court at all! "It was just so different I felt it wasn't me playing out there. I could see the ball well but my length was terrible" she said.

Kheirallah's 1999 World junior championship winning teammate Eman El Amir was next up against fourth seed Pamela Nimmo. The Scot had seen a recent resurgence and this continued despite local support fervently trying to carry forward the Egyptian Nimmo was too efficient and induced too many errors from El Amir.

Her quarter final opponent would be the victor in the battle between Runa Reta and Alison Waters, the seventh seed. In what promised to be a tight match. However, Waters settled to the task immediately and although the rallies were competitive with hands changing to and fro, it was the English girl whose tally slowly rose in each game. After 32 minutes she was able to return to the mainland having secured a berth in the last eight.

The final bout of the evening saw one and a half Egyptians on court! Salma Shabana counted as full, with long term Cairo resident Rachael Grinham forming the partial. Shabana, watched by two year old son Marawen found the world number two too sharp and mobile, but Shabana showed that motherhood and the demands of her coaching position at the Maadi Club in Cairo have not diminished either her appetite as she tried to match the Australian. That said, she was pleased to qualify after a tough match with Egyptian rising star Amnah El Trabolsy to take a main draw slot. Grinham, the favourite for the title cruised into the quarters where Kheirallah awaits her.

---

05-Jul, Final Qualifying:
WISPA Returns to the Red Sea
The WISPA tour kicks off the Summer with a return to the spectacular setting of Egypt's Red Sea resort of Hurghada.

Cairo-based Australian Rachael Grinham, who lost out to Carol Owens in last year's final, is top seed, and will be hoping to add a 'home' title to her rapidly-growing collection. England's Rebecca Macree is seeded two, and Egyptian fans will be able to cheer on world junior champion Omneya Abdel Kawy, who is seeded three.

Qualifying in Cairo saw two Egyptians, Salma Shabana and Raneem El Weleily, and two Englishwomen, Becky Botwright and Kate Roe, reach the main draw.

The main round action takes place in Hurghada, where the temperature today was reported to be 42°C (108°F). Fortunately the matches take place from 7.30 in the evening, when it should be somewhat cooler!

Qualifying Results