Framboise Gommendy catches up with ...
Amr SHABANA:
I WANTED TO
REDEEM MY DIGNITY

As I told you earlier this week, I was looking forward to see the Egyptian in action. I read, heard so much about him, I wanted to be swept off my feet.

And to start with, I wasn’t.

But as the days passed, the charismatic World Champion played better and better. He has a great sense of humour (don’t forget that like me, English is not his first language, so my hat to him), he is quick, charming, warm, very humble and yet very proud.

In three words, I like him.

“It’s all mental, you know”, he told me while putting some ice on his shin splints, “the first day, I was a bit edgy, I was playing without thinking, just hitting the ball, a power game if you will. Then I got 2 bad calls, and lost my concentration.”

At that moment, I pointed out that, whatever the quality of the refereeing, he should not have challenged the referee, and should have gone on playing his own game, instead of playing a separate match with the official.

He humbled “yes, I know, you’re right”, to which I replied “Of course I’m right, I’m French, AND a woman”. Amr laughed his head off “Of course, of course, I should have known…”

Then he went on:
“Yesterday, in my match against Joe Kneipp, I didn’t push forward, I didn’t try enough, and as it’s often the case, the body locks out, and I started feeling my injuries again, and I didn’t perform well either.

“So today, I wanted to redeem my dignity. People were expecting a World Champion, and I gave them the performance of a local player.

“Tonight, I played better, and I hope that next year, I’ll qualify again and give a much better performance right from the start.

Can’t wait to see the man again, he is a pleasure to know…

 "Amr"