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@dpdopensquash
Rachel made too many errors against Hollie...
Hollie Naughton (CAN) 3-1 Rachel Arnold (MAS) Ā 11-3, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9 (31m)
Ā Rachel
I just made too many mistakes, I was going too early, maybe I needed to play a bit more simple squashā¦ She got the lead every time, and I was a bit too late to catch up. Maybe I needed to play at a faster pace today. Just very disappointed.
THE PRESENTATIONS
Ali dominant and relaxed, Mohamed passive and flat
[1] Ali Farag (Egy) 3-1 [2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (Egy) Ā 11-13, 11-6, 11-4, 11-4 (46m)
I can honestly state I have been watching Mohamed play for years and years. Live or on SquashTV, since he is 12. I never ever saw him playing that ā¦. weirdly.
The stats will give you an idea of what I mean. First game, 6 errors each. Seriously, when was the last tome both of them played sooo many errors in a single game? 7 winners for Mohamed, Ali 5. Level of squash was not the best, both looked a bit off. I put that on nerves and on what was at stake here: 1st match between them since Ali snatched both World number one and world title out of Mohamed bag. So Mohamed takes the first game, after Ali had game ball. It could have meant the end for Ali, mentally it could have given Mohamed huge confidence. But the second is to be remember as probably the worse game of Mohamed ever in a PSA final: 9 unforced errors. I kid you not. 9 EFFING UNFORCED ERRORS. As I was lucky enough to be on the front row, I could hear him going āyouāre not here. You are just not hereā to himself. Ali needed 1 winner and 1 stroke to take the game in 6m, in contrast with the 1st game, 20mā¦. Surely that was a blimp in the matrix, and Mohamed was going to come back strong and blast his way to the victory. Well, not today. Ali didnāt have to produce extraordinary shots or squash: he just ādid his thingsā as Mohamed described him: excellent length and width, keeping focus as all times, and retrieving whatever Mohamed was throwing at him. Mohamed dropped the error rate dramatically to 2, and got 3 winners in, but Ali was flying 8 winners for 0 errorsā¦.
Fourth is painful to watch for Mohamed fans, Mohamed not a single COME ON, not one YALLLA, no look at the ref, no fist.. nothing. Justā¦ nothing. Ali just played the perfect game to finish it off, 8/1, 10/3, 11/4.
See you in Gounaā¦
Mohamed
I can honestly say that itās the first time of my career that I felt that heavy. My legs felt heavy, mentally, I just couldnāt push. Normally, even if I have long matches before a final, I can rely on my fighting spirit to get back in but today, it was just weird. I tried to push, I just couldnāt. Ali was doing his things on the court, but I feel he can play better. But today, he didnāt have to. I wish I could have challenged him to play to the level he can play. Iām disappointed but he had an incredible season, he is on a roll and he is very hard to stop. There is so much respect between us, I had a great season last year, he has it this year. But he is the reason Iām going to wake up every morning for the rest of my career, to be a better player to raise my game, and I am sure we will have so many more battles, so many more tournaments to come.
Ali
The first game was really tough and it was a tough one to lose.
Iām glad I regrouped myself and Nour gave me a very good tip after the first. I would like to thank Mohamed for his kind words, it really means a lot to me coming from such a champion. Itās always a pleasure to share the court with someone who is one of the greats of our sport and Iām looking forward to many more battles in the future.
I always go onto court with Mohamed as him being the favourite. He was No.1 when I was starting -so Mohamed is always going to be favourite. I donāt put much pressure on myself but obviously Iām very happy with the way I handled things. I think I played good squash and Iām looking forward to taking that on next week in El Gouna.
The event Raneem won with 4 five setters, and clawed back from 2/0 down against Nourā¦
[1] Raneem El Welily (Egy) 3-2 [2] Nour El Sherbini (Egy) Ā 10-12, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 (65m)
What a beautiful speech Nour gave at the end. A few words, but perfect, saluting Raneemās fighting spirit, underlining the fact she won 5 setters all week and that she truly deserved her world number 1 ranking today. Yes. Raneem produced an incredible physical and mental performance today. She managed to win playing the wrong tactic for half the match, not managing to find her legendary backhand length, and fighting against a ref that really didnāt help. Or did he. Rewind to the first game, where Raneem is taking full advantage of the cold court and putting Nour under tremendous pressure to the front, from 4/4 zooming to 10/5 in seconds. She relaxed ooone little second at that point, and Nour was all over her. Nour, suddenly awake and full of beans, was picking up all at the front, Raneem keeping playing into her racquet for the rest of the game, as in 7 points, 12/10 to Nour in 11m, although keeping a high number of winners, 7 for 8 to Nour. Didnāt look good to be honest. It looked even worse when Nour took the next game, Raneem struggling on the backhand accuracy, catching the corner or the side wall, and opening the left side for Nour. Meanwhile Nour was finding long nicks from the changing rooms, finding winners for funā¦
Winners equal for both, 7, only difference was 1 error less and 1 stroke more for Nour. At 9 all, itās anybodyās game but again Nourās sharpness is lethal, and itās 11/9 in 9m.
In the third, they had a huge rally in the middle of the game, 7/6 Nour, extraordinary rally that seemed to give Nour a psychological advantage but actually killed her legs. I could see how tired she suddenly looked. Raneem noticed it as well of course, and made sure she kept the pressure on. It worked. 11/8 in 14 long minutes, 5 winners Raneem, 3 strokes 3 errors, for only 4 winners Nour and 3 errors. Fourth game is a messy one, courtesy of the ref. Nour was up 3/1, when she was awarded a stroke ā confirmed by the video ref. Raneem had been annoyed in her previous match and in this match as well by that ref that kept giving lets where she felt she had work enough to win the point. But when she was penalised for a stroke that seem to reward going for the body but not the ball, Raneem really got annoyed. She made her position very clear. And it sort of ignited her. How hard it must be to fight against Nour, her best friend for years, that she years ago described as the āpurest soul she ever metā, that she nurtures during the events, coaches, and protects. Well, getting angry at the ref seemed a good way of getting fired up without directing the anger towards her mate.
It worked. From 1/5 down, she started fighting back. When she was given another let where she thought no let and a stroke when she thought let, she just channelled it all in her racquet. At 7/8, Nour was given a no let ā for the same position it seemed to us that she got a stroke before, and we were back level at 8/8. From 5/8 Ā down, Raneem scored 6 points in a row, taking the fourth 11/8 in 14m, and forcing a deciderā¦ Nour looked tired at the start of the 5th. Raneem took full advantage of it, and got a little advantage 5/2. Nour didnāt let go, fought extremely hard to stay within reach, 7/8. But the momentum, the energy ā and the belief ā were all on Raneemās racquet at that point, and she closed it down 11/8 I 12m. Incredible. Absolutely incredible. How many players ā I can think of Laura Massaro ā came back from 2/0 down against Nour and are here to tell the taleā¦.
NourĀ : Of course, Iām disapointed but this week, she kept wining 5 setters, and today she confirmed how a great fighter she is. She proved today she deserves her number 1 ranking. We have two more tournaments to go and we Egyptians are lucky enough as we get to play home in Gouna. Hope we can rest a bit before it starts! We are soĀ happy to have that new event on the calendar, and thanks to everyone who came to support us. I was very happy to come here and I hope we get to come back next year, and hopefully Iāll win it!
Raneem:
What do you know, five-setters really paid off eventually.
Iām really happy. To come back from 2-0 down against Nour is almost impossible, mentally at least, so Iām really happy with the way I managed to push myself mentally and physically and show some character towards the end. To win is absolutely fantastic.
Itās very easy being good friends off court, itās very difficult being as compeitive as we are on court. I enjoy it on and off court, so thatās what makes it easy. She is very hard to dislike.
It was crucial, after I lost the first when I was 10-5 up, I thought I blew it up, but I just told myself itās not the end of the world just keep pushing. You need to come off court doing your best, if you screw things up sometimes you fight hard to make things right again.
I was playing short in the beginning, but it was the right thing to do at the time, but then I became passive, and I got punished.
I wasnāt moving my best at the beginning, but what I told myself was to play my shot and be ready for whatever would come next because I knew she was going to come back. Sometimes I argue with a ref for no real reason, but today I was just stating the truth. She kept going for me and not for the ball, and yes, some of my shots were in the middle, but there was plenty of room for her to play. And he gave her a stroke for minimum effort. So Iām not sure it helped me but eventually, I think he actually saw my point and gave her a no let.
We are all very excited to have that new event on the calendar and we are so happy with a men and women tournament as well. We used to come a long time ago to Netherlands, so itās nice to be back here and in this new amazing location. I need to thank my family and my coaches back home who maintain my mental and physical ability for the whole season. Iām just happyā¦
Afternoon Tea with Eric :Ā Chatting to the CEO of DPD, Eric Dietz
Brilliant match, fluid, flamboyant, powerful squash between Mohamed & Karim
[2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (Egy) 3-1 [3] Karim Abdel Gawad (Egy)11-9, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9 (49m)
I feel that Karim was struggling with his length on the backhand for a game and a half today. Mohamed on the other hand had his basic game firmly in place, allowing him to clinch the first game after a good start from Karim 5/2, levelling at 6/6, then 7/7, 9/9, 11/9 in 12m.Ā
An incredible 11 winners from Mohamed, 7 from Karim, two errors from Mohamed, none from Karim. The second is the opposite, with Mohamed keeping up with the momentum, but Karim finishing strongly, from 7/7, 11/7, with Karim āmaking Mohamed look like a foolā Mohamed dixit. This time, itās the errors that make the difference, 5 from Mohamed, with Karim only needed 5 winners to take it in 12m.
A Mohamed very solid in the 3rd, 9/4, but a good come back at the end from Karim, only bowing 11/8, in 9m, again 10 winners from Mohamed, 7 from Karim. High, very high quality squashā¦ The fourth is ridiculous squash. Karim is just sublime, he now has his length in place, finding shot combinations that Mohamed cannot retrieve, and itās 8/4. Surely we are on for a 5th. But Mohamed is making it as strong and hard as he can, forces 3 errors out of Karimās racquet, claws back to 9/9. Gigantic rallies, like the rest of the match, we are holding our breath, but itās Mohamed today, 11/9 in 13mā¦ And breatheā¦
Believe me, I was clapping as much as the crowd, I am one of his fans too. We have been battling it out since we were nine-year-olds. Iām sure we will play many more battles and to be part of a match like this when you feel like everyone enjoyed it, is what we play for.
At the beginning he was just hitting winner after winner and I was clapping and I just had to focus. Before you play him you just have to accept that he will make you look like a fool and once you accept that then you maybe have a chance of beating him. You hope for the best and that he can give you a few errors here and there. At some point, I just didnāt know what to do. What ever shot I would try and get to counter attack his backhand drop, he would punish me. If I was going short, he was quickly on it, and if I was switching it on to the forehand with a lob, he would punish me there too. I was just running out of solutions
So I told myself to try and make it as hard as possible for him. And every time that he would play that volley drop, I would get it and just make it play an extra shot. But it was so hard to get the physicality in today because the court was so cold. On a normal court, warmer, it would have been easier, but today, I had to double the work. Ā I even thought after the 3rd to change the ball but I thought that actually I might get a few errors out of him. I felt like I put a lot of work into him in the first two games and that I might collect the dividends if we were going to a fifth.Ā
Heās definitely the most talented squash player we have on tour now. You have to get the physicality into the match and make him work hard. The players who like making squash look easy donāt like playing players that make it look tough.
I looked at him at 8/4 in the 4th, and I saw he was relaxing juuuuust a little bit. And thatās not what you should do against me, because I notice everything. So I told myself to make it hard for him, and maybe collect the dividends in the 5th.
I think thatās one of the best match we ever played, it was really a very high quality match, some matches I was playing well and he wasnāt, or the reverse. But today I feel that we were both playing very well.Ā
Itās ridiculous that he would be world number 6. That man is a top three player, he should be battling for the top spot with us two Ali and I, and I just hope he can keep on playing like that on a consistent basis. We need him .
This is the first time we play with Ali where he is No.1 and Iām No.2 now, so itās reverse pressure a little bit, I think he is going to feel what I always feel when I played him before. Itās going to be a new experience for both of us, he has been having an unbelievable season. He raised the bar for all of us and we are all trying to get to that level and Iām sure itās going to be a great match tomorrow.Ā
Chicago all over again for Nour and Camille...
[2] Nour El Sherbini (Egy) 3-2 [4] Camille Serme (Fra)11-9, 11-4, 2-11, 3-11, 11-6 (52m)
Camille and Nour seem to have great matches recently. In Blackball, I commented that it the match had been played anywhere else than in Egypt, Nour would probably have folded. And what about their match in Chicago. Up 2/0, Camille catching up 2/2, to bow 11/6 in the 5th. Rings a bell? Oh yes. Same story, up to the 11/6 in the 5th! Quite incredible. Nour seems a bit under pressure today, and made a few uncharacteristic errors at the start of the match, 3, but same number for her opponent. She found more winners, 8, for āonlyā 6 for Camille. The Egyptian seemed in control, 9/5, only to be caught up by the French who wouldnāt say die. Two superb winners for Nour and itās 11/9 in 11m for the Egyptian.
Complete domination in the second, 6/0, 11/4 in 7m, look like we are heading for a quick 3/0. Yeahhhh right. The third sees Camille completely overwhelming Nour, 7/1, 11/2 in 8m, and about the same in the 4th, 11/3 in 6m! Ball in the centre, letās start all over again as we say in Franceā¦ Good start for Camille in the 5th, 3/1, but Nour is back to her best, and itās 8/3 for the Egyptian. Camille claws back to 6/8, but Nour find her groove at the crucial time, and itās 11/6 like in Chicago for Nour. Score doesnāt say the whole story as itās the longest game of the match, 14m. Nour too good in the end, but that was closeā¦ againā¦
Nour: It is the third time that I have beaten Camille 3-2. That shows how hard and tough the match is every time, unfortunately we have played the last three tournaments against each other, back to back, but Iām really glad to be on the winning side.
After being up 2-0, she really came back strong and was attacking everything when I was a bit passive and flat. In the fifth I tried to get myself back and be mentally strong, I had good advice from Raneem and Iām really glad I came back strong and won.
The top ten are really strong and every match is hard. You can expect anyone to win against the top players now. Iām trying to be as consistent as I can even if I win every tournament.
Raneem has been coaching me in all the matches, so she knows all my weaknesses now. We have been fighting for a long time now, but every match is different and it depends on the situation and the day. Hopefully I will be more fresh than her tomorrow and hopefully it will be a good match.ā
Farag through to the final
[1] Ali Farag (Egy) 3-0 [4] Simon Rosner (Ger) Ā 13-11, 11-8, 11-5 (38m)
It was a bit of a weird match I thought. First, Ali still in his wifeās match and intensity, was not really on court I felt. Not really bad, but you could feel the thought process was not complete, only reacting, not really proactive.
As for Simon, I think his new life as a dad might have a bit affected Ā his training or maybe the flew that is coming around ā please donāt shoot if itās not the case ā but I felt that he got tired pretty quickly out thereā¦Ā Simon, supported by the whole crowd, quite logically, had his chances in the first game, 10/9, but itās Ali that got the cake, thanks to 6 unforced errors from the German. Ali only needed 6 winners and 1 stroke to win in 16m. In the second, Simon was in the game up to 3/3, but from that point on, it was all about Ali. Very few long rallies, still too many errors from the German to put pressure on Ali, mentally or physically, 11/8, and again too many errors in the business end of the 3rd, 11/5 to Ali who will be grateful to be fresh for tomorrow against Mohamed...
Simon (on twitter)
Even on days like today when you possibly donāt feel physically at your best, it is always pleasing and enjoyable when you play such a fair and clean player like AliFarag is. Thank you Holland, thanks Eindhoven for an awesome event. Hope for many more to come.
Ali After Nour lost that last point, it was tough but the two of us are used to it by now. Weāve played one after the other quite a few times this season, but she put in a great display of squash, so you canāt really be disappointed. I donāt know if it was Nourās match but I was very agitated in my head. If people could have seen inside my brain, I was all over the place, should I lift the ball, should I play harder, shorterā¦. So many scenarios on my headā¦ I think that had I lost the first game, I would have been even more agitated!!
Iām really happy. Winning that first game was really important because I know it could have been totally different if I lost that one. I think my movement got me through today, I donāt think my squash was the best, he was dominating the āTā area for most of the time. Iām just glad I was moving well and picking up a lot of his balls. Itās always tough against Simon, tough but very fair, so itās always a joy to play against him especially in front of this crowd.
I would like to improve my length hitting and my short game a little ā I think it was a little better yesterday, but one thing Iām definitely happy about is my movement.ā
And itās 12/10 in the 5th.. AGAIN...
[1] Raneem El Welily (Egy) bt [3] Nour El Tayeb (Egy) 11-9, 7-11, 7-11, 11-2, 12-10 (60m)
I know that Raneem was unhappy with her match. When she told me, I didnāt really understand what she meant. But looking at my notes, I sort of see what she meant. In and out, up and down, dominant but then overwhelmedā¦ It was not a quiet river running through today for the World number 1. So much at stake to be honest. Last time those two played, Nour took away Raneemās chance to defend her world title. So much to prove. For both. It started very well for the World number 1, 7/2, lovely winners coming from her racquet, not much response from Nour. It quickly changed though, with a seesaw battle from 10/6, Raneem finding the tin a few times, and only clinching it with a delicate backhand drop shot, 11/9 in 9m. Second was the same length, but this time round, Raneem didnāt show up. It was all about a sublime Nour, 7/1, 10/2. Raneem decided that it would be good to show Nour that it was not going to be that easy, and strung a few lovely rallies, only bowing 11/7, but 5 unforced errorsā¦
A closer game the third was, 5/2 Raneem but 5/5, and Nour again dominating the rallies like she did in the previous games, Nour scoring 7 points in a row (from 2/5 to 9/5), giving her a heck of a confidence, and truly taking the game to Raneem, who just didnāt find any kind of answers on that game again, 11/7 in 9m again. Raneem was angry with herself. I could see it on her face. She stepped up the court, took the reins and never let go: in 4m it was all sorted, 11/2, while Nour took a little rest to regroup in the 5th. That decider well, have a look on squashTV. Itās worth it. Superb absolutely superb squash from both. 3/0 Nour, Raneem catching up 3/3, 5/5, 6/6, 7/7, 8/8. Raneem sets up two match balls, 10/8. Not enough. She will need another 1 at 11/10, and a fluke backhand crosscourt that shoots off the nickā¦ Funnily enough their last encounter ended on the same score, with a different winner of courseā¦ Another 5 setter for Raneemā¦ Nour El Sherbini, who she coached all week, awaitsā¦.
Ā Raneem
How bad was that finish? I think it was a bit scrappy today, probably most of the matchā¦ I am not happy with myself because I told myself not to do things before the match, and I did ALL those things I told myself not to do. And I didnāt change anything during the match, I could have, but I didnāt. So I am really not happy with myself. Good thing is that I did fight and thatās good. And I managed to win because I was lucky. But Iām not happy with anything else.
This match and the fans deserved a better ending but I guess today was my luck to finish this way. Nour played really well and maybe better than me in some parts of the match, but I just hung in there and tried to push myself to fight until the end and I live to see another day.
I have been working on my fighting spirit. My attitude and personality on court they help me get to where I am today and itās definitely something Iāve been working on and Iām happy to be in another final this season.
The crowd is absolutely fantastic. Itās been a while since weāve played in Europe, thatās not England, so itās very exciting to have a different crowd. Iāve seen so many people the last few days and hopefully they will come to many more tournaments.ā
Afternoon Tea with TD Tom Lucas
QUARTER-FINALS
Marwan has lost the edge, but will get it backā¦
[2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (Egy) 3-0 [8] Marwan ElShorbagy (Egy) Ā 11-9, 11-8, 11-6 (37m)
It was obvious from the word go what Mohamedās game plan was: making it very fast, too fast for Marwan to follow on a consistent basis. And it worked perfectly today.
Marwan needed the first game desperately, but to be honest, I donāt think his match fitness is good enough right now to threaten the top 2 players at the moment. But give him a few matches at that level, not in training but in events, and I have no doubt his brain will reconnect the missing automatism neuronesā¦ First game was pretty close, 8 winners Mo, 6 Ma, dropping dramatically in the second, same for Mo but 3 for Ma, 9 winners in the 3rd for Mo, and 4 for Ma. Basically, the pace imposed by Mohamed was just too fast for Marwan, and he has lost the edge, AT THE MOMENTā¦ Give him just a few more matchesā¦
Mohamed
I had to be sharp. When he plays me, or Ali or Tarek, or any of these top guys, he can turn his engine on at any time. He was once playing at a very high standard. You donāt just lose that all of a sudden, and he can turn it on at any time. I had to be very sharp from the first point, I had to be aggressive.
I thought it was a high quality match. He definitely made me play at my best today, and that is what I really had to do to beat him. Last year, I couldnāt have played at the pace because I would have outpaced myself, but from the first rally, I knew that was the way I had to playā¦
He is a very clever player, very streetwise. He knows how to get into his opponentās head very well and it is never easy. He knows how to stop you relaxing when you are on court and it is something he is very clever at doing and it is a credit to him. He is very clever and always, if you try and be as clever as him on court, you are going to lose out.
You need to just focus on what you need to do. There were times when he got into my head, especially in the first game, and a little bit in the second as well. I had to just refocus again, but at the end of the day, I am just really happy for him to be back.
It has been a tough year for him, there was a lot of things behind the scenes, he has been going through a lot of tough times. A lot of people who have no idea what has been happening have been saying things about him.
People keep saying stuff that sometimes hurts. When they have no idea what is happening, it affects you. People need to realise that we are not just athletes, we are normal human beings. We have feelings like anyone. The guy has been at the top of the game and he was ready to play a great season, but something out of the blue happened to him like that to keep him out of the sport.
He has been going through a really really tough time. Maybe one day, people will find out exactly what happened, but for now, people need to support him. He gives everyone squash matches that people enjoy to watch, and it is important to have him on the tour.
Itās good to have him backā¦
Nour sweeps away Tesni
[2] Nour El Sherbini (Egy) 3-0 [8] Tesni Evans (Wal)Ā 11-6, 11-8, 11-2 (27m)
Seriously, what do the players have to do to score a point against Nour at the moment? Tesni is no push over, and as we all know she can run from here to Easter and back and ask for more bless her.
Nour blasted off the starting blocks 9/1 before she sort of decided to give Tesni a bit of a run,Ā āallowing herā to get into the rallies, 5 points in a row for the Welsh that was giving it all and more.Ā But the run was shorted and 11/6 in 8m, 10 winners, 1 stroke and 1 error for Nour, 5 winners for Tes. The second was really a nice battle, but what Tesni had to run and give out was just incredible. She managed to stay in the game, 6/6, but itās Nour that finds the winners at the end of that second, 11/8. The winners are pretty equal, 8 for Nour, 7 for Tes, but itās the errors that make the difference, 2 for the Welsh, none for Sherbini. Third is a formality, 8/1, 11/2...Ā
Tesni
āWhat do I need to do? I donāt think I was doing much wrongā¦ Can we start the match again?ā Nour :
Iām really happy to win in three.
It may have looked easy, but itās never easy playing Tesni. The first two games were really close, I worked really hard to beat her and Iām very happy with my performance. Iām looking forward to the next round.
Itās hard to warm-up with it being cold, but once you get on court and start the game, then I felt better. The conditions are better and Iām used to the court more, the seats are full today so maybe that made a difference, but Iām used to it and happy playing on it.ā
Gawad survives Coll onslaught
[3] Karim Abdel Gawad (Egy) bt [6] Paul Coll (Nzl) 7-11, 11-7, 11-6, 14-12 (75m)
This was a match I feel Paul Coll could have won had he not changed his game plan in the 3rdā¦
Most people know Paul as the flying retriever, hence his Superman nickname. But what they might have missed is how hard the New Zealander has improved his short game, and in particular his counter drop shots. Today I feel thatās when he was doing the most damage to Karim, not only score wise, but mental wise, and whenever Karim was finding sublime attacks, Paul was there and paying him back with dividends!!! That damaged the Egyptian, and in the legs too as he had to run to the front again and again when he could have had point won. Again, and again.
And the game plan worked: in the first game, Paul actually scored more winners than Karim! 6 to 4, forcing as well 4 errors out of the BFA! Karim had reassessed in the second, managing to weather the storm of the start of the match, and taking the lead 10/6, 11/7, but again, a very balanced winner rate, 6 all. For an unknown reason, Paul went back to his old habits, hitting hard to the back, and trying to keep his opponent at the back. And he lost his attacks, and energy. Didnāt work for him AT ALL, 6/2, 10/5, 11/6, only 4 winners.. But thank GOD he found his mojo in the 4th, started redropping again, and putting Karim under a heck of a pressure. Close it was, 2/2, 4/4, but Karim takes the lead and sets up 4 match balls, 10/6.
At that point, we have an historic moment, probably the worst call made this year, more ridiculous you would have to come a long way, a stroke where an obvious no let should have given Karim the match. Paul took his chances from that point on, and truly took the game to Karim, some incredible rallies, a few video calls, a lot of decisions, it was all happening on there! Somehow, Karim didnāt lose his composure while Paul left literally everything on there, he canāt have an inch of regret, but in the end, Karim got the last word, how, I donāt know to be honest, but he did, on his 7th match ball. As you do.
Karim Iām feeling great. Coming back from 6-10, to 10-10 and then almost winning the game shows how good he is and how mentally strong he is. I had to fight from the first point to be able to beat someone like Paul today.
I have a lot of tactics, I lost to him the last two times we played, so I knew I had to have two or three plans in place to win today. Playing him I only had to play the good basics, if I played the basics good then Iād be able to play a little better than I used to against him. Heās such a great player physically.
Itās great playing here and having a tournament in Holland is great for all of us in such a nice country. Itās amazing to see how many people like squash here in Holland so thanks to everyone who came and supported us and hopefully they will come in the next two rounds.ā
Laura not at her best, Camille in and outā¦
[4] Camille Serme (Fra) 3-1 [6] Laura Massaro (Eng) Ā 11-3, 9-11, 11-5, 11-6 (40m)
It was a bit of a weird match I thought. Not that Camille doesnāt deserve her win, but I feel like Laura has not been on top of her form in his event. Even in her previous match, no offence to Hollie Naughton, but she had to really fight to come back in the match, her game not on at the start of the match.
Today again, yes, Camille took her chances in the first game and had a great game, but I felt that Laura was a bit subdued, not completely moving the way she normally does. Of course she fought back, she always does, taking a very close next game, 6/6, 7/7, 8/8, 9/9, lobbing Camille superbly 11/9 in 10m, less winners than Cam, 4 for 5 for Cam, but she didnāt have to get too many points as the Frenchwoman offered 5 unforced errors. The next two games saw Camille reestablish her dominance, stepping up the court, but again, Laura not as positive or fired up as she normally is, I thought, 11/5, 11/5ā¦ 40m gameā¦ Maybe the court conditions have got a lot to answer for?
Camille
Iāve kind of looked up to Laura as a mentor since the beginning.Ā Weāve had really strong matches in the past and I know how strong she is mentally and she can always come back from any situation. After the first game I knew not to think it was going to be easy because she can come back strongly and she did.
Sheās very smart and always tries to find solutions tactically and thatās why sheās been World No.1 and World Champion.
I had to try and stay focus the whole game and not have ups and downs. I tried to find my length better again and volley again.
Miguel in great form while Ali looks the business
[1] Ali Farag (Egy) 3-1 [5] Miguel Rodriguez (Col) Ā 11-5, 11-1, 6-11, 11-9 (49m)
What really impressed me in that game was how Ali was not letting anything pass through him in the first two games. He was volleying everything, and Miguel didnāt find any solutions then.
Of course, when you win a game 11/1 against somebody as talented as Miguel, you are bound to have a boomerang coming back full speed, and thatās exactly what happened. The Colombian found an amazing balanced attacking/defensive squash, truly making Ali look overwhelmed in that 3rd, and for the second part of the 4th. āIf in the 3rd, it was him raising his game, in the 4th, that was me switching off and thinking I was already in the shower relaxing awayā admitted the number 1. Up 4/1, 6/2, 9/3, 10/4, only to take the game and match 11/9!!! To be noted that poor Miguel gave us a big fright at the start of the 4th, twisting his blue shoe on his own and truly looked like game was over. But thank the Angels, he came back with a vengeance after the intervention of the PSA physio whose magic hands seemed to sort his ankle pretty quickly. Thatās reassuring as there are some more events coming upā¦
Ali :
Everyone is improving day after day and we havenāt played since the British Open when he beat me and so I was aware of that today. He has been playing well all season so I was on my mettle for the match today.
I guess I was inspired by Nourās level today. And actually I texted her that she didnāt need me anymore coaching her as she was doing much better on her own!
I started off as well as she did. In the first two I felt like I was finding my targets quite well, the court is quite dead in all of the corners. In the third he was coming back at me and he found better targets. Then as I was losing the third I said to myself I needed to regroup and find the back corners again and I think I did that well.
It was unfortunate the incident he had, and I hope itās nothing serious because we have another tournament in less than a week.
This venue is amazing. Thatās the beauty of our sport that you can put a glass court anywhere in the world and we really enjoy it. Itās a great way to showcase our sport and I think Miguel and I did our sport proud today.
Raneem battles past Amanda
[1] Raneem El Welily (Egy) 3-2 Amanda Sobhy (Usa) 7-11, 11-7, 11-7, 4-11, 11-8 (53m)
What a match, what a battle, what a suspense that wasā¦ At 8/8, I was the only one in the world knowing who the winner would be ā¦.NOT!!! Seriously, apart from the ref bless him who was not having the best of days but whatās new, keeps giving strokes for the same situation over and over again, while he gets overruled again and again, we have a gem of a match Incredibly, the match still didnāt reach the hour mark! Ā I was so sure I would have been able to be the first one to witness Amanda finally playing an officially recorded match over the Hour mark but noā¦ Not yetā¦ Felt like that they worked 80m to be honest!
Amanda was always a superb lethal attacker but her movement front and back was not her strongest quality. This match, I was able to admire how superb her retrieving skills now are, as Raneem kept throwing the kitchen sink with the fridge and all and the ball kept coming back. That was the key to the match.
Raneem didnāt really panic, keeping an average of 3 errors per game (apart from the first game 5), so she didnāt go too close to the tin, just kept on plugging winners away, that kept coming backā¦
First game was Amanda at her best, 9/4 before the World number one started to take the measure of her opponent. She found her momentum at the end of the game, losing only 11/7 in 9m and carried it forward to the next 2 games, 7, 7, 9m and 7m.
To be fair, I thought that was it, as Raneem was truly dominant and fluid on there today but all credit to Amanda, who found her second wind ā as she told herself it would come ā and strung a few strokes 3 to be precise that made the difference score wise. 11/4 for the American, and we were in a decider.
To be noted a blond moment from the ref at the start of that 4th. Raneem on the way to the left corner being thrown to the floor by the contact with Amanda. āMinimum interference, no letā goes the ref. āhave you seen what happenedā goes Raneem. āOh, yes, actually Iām going to ask for the video decisionā. āYou canātā goes rightly Amanda āyou already taken your decisionā. āI changed my mindā goes the refā¦. Of course, the video decision was a letā¦ Jzzzzzā¦.
The fifth was a nailbiting suspense, with a superb start from Raneem, 4/1, only to be caught up at 5/5, 6/6, 7/7, 8/8. There the experience/magic of the Enigmatic Butterfly came in play, and despite a fierce defence from the contender, itās the world number 1 that prevails today, 11/8.
I knew it all alongā¦
Amanda
Yes, Fram, Iām very happy you noticed, and my team is certainly going to be happy you noticed that I have been 100% working on my retrieving skills! I have worked on my movement, and also on my mental strength, and as importantly, on my adaptability when my game plan doesnāt work, how to change the pace, height of the shotsā¦ I wish I won, of course, but I am very proud what I managed to achieve here on my own. I come here, no coach, so itās all about myself internally, itās just me having to push. Itās hard sometimes when you see Ali and Nour in Raneemās corner, but I knew what to expect, and thatās okā¦ But anything can happen in Squash, so I told myself OK, what if that is your last ever, how would you like to be remembered? And that worked. After the third, I was really tired, but I told myself to hang in there as the second wind was bound to kick in. And with my team, weāve worked on how to handle a 5th, how to stay fresh and at 8/8 I was still ready and all there but she fired in two winnersā¦ I thought I had crossed the 60m barrier, it felt so long!!! But no, not yetā¦ Still, I think my team will be proud today.
Raneem
Iām very happy to be through. Iāve been waiting for the day to play Amanda since she came back from injury, so this says a lot about her comeback and all credit to her. She played so well and was so sharp today to push me to my limit. At 8-8 in the fifth I was hanging in and I was afraid she was going to fire something into the nick like she did in previous points but Iām very happy that I managed to stay in those rallies. Itās been a very good season for me, Iām definitely enjoying myself on the court more than I did in previous years. I donāt want it to stop, I really want to keep on playing and winning as much as I can, but mostly enjoy it. Itās less stress not having to worry about Tarekās matches, but itās hard not having me and his support and advice. But heās earned his rest and hopefully heās getting ready for Gouna next week.