Windy City Squash

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[egyptiansquash]

Consistency is the Key for Marwan  Shorbagy

by Youni Ellous

World Championship runner-up Marwan ElShorbagy will return to the scene of one of his biggest ever victories on the PSA World Tour later this week when the Egyptian competes at the 2018 Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family & EquiTrust Life Insurance Company, PSA World Series tournament between February 22-28.

ElShorbagy reached his first ever World Series final at the 2017 installment of the Windy City Open, with one win in particular standing out – his quarter-final triumph over older brother and then-World No.1 Mohamed, which proved to be one of the defining moments of the 2016/17 season.

Never before had Marwan taken more than a game against his sibling in seven previous meetings but, under the chandeliers of the University Club of Chicago’s Cathedral Hall, the 24-year-old defied expectations to take a huge win in four games – leading to tearful scenes as the emotional weight of the result took its toll on both brothers.

“Of course it gave me a lot of confidence,” said Marwan.

“Playing my brother is always more difficult for me and to get that first win against him was really hard for me. I was very happy with the way I dealt with it emotionally until the end of the tournament and with how I backed it up the day after against Ali [Farag].”

Marwan’s win over Farag in the next round took him through to a maiden World Series final, where he eventually came unstuck against World No.1 Gregory Gaultier.

But that final proved to be something of a breakthrough for the Bristol-based Egyptian, who has won two PSA World Tour titles, reached the final of the PSA World Championships and reached a career-high World No.4 ranking, all in the past 12 months.

Marwan puts his rapid improvement down to an increase in consistency, saying: “I think I have been playing very well recently. I feel being inside the top four is making me more of a consistent player, which is something I have been working on lately on how to back up tournaments.

“I’m just enjoying my time on court and hope to keep that form going.

“I’m not putting any pressure on myself to win a first major [title], it will come at the right time for me. Right now, I’m just focused on being a better squash player every day.”

Marwan will play Hong Kong’s Leo Au in round one and is seeded to meet Farag in the semi-finals once again as he battles for a share of the $500,000 prize fund, which is split equally across both the men’s and women’s draws and is a record amount for a PSA World Series tournament.

“I love going back to Chicago every year, it’s one of my favourite events of the year,” he said.

“I remember in 2011 I reached my first ever semi-finals at a World Series tournament and last year I reached my first ever final. It was a great tournament for me, and I’m so looking forward to coming back this year.”

Source: Windy City Open

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Elshorbagy takes the title as Matthew is finally stopped…

Final: [1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (Egy) 3-0 [2] Nick Matthew (Eng)     11-6, 11-3, 1-0 retired (22m)

It took some doing you know, to finally stop the three times world champion. But stopped he was. I’m told by the English Camp that it started with a sore right ankle, and probably a compensation on the other side that created tension in the left glut, causing spasm preventing Nick to play at his best – that he needed to beat an in-form Mohamed…. It was not as if Nick showed distress or lack of fluidity in his movement in the first game, but it was the high number – 5  - of unforced errors that immediately let us to believe something was not right. After only 11m of a first game – that’s not even a warm up for those two - it became obvious something was wrong when Mohamed went to 4/0 within seconds. To the point the Egyptian looked at his opponent, and asked him if he was ok? “Yeah yeah, don’t worry about me.” And zoom, the English won a point, as to say “see, I’m fine, don’t you mind”…. But it was not fine. 6 unforced errors and 4m later, Nick was off to his corner, 2/0 down, 11/6, 11/3.

He asked 3m injury time – that made 5m with the normal between games – but didn’t receive treatment from Jade the English physio. She was talking a lot, Nick and David Campion were listening. From the body language, she seemed to say “Nick, there is nothing I can do. Best is for you to stop. We treat it. Don’t go and damage yourself any further.” Nick came back on court, dark faced. And after only one rally, realised that keeping going could be not only pointless, but most probably dangerous. And at 2 weeks from the British, you do not want to be with injury…. Shook hands, and got of court.  

Sad the whole of the crowd felt, as they witnessed Nick the Warrior all week, and could only salute Injured Nick with all due respect.

Nick Matthew

I felt like a muscle in my glute go in the first game and it seized up. Mohamed is hard enough to play when you’re fully mobile never mind on one leg so it was a restring end, and I didn’t want to injure myself any further. I kept going because of the great crowd and for all the people who were watching back home, sleepless… I didn’t want to disappoint anybody, I’m sorry about that everybody. I don’t mind losing - it’s just disappointing when you can’t do yourself justice and give Mohamed the fight he deserves.

Mohamed

I noticed at the start of the second he was struggling to move to the front. And that’s why I asked him if he was alright.

He’s had some tough matches this tournament and I don’t know how he came back from that second round match against Borja. I know that if it was me that played that match, I wouldn’t have been able to come out of bed for a week! That shows the great player he is, he’s an inspiration to all of us, he’s always been an inspiration to me and I’m learning so much from him. I hope he’ll back on court soon, that he will be fit for the British Open, it’s very important for the game. I live for great battles and to play against great players like Nick. It’s unfortunate what happened today as that’s not the way that I wanted to win - it’s tough to focus on what you have to do to win.

But this is the first time I’ve won this title and I’m very happy to have my name on there wit the likes of Nick - it is an achievement that I’m very proud of. I’m having another great season, I can’t complain, this is my fourth world series tittles, I’ll enjoy this win for a few days, three more tournaments to go before I can get a bit of a rest. 

[windycitysquash]

Raneem is back good people...

[2] Raneem El Welily (Egy) 3-1 [5] Nour El Sherbini (Egy)   9-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-6 (35m)

Without conflict, there is no Drama… I was watching English TV recently. And there was an advert for a channel called ‘Drama’. And one of the actors was rightly stating: “without conflict, there is no drama”.

Conflict can be conflict of personality, of style, of age, of background. But you need a conflict to have drama. An for Nour tonight, there was noooo drama at all. When you are coughing your lungs out, burning with fever, and your nose blocked, you can probably find motivation to beat the Greatest Player of our Times, Nicol David. Checked in the quarters. Then you can probably find motivation wanting to beat not only the World number 1 Laura Massaro, but also taking revenge for the loss in Qatar 11/9 in the 5th after a monumental match in the final. Checked in the semis. But how can you get any sort of conflict/drama to motivate yourself against your best mate, your big sister, the one you’ve been looking up to all your youth when you are so poorly? Well, it was not easy. But Nour got on court, and fought hard, especially in the first game. Funny game that, A close start, 1/1, 2/2, 3/3, then Nour that takes a slight advantage 6/4 (thanks to three tins from her opponent, who knew Raneem could make unforced errors), but a great patch for the Wadi Degla girl, 5 points that take her to 9/6. And then Raneem thinks, oh well, might as well self destruct for a bit, I’m going to serve out, then a little tin, then, I’ll concede a stroke, that way we are at 9/9… Add to that a lovely quick backhand drop shot and an nice stroke to make it all complete, and it’s five points in a row for Nour, 11/9. In 9m. That will be the longest game of the match….

Raneem is a bit more consistent in the second, refocused completely. She goes up 4/0, 8/3, Nour comes back at the business end of the game, but too little too late, 11/6 Raneem in 5m. The third, Nour doesn’t show up really, she takes her breath back, we could see her coughing a lot between the games, 11/3 for Raneem in 6m. The fourth is more disputed, Nour giving it a last big push, 1/1, 2/2, 4/4, 5/5. We have a few very intense great rallies, but Raneem is just too strong/confident, and she got 8/5, 11/6 on her first match ball. And as Will Carlin, the MC – first time I saw him live, he is a great interviewer, loved him to bits, more of him please – comes in, Raneem just cannot hold her tears: “it’s been a long time” she says, while  the tears are calmely rolling down… “it’s been a very long time”. Raneem is back people. Elhamdoulillah.

Nour

She was just too good today, she’s the one that played perfect squash today! She deserves to win, she has been playing so well all week from the first match. It’s nice to see her back at her best form. I gave it everything I had, I’m grateful I reached the final, I’m going to go back home, train hard and see what happens next time. Huge Thanks to Amr Shabana. I would like to thank my coaches back home as well for their efforts,Roushdy Mabrouk, My Fitness Coach Waleed el Mosalamy and my Training partners at the Alexandria Sporting Club and Smouha Club. I would also like to thank my Sponsors Ezz Steel, Tecnifibre and Brqthru Sports Management. See you all next year.

 Raneem

I’m lost for words right now. I’m very, very happy to have won today. It’s the first title in a long time. It’s been a very long time…

Nour is very talented and very strong. I call her “the perfect shot maker”. Today, I had to make sure I was playing shots outside her reach. So  I mixed my rhythm, up and down, to keep the ball away from her. She’s had a great year and I’m very proud of her.

I never thought I’d be No.1 after winning here last year so I’m just going to take it one step at a time. It’s all about baby steps and taking it one match and one point at a time. That’s the strategy. I need to work hard to make sure I have that same attitude and huger on court for the rest of the season. There’s still a few tournaments to play - I’m really grateful that I won today and hopefully I can keep it up. So grateful I won today, and for that, I want to thank a few people. First Shabana who’s been very supportive all week, and every week since the ToC. But the two real heroes are my coaches, Haitham Effat and Ahmed Faragallah. They have been amazing. I’m so grateful to them. They have been there for me, they are always there for me. They were more motivated than I was, and they were more hopeful than I was. They supported me back on my feet, they tried everything. And finally it worked. So this one is for them. And here’s for many more to come. And a big thank you to the husband, my family, and my friends.

[windycitysquash]

The view from the back ...

[windycitysquash]

Matthew beats Mosaad in four

Semis: [2] Nick Matthew (Eng) 3-1 [3] Omar Mosaad (Egy) 11-4, 11-9, 7-11, 11-8 (61m)

Omar

I felt a bit heavy today. In the tournament, I had a lot of good matches, the last two in particular, back to back, last night, we finished very last and it was an 84 minute match as well. It took a lot out of me. I tried and rested, but I just couldn’t recover completely. Today in the first really, I felt heavy, I made errors, conceded so many strokes, and he had his tactics spot on, he controlled that game completely. In the second, I did push as much I could, but he had a good lead again, and I just couldn’t stop him to take it. But I managed to find a good string of points in the 3rd, 4/1, and I came back 1/2. I started the 4th poorly, made errors and that gave him confidence. I tried and gave it a last push at 7/3 down, but he used his experience to close it out. I had two good tournaments in a row, Colombia and this one, time to relax now and prepare for Canary Wharf next week. I really want to thank the Sponsors, the tournament promoter and the organisers, and everyone here for a great tournament, everybody did a great job, and I hope to come back next year.

Nick Matthew

I was trying, 95 per cent, to concentrate on my own game and what I needed to impose on him.

He’s such a good player. When he lets goo on that forehand you can end up just reacting to what he does so I was trying to be proactive on there and keep him on the backhand as much as I could. His forehand is such a weapon I just had to avoid it.

I lost to him in US Open and that was the first time he beat me and it was a little bit on my mind - but I’m a different player than I was before Christmas so I wanted to carry on making that statement and prove it.

He’s improved so much physically and moves so well to the front for a big guy - you try to stretch him but that’s why he can counter you he’s like James with reach and skill. He’s improved so much so I’m happy to beat him.

I have to keep my body language positive. After that tough match a few days ago people are looking for the chink in the armour so if it is there you have to hide it well.

Mohamed is No1 for a reason. We had a great final in New York and I beat him here in the final last year so i’m sure he’s going to want to prove a point. But I believe that on my day in front of this crowd and support that anything can happen. No one wanted to see four Egyptians in the final so I had to do my bit for world squash!”

[windycitysquash]

Mohamed very focused.

Semis: [1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (Egy) 3-0 [4] Miguel Rodriguez (Col)     11-5, 12-10, 11-7 (41m)

It was a very short match that one. 40m match, first game 7m, with Mohamed soaring in the opener, 9/3 11/5, still making 3 unforced errors…

The second was much longer, 18m, and much closer. 2/2, 3/3, Mohamed taking the lead 6/3 after a let asked for safety is overruled as a no let, firing up our Egyptian, especially when he gets booed by the crowd, bless him. Fired up he gets, and scores 4 points! Miguel getting used to the World Number 1’s pace, closing down at 7/7, 8/8. Mohamed in the middle of the game makes 3 errors in a row, but he stills gets game ball, 10/8, is told his ball is not up – thought it was good myself, but I’m far away – and then loses the second one on a stroke. Miguel forces a tie-break, but the Egyptian gets that game with two magnificent kills, 12/10. The third is dominated by Mohamed 5/0, 6/1, 8/2, Miguel makes a big effort, match ball 10/5, the Colombian saves 2, but finally bows 11/7, game was 10m….

Mohamed I’m quite a tense guy in court,  but I have been trying to change my personality on the court, I’ve been trying to relax a bit more since losing in the world champs. But today in the second, when my let was overruled by a no let, whereas I was just trying to avoid hitting Miguel, it really fired me up and I lost a bit of composure there. But you know, I do get a few balls back, and that shot, I could have played it with no problem at all. It was just for safefy. This tournament, I have raised my game match after match. Miguel played very well today I thought. It’s good to see him back at his best, that’s the best I’ve seen him play all season, he had a great tournament, he played extremely well yesterday against my brother. The Tour needs players like him playing at his best. It’s very important. I had to play some of my best to beat him and taking that second game was crucial. The difference between 2-0 and 1-1 is huge and it would have been a different match. And when you have the chance to win a semi 3/0, you really try and seize the chance, because it’s such a crucial advantage for the final. So at 10/10 in the second, I really push through to get 2/0, I used my experience, as I know I’d had him then. He was playing strong at the end of the third as well so I’m happy to have gone through in three games and be back in the final. It’s been a great tournament for me so far, I’ve never won it so it would be nice to get my name on that trophy. I have won my last three Word Series, and I’m going to do my best to win my fourth one tomorrow, against either Nick or Mosaad. 

What Nick achieved yesterday, winning how he did after the match he did in the quarters, shows how a great champion he is but of course, Mosaad is my friend, so I’d rather have an all Egyptian final. But I’m sure they are about to play a great (and hopefully a very long) match…

[windycitysquash]

Raneem controls Camille tonight

Semis: [2] Raneem El Welily (EGY) bt. [4] Camille Serme (FRA)11-9, 13-11, 11-8 (37m)

Camille was last night pushed mentally to her limit. Amanda was on fire, as she was in Qatar, and the French lady had to dig in very deep to win that encounter. How was she going to handle another huge match tonight? She was playing Raneem, capable of sublime or of tin competition-I-win-every-time kind of performance. The Egyptian was on the war path, but her way: calmly, smilingly, appearing – and I choose my word carefully – appearing very composed today. The Egyptian took an excellent mental start: only 1 error in the first game, in the middle of the game, while Camille chose to make her error on at 10/9 game ball down…. Mentally, quite revealing. If the first game was close the whole way, Camille had a good lead in the second, 4/1, only to see Raneem string 6 points in a row! From 9/6, it was the French lady’s turn to give it a big push, 4 points to get to 10/9. Camille will get 2 game balls, but it’s Raneem that ends it 13/11 with a superb boast. The third again looked to belong to Camille, 3/0, 4/1, only to see Raneem stringing 5 points. Camille was playing uncharacteristic errors, allowing Raneem to lead 9/7, 10/8, taking the match on the first match ball. Camille

I was a bit flat today. Already, yesterday, as I told you, I was struggling mentally but I managed to get the ressources. But today, mentally, I had nothing in the tank. Physically, I was fine, but flat mentally really. I’m angry against myself for feeling this way, but today, I had the feeling I was fighting not only against her, but against myself as well. And that was just too hard....

Raneem

Camille is a very strong player physically and mentally so I knew today would not be easy but I tried to stay relaxed and play to my game plan and not hers and I think her great match yesterday definitely affected her a little. I focused well and managed not to get loose and play too many shots down the middle - the she kills everything and I’m very happy to be into the final again here in Chicago. I enjoy this tournament and it brings the best out of me. It is great that it is an all-Egyptian final and I’m looking forward to playing Nour. She’s in top form and played really well today so it should be  avery good match tomorrow. She is one of my best friends, but I’m not thinking of that for now, how I’m going to play her. On there, it will have to be only squash. I haven’t played well against her last time, so I hope I can do better. And see who wins...

[windycitysquash]

Sherbini: Magisterial performance

Semis : [5] Nour El Sherbini (Egy) 3-0 [1] Laura Massaro (Eng)  11-7, 11-9, 11-9 (36m)

Miracle girl. She truly is. Not only because she played with a terrible flu, and just couldn’t breathe, which apparently helped her pushing ever harder in the 3rd, because she knew she couldn’t stay of there forever. But also because like the true champions, she is like a sponge and nearly from her defeats. I watching the match she played last against Laura in Qatar. Laura won probably the most difficult match she ever played. The vociferous crowd was carrying the Egyptian. And Laura played through everything to take probably her sweetest victory. But Nour didn’t let Laura mentally dominate her like she did last time. She has matured and she truly and utterly believed she could win tonight, I could feel it. And if she left the World number one dominate her up to the middle of the first game territorially – score wise, they were very close, but Nour had to attack from far back – soon Nour found the power that ousted Nicol yesterday. 7/4, 8/6, with Laura always clinging back, and clinging score wise, hitting very hard as well, moving beautifully to the front and counterattacking the Egyptian, she always looked in contention.  Still, Nour gets to game ball, 10/7, and the error comes, the first of the match for the English. Not one error from Nour. The second start with a very powerful Laura and not a point between the players up to 8/8. The rallies are truly breathtaking, so powerful, the two girls attacking each their turning, retrieving winners to play winners themselves. 10/8 still for Nour, a backhand drop shot saves it for Laura, but a sublime backhand volley nick takes it for Egypt, 11/9. And still no error from Nour. The third is a mirror image from the second game, with two errors from Nour, finally, very little between the players except Laura that seems to find her way to create the gap, 7/4, but soon Nour comes back, 7/7, 8/8. On a stroke Nour gets her first match ball, 10/8. A short rally, and a beautiful attack from Laura, 9/10. But like in the first game, Laura, who as well has made very little errors the whole match (I counted 3), tins it to give Nour her first final here in Chicago. “I think I need to have the flew on every tournament” Nour smiles. Incredible.Just incredible.

Nour:

I have a terrible flu, I lost my voice, I can’t breathe. So believe me, I really did not expect to reach the final but I think I played perfect today.

Because I couldn’t breathe, I was going for every shot and thankfully they were going in and there were few errors. Normally when I play Laura it is a tough five-game match, to win 3-0 is an achievement that I’m definitely proud of.

My parents were a bit worried that I would play today, so I just took the risk, and it paid off. I guess I will need to have the flu on every tournament!

I love to attack and take the ball short in the front court so I was just doing what I love to do. She was getting a lot of shots back so I was lucky to win 3-0 in the end.

I need to thank Shabana and my brother who are here with me, and also my parents and my coach who have been staying up so late, not forget my fitness coach Waleed el Mosalamy …

[windycitysquash]

Mosaad finishes Mathieu Off

Quarters: [3] Omar Mosaad (Egy) 3-1 [8] Mathieu Castagnet (Fra)    11-8, 12-14, 11-8, 11-8 (84m)

 We can safely say that Mathieu has had it bless him. After a huge match/save against Ali in the first round, and a massive massive massive 3/1 against Daryl last night, poor IceMan was a bit on the melting side..

He tried. He truly tried. 22m first game, 30m the second. Mosaad made sure he was keeping Mathieu as long as possible out there. And it worked. At the end of the last two games, Mathieu was clearly running on fumes, although he could have taken the third as he was leading 4/1 6/3, but just couldn’t stop Omar from stringing the winners, 7/7 to take the crucial 3rd 11/8.

The fourth again, a big push from the French, 4/1, 6/3, but again 6/6, and Omar taking a good lead, scoring 6 points in a row, 9/6. Mathieu didn’t give up, came back to 8/9 but a return serve nick and a tin later, Mosaad was raising his arms in the air… 11/8. 84m…

Omar

 Like I said, I try and giving 100% every match - push hard today. He’s good player and pushes a lot when he’s tired. I think we both played well. If you want to win against Mathieu, you need to play hard, accurate and consistent. Tried hard to make as little as possible unforced errors.

I’m happy to win and looking forward to the semi-final tomorrow. Going to be hard against Nick - have to give it my 100% time to recover and be ready for tomorrow.

[windycitysquash]

And it’s Raneem who wins the Wadi Degla derby...

Quarters: [2] Raneem El Welily (Egy) 3-0 [8] Nouran Gohar (Egy)    11-8, 11-8, 11-9 (36m)

 Nouran and I train in the same club in Cairo, Wadi Degla. We play together probably twice a week. And believe me, she is much more than an up and coming young player. She is young. She is up. And she has arrived!

She gets everything around the court, she hits very hard, so the ball is very bouncy, and very hard in control. So you’ve got to be focused at all times. I think the third was the hardest, I had to recover.. Tomorrow, I’m playing against Camille, another great friend and great player. Everybody has enjoyed her match today, so I’m looking forward to play against her tomorrow;;;

[windycitysquash]

Matthew back on track

Quarters: [2] Nick Matthew (Eng) 3-0 [6] Tarek Momen (Egy) 11-4, 11-5, 13-11 (47m)

 Malcolm reports

Neither player had had an easy passage to the quarter final, Nick Matthew especially, having saved three match balls against Borja Golan, so both would be more than happy to be still in contention. The early exchanges were a little scrappy as both players looked to settle and it was Matthew who settled first, soon applying pressure on Momen, which led to forced errors by Momen and a succession of winners by Matthew. As the game progressed, it became easier and easier for the Englishman and he was soon 1/0 up, 11/4. Nor did things improved for Momen, as he struggled against the pace and accuracy of Matthew’s hitting and his finishing into the front right, unitl at 6/2, he engaged Matthew for a while and Matthew reassessed convincingly 11/5. It would a major surprise now were there any way back for Momen. To his credit, he led 5/2 when a controversial decision which went against him reminded Matthew why he was there. He still trailed 9/6, but few players if any play the big points as well. He forced the tie-break. There were lets now and the match was decided on a stroke.

Nick If you can’t play for four or five days in a row then you aren’t training hard enough - it’s as simple as that. We train harder than we play every day and if you can’t back up after a tough five-game match then you won’t get to the top.

I had to do the right things because obviously it’s not easy. I had Jade and Camps and Danny in my corner. Camps is working on the technical stuff and Danny is helping me on the mental side so I had a good team looking after me.

I maybe got a bit over aroused at times - and started kissing at Roy! But it was because the danger today was being a little bit flat after yesterday. I had to make myself over aroused and it is a dangerous game to play, and it is close to coiling over at times, but it was what I had to do today.

It’s not Tarek’s fault but that’s the worst rule in squash. How do you explain to someone who’s never played before that if you hit someone with the ball you get the point - it’s the worst rule in squash and needs to be changed as soon as possible. 

It was a needs must situation. I play my best when I’m composed but when he made me flat at the start of the third and started moving me around with good squash I needed something to help get me going again. It’s hard to stay that alert for an hour so if anything that rule served me well today.

I told myself when I was down in that last game that it could go to five - and two five gamers in a row is tough so it was important to get off 3-0 for the rest of the tournament.

[windycitysquash]

Second Time heartbreak for Amanda

Quarters: [4] Camille Serme (Fra) 3-2 [7] Amanda Sobhy (Usa) 6-11, 11-4, 5-11, 12-10, 11-9 (63m)

 The usually cheerful American was a sad poor little mite tonight after her loss against Camille. Last time in Qatar, Amanda lost on the same score. It wasn’t fun. But it not in front of the American crowd. Basically, in Chicago, “it sucks”…..

To be honest, not sure what happens in the second. Amanda was in control it seemed in the first, despatching her power all over the crowd, dominating completely Camille, only to lose her way completely in the second I thought. She back on track in the third, making no unforced errors, and playing her best squash.. The last two were a big battle, with Camille wining some very long rallies, only to be matches by some exquisite winners and return of serves…The score was close all the way, frankly, the last two could have gone all the way… Unlucky for Amanda, they both went to the Feisty French…

 Camille 

She’s on home soil. Meant a lot to me today.  I had to fight very hard – I knew it was going to be a big battle as last time we played, it went to 11/9 in the 5th! In these kind of matches, you are just relieved to get through.

I was trying to run as hard as possible and give it my all - I was thinking about Mathieu’s play yesterday, I tried and retrieved like him, but I cannot dive!!! I’m even more happy to win as last night – don’t laugh – I had a terrible nightmare – and it really affected me. I was completely flat today, it took a lot from my coach Philippe, my boyfriend Quentin and my mental coach to try and get me back on track! Yes, I know… I realllllly need to keep working with my mental coach now, don’t I… Very happy to be in the semis for the third time in a row, tomorrow, another day, another battle…

 Amanda

She's an unbelievable fighter and put me under so much pressure out there. I lost to the better player today. I’m really disappointed with how that went tonight - I lost 11-9 in fifth the last time we played and I had hoped I could reverse it tonight. I was so off tonight. I don’t know what happened, I was feeling good for this tournament. But today, I don’t think I played well, she was controlling most of the match, I was just scrambling around, and I had no game plan on there! Losing twice in a row 11/9 in the 5th sucks big time… Only positive thing, I CAN play over an hour matches – 63m….

[windycitysquash]

Marwan Flat, Miguel No Pressure

Quarters: [4] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Col) 3-0 Marwan ElShorbagy (Egy) 11-9, 11-5, 11-8 (43m)

 I wasn’t in Colombia last week, but I can imagine the scene. Crowd roaring your name, the press want interviews on every radio and TV, the important people telling you how important your win means for your country… And that pressure, rolled all around your shoulders. 

I watch the match between Marwan and Miguel on SquashTV. And in that 3rd, I was Miguel mental energy just escaping from him, as it would do from a flat tyre… And nothing left... Today, it was a bit the reverse. Nothing to lose for Miguel. Against Marwan, very tired, and not exactly looking forward to get flatten out 3/0 in 30m by his elder brother against whom he is improving fast in normal conditions…. I’m not saying AT ALL that Marwan folded that one to avoid Mohamed….Absolutely not. But you see my point.. In my mind, there was only going to be one winner, when I saw Marwan making 7 errors in the 1st game…Still, Marwan tried. Every point. Every shott. But Miguel was in front most of the time. And was dictating the game. Killing his opponent with great changes of pace and angles.We still had some great shots/rallies, but it was like Marwan was fighting an uphill battle, every point lost digging that” mental grave” a bit deeper. Miguel got his revenge, moves on to play Mohamed, as fresh as a rose. This will be a nice match to watch…. 

Marwan

Not, not a bad day at the office. I have calculated that in 10 days, I just played 27 games of squash. Last week, I have very hard matches against Tarek, Miguel and my brother. Here, I had some pretty matches against Leo and Gawad. Those matches took a lot of my body and today I felt flat, both mentally and physically. I am stronger than I used to be physically, but there is a little way to go still, but I’m working on it. I’m improving, and I’m happy where I am at the moment. I have a week off before Canary Wharf, to recover, and take care of the body. Looking forward to that tournament now…

 Miguel 

It was very hard for me to lose against Marwan in Columbia. I didn’t expect it, everybody there, the press, the media, the crowd, TV, everybody was rooting for me, and was hoping for my win. So it was very disappointing and emotional for me to lose. And here we are, 32 players in the draw, and we find ourselves playing each other again.

When you play an Egyptian player you expect to play for 70 minutes or more. I tried to play a focused game, hitting my line and length and using lobs to avoid giving him any chances in the middle of the court, and it worked well and I’m happy. I was keeping a close eye on the score, and keeping the rallies long, as he looked a bit heavy today. And it’s not easy to win a match 3/0 against an Egyptian….

I don’t think it was the best match I have played but I will take it - the win is the most important thing and I’m happy to be into my first semi-final here in Chicago against the World No.1 now in the semi-finals. We haven’t played for a while so I hope we will have a good match. It’s nice to reach my first semi of the season, I had a bit of bad luck at the beginning of the season, but now, I had only two matches in Colombia, I’m fresh, and I’m going to give it a big push to finish the season very strongly…

[windycitysquash]

Sherbini downs David in three close games

Quarters: [5] Nour El Sherbini (Egy) 3-0 [3] Nicol David (Mas)   11-9, 12-10, 11-9 (36m)

 Malcolm reports

Here was a match to anticipate: the greatest woman player in recent times or maybe ever, against one of the most promising, Nour el Sherbini.

It is more than likely that the lowering of the tin has hardly helped Nicol David’s cause and as El Sherbini blazes into the 5/0 lead with an array of attacking shots. However, four surprising unforced errors gave David a lifeline. She hit her first winner at 6/4 down, levelled at 8/8 and 9/9, before Sherbini hit two more winners to take the first 11/9. Once more, Sherbini, attacking with flair went 6/3, but David retaliated with three winners of her own to level 6/6. She then asked for a Malaysian stroke on a ball she could have almost certainly have put away, rightly given a let. It may have made a difference if she had played it, since the game was won on a tie-break 12/10, allowing Sherbini to lead 2/0. The third game was similarly close, Sherbini’s attacking skills always looked like prove decisive. She was deprived of the match on a doubtful call at 10/9, but won it deservedly on the next rally. Sherbini has a classical look about her: her attack is exceptional, her fast achievements tell you how good is it: her future is assured.

Liz Irving

This is just an adjustment period. She is just trying to develop her game to adapt to the change of tin. It’s a massive change. Shots that used to be down are now good, and the boast, for the girls, if you are standing behind the service line, if it’s just that much above the tin, you just cannot get it. Nicol is working on changing her game, but most of all, on trusting her attacking game more. It’s all about allowing her to take more calculating risks. It’s not there yet, but Nicol adapts very well to new elements. And if in the past, she had some motivation issues, that’s gone. She now knows what she wants, she is clear about it, and she wants back in. And that’s the most positive of all.

Nour 

Playing Nicol is very hard - I have to prepare very hard to play her, every time. Today I wasn’t think to much - I was just going for it. All three games could have gone either way but thankfully in the end they all went for me. I haven’t worked specifically on a more powerful game, but I have grown up, I am stronger, and I have matured. I now believe I can win hard matches.

Once I had an opportunity to attack I just went for it - my attacking shots were going well and I’m happy that they worked.

When you are winning you always get more confident each time you go on court - I’m just playing and enjoying being on court. I’m not thinking about anything else right now.

[windycitysquash]

Shorbagy prevails at Mad Ridiculous Fast Pace squash

Quarters: [1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (Egy) 3-1 [5] Simon Rösner (Ger) 11-8, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7 (53m)

Games were pretty short through those players standards, 10m, 11m, 15m and 11m... 

 If Simon made a few errors in the first two, he didn’t make a single one in the last two games. I found that Mohamed in the third was pretty tired, making six unforced errors, pretty uncharacteristic from him really. I guess the long week in Columbia and the travelling has got a lot to do with it. Still, Mohamed has got that amazing ability to push at the exact moment it needs to be, and he mentally dominated that 4th, 4/0, 6/3, and when Simon came back to threat him with a stunning combination of front and deep powerful shots, he scored 4 points to get to match ball 10/6, and take the match 11/7.

Simon

Yes, we’ve got a similar kind of game, but I was trying to break the rhythm a bit and slowing it down, but it’s not easy as my actual game is to play fast and on reflex. I did manage to slow it at times, but then I lost a bit of accuracy and he is so strong on the T. In the third, I managed to get to the back a bit better, whereas my shots were a bit too randomly in the first two, going to the front too early, hence a few too many errors, but in that 3rd, I had more chance to mix up and set up better opportunities for my shots. It was a very fair and very clean match, Mohamed is no for no reason at the number 1 spot. And although I’m happy to take a game it’s not enough for me, I really to get a win, I still need that win against a top 4… 

Mohamed Elshorbagy Simon and I always have very high quality battles. We have similar type of play which is why our matches are always good and we enjoy playing each other. The longer the match went on the better he was playing. There’s a lot of respect between us, I think it was showing on the court. He’s one of those guys who just needs a little bit of luck to break into the top four, because he deserves being there I think we were both trying to avoid playing it on to each other’s forehand and whoever mastered the backhand side was going to be the one to take the lead and I felt I just edged it a little bit better than him. After the third, I wanted to make sure I took a great start in the 4th, I’m happy to get off the court with the win in 4, and not going into a 5th. There were a lot of 5 setters in this tournament, and that makes the top seed nervous, because you know things can easily go wrong. So very happy I only dropped one game so far. This match was under an hour, 53m, like all my matches so far, and I’m lucky compared to the other seeds, and as the competition is so fierce, any little advantage you can get is really important. I’m feeling good physically - was a miracle for me to get to the final last year, I had a bit of a fever, and I was playing it day by day - this year I’m fresh and happy to be playing well and hope I can carry on the good form. I hope that we can get another semis all Shorbagys in Colombia last week, but also, why not an all 4 semi-finalists as well, I think Mosaad and Tarek can do it for sure.

[windycitysquash]

Omneya so dangerous when down...

Quarters: [1] Laura Massaro (Eng) 3-0 [6] Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy) 11-7, 11-7, 11-9 (29m)

What a strong performance from Laura, with Omneya in and out of the match – she seemed to play her best when way down score wise… 

Funny moment at 6/0 up in the third, we heard a “come on Laura” from Mick Todd, Laura’s manager. And I thought, come on! She is 2/0 up, 6/0,maybe she doesn’t need that much to be encouraged! But then, here comes 9/3, and Omneya scores 6 points in a row!!! “I wished I’d heard that” laughed Laura. “It was my support camp telling me not to relax!!!”

Onny I’m not sure why so many mistakes!!! I guess that the last two matches against her – that I lost, in particular in Qatar, it was a disaster – were still on my mind, and I was really trying to play better. It didn’t help… The court conditions were much colder today than there were the first two days, and somehow, it suited her style better, she managed the T better, he got powerful drives in the corners, whereas mine ended up too short. I only managed to play well when she was in front with a big lead for some strange reason. I wouldn’t say I relaxed, but it was like I wanted to prove I was still in the match. And then the gap would narrow, and in came the silly errors, the ones that Shabana, my coaches Miha & Abbas, always tell me not to do.. Oh that boast… it really killed me today, it was a lethal weapon alright!!! Now, that third.. I took a terrible start, like 3 strokes, 2 tins, there are only 11 points, I need the game to go to 23!!! So I find myself 9/3 down, and off we go again, I relax and come back, and I am back, playing the right game, in the back corner, tight, and here comes the silly error.. to now, I still wonder why o why did I play that crosscourt on her forehand… WHY????? And at 10/7 down, I start playing well again, and then I play that silly shot to make sure, just to make absolutely sure I lose the game 3/0…. Joke apart, I think that after the ToC, she really wanted to get it back here, and she did. She played really well today…

Laura

 I had a tough to transition from playing late match last time out to playing early today. I couldn’t really argue as we had a rest day the day before, but it is a bit of a difference when you are used to spend 8 hours in our room to suddenly barely have time for breakfast! So I felt a bit flat in the warm up, and I kept telling myself when I started playing “come on, that’s why you get all that training!” Tiredness is just a mental thing. And I tried to keep my body language and mental energy up for the rest of the match.

You can never let your guard down at all, she is so dangerous, at 9/3 up, I saw myself winding down in the changing room, and she got back into and it was edgy. I’m angry at myself for that.

Couple of loose shots and she got back and I did the same thing in the last round so I’m really happy to get off 3-0 against a very dangerous opponent.

I was trying to mix it up on court today and when you’re playing with a lot of pace to the back then it becomes hard to play nice soft drops. My natural option is to resort to the boast and that power to the back was the most important thing today to put her under pressure. I’m really happy with my performance in this tournament, compared to the ToC. I lost a game in the first match, a game in the second, and lost to Nouran in the quarters. And it was I think because I missed a bit of training over Christmas. It was a very subtle thing, not many people probably saw it, but it was just a split second of delay on the ball when I would come in. But here, I had a good session of physical training, and I have no problem to get early on it. It makes a huge difference.

I’m really excited to be in the semi-finals. I have time now to rest up and enjoy the rest of the battles to come.

[windycitysquash]

Castagnet Dive and Retrieval