| |
CIB Black Ball Open 2021
Men's Draw
16 - 20 Dec
Cairo, Egypt, $112k |
ROUND TWO
13 Dec |
QUARTERS
14 Dec |
SEMIS
15 Dec |
FINAL
16 Dec |
[1] Ali Farag (EGY)
11-1, 11-9, 11-5 (30m)
Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) |
Ali Farag
9-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-5 (53m)
Gregoire Marche |
Ali Farag
14-16, 11-1, 11-9,
6-11, 11-8 (97m)
Mostafa Asal |
Ali Farag
11-7, 11-5, 13-11 (61m)
Paul Coll |
[9/16] Gregoire Marche (FRA)
11-9, 13-11, 11-8 (47m)
[8] Mazen Hesham (EGY) |
[7] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
6-11, 11-7, 13-11, 11-6 (57m)
[9/16] Saurav Ghosal (IND) |
Karim Abdel Gawad
11-6, 11-7, 11-8 (51m)
Mostafa Asal |
[4] Mostafa Asal (EGY)
11-2, 11-8, 9-11, 4-11, 11-8 (118m)
[9/16] Youssef Soliman (EGY) |
[3] Tarek Momen (EGY)
11-7, 11-9, 2-11, 10-12, 12-10 (79m)
[9/16] Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) |
Tarek Momen
11-6, 11-8, 8-11, 11-3 (47m)
Marwan Elshorbagy |
Marwan Elshorbagy
11-5, 11-2, 11-2 (50m)
Paul Coll |
[5] Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY)
5-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-8 (51m)
[9/16] Mohamed Elsherbini (EGY) |
[6] Joel Makin (WAL)
12-10, 11-5, 11-13, 11-8 (74m)
[9/16] Omar Mosaad (EGY) |
Joel Makin
8-11, 10-12, 11-9 ret. (75m)
Paul Coll |
[9/16] Miguel Rodriguez (COL)
11-1, 11-13, 11-6, 11-5 (71m)
[2] Paul Coll (NZL) |
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bye
Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) bt [9/16] Baptiste Masotti (FRA) 11-5,
12-10, 6-11, 11-8 (61m)
[9/16] Gregoire Marche (FRA) bt [WC] Abdelrahman Nassar (EGY) 11-0,
11-2, 11-5 (26m)
[8] Mazen Hesham (EGY) bye
[7] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bye
[9/16] Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt Declan James (ENG) 11-9, 8-11, 11-2, 11-4
(65m)
[9/16] Youssef Soliman (EGY) bt Victor Crouin (FRA) 11-9, 9-11, 11-3,
11-0 (59m)
[4] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bye
[3] Tarek Momen (EGY) bye
[9/16] Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) bt Karim El Hammamy (EGY) 11-9, 12-10, 11-3
(47m)
[9/16] Mohamed Elsherbini (EGY) bt James Willstrop (ENG) 11-7, 6-11,
12-10, 5-11, 11-9 (79m)
[5] Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY) bye
[6] Joel Makin (WAL) bye
[9/16] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 9-11, 11-6, 13-11,
11-8 (68m)
[9/16] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) bt Patrick Rooney (ENG) 5-11, 11-8, 11-7,
11-2 (42m)
[2] Paul Coll (NZL) bye |
CIB Black Ball Open 2021
Women's Draw
12 - 16 Dec
Cairo, Egypt, $112k |
ROUND TWO
13 Dec |
QUARTERS
14 Dec |
SEMIS
15 Dec |
FINAL
16 Dec |
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
11-1, 11-6, 11-2 (25m)
[9/16] Nele Gilis (BEL) |
Nour El Sherbini
11-9, 11-7, 11-5 (33m)
Nour El Tayeb |
Nour El Sherbini
11-7, 11-5, 11-3 (26m)
Georgina Kennedy |
Nour El Sherbini
11-7, 9-11, 11-1, 11-7 (48m)
Hania El Hammamy |
[7] Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
9-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-8 (36m)
Hana Ramadan (EGY) |
Farida Mohamed (EGY)
9-11, 11-8, 3-11, 11-9, 12-10 (58m)
[5] Joelle King (NZL) |
Farida Mohamed
12-10, 11-8, 11-6 (32m)
Georgina Kennedy |
Georgina Kennedy (ENG)
11-7, 13-11, 11-6 (33m)
[4] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) |
[3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY)
11-7, 11-3, 11-6 (36m)
Nada Abbas (EGY) |
Hania El Hammamy
11-9, 11-7, 11-4 (39m)
Rowan Elaraby |
Hania El Hammamy
11-8, 8-11, 11-4 retired (55m)
Nouran Gohar |
[8] Rowan Elaraby (EGY)
13-11, 14-12, 6-11, 14-12 (58m)
[9/16] Tesni Evans (WAL) |
[6] Salma Hany (EGY)
6-11, 11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 11-4 (51m)
Mariam Metwally (EGY) |
Salma Hany
9-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-8 (46m)
Nouran Gohar |
[9/16] Coline Aumard (FRA)
11-4, 11-2, 11-4 (28m)
[2] Nouran Gohar (EGY) |
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bye
[9/16] Nele Gilis (BEL) bt Yathreb Adel (EGY) 11-6, 9-11, 11-1, 4-0 ret.
(32m)
Hana Ramadan (EGY) bt [9/16] Danielle Letourneau (CAN) 11-7, 11-8, 6-11,
11-7 (40m)
[7] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bye
[5] Joelle King (NZL) bye
Farida Mohamed (EGY) bt [9/16] Tinne Gilis (BEL) 11-9, 11-9, 3-11, 13-11
(45m)
Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bt [9/16] Lucy Turmel (ENG) 11-9, 11-8, 11-7
(42m)
[4] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bye
[3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bye
Nada Abbas (EGY) bt [9/16] Joshna Chinappa (IND) 11-8, 11-6, 11-7 (35m)
[9/16] Tesni Evans (WAL) bt Zeina Mickawy (EGY) 14-12, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7
(43m)
[8] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) bye
[6] Salma Hany (EGY) bye
Mariam Metwally (EGY) bt [9/16] Nadine Shahin (EGY) 6-11, 11-8, 11-3,
5-11, 11-4 (42m)
[9/16] Coline Aumard (FRA) bt [WC] Lojayn Gohary (EGY) 11-3, 11-4, 11-2
(28m)
[2] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bye |
Coll Lifts Men's Cib Squash Open Black Ball Title
New
Zealand’s Paul Coll has become the first non-Egyptian man to win a PSA
World Tour title in Egypt for over four years after the World No.2
overcame World No.1 Ali Farag earlier today to win the 2021 CIB Squash
Open Black Ball title.
Until tonight, Frenchman Gregory Gaultier was the most recent foreign
male player to win in Egypt with his El Gouna International victory in
April, 2017. But Coll – who also becomes the first non-Egyptian man to
get his hands on a title at the Black Ball Sporting Club – has now
broken that streak following an 11-7, 11-5, 13-11 victory over Farag.
The Kiwi was perhaps fortunate to have survived a quarter final fixture
with Joel Makin which saw him go 2-1 down before Makin retired from the
match due to an adductor injury. However, since then the 29-year-old has
gone from strength to strength and he followed up a fine semi final win
over World No.7 Marwan ElShorbagy.
Farag, appearing in his third final at the Black Ball Sporting Club,
came through a gruelling 97-minute battle with World No.6 Mostafa Asal
in the last four and struggled to match Coll, who dominated the court to
capture the PSA World Tour Gold title.
It marks Coll’s 17th title on the PSA Tour and his third of 2021. It is
also the first time that Coll has beaten Farag twice in succession,
following last month’s win against the two-time World Champion in the
Canary Wharf Classic final. The New Zealander wins over $17,500 for his
efforts in Cairo this week.
“It
was a real test for me tonight,” said Coll.
“I had my game plan sorted and I just wanted to execute that from the
word go. Ali had a brutal match last night, and I knew if I could make
it tough from the word go then I could have a good push. To beat a
player like Ali you’ve got to be faultless the whole match, and I’m
really proud of that performance from start to finish, I’m really happy.
“One of my goals was to win in Egypt because they’ve got so many good
players here. They’ve raised the level of squash, so to come here and
win a tournament was something that I had set my mind on and really
wanted to do. It’s a really hard place to come and beat two Egyptians in
their home territory.”
The next PSA World Tour event will be the men’s Houston Open between
January 4-9. Farag tops the draw and all of the action will be shown
live on
SQUASHTV.
|
Farag
And Coll Set Up Final Showdown
The final PSA World Tour match of 2021 will see World No.1 Ali Farag and
World No.2 Paul Coll go head-to-head in the CIB Squash Open Black Ball
title decider following their semi final wins over Egyptian pair Mostafa
Asal and Marwan ElShorbagy earlier today.
Farag’s match with World No.6 Asal will go down as one of the matches of
the year – and one of the best battles ever at the Black Ball Sporting
Club – with the 29-year-old finally prevailing by a 14-16, 11-1, 11-9,
6-11, 11-8 scoreline after 97 pulsating minutes of action.
Farag had beaten Asal in eight of their nine PSA World Tour matches
coming into today’s match, but there was very little between them as
Asal overturned eight game balls to take the opening game, before
fighting through the fatigue to draw level in the fourth.
However, Farag just about had the better of the fifth game and finally
got the win over the line to reach his third final at the Black Ball
Sporting Club and his second at the Gold tier Black Ball event following
his runner-up finish last December.
“[That
was] very enjoyable,” said Farag afterwards.
“I felt good all the way to 10-5, there were a few stoppages here and
there and I lost my rhythm. All credit to him, he is such a warrior, he
kept digging and digging. I think I had eight game balls in that one and
I couldn’t convert, but I am extremely proud of how I didn’t let that
get into my head.
“It was a big blow psychologically, but I took the positives from the
first and carried it on into the second and then the third, I played
well again. In the fourth, there were a lot of stoppages again, the ball
softened up a bit and I couldn’t get it to the back and I didn’t really
have a plan. The fifth was a flip of a coin, man.”
Meanwhile, New Zealander Coll has reached his first final at this
tournament following an 11-5, 11-5, 11-2 victory over World No.7 Marwan
ElShorbagy. ElShorbagy won the Platinum edition of the Black Ball event
in March of this year, but he was unable to follow up an impressive
performance against World No.4 Tarek Momen in the previous round.
Coll, who was 2-1 down in his quarter final match with Joel Makin before
an injury to the Welshman saw him retire, has now reached three PSA Tour
finals in a row for the first time since 2016. Coll and Farag have
contested four matches so far in 2021, with two wins apiece. If Coll
wins in tomorrow’s final, he will become the first non-Egyptian man to
win a PSA World Tour title in Egypt since Gregory Gaultier won the 2017
El Gouna International.
“It’s
never easy playing someone like Marwan. I had to stay on my toes the
whole time because he is probably one of the best players at winning
quick points in a row, so I had to stay on my game,” said Coll.
“Winning on the big stages against the big guys like Ali, it gives you a
lot of confidence in your game and the game plan. You know it works and
it is really reassuring that you know what you’re doing and you’re on
the right way. The two wins have been a massive confidence boost and it
would be nice to finish the year with a third.”
The men’s CIB Squash Open Black Ball final will take place at 20:00
(GMT+2) on December 20 and all of the action will be shown live on
SQUASHTV.
For more information on the CIB Squash Open Black Ball, visit the
tournament
website or follow the event on
Twitter
and
Facebook.
|
Makin Injury Sends Coll Through to CIB Squash Open Black Ball Semis
World
No.2 Paul Coll has moved through to the semi finals of the CIB Squash
Open Black Ball after his quarter final opponent - Welshman Joel Makin -
was forced to retire from the match due to an adductor injury, despite
holding a 2-1 lead.
Makin, who had won two of nine matches against the New Zealander, played
some sublime, controlled squash to take a 2-0 lead and put himself on
the verge of a semi final place at the PSA World Tour Gold event, but
required attention from the physio at the start of the third game as he
struggled with an adductor problem.
The World No.8 returned to court and battled on bravely but, after
falling 11-9 as Coll halved the deficit, he ultimately decided he
couldn’t continue onto a fourth game and was forced to shake hands with
his opponent.
“It’s horrible, he was playing really well,” said Coll afterwards.
“He was super aggressive, he had a 2-0 lead and then you could see he
wasn’t moving properly in the third. I was struggling to find my game on
court today and he was sharp. I felt a bit unlucky in the second, but
it’s just horrible to see him go off like that.
“I know how much work he puts into his training and to see him not
finish a match is horrible. He pulled the third away from me, which I
couldn’t believe. He was hitting some of the best shots he’s ever hit.
It must be tough, especially when you’re playing well, it’s a horrible
thing to happen to any athlete. I count my lucky stars today and I’ll
turn up tomorrow ready to go.”
Coll
will line up against World No.7 Marwan ElShorbagy for a place in the
final after a masterclass from ElShorbagy saw him dispatch World No.4
Tarek Momen in four games.
Momen had won nine of their 10 matches on the PSA Tour, but ElShorbagy -
who won the Platinum tier Black Ball event in March of this year - was
sublime as he controlled the rallies and dictated the tempo of the match
to win 11-6, 11-8, 8-11, 11-3 in 47 minutes.
“I don’t have the best record against Tarek,” said ElShorbagy.
“The first thing I told him when I won is that ‘I finally beat you!’.
Every time I lose to him, I go back and try to work something out. We
have the same coach here in Egypt, so he can give me some advice, but I
worked a lot of times with tactics with Nick [Matthew] a few times and
I’m glad it worked today. He messaged me this morning and said you’re a
different animal than any time you’ve played him.”
World No.1 Ali Farag and World No.6 Mostafa Asal will go head-to-head in
the other semi final fixture following respective wins over Frenchman
Gregoire Marche and former World No.1 Karim Abdel Gawad.
Farag was troubled after an impressive start from Marche - the only
unseeded player to make it this far - but found his range in the second
game onwards to complete a 9-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-5 triumph.
“I’m
super proud of winning today,” Farag said.
“I don’t think I found my best performance and all credit to Greg, he
didn’t let me settle. In the beginning I was too passive and my straight
drives on the backhand side were too passive, they weren’t putting any
pressure on him. I had to start firing myself up somehow, so I started
yelling at myself and picked up the pace and I think I found my way from
that point on.”
Asal returned to court after a controversial match against fellow
Egyptian Youssef Soliman the day before - where a conduct game was
awarded against Asal to punish him for his movement - but he was in fine
form to beat Gawad 11-6, 11-7, 11-8 in 51 minutes.
“Karim
is my favourite player, he’s my idol,” Asal said.
“When I was 12-years-old, I always had so many emotions for him and we
are both from the same city and have played so much training and
practice. He’s a big brother and I have so much respect for him.”
The semi finals of the CIB Squash Open Black Ball will take place at
20:00 (GMT+1) on December 19. The action will be shown live on
SQUASHTV.
For more information on the CIB Squash Open Black Ball, visit the
tournament
website or follow the event on
Twitter
and
Facebook.
|
Asal Holds Off Soliman in Dramatic Round Two Clash at CIB
Squash Open Black Ball
World
No.6 Mostafa Asal held off fellow Egyptian Youssef Soliman in a dramatic
118-minute battle earlier today to reach the quarter finals of the CIB
Squash Open Black Ball, PSA World Tour Gold event.
20-year-old Asal was tremendous in the opening two games as he hit his
targets and outplayed Soliman, however Soliman refused to back down and
took a third game that was littered with stoppages and refereeing
decisions to halve the deficit.
Asal then led 4-1 in the fourth before an incident which saw the
Egyptian hit his head on the floor after a collision with Soliman. After
spending some time off court with the physio, Asal returned to court,
only to be told that he had been given a conduct game against him in
punishment for his movement, following a similar incident earlier in the
contest where he received a conduct stroke against him for leaving his
leg out.
An emotional Asal took a while to compose himself but returned for the
fifth game, where he held his nerve despite the drama to secure his
place in the quarter finals, and he will take on former World No.1 Karim
Abdel Gawad, who won the Platinum tier Black Ball event in 2018.
Meanwhile,
World No.4 Tarek Momen also had to battle through a five-game thriller
as he overcame World No.16 Youssef Ibrahim by an 11-7, 11-9, 2-11,
10-12, 12-10 scoreline.
Momen was on top in the early stages but lost his focus in the third
game and Ibrahim soon came back to level after saving a match ball in
the fourth. A nail-biting fifth game saw Ibrahim save two further match
balls, but he couldn’t deny Momen, who finally converted to set up a
quarter final meeting with Marwan ElShorbagy.
“I am very proud of how I managed to close this one out, I eventually
used my experience to close out a match that was slipping away from my
hands,” said Momen afterwards.
“After the 2nd he stepped it up and cut his errors down and his quality
just went up. I kept hitting some errors but then my quality went up in
the 4th and 5th and I was playing good squash, I only made a few errors
at crucial times and he played super well.
“To be honest, I thought this match was going to slip away from my
hands, that’s why I’m so proud that I managed to close it out. He pushed
me so hard and played an incredible match and overturned a poor start
into an exquisite finish and a brilliant match towards the end.”
Frenchman
Gregoire Marche is the only unseeded player to advance to the last eight
after he got the better of No.8 seed Mazen Hesham, with an impressive
11-9, 13-11, 11-8 victory seeing him set up a fixture with World No.1
Ali Farag.
“Winning 3-0 against Mazen, it’s not what I was expecting,” Marche said.
“Every game was tough but I think I was a bit better mentally at the end
of each game, not making any errors, which he did a bit too much today.
I put enough pressure on him and I am happy with the way I moved, and I
hit the ball in the corners today, so it was a good match.”
Farag, who reached the final of the Gold Black Ball event last December,
overcame Spain’s Iker Pajares Bernabeu in his opening match, winning
11-1, 11-9, 11-5.
“There
were lots of positives, I found my targets from the get go, there were
lots of winners coming from my racket,” said Farag.
“But you know you can’t win 33 rallies like this, so you have to
construct rallies a bit more and that’s a mistake I made in the second.
I thought it would be more straight forward and I needed more patience
to build the rallies and he punished me for it, but I’m happy I could
get the balance right in the third.”
There were also wins for World No.2 Paul Coll and World No.8 Joel Makin,
who will meet in the other quarter final.
The quarter final fixtures will take place tomorrow (December 18) at
17:30. Live action will be shown live on |
El Sherbini Captures Women’s CIB Squash Open Black Ball
Title
World
No.1 Nour El Sherbini is the women’s 2021 CIB Squash Open Black Ball
champion after she overcame fellow Egyptian Hania El Hammamy earlier
today at the Black Ball Sporting Club in Cairo, Egypt to win the PSA
World Tour Gold title.
The pair met in the final of the Platinum tier Black Ball Open at this
venue in March, 2020, while El Hammamy - who won that clash - was a
losing finalist in the Gold Black Ball event this time last year.
However, this time around El Sherbini emerged victorious, with an 11-7,
9-11, 11-1, 11-7 victory seeing her win her fifth PSA title of 2021.
World
Champion El Sherbini came into the match having not dropped a game
throughout the tournament and, while she made a good start to take the
first game, the 26-year-old was pegged back in the second by a resilient
El Hammamy. El Sherbini also had to content with a cut on her knee
sustained after a collision towards the end of the second game.
She came out firing on all cylinders in the third game and was simply
sublime as she blew El Hammamy away, dropping just one point in the
progress. The fourth was a more evenly-contested affair, but El
Sherbini’s quality was evident as she held her opponent off to capture
her second trophy at this venue and her first at the Gold edition of the
Black Ball event.
It is El Sherbini’s 27th PSA title and the Egyptian will take home over
$17,500 for her efforts in Cairo this week.
“I’m really happy and proud,” said El Sherbini.
“Black
Ball has always been a special event for me and I love to play here.
From the first event, I reached about four finals and lost in them, so
to be stood here having won two Black Ball Opens is an honour for me. I
lost one of the finals against Hania, it was her first Platinum event
and I’m sure it’s not going to be the last.
“She’s amazing and the three of us [El Sherbini, Nouran Gohar and El
Hammamy] have been raising the bar so high this season and they’re
playing the best seasons of their lives, so I’m really happy with my
performance today.”
Meanwhile, the men’s event got under way today, with the likes of Miguel
Rodriguez, Gregoire Marche, Saurav Ghosal and Youssef Ibrahim booking
their places in the last 16.
The second round begins tomorrow (December 17) at 12:00 (GMT+2) and the
action will be shown live on
SQUASHTV.
The men’s
event is held between December 16-20.
For more information on the CIB Squash Open Black Ball, visit the
tournament
website or follow the event on
Twitter
and
Facebook.
|
El Hammamy & El Sherbini To Meet in CIB Squash Open Black Ball Final
Egyptian
duo Hania El Hammamy and Nour El Sherbini will line up in the final of
the 2021 CIB Squash Open Black Ball following respective wins over World
No.2 Nouran Gohar and England’s Georgina Kennedy earlier today at the
PSA World Tour Gold event.
El Hammamy has claimed her first ever win over compatriot Gohar at the
eighth attempt after Gohar was forced to retire from their match due to
an ankle problem. The match was finely balanced after a thrilling
opening two games which saw both players take a game apiece.
However, Gohar started to slow down in the third and, despite receiving
treatment from the physio during the game break, was unable to continue
the match, handing El Hammamy a place in the title decider.
“It’s always tough playing against Nouran and it’s not the way I wanted
to get the first win against her,” El Hammamy said afterwards.
“I’ve never beaten her, not in juniors, not in training, not anywhere,
to be honest. It’s not a great feeling to win this way and hopefully she
recovers soon and we have many more tough matches.
“I was just focusing on my game plan and focusing on what I was doing.
Today I felt really good on court and I didn’t want to lose my focus or
lose my game plan at all. I don’t think I even noticed anything, but
definitely something happened [to Nouran] and I didn’t see it.”
El Hammamy and El Sherbini met in the final of the Platinum tier Black
Ball event back in 2020 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, with El Hammamy
capturing her first major PSA title. The World No.4 reached the final of
the Gold Black Ball event last December too, but squandered a 2-0 lead
against England’s Sarah-Jane Perry.
Gohar’s defeat means that El Sherbini is guaranteed to start the New
Year as the World No.1. She would have lost top spot had Gohar bettered
El Sherbini’s results in Cairo this week.
The 26-year-old overcame surprise semi finalist Kennedy - who was
appearing in her first PSA Gold semi final - by an 11-7, 11-5, 11-3
margin to reach her fourth final at the Black Ball Sporting Club. It
will be her second final in the Gold tier Black Ball event after she
finished as runner-up to former World No.1 Raneem El Welily back in
2019.
“It
was a tough match playing Gina for the first time,” El Sherbini said.
“She has been playing amazing, she’s very fit and playing really good
squash and I had to get my ‘A’ plan to play her. I knew how big an event
this was for her and playing in the semi final is big, but I’m really
happy with my performance and that I knew how to play against her.”
The pair will lock horns in the final at 20:00 (GMT+2) tomorrow
(December 16) and the action will be shown live on
SQUASHTV as well as the channels of PSA’s broadcast partners.
The men’s event also begins tomorrow and play will start from 12:00
(GMT+2) and be shown live on |
Kennedy Reaches First Gold Semi Final at CIB Squash Open
Black Ball
England’s
Georgina Kennedy will line up in the semi finals of a PSA World Tour
Gold event for the first time after she put in a devastating performance
against World No.27 Farida Mohamed earlier today at the CIB Squash Open
Black Ball in Cairo, Egypt.
World No.25 Kennedy - who has won eight titles on the PSA Challenger
Tour in 2021 - overcame England No.1 Sarah-Jane Perry in the previous
round by a 3-0 margin and she continued her fine form against Mohamed as
she recorded a 12-10, 11-8, 11-6 victory to seal her last four berth.
“I am still in shock a bit right now,” said Kennedy, who was the only
non-Egyptian to line up in the quarter finals.
“It was cool last night, my parents were watching SQUASHTV and saw the
quarter final line-up and it was my name along with seven Egyptians, so
it’s really exciting. Egypt is known for being the dominant force in
squash, so I am really proud that I can immerse myself amongst those
girls.
“[To win] is a tough task for sure with the quality of the players still
in the draw. I think I just need to focus on my game and not think too
much about who I am playing because it’s quite intimidating, the quality
of the squash that these girls play. I have been watching them at home
on SQUASHTV and now I am here playing with them.”
The 24-year-old will go up against World No.1 Nour El Sherbini in the
next round after she got the better of World No.9 Nour El Tayeb in
straight games.
El Tayeb is appearing at her first tournament in 14 months and gave
birth to a baby daughter in July of this year. The 28-year-old tested El
Sherbini in the opening game and certainly showed glimpses of her
shot-making talents, but the reigning World Champion proved to be too
much for El Tayeb to handle as El Sherbini closed out an 11-9, 11-7,
11-5 victory.
El Sherbini reached the final of the Gold edition of the Black Ball
event in 2019 and will compete against Kennedy for the first time in her
career.
“She
[El Tayeb] is a fighter and it is very inspiring that she is back and
playing like this,” El Sherbini said.
“I don’t think anyone could believe she has just given birth five months
ago. It is really amazing and I didn’t expect that she would push me
that hard, but I am really happy to see her playing like this and she
will get fitter and get better over the next few tournaments. I was a
bit emotional playing her today.”
The other semi final will see World No.2 Nouran Gohar and World No.4
Hania El Hammamy - who finished runner-up at the Gold tier Black Ball
event last December - battle for a place in the final.
24-year-old Gohar came back from a game down against fellow Egyptian
Salma Hany to reach the semi finals of a Black Ball event for the first
time since the inaugural edition back in 2019.
“I
think we have played every tournament this season, me and Hania,” said
Gohar.
“We always have great battles and I really enjoy it on court with her. I
think we bring the best out of each other and it is good for the game.
We have played in different occasions, in quarter finals, semi finals
and finals. I am really excited for tomorrow’s battle.”
El Hammamy, who won the Platinum tier Black Ball Open in 2020,
dispatched compatriot Rowan Elaraby by an 11-9, 11-7, 11-4 scoreline to
earn her spot in the last four.
“I
am definitely happy to get through, it is never easy playing Rowan, we
have a long history in juniors,” El Hammamy said.
“Before the match, I saw the head-to-head and it was 6-3 in my favour,
even though I felt I lost a lot of finals in World Juniors to her, so I
didn’t think I had the upper hand. We have a long rivalry and we will
play a lot on the PSA World Tour as well. I have a lot of memories of
playing Rowan, so I am happy with the win and definitely happy with how
I handled the pressure.”
The semi finals of the CIB Squash Open Black Ball take place tomorrow,
and action from the Black Ball Sporting Club will begin at 20:00
(GMT+2). Matches will be shown live on
SQUASHTV.
The women’s event takes place between December 12-16, before the men’s
event is held between December 16-20.
For more information on the CIB Squash Open Black Ball, visit the
tournament
website or follow the event on
Twitter
and
Facebook.
|
El Tayeb Makes Triumphant Return at CIB Squash Open Black
Ball Following Pregnancy
Former
World No.3 Nour El Tayeb made a triumphant return to action after 14
months on the sidelines as she overcame fellow Egyptian Hana Ramadan to
reach the quarter finals of the CIB Squash Open Black Ball - just five
months after giving birth to a baby daughter.
El Tayeb, who withdrew from the 2020 edition of this tournament last
December due to her pregnancy, fought back from a game down to complete
a stunning win over World No.33 Hana Ramadan, completing a 9-11, 11-7,
11-4, 11-8 victory to move into the last eight of the PSA World Tour
Gold event held at the Black Ball Sporting Club.
The 28-year-old - who has slipped to No.9 in the PSA Women’s World
Rankings - welcomed her daughter, Farida, into the world in July of this
year, together with husband and men’s World No.1 Ali Farag.
“I surprised myself with how I kept hope even after losing the first
game,” El Tayeb said.
“I felt a little bit emotional when I saw my parents here, I felt like
when I was growing up and they used to come to my matches when I was
still a child. To play this way and win was good, although I got quite
tense at the end.
“For me, I had to do something, I had to come back to squash, it’s the
only thing I do well. I’m happy to have my family here for my first
match and I can keep going with the comeback. It's a nice challenge and
I think I can do it.”
El Tayeb will lock horns with World No.1 Nour El Sherbini in the next
round. El Sherbini was El Tayeb’s most recent opponent before this week,
with the reigning PSA World Champion beating El Tayeb at the CIB
Egyptian Open in October, 2020. El Sherbini booked her spot in the last
eight courtesy of a comfortable 3-0 win over Belgium’s Nele Gilis.
“The
next round is going to be difficult playing Nour [El Tayeb] again, it’s
amazing to see her back and winning,” said El Sherbini, who won the
Platinum edition of the CIB Black Ball Open in March of this year.
“It’s always been a rivalry between us since we were juniors and have
been travelling together, so it’s really good to see her back on court
and to be playing against each other.”
Elsewhere, England’s Georgina Kennedy has claimed the biggest victory of
her career to date after she ended the title defence of her country’s
No.1 player Sarah-Jane Perry. Perry won the Gold Black Ball event in
December, 2020 but has bowed out in round two this year after Kennedy
recorded an 11-7, 13-11, 11-6 victory to beat her first top five player.
The 24-year-old - ranked at World No.25 - will compete in the quarter
finals of a PSA Gold event for the first time and she will line up
against 19-year-old Egyptian Farida Mohamed, who also caused an upset as
she took out World No.7 Joelle King. Kennedy is the only non-Egyptian
left in the event.
“It’s
definitely my best result, SJ has always been an idol of mine,”
Kennedy said.
“I’ve had the opportunity to play her a couple of times and she’s taught
me so many lessons. I’ve always taken something away to work on with my
coach after playing her. I think today I played above my normal level
and I sensed she was slightly off and I got some good dying lengths and
that was the difference. I’m just so happy to be through.”
World No.27 Mohamed made it back-to-back wins over New Zealand’s King as
she achieved a 9-11, 11-8, 3-11, 11-9, 12-10 victory in the opening
match of the day. It follows up her shock win over the Kiwi in the
Platinum Black Ball Open back in March, 2020.
“It’s
interesting to play top players, the pressure isn’t on you but at the
same time, it is time for me to rise up the rankings,” Mohamed said.
“Every tournament I try to take something positive from it to push me
harder and get big wins in every tournament. Joelle is very experienced
and she wanted her revenge. It was very hard from the first point, but
I’m so happy with this win and I’m glad I managed to focus at the end.”
There were also wins for World No.2 Nouran Gohar, World No.4 Hania El
Hammamy, World No.8 Salma Hany and World No.10 Rowan Elaraby.
The CIB Squash Open Black Ball continues tomorrow with the quarter
finals. Action starts at 17:30 (GMT+2) and will be shown live on
SQUASHTV.
The women’s event takes place between December 12-16, before the men’s
event is held between December 16-20.
For more information on the CIB Squash Open Black Ball, visit the
tournament
website or follow the event on
Twitter
and
Facebook.
|
Abbas Upsets Chinappa as CIB Squash Open Black Ball Begins
The
opening day of action at the CIB Squash Open Black Ball, PSA World Tour
Gold event saw five of the eight fixtures go the way of the lower-ranked
player, with Indian No.1 Joshna Chinappa proving to be the
highest-profile casualty as she fell to World No.28 Nada Abbas as the
women’s event began at the Black Ball Sporting Club in Cairo, Egypt.
Abbas, who was born in Cairo, has showcased some of her best ever form
at this venue in the past and reached her first ever major PSA quarter
final at the Platinum tier CIB Black Ball Women’s Squash Open back in
2020. The 21-year-old was on top throughout against World No.12 Chinappa,
and she rattled off an 11-8, 11-6, 11-7 victory to seal her place in the
last 16.
“I’m really happy to get this win today, even if it took a year and a
half [after her last win] on this court,” Abbas said.
“Better late than never. I’ve had a tough year this year and at the end
of last year, so to be honest in the last few months I’ve just been
focused on enjoying my game, trying to play my best and enjoy what I’m
doing. If I’m not enjoying what I’m doing, then it’s useless.
“For now, I’m enjoying my squash, or trying to enjoy it and trying to
play my best and not focus on the results or rankings.”
Abbas will play World No.4 Hania El Hammamy - who won the Platinum Black
Ball Open in this venue back in 2020 - in the next round. She will be
joined there by fellow Egyptian Mariam Metwally, the World No.42, who
upset World No.15 Nadine Shahin in five games.
It
was a quick-fire five-game battle - lasting just 42 minutes - and
Metwally recovered from a slow start to win it 6-11, 11-8, 11-3, 5-11,
11-4. The 25-year-old will play No.6 seed Salma Hany next for a place in
the semi finals.
“I’ve played Nadine many times, we often practice together, so I know
the game plan and I was just trying to stick to it as much as I could,
and it worked,” Metwally said afterwards.
“The plan was to stay calm as much as I could and play deep shots, and
whenever I have the chance to attack I went for it, and that’s what I
did today.”
Canada’s Danielle Letourneau was the other top 20 player to see her
tournament come to a premature end as she fell to Hana Ramadan. World
No.33 Ramadan will take on former World No.3 Nour El Tayeb in the next
round. El Tayeb, who has now slipped to No.9 in the PSA Women’s World
Rankings, will make her highly-anticipated return to action tomorrow
after 14 months on the sidelines due to the birth of her daughter in
July of this year.
“My nerves were all over the place, especially when I was up 2-0,” said
Ramadan.
“For me [the best tactic] is to stay calm and remember my game plan or
go to my plan B. It cost me one game, but fortunately not two more. I
just need to stay calm and remember how to keep the pressure on and keep
the momentum going.”
Egypt’s World No.27 Farida Mohamed kicked off the day’s upsets with a
3-1 win over World No.21 Tinne Gilis in the opening match of the
tournament. The 19-year-old will line up against New Zealand’s Joel King
in the second round and she will look to follow up her win over the Kiwi
at the same stage of the Platinum Black Ball Open back in March, 2020.
“It
was very tough playing her [Gilis] to be honest, but I’m very positive
with the way I played today,” Mohamed said.
“I managed to do 75 percent of the plan I’d planned today. I wasn’t very
angry today, I was trying to keep my focus and I’m happy with this.”
The CIB Squash Open Black Ball continues tomorrow with stars such as
World No.1 Nour El Sherbini and defending champion Sarah-Jane Perry -
who won the gold edition of the Black Ball Open last December - getting
their tournaments under way. The action starts at 12:00 (GMT+2) and will
be shown live on
SQUASHTV.
The women’s event takes place between December 12-16, before the men’s
event is held between December 16-20.
For more information on the CIB Squash Open Black Ball, visit the
tournament
website or follow the event on
Twitter
and
Facebook.
|
El Tayeb to Return at CIB Squash Open Black Ball
Following Birth of Daughter
Egypt’s former World No.3 Nour El Tayeb will make her highly-anticipated
return to competitive action at December’s CIB Squash Open Black Ball
between December 12-16 following the birth of her daughter.
El Tayeb, together with husband and men’s World No.1 Ali Farag, welcomed
her daughter, Farida, into the world in July and will line up at the PSA
World Tour Gold tournament just five months after becoming a mother for
the first time. El Tayeb has won two major PSA titles, the 2017 U.S.
Open - which she won on the same night Farag won his first major title -
and the 2018 Windy City Open.
The 28-year-old is seeded at No.7 for the event and will receive a bye
into round two where she will take on either Canada’s Danielle
Letourneau or Scotland’s Lisa Aitken. A win there will pit her against
World No.1 Nour El Sherbini - who won the Platinum edition of the CIB
PSA Black Ball Squash Open in March - in the last eight.
El Sherbini is the top seed for the event and is seeded to come up
against England’s Sarah-Jane Perry in the semi finals. Perry is the
defending Gold edition champion after she came back from two games down
to upset Egypt’s Hania El Hammamy, who is seeded No.3 at this year’s
event.
El Hammamy is predicted to meet World No.2 Nouran Gohar in the semi
finals on the bottom half of the draw.
A men’s Gold event will also be held between December 16-20, and World
Champion Farag will headline a field that also contains the likes of New
Zealand’s Paul Coll, former World Champion Tarek Momen and U.S. Open
winner Mostafa Asal.
Farag was a runner-up at this event in December, losing to compatriot
Fares Dessouky, and is seeded to play World No.6 Asal in the last four.
Momen, meanwhile, has a tough draw that could see him take on Marwan
ElShorbagy - who won the Platinum edition of this tournament in March -
in the quarter finals before a potential clash with World No.3 Coll in
the last four.
World No.448 Abdelrahman Nassar is the men’s wildcard, while World
No.204 Lojayn Gohary has been named as the women’s wildcard.
Action from the CIB Squash Open Black Ball will be shown live on
SQUASHTV, while the semi finals and finals will also be shown live on
the channels of PSA’s broadcast partners.
For more information on the CIB Squash Open Black Ball, visit the
tournament website or follow the event on Twitter and Facebook.
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