20 November 2013
RESULTS: PSA International 50 Banque Misr Sky Open, Cairo, Egypt
1st round:
[1] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [Q] Youssef Abdalla (ENG) 11-3, 11-3, 11-5 (20m)
Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) bt Gonzalo Miranda (ARG) 11-7, 11-8, 11-2 (21m)
Zahed Mohamed (EGY) bt Jens Schoor (GER) 11-7, 11-7, 11-9 (45m)
[8] Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) bt Kristian Frost Olesen (DEN) 11-7, 5-11, 11-2, 9-11, 12-10 (106m)
[5] Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY) bt [LL] Ahmad Al-Saraj (JOR) 9-11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9 (83m)
Shaun le Roux (RSA) bt [Q] Khawaja Adil Maqbool (PAK) 11-5, 11-6, 11-4 (30m)
[Q] Fares Mohamed Dessouki (EGY) bt Raphael Kandra (GER) 11-8, 11-4, 11-5 (45m)
[3] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt [WC] Karim El Hammamy (EGY) 11-5, 11-2, 11-5 (35m)
[4] Alister Walker (BOT) bt [Q] Mohamed El Tabaa (EGY) 11-8, 11-2, 11-5 (30m)
Eddie Charlton (ENG) bt [Q] Shehab Essam Hosny (EGY) 11-5, 11-6, 6-11, 11-8 (50m)
Jaymie Haycocks (ENG) bt Aqeel Rehman (AUT) 13-11, 11-9, 11-7 (55m)
[6] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) bt Andrew Wagih Shoukry (EGY) 7-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9 (110m)
[7] Mazen Hesham Ga Sabry (EGY) bt [Q] Ahmed Atef (EGY) 11-1, 11-6, 11-9 (30m)
Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY) bt [Q] Ahmed Hosny (EGY) 11-6, 11-3, 11-3 (33m)
Joel Hinds (ENG) bt Nathan Lake (ENG) 11-7, 11-7, 3-0 ret. (35m)
[2] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) bt [Q] Ahmed Hussein (EGY) 11-5, 11-3, 11-3 (22m)
International squash returned to Egypt for the first time for more than 18 months when many of the world’s leading players convened for battle in the Banque Misr Sky Open, a PSA World Tour International 50 event at the Sky Resort in New Cairo.
Top seed Karim Darwish, the world No 5 from Egypt who won the title in 2009, moved safely into the second round after despatching English qualifier Youssef Abdalla (both pictured in action below) 11-3, 11-3, 11-5 in the Egyptian born 20-year-old from Essex’s first match against a world top 10 player.
Former world number one Darwish, 32, will now face compatriot Mohamed Abouelghar in one of four all-Egyptian last 16 round clashes.
Abouelghar, the 20-year-old world No 59 from Giza, defeated Argentina’s Gonzalo Miranda 11-7, 11-8, 11-2.
Second seed Mohamed Elshorbagy, fresh from his maiden PSA World Series title triumph success last week at the Qatar Classic, despatched qualifier Ahmed Hussein 11-5, 11-3, 11-3 – and will now face England’s Joel Hinds en-route to a predicted all-Egyptian final clash with Darwish.
But Mohamed’s younger brother Marwan Elshorbagy was severely tested in his first round encounter with Jordan’s Ahmad Al-Saraj before taking his place in the second round. The 18-year-old from the Jordan capital Amman was handed a ‘lucky loser’ place in the main draw after the late withdrawal of the top-ranked Czech Republic player Jan Koukal.
The Jordanian teenager, ranked almost 100 places lower than his opponent, twice led Elshorbagy junior before the fifth seed finally prevailed 9-11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9 after 83 minutes.
But two other Egyptian seeds were also taken the full distance before claiming places in the second round. Mohd Ali Anwar Reda, the No 8 seed from Cairo, twice saw Kristian Frost Olesen draw level in the match and then had to survive a tie-break decider before beating the Dane 11-7, 5-11, 11-2, 9-11, 12-10 in 106 minutes.
And it took four minutes longer for sixth seed Omar Abdel Meguid to see off 23-year-old fellow Egyptian Andrew Wagih Shoukry, ranked 25 places lower, 7-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9 in 110 minutes.
2nd round line-up:
[1] Karim Darwish (EGY) v Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY)
[8] Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) v Zahed Mohamed (EGY)
[5] Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY) v Shaun le Roux (RSA)
[3] Omar Mosaad (EGY) v [Q] Fares Mohamed Dessouki (EGY)
[4] Alister Walker (BOT) v Eddie Charlton (ENG)
[6] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) v Jaymie Haycocks (ENG)
[7] Mazen Hesham Ga Sabry (EGY) v Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY)
[2] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) v Joel Hinds (ENG)
