El Gouna International Squash Open 2024 Day Three: As It Happens

Round three begins at the El Gouna International Squash Open today with the top half of the draw taking to the court at Squash Complex El Gouna.

Play gets underway from 12:30 (GMT+2) in El Gouna, with reports and reaction from each individual match below.

You can also keep track of the live scores by clicking here.

Order of Play

Elaraby Downs Mickawy In Five-Game Encounter

In an exciting start to the third round at Squash Complex El Gouna, Egypt’s Rowan Elaraby defeated Zeina Mickawy in 50 minutes to take the first quarter-final place of the tournament.

The World No.10 lost the first three points thanks to a solid start from Mickawy, but Elaraby soon found her form and took control of the match to take the first game 11-5.

Again a slow start to the second game saw Elaraby on the back foot at 3-5 as errors crept into her game, but the No.8 seed looked to been back in command as she levelled the game at 6-6. The pair traded points to 8-8 and a late surge from Mickawy was the difference as she restored parity in the match, winning the second game 11-9.

The two Egyptians were inseparable to 6-6, but Elaraby’s quality started to shine through again as she scored four unanswered points before retaking the lead in the match with a forehand volley drop that rolled out of the nick.

Mickawy, reacting to going down, looked focused as she pushed to a 6-2 lead in the fourth game. Elaraby rallied and caught up with her countrywoman as 8-8, but Mickawy finished her resurgence with three successive points to level the match at 2-2.

The World No.31 was pushing in the fifth game, and scoring some outrageous winners, but also making more errors as the game wore on, whereas Elaraby kept consistent and won the game 11-7 to book a place in the third round.

The win marks a third Platinum quarter-final of the season for the Egyptian, after getting to the last eight at the 2023 Hong Kong Squash Open before reaching the semi-finals of the 2024 Tournament of Champions. Elaraby will face either Nour El Sherbini or Nada Abbas.

Afterwards, Elaraby said: “Of course, I am happy with the win but not about the way I did it.

“Zeina is an amazing player, we’ve been playing since forever, and obviously, she knows my game very well. She could read my shots and anticipated them before I even played them.

“But I feel that I can’t find my personality on court. I am trying to rhyme my physical game with my skills. Nowadays, squash has become all physical, playing length game with volley straight drops. And that’s not how I want to play.

“And maybe that’s why I’m lost. Because now, the physical side of things is more important than skills. And I can’t express my game the way I want to. I thought last match I had managed to do what I wanted, even if not perfectly, but then again today, apart from the first game where I think I expressed my game pretty well, I became more and more nervous because she was reading my game so well.

“If anything, I’m proud of my character in the last two events and the improvement I’ve made on my mental side. That’s something I’ve been working on. If I’m having a bad day, or not playing well, everything goes wrong in my head. Now, it doesn’t matter how I play, it’s the win that matters. And that’s the positive I take from those two events, and I’m very proud of that.”

Result:
[8] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) bt Zeina Mickawy (EGY) 3-2: 11-5, 9-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7 (50m)

ElShorbagy Battles Past Soliman

England’s Mohamed ElShorbagy started the men’s third round in style as he dispatched Egypt’s Youssef Soliman in three games.

The pair had played six previous times, and the World No.7 had won on all of six occasions, most recently in the second round of the Windy City Open.

Soliman stormed to a 5-0 lead in the first game as ElShorbagy looked off the pace of the game. The former World No.1 reacted well, and levelled the game at 9-9 before pushing on to win 11-9, marking his comeback with a series of screams.

The England No.1 kept a slim advantage throughout the second game, and despite a good showing from the Egyptian, ElShorbagy looked comfortable as he took the second game 11-7 to double his lead.

ElShorbagy looked in control of the third game as he maintained a strong lead throughout to seal the win despite a late fightback from Soliman and earned the first men’s quarter-final place. Leaving the court, ElShorbagy yelled: “No chance I was ever going to lose this match. Not here, not here.”

Afterwards, ElShorbagy said: “It’s so good to be scary again! You know why I am a completely different player than the one from yesterday? I spoke with Jonah [Barrington] last night for the first time in six months. And I just delayed my retirement for a few years, I tell you!

“Very happy to win in three. Youssef is a very dangerous player. A very different personality for me compared to yesterday: I wanted to have a go at myself, not at my opponent, and I guess a little bit of me having a go at myself got on my opponent a little bit I guess.

“The third game was tough, he was coming back, getting back at me, at 6-2, I thought he was going to let go as he did in Chicago but this time he pushed back and he played hard. I respect that. He made it so difficult for me to close that game I tell you.”

Result:
[6] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) bt Youssef Soliman (EGY) 3-0: 11-9, 11-7, 11-8 (46m)

Gilis Survives Watanabe Charge

Beligium’s Tinne Gilis survived a difficult test in Japan’s Satomi Watanabe as she won the encounter in the fifth game after 53 minutes.

Gilis had won on all three previous encounters with the World No.14, most recently in the second round of the 2022-2023 PSA World Championships.

The Belgian was dominant in the first game, scoring five unanswered points from the start of the match and finishing the game 11-4 with four successive points.

Watanabe reacted in the second game, taking his own 5-0 lead as she started taking the ball earlier. Gilis fought back in to 4-6, but the 2024 Optasia Champion was too strong as she carried her momentum into the last phase of the game to win 11-4 and level the match.

The No.7 seed, rediscovered her first-game form and, in a similar manner to Watanabe in the previous game, controlled the third game to comfortably win 11-5 and retake the lead.

In the first close-fought game of the match, Gilis took a strong early lead, but Watanabe pushed and earned a 9-5 lead to threaten to level the match again. The Belgian looked resurgent as she almost took the game to a tie-break, but Watanabe restored parity with a straight drive.

The Japanese No.1 looked confident as she continued her form from the fourth game to a 4-1 lead. The World No.8 levelled the match at 8-8, and kept composed as she won the game 11-9 to book a place in the quarter-final match against either her sister Nele Gilis or Egypt’s Salma Hany.

Speaking after the match, Gilis said: “I think, to be honest, I’m actually very happy with this. Like I said yesterday, Satomi and I always have big battles and I don’t think it could have been any closer. It’s the closest battle we’ve had so far and I had to dig in very deep, even when I was down in the fifth I was like ‘I know I can do it, I just have to push through’ and I know her weaknesses – obviously she knows mine too and I think this is the best I’ve seen her play against me.

On a potential quarter-final against her sister, Nele, she said: “Yes, if she wins tonight it will be another Gilis battle! I think that we’ve played so many times and we know each other so well. Personally, of course I don’t like playing her but I’m at the point now where I want to beat her and give it my all. If that happens, then I’m definitely going to forget that I’m playing my sister and just focus on my squash because she knows how to get into my head and I’m not going to let that happen. Otherwise I’d just feel bad for not pushing, all I want to do is give it my all – if she gets through because she has a really tough match!”

Result:
[7] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bt Satomi Watanabe (JPN) 3-2: 11-4, 4-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-9 (53m)

Momen Comes Back To Beat Cardenas

Egypt’s Tarek Momen came back from a game behind to Mexico’s Leonel Cardenas in four games to earn a place in Tuesday’s quarter-finals.

The Mexican, coming off of a strong win over No.9 seed Joel Makin, looked in good form as he challenged the No.8 seed from the beginning, trading points to 5-6. Cardenas fired five winners without response to take a resounding lead before sealing the 11-7 win with a back-hand crosscourt.

Momen looked to have found his footing in the second game and showed his quality to level the match with an emphatic 11-3 win.

The third game proved close a both players looked more conservative, but the Egyptian kept ahead and edged the game 11-8 to take the lead for the first time in the match.

The Egyptian kept just ahead of the Mexican in the fourth game as well, and slowly clinched the game 11-6 to win the match after 48 minutes and book a quarter-final match against either India’s Ramit Tandon or Peru’s Diego Elias.

Speaking after the match, Momen said: “I have to know how to deal with those tough players that keep sending everything back, it’s a good practice for me. 

“I felt I was a bit flat in the first game. I didn’t have the worst basic game, I was getting some good length and cross-courts but when it came to the finishing touch, I didn’t get the feel of the ball I’m used to, and I had maybe five or six errors from easy positions.

“Thankfully, from the second game, I started onto the volley a bit earlier, took the ball earlier, and executed the shots better, applying more pressure. And when I got the chance, I really went for it, with no hesitation and it went well. I’m happy with the way I played.”

Result:
[8] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt Leonel Cardenas (MEX) 3-1: 7-11, 11-3, 11-8, 11-6 (48m)

For updates on the El Gouna International Squash Open 2024, visit the PSA website or follow the PSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.