Dessouky Downs Soliman & El Tayeb’s Title Defence Continues

El Tayeb continues Title Defence

Egypt’s defending champion Nour El Tayeb was next to book her place in the semi-finals, with a confident win over USA’s Sabrina Sobhy.

Sobhy was looking to continue her fine form from the World Championships last week and started in great style as she took the opening game 11-8. El Tayeb responded well by finding her length on both sides which set up attacking opportunities to pile the pressure onto Sobhy.

After turning the tide and establishing a 2-1 lead, the Egyptian showed no mercy as she found top form in the fourth game to win 11-3 and book her spot in a fourth semi-final at the Manchester Open and continue her title defence.

“Well as you know, Sabrina beat me last time and I’m a very big fan of her,” said El Tayeb after her win.

“The warm-up was very long because of the match before us, so I think it took me a while to get into the match, whereas she went in firing. I think she got her tactics at the beginning spot on, but thankfully I had Rowan [Elaraby] in my corner who told me a few things I should take care of and luckily they worked.

“Me and Rowan are very good friends. I told her before the match that you don’t have to watch if you don’t want to, but she said she would be here, which shows a lot about her and I’m very lucky to have her as a friend on tour.

On her delayed preparation for the match, she added: “At the end of the last match, me and Sabrina were joking and saying ‘when are we going to go on court’, so we just chilled and had some nice conversations. I warmed up a little bit at the beginning and then you try to stay alert in case the match is over. It’s tough, tough for all of us, but it’s what we have to do.”

Result:

[1] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt [6] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) 3-1: 8-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-3 (39m)

Dessouky Downs Soliman In Fiesty Affair

In the second all-Egyptian clash of the day, Fares Dessouky took on No.3 seed Youssef Soliman with a place in the semi-finals up for grabs. The match was intense and feisty from the outset with both players determined to control the middle of the court and not give an inch to their opponent. This caused several discussions with the referee and engaged the onlooking crowd but the antics seemed to be favouring Dessouky.

Soliman score the second to equalise but Dessouky was managing his emotions well on the all-glass court and found ways to hurt Soliman in the front corners. After establishing a 2-1 lead, Dessouky earned a match ball at 10-9 but smart play by the higher seed forced a tiebreak. Many referee decisions followed and it was ultimately a positive video review that sealed the win for Dessouky, taking him to his first semi-final since February.

“Overall, it was very good squash today although a lot of stoppages and a lot of yelling today. Every player who plays me is going to talk about movements and these kind of things, but you know what, I’m trying to play my best squash and I’m getting there.

“I’m happy to be in the semi-finals, so lets think first about the semis, then we will see what will happen next. Greg Lobban played really well today, and even in the first round he played super well, so it’s going to be a tough one for sure. I think this is going to be the first time we have played on tour, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Result:

[5] Fares Dessouky (EGY) bt [3] Youssef Soliman (EGY) 3-1: 11-8, 3-11, 11-8, 13-11 (73m)