CIB Egyptian Open Day One: Evening Roundup

In an exciting conclusion to the opening day of the CIB Egyptian Open, young qualifiers Nour Heikal, Marina Stefanoni, Barb Sameh and Mohamad Zakaria all reached the second round of the first ever diamond-level event on the PSA Squash Tour.

In front of a packed home crowd at O West, Cairo, World No.17-year-old Sameh, ranked 168th in the world, was in fine form today, as she confidently took the game to World No. 23 Tomato Ho.

After clinching the opener 13-11, Sameh was pegged back 11-1 in the second. The Egyptian responded fantastically, though, taking a tight third game 15-13 and then sealing the win with an 11-9 victory in the fourth game to set up a second round clash with reigning world champion Nouran Gohar.

“I’m over the moon right now, I came here, didn’t expect anything, just to enjoy the experience and try to challenge the top players,” Sameh said.

Sameh’s compatriot, 20-year-old Heikal, looked dangerous throughout her clash with England’s Lucy Beecroft, with the Egyptian securing an 11-4, 11-7, 9-11, 11-6 win in 37 minutes.

USA’s Stefanoni, meanwhile, put in a top display to overcome her old college friend and rival Hana Moataz, with Stefanoni emerging victorious 11-5, 18-16, 11-9.

Afterwards, she said: “I’ve played Hana many times. We went to school together [at Harvard] and she used to beat me in school. She’s a really good friend and it’s tough to maintain that cut-throat mindset on court… I think [playing on tour] is more of a ‘do or die’ mindset. Playing in college, when I’d play a tournament if I lost I would feel like I was going back to school and would have things to do. There was always an upside, in a way, because I wouldn’t miss as much school.

“Whereas now that I’m playing for a living and for the glory, I guess you could say, it feels a bit more real. This is my first season full time and I’m just trying to do the best I can and show people I can make it on this stage.”

The sole male qualifier through in the evening session was 16-year-old Mohamad Zakaria, with the Egyptian following up his WSF World Junior Championship title with a mature performance to knock out World No.35 Nick Wall, with Zakaria progressing in straight games to the delight of the home crowd.

“Today, out of all days I feel good because, as I said before I started: As the days go, as the tournament goes on, I play better. Today was maybe one of my best performances. I think I played better than I played at the World Juniors. I was I was fierce, I was aggressive, I was very active on court. I sent a message from the beginning,” Zakaria said.

Round two of the CIB Egyptian Open takes place tomorrow (Saturday 31 August).

Results: 2024 CIB Egyptian Open Women’s Round One (Evening Session)

Hana Ramadan (EGY) bt Nardine Garas (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 11-5 (23m)
Mariam Metwally (EGY) bt Rana Ismail (EGY) 3-0: 11-9, 11-4, 13-11 (36m)
Marina Stefanoni (USA) bt Hana Moataz (EGY) 3-0: 11-5, 18-16, 11-9 (46m)
Nour Heikal (EGY) bt Lucy Beecroft (ENG) 3-1: 11-4, 11-7, 9-11, 11-6 (37m)
Salma Eltayeb (EGY) bt Alicia Mead (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-2, 11-8 (22m)
Rachel Arnold (MAS) bt Grace Gear (ENG) 3-2: 6-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-7, 11-8 (51m)
Barb Sameh (EGY) bt Tomato Ho (HKG) 3-1: 13-11, 1-11, 15-13, 11-9 (65m)
Georgia Adderley (SCO) bt Tsz-Wing Tong (HKG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-4 (25m)

Results: 2024 CIB Egyptian Open Men’s Round One (Evening Session)

Raphael Kandra (GER) bt Yahya Elnawasany (EGY) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-7 (32m)
Ramit Tandon (IND) bt Bernat Jaume (ESP) 3-0: 11-3, 11-2, 11-9 (32m)
Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA) bt Rory Stewart (SCO) 3-0: 11-3, 11-5, 11-2 (32m)
Gregoire Marche (FRA) bt George Parker (ENG) 3-2: 9-11, 11-9, 12-10, 7-11, 11-4 (79m)
Nathan Lake (ENG) bt Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) 3-1: 13-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-4 (43m)
Mohamad Zakaria (EGY) bt Nick Wall (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-9, 11-6 (40m)
Iker Pajares (ESP) bt Omar Mosaad (EGY) 3-0: 12-10, 11-4, 11-5 (44m)
Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) bt Kareem El Torkey (EGY) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 12-10 (39m)

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