Hamed and Ibrahim Capture Growthpoint Open Titles

Egyptian duo Menna Hamed and Youssef Ibrahim have secured berths at this season’s PSA World Championships after they claimed silverware on finals day at the Growthpoint S.A. Open held in Cape Town.

The Growthpoint Open is one of six PSA World Championship qualifying events, with winners earning either a spot at the CIB PSA Women’s World Championship – which takes place in front of the Great Pyramid of Giza in October – or the PSA Men’s World Championship, held in Doha, Qatar in November.

And Hamed has sealed her spot in Cairo after beating local favourite Milnay Louw. Louw had recorded upset wins in both her previous matches and would have expected to push Hamed all the way. Hamed however seemed to have other ideas and, buoyed from her semi-final victory over first seed Salma Yousseff, put on a brilliant shot-making display to win the final in straight games.

Hamed commended Squash SA on very well-run event: “Thank you so much to the organisers for putting on such an incredible event. Cape Town is beautiful and I will definitely be back.”

The men’s semi-final was a dream line-up, with first seed Lucas Serme taking on second seed Youssef Ibrahim.

With a place in the World Championships up for grabs for the winner, there was an extra incentive for both players. Throughout the tournament Serme had been dominant, not dropping a game on the way to the final, while Ibrahim’s run had contrasted with him having to battle from two games down in both his quarter and semi-final. However, perhaps it was the extra-time spent on the glass court that aided Ibrahim as he put on a clinic in finals match play to take the match 3-0 and secure the Growthpoint SA Open title.

Ibrahim said” “This has been one of my best ever tournaments, playing in front of this great crowd and in such an amazing venue, I am really happy to take the title”.

Result: Growthpoint S.A Open – Men’s Final
[2] Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) bt [1] Lucas Serme (FRA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-6

Result: Growthpoint S.A Open – Women’s Final
[3] Menna Hamed (EGY) bt [5] Milnay Louw (RSA) 3-0: 11-3, 11-5, 11-2