CIB Black Ball Open Day One: Glass Court Player Reaction

The CIB Black Ball Open, PSA World Tour Platinum event gets under way at Cairo's Black Ball Sporting Club today and you can keep up-to-date with all the reaction from the glass court right here.

Play begins at 12:00 (GMT+2) live on *SQUASHTV* and you can also stay up-to-date with all the live scores from the tournament *here.*

Welsh star Emily Whitlock begins her event against Hong Kong’s Liu Tsz-Ling, while Egypt’s Nada Abbas takes on wildcard Nour El-Sharkawy.

The likes of Farida Mohamed, Tinne Gilis and Sabrina Sobhy are also in action on the glass court today.

Order Of Play
All times are local (GMT+2)

Mohamed Takes Out Tomlinson

World No.22 Farida Mohamed became the first player to get a win under her belt at this year’s CIB Black Ball Open after she overcame England’s Millie Tomlinson in a comfortable 3-0 victory.

The pair’s only previous PSA meeting resulted in a 3-1 win for Mohamed at this tournament 12 months ago, and the Egyptian went one better this time around as she sealed an 12-10, 11-3, 11-6 victory in just 31 minutes.

Mohamed almost squandered four game balls in the opening game as World No.124 Tomlinson fought back, but the 20-year-old was able to find her winners when needed to go a game up.

In the second, Mohamed dominated the centre of the court and had free rein when it came to unleashing her attacking arsenal at the front of the court, with Tomlinson struggling to get the ball into the back corners.

Some ferocious hitting from Mohamed gave Tomlinson little chance to weather the storm in the third either, and the Egyptian progresses to the second round where she will take on New Zealand’s Joelle King.

Mohamed will look to continue her red-hot form against the No.6 seed, who she has beaten 3-2 in both of their previous matches on the PSA World Tour – both of which came at the Black Ball Open.

“It’s a good first round playing Millie, she’s very experienced,” said Mohamed.

“I’m not really satisfied with my performance today, but I’m glad I managed to finish this in three.

“I was happy with my start in the first game, but I lost focus when it was game ball. I knew the first game was very important, I was trying to push so hard and I knew I had to win the first game to be able to go through.

“There are a lot of positives. I played Millie in this tournament last year in the first round and today it was much better, so I saw improvements. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s match, I’m playing Joelle again for the third time, so I’m excited.

“Joelle is very experienced and she knows how to change her plan in the middle of the game when it’s not working. I always have more than one plan with Joelle. I have an advantage that she’s the older player, she’s been in the top five, she’s now in the top 10, so I don’t really have that much pressure.”

Result
Farida Mohamed (EGY) bt Millie Tomlinson (ENG) 3-0: 12-10, 11-3, 11-6 (31m)

Sobhy Comes From Behind to Beat Adel

USA’s Sabrina Sobhy overturned a one-game deficit to defeat World No.41 Yathreb Adel and book her place in the last 32 of the Black Ball Open.

All three of their previous matches on the PSA World Tour had seen the victor win in straight games, with Adel getting the better of her opponent in two of those fixtures. And it was the Egyptian who started faster this time around as she attacked virtually everything to build up four game balls.

Sobhy’s retrieving ability and speed around court enabled her to pick up most of what Adel was throwing at her as she came back to force a tie-break, but Adel responded by unleashing two sublime winners to take the opener.

The work Sobhy did in elongating the rallies in that first game looked to pay dividends in the second and third though as Adel began to look fatigued, and the attacking shots she was hitting for fun in the opener weren’t quite hitting their marks. Sobhy was able to chase them down and get on the volley to win the second game, before blitzing to an 11-1 victory in the third to take control of the fixture.

Adel dug deep in the fourth but Sobhy’s speed and movement was just too much for her on the day and the World No.24 is rewarded with a second round fixture against older sister Amanda in what will be their first ever meeting on the PSA World Tour.

“I think I just knew that the more I got some practice on the glass court and warmed up my body, I could move better and get a little bit more into the match,” said Sobhy.

“It’s difficult with an earlier start time, and coming from the States I have to get accustomed to jet lag. I knew if I kept moving and didn’t take a break it would boost my energy levels and my awareness on court.

“With the colder weather and with it being earlier in the morning, it [the court] was a little bit deader. I think as the evening progresses and more people come in, the court will be a little bit warmer and more energised. I guess if it’s feeling dead you need to lift your shots a little bit to make sure they get into the back corners.

“The biggest positive is just getting through. The first match of the tournament is always a little nerve-wracking and you’re a bit anxious out there. To get through and to get some time on the glass court is a positive, for sure.”

Speaking ahead of her match with Amanda, Sobhy said: “I haven’t thought too much about playing Amanda yet. I’m taking it as any other match and hoping that I’m not going to be as anxious playing a higher seed, which will be good.

“I’m looking forward to it, we haven’t played each other for a very long time, so I guess it [the sibling rivalry] flip flops, as does everything else.”

Results
Sabrina Sobhy (USA) bt Yathreb Adel (EGY) 3-1: 10-12, 11-6, 11-1, 11-8 (35m)

Wildcard Shiha Downs Ho

Wildcard Jana Shiha collected her first win at the Black Ball Sporting Club on the PSA World Tour as she got the better of Hong Kong’s Tze Lok Ho by a 13-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-4 scoreline.

The 20-year-old plays at the Black Ball club and ensured that she made a winning start to the event in front of her home fans to set up a last 32 clash with Tesni Evans of Wales.

Shiha’s attacking game was on form, particularly on the backhand volley, as she punished Ho in the opening game to hold two game balls. Ho kept her composure to force some errors and a tie-break, but Shiha held firm to go ahead at the fourth attempt.

Ho responded brilliantly and nullified Shiha’s attacking threat by putting the ball deep into the back corners and lifting the ball out of her opponent’s range, and the woman from Hong Kong was duly rewarded with victory in the second game.

Shiha stayed focused though and Ho was unable to knock her off her stride in the third and fourth games as the Egyptian World No.55 achieved a pair of 11-4 victories to book her spot in round two of this tournament for the first time.

“I haven’t played a match since the U.S. Open in October, so I wasn’t at my best in the first game,” said Shiha.

“I found a better pace in the middle of the first game, then I lost focus in the second game. In the third and fourth I pushed through. I was trying to control the pace because she is very talented too, so I had to be the first one attacking as she has good volley shots.”

Result
[WC] Jana Shiha (EGY) bt Tze Lok Ho (HKG) 3-1: 13-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-4 (39m)

Abbas Takes Out El-Sharkawy

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Egypt’s Nada Abbas got the better of compatriot and wildcard Nour El-Sharkawy in a quick-fire 3-0, 19-minute encounter to bring the afternoon session to a close.

17-year-old El-Sharkawy was making her first ever appearance on the PSA World Tour but played without any pressure in the opening exchanges as she rattled off a succession of winners to take the first three points on offer.

Consistency proved to be her downfall, however, as Abbas kept her cool and forced her opponent into a number of errors to go a game to the good.

El-Sharkawy was able to stay with Abbas until 5-5 in the second too, but the older Egyptian – only 21 years of age herself – played the critical points well in the latter stages to double her lead.

The pair traded points in the third game, with Abbas closing the win out to set up a second round clash with another compatriot in Mariam Metwally.

“I’m really happy, it’s never easy to play a wildcard, especially in Egypt against a young Egyptian,” said Abbas.

“They’re always fearless and want to win, so I’m really happy to be through and I’m looking forward to my next match.

“Two years ago I was the young Egyptian, now I feel so old. It was really nice to play when we are young here, there is no pressure and you always want to play and enjoy it. It was a good feeling to be young.

“I’m not thinking about results, to be honest. I’m focusing on my performance so I can get better at every tournament. I’m taking it step by step and I’m looking forward to my next match, hopefully I play well..

“It’s really nice to have people that believe in me and support me here cheering me on. It always gives me a push, so I’m glad they’re here.”

Result
Nada Abbas (EGY) bt [WC] Nour El-Sharkawy (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-5 (19m)

Whitlock Battles Past Liu

World No.18 Emily Whitlock made it four wins on the trot against Hong Kong’s Liu Tsz-Ling as she completed a 3-1 win to book her spot in the second round.

It was the pair’s first meeting on the PSA World Tour since the 2019 Allam British Open and Whitlock kept a cool head under extensive pressure from her opponent, who played an attacking brand of squash that looked to capitalise on any loose shots from Whitlock.

Whitlock held her nerve in a first game tie-break after squandering two game balls, but was unable to repeat the feat in the second. The Welsh No.2 did brilliantly to fight back from 9-2 down to 9-9, only to serve out and hand Liu a game ball. Whitlock forced a tie-break and even held three game ball opportunities of her own, but she was unable to convert as Liu levelled.

Liu again got off to a good start in the third, but Whitlock worked her way back in to win it with some well-structured rallies that saw her take away the attacking talents of her opponent by hitting a consistent line and length.

Liu looked like she was feeling the effects of the match in the fourth and Whitlock closed out the win to ensure she will take on England No.1 Sarah-Jane Perry in the next round.

“It’s semi-dead [on court], it’s okay to begin with and then five rallies in you can feel the weight of the ball,” said Whitlock.

“It’s fine, but you’re not quite sure when it’s going to happen. It’s a bit bright in a weird way as well. I thought we volleyed quite well today, both of us, there were some where she stepped across and hunted it, and I think it was a case of just swinging, you have to volley anyway and you don’t want to be passive.

“I was a bit annoyed that the ref didn’t give me a let when she hit me before I hit the ball [in the second game], I thought that was a bit harsh. But I thought if I could battle my way through that from being 9-2 down, it sets the tone and she knows that I’m never going to go away. I had to hustle.

“Normally on the glass, if I’m not totally on it, I get a bit nervous. I feel like I did the right things, there were a few where I didn’t want to play a certain shot and had to adapt. The first thing was not to get injured in the warm-up because that happened in Chicago, where I hurt my back.

“I felt like I was moving quite well when I saw it, so I’ll get a good stretch in. I think I’ve got a harsh turnaround now because I’m not in the evening session tomorrow… I’ve got a three-hour earlier start. If I was training at home I’d have to start at 10am anyway, so I’ll recover, eat some food and get a good sleep.

“At least I’ve got a match on here and won because I hadn’t done, so that’s a tick.”

Result
Emily Whitlock (WAL) bt Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG) 3-1: 12-10, 13-15, 11-8, 11-7 (48m)

Turmel Seals Second Round Spot

England’s Lucy Turmel scored her first ever win at the Black Ball Open as she put World No.51 Mayar Hany to the sword in a comfortable 3-0 victory.

It was a clinical display from World No.26 Turmel who dispatched an array of winners on the backhand side in particular.

After battling to victory in the opening game, Turmel dropped the first three points on offer in the second game, but from that point the English player took control.

The 22-year-old rattled off 11 points in a row to double her advantage before keeping up the onslaught in the third game to seal the win in straight games.

“It was quite a tricky match,” said Turmel.

“Mayar didn’t give me any rhythm because she was quite on and off with her game. I tried to remain focused, which I didn’t do for the whole match, but I did it enough.

“When you play players like Mayar, you can be 3-0 or 4-0 down, but if you get the game plan right you can win 11 points in a row. I didn’t really panic at 3-0 down [in the second game] because I knew what I needed to do.

“I think this week it’s going to be important to play to the court. It’s really dead, so you’ve got to find the back corners and find your targets, it’s quite simple. It’s going to favour those who are attacking and take the ball into the front of the court.

“Anyone who does that well will do well on this court.”

Turmel will go up against No.3 Hania El Hammamy – the 2020 Black Ball Open champion – for a place in round three.

Result
Lucy Turmel (ENG) bt Mayar Hany (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-3, 11-5 (27m)

Gilis on Form to Beat Soini

World No.24 Tinne Gilis was in fine form as she claimed a comprehensive win against Finland’s Emilia Soini to set up a second round fixture with World No.1 Nour El Sherbini.

Gilis completed an 11-5, 11-5, 11-7 victory in just 26 minutes and she will lock horns with El Sherbini for a second tournament in a row following their epic five-game battle at the Windy City Open last month.

“It felt pretty dead on court today, so I was a bit worried because she likes her lob and drop game and it suited her very well,” said Gilis.

“It was a bit hard to adjust to the court today, but I found a way out and I’m very happy to get the win today.

“I’m just happy to be here and I’m taking it one match a game. I just focused on this one today, and tomorrow I will do the same.

“I’m happy there is only one match a day. You get into your rhythm today and then I feel it gets better every round. I’m excited to have a morning hit and then keep going in the afternoon.

“I’m playing the World No.1 tomorrow. I have no expectations, I’m just going to enjoy my time on court like I did last time against her. We had a pretty good battle, so I just want to have the same performance and mindset tomorrow, that’s the main thing for me.

“Every day is different, maybe she will just chop me up tomorrow, you never know. I’m taking the positives with me, that’s for sure, and it’s very good for my confidence too. I’m going to step on court tomorrow with the mindset that I want to win and I’m going to do my best, but I’m not expecting anything.”

Result
Tinne Gilis (BEL) bt Emilia Soini (FIN) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-7 (26m)

Subramaniam Beats Ibrahim in Five

Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam brought the opening day of action to a close as she got the better of World No.47 Sana Ibrahim to earn her place in the last 32 of this tournament for the second time.

Control of the match ebbed and flowed between the pair, with Subramaniam eventually prevailing 2-11, 15-13, 8-11, 11-1, 11-7 in 49 minutes to set up a second round fixture with England’s Georgina Kennedy.

“I feel really relieved,” said Subramaniam.

“I don’t think it was my best squash today. All I was thinking was that I had to push through, there are days when you’re basically going to play badly, and I think that was the case today. I’m glad I managed to push through, Sana has been playing so well.

“Every match she is getting tougher. I think it was more of a mental thing than a physical thing today.

“I was really flat and the court was really dead because it’s really cold. I have to start really well and try and find my corners because I wasn’t doing that well today. I have to step up for my next match.

“Cold courts are very dead, so you need to try and find the height on the glass well. In the middle of the games, I think I did that and caught Sana in the corners. I’m really relieved, I’m not sure how I pulled through.”

World No.23 Subramaniam had won both of their previous PSA World Tour fixtures, but it was Ibrahim who stormed out of the traps to take the first game of today’s match. The Egyptian profited off a series of loose efforts from her opponent, who struggled to find her rhythm in the early stages.

Both players achieved game ball opportunities in a crucial second, but Subramaniam was able to scrape through at the fourth time of asking to bring the match back to all square. Despite the disappointment of conceding the second, Ibrahim came out all guns blazing to take the third, scurrying around court to pick up what the Malaysian had to throw at her.

"That is HUGE from Ibrahim!"

Sana Ibrahim is taking this game to @sangari_99! pic.twitter.com/gzGnf78PDq

— PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) March 12, 2022

That effort took its toll in the fourth game though as Subramaniam dominated and dropped just one point to level the scores once again. The momentum was with the Malaysian and she made no mistake in the fifth game as she converted the win to reach round two.

Result
Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) bt Sana Ibrahim (EGY) 3-2: 2-11, 15-13, 8-11, 11-1, 11-7 (49m)