The SA Open: Van Niekerk Keeps Home Hopes Alive After Fuller Exit

Dewald van Niekerk kept South African hopes alive on day three of the SA Open, after Alexandra Fuller had been knocked out of the women’s draw. 

Playing No.8 seed Nour Heikal in the sixth match of the day, Fuller took an early lead by winning game one 11-9, but was on the wrong side of the same scoreline in game two. 

From there, the 20-year-old Egyptian took control, racing out to a 4-0 lead in game three, a lead she would hold on to with ease, wrapping up an 11-5 win in less than five minutes. 

The fourth followed an almost identical pattern, Heikal establishing an early lead that would be too much for Fuller to claw back, ending her hopes of glory on home soil. 

Hopes of seeing a South African winner now rest solely on the shoulders of men’s No.4 seed van Niekerk, who overcame a stubborn Khaled Labib in four games in the match that followed. 

Van Niekerk looked as though he might make light work of the Egyptian after game one, which he took 11-3 in just 11 minutes. 

The second was a much more even affair, though, reflective of the fact the pair are separated by less than 20 spots in the world rankings, but it was the South African who edged it on a tie break, moving within one game of victory. 

Labib fought back to win game three and keep himself alive, and looked as though he may have swung the momentum in his favour when he found himself 4-1 up in the fourth. 

But backed by a vocal home crowd, van Niekerk wrestled back the advantage, winning the next seven points to put himself on the brink of a semi-final spot. 

Labib pulled another point back before a wonderful lob winner edged the local hero ever closer, and he closed out victory moments later when Labib’s return of serve hit the tin at 10-5. 

Van Niekerk will now play another Egyptian in Ibrahim Elkabbani for a place in the final, after the No.1 seed saw off compatriot Ziad Ibrahim 3-0. 

That result was one of three men’s quarter-finals to finish 3-0, with Rowan Damming and Ben Smith both winning their quarter-finals by the same scoreline, beating Hazem Hossam and Seif Tamer respectively. 

In the women’s draw, Heikal’s reward for beating Fuller is a semi-final meeting with No.2 seed Lucy Turmel. 

Turmel had to do things the hard way to reach the final four, coming from two-games down to beat France’s Marie Stephan, spending close to an hour on court in her 3-2 win. 

That performance was a stark contrast to that of Turmel’s England teammate Jasmine Hutton, who needed just 21 minutes to cruise past Switzerland’s Cindy Merlo. 

Hutton will play Nour Aboulmakarim in the last four, meaning both women’s semi-finals will be England versus Egypt. 

Results: Men’s Quarter-Finals 

[3] Rowan Damming (NED) bt Hazem Hossam (EGY) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-8 (39m) 
[2] Ben Smith (ENG) bt Seif Tamer (EGY) 3-0: 11-9, 11-9, 11-8 (33m) 
[1] Ibrahim Elkabbani (EGY) bt Ziad Ibrahim (EGY) 3-0: 12-10, 11-9, 11-4 (38m) 
[4] Dewald van Niekerk (RSA) bt [5] Khaled Labib (EGY) 3-1: 11-3, 13-11, 6-11, 11-5 (58m) 

Result: Women’s Quarter-Finals 

[4] Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY) bt [7] Menna Hamed (EGY) 3-2: 11-9, 6-11, 11-4, 9-11, 11-6 (60m) 
[1] Jasmine Hutton (ENG) bt [6] Cindy Merlo (SUI) 3-0: 11-2, 11-1, 11-8 (21m) 
[8] Nour Heikal (EGY) bt [3] Alexandra Fuller (RSA) 3-1: 9-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-6 (35m) 
[2] Lucy Turmel (ENG) bt [5] Marie Stephan (FRA) 3-2: 5-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-5 (53m) 

Draw: Men’s Semi-Finals 

[1] Ibrahim Elkabbani (EGY) v [4] Dewald van Niekerk (RSA) 
[3] Rowan Damming (NED) v [2] Ben Smith (ENG) 

Draw: Women’s Semi-Finals 

[1] Jasmine Hutton (ENG) v [4] Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY) 
[8] Nour Heikal (EGY) v [2] Lucy Turmel (ENG)