Paris Squash 2023 – Day One: Evening Round-up

Tomato Ho fought back from two games down to avoid a shock defeat to tournament wildcard Ana Munos.

Munos, who is ranked 149 places lower than Ho, charged into a two-game lead when she clinched them 11-9 and 11-6.

Ho, the Hong Kong No.1, surged back herself to take the third and fourth games both 11-4 to tee up an intriguing decider.

In closely-fought fifth game, Ho’s experience came to the fore against the 19-year-old to press on and advance to round two tomorrow.

“It was so frightening! I feel like I wasn’t ready for the match with it being the first tournament of the season. She was very aggressive and I’m glad I came back,” she said post-match on court.

“It’s my first time here [Paris]. I’m so curious about everything in Paris, and I’m glad that I played on the glass court even though the crowd wasn’t supporting me! It’s very good here.”

Gregoire Marche secured his place in the second round in front of his home crowd after seeing off Rory Stewart 3-0.

Aifa Azman also came through her first round match in straight games, defeating France’s Enora Villard, while George Parker overcame Dimitri Steinmann 3-0 also.

At the Squash Montmartre, Egypt’s Mohamed Abouelghar battled back from two games down to defeat Raphael Kandra 3-2 to secure a second round berth.

Kandra comfortably went into a two-game lead with 11-7 and 11-4 wins, but Abouelghar roared back to reduce the deficit when he claimed the third 11-9.

The Egyptian edged a close fourth when he came out on top in the tiebreak 12-10 before chalking up an 11-9 victory in the decider to confirm his place in the next round.

“It was a good match. I was struggling with a blister in the first two games and I couldn’t grip properly,” he said.

“But with Derek’s [Ryan, PSA physio] help I was able to find some grip and some control on my racket.

“I had a good three games and I managed to stay calm at the end of the games and when I was match ball down I held my nerve quite well and I’m very happy to go through.”

Fellow Egyptian Amina Orfi upset the odds to down World No.26 Alexandra Fuller 3-0 to book her place in the second round.

“I feel so happy to have won today. It’s the first match so we’re all nervous and I was able to come out on top in this match,” Orfi said afterwards.

“She’s [Alex Fuller] a higher seeded player, she’s been on tour for a long time and at the end of last season she beat a few seeded players, so I’m happy to get the win today.

“My dad is usually emotionally supporting me, and keeps me going when I’m quite tired. He also encourages me off court. There’s no pressure on me, I’m going to give my all and hopefully I can win tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, Chan Sin Yuk and Shahjahan Khan both recorded 3-1 victories against Sana Ibrahim and Balazs Farkas, respectively, to progress to the next round.

English pair Jasmine Hutton and Adrian Waller recorded 3-0 successes over Nour Aboulmakarim and Charlie Lee, respectively, Rachel Arnold overcame Hana Moataz and Timothy Brownell downed Patrick Rooney 3-1.

There was another double delight for England’s Lucy Turmel and Nick Wall, defeating Salma Eltayeb and fellow countryman Nathan Lake, respectively, as Fayrouz Aboelkheir beat tournament wildcard Ella Galova in straight games, while Omar Mosaad came from behind to get the better of Tsz Kwan Lau.

Results: Paris Squash 2023 – Round One

Sportive du Jeu de Paume

Jasmine Hutton (ENG) bt Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 11-8 (33m)
Adrian Waller (ENG) bt Charlie Lee (ENG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-4 (42m)
Rachel Arnold (MAS) bt Hana Moataz (EGY) 3-1: 11-3, 6-11, 11-7, 11-3 (33m)
Timothy Brownell (USA) bt Patrick Rooney (ENG) 3-1: 11-4, 7-11, 11-7, 11-1 (49m)

Squash Montmartre

Amina Orfi (EGY) bt Alexandra Fuller (RSA) 3-0: 11-9, 11-6, 11-5 (37m)
Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) bt Raphael Kandra (GER) 3-2: 7-11, 4-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-9 (64m)
Chan Sin Yuk (HKG) bt Sana Ibrahim (EGY) 3-1: 11-9, 11-8, 7-11, 11-2 (41m)
Shahjahan Khan (USA) bt Balazs Farkas (HUN) 3-1: 7-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-9 (54m)

Stade Francais

Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) bt [WC] Ella Galova (FRA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 11-4 (22m)
Nick Wall (ENG) bt Nathan Lake (ENG) 3-1: 2-11, 11-4, 11-3, 11-7 (41m)
Lucy Turmel (ENG) bt Salma Eltayeb (EGY) 3-0: 11-3, 11-6, 11-8 (26m)
Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt Tsz Kwan Lau (HKG) 3-1: 10-12, 11-9, 11-8, 14-12 (60m)

Parvis du Palais de Tokyo

Aifa Azman (MAS) bt Enora Villard (FRA) 3-0: 11-9, 11-4, 11-7 (26m)
Gregoire Marche (FRA) bt Rory Stewart (SCO) 3-0: 11-8, 11-8, 11-9 (50m)
Tomato Ho (HKG) bt [WC] Ana Munos (FRA) 3-2: 9-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-6 (47m)
George Parker (ENG) bt Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) 3-0: 13-11, 11-6, 11-8 (73m)