Grasshopper Cup: El Hammamy Edges All-Egyptian Battle

Hania El Hammamy survived a three-game battle with fellow Egyptian Rowan Elaraby to book her spot in the Grasshopper Cup semi-finals. 

The No.2 seed had beaten her compatriot in each of their previous three PSA Tour encounters, but was made to work for her fourth, needing all three games and 48 minutes. 

After falling 3-0 behind to start the match, El Hammamy won six points in a row to put herself in pole position, and closed out game one on a stroke after a forehand boast. 

The forehand boast was a popular weapon for the World No.3 in game one, but it was less effective in game two, as Elaraby showcased her talents, not least on game ball when she hit a brilliant backhand winner from an awkward position, on a ball that popped out from the corner. 

There was little between the two players early in the decider, but a handful of errors from Elaraby’s racket proved to be decisive, with a backhand into the tin giving El Hammamy victory. 

Speaking after her win, the 23-year-old was full of praise for her opponent. 

“It was very tough playing against Rowan today,” she said. 

“We have a long history since juniors so I knew how tough it was going to be. I knew she was going to come at me and fire everything at me so I’m definitely pleased with the way I fought after the second. 

“I tried as much as I could to stay disciplined and remind myself to go back to the plan that I played in the first game.”

El Hammamy’s semi-final opponent will be the No.3 seed Nele Gilis, who she beat at the U.S. Open Presented by TRUIST last week. 

The match will be best-of-five as opposed to best-of-three, and El Hammamy revealed she had mixed feelings about playing the Belgian in the longer format. 

“I like playing best-of-fives better than best-of-threes, but against Nele, I would rather play a best-of-three for sure,” she said. 

“We’re both very physical. We just played in the U.S. Open quarters and it was three games and 60 minutes, so it’s going to be long, it’s going to be physical, so I need to recover and be ready for tomorrow.”

Result: [2] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt [5] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) 2-1: 11-8, 8-11, 11-7 (48m)