Lobban Reaches First Silver Semi-Final Whilst Elaraby Marches On

The quarter finals of the Manchester Open got underway this afternoon at the National Squash Centre with players looking to score spots in the semi finals of the Silver event.

Egypt’s Rowan Elaraby opened day three with a win as she ended the run of compatriot Nour Aboulmakarim in straight games. The younger of the two, Aboulmakarim, was featuring in her first World Tour quarter final after downing No.7 seed Farida Mohamed in the previous round . Aboulmakarim was determined to give a good account of herself in the match and did just that, she was matching Elaraby’s aggression and precision to find winners in all areas of the court.

After losing in a tiebreak in the opening game, Aboulmakarim trailed 10-5 in the second game but impressively fought back to 10-10. The higher ranked Egyptian steadied herself and secured the 2-0 lead before storming to victory in the third game 11-2.

“I watched her [Aboulmakarim] play yesterday against Farida and I was so impressed with how she fought and competed. I knew it would be difficult today and I’m just happy to be through. I wasn’t completely happy with my shots today and I felt her presence behind me all the time which was making me feel quite nervy. It’s just relief to be through at the minute.”

Result:
[3] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) bt Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY) 3-0: 12-10, 12-10, 11-2 (37m)

Lobban Reaches First Silver Semi-Final

Scotland’s Greg Lobban has claimed a place in his first Silver event semi-final after defeating France’s Gregoire Marche in four games in the second match of the day. The Scottish No.1 claimed the opening game in comfortable fashion 11-4 as Marche looked to be feeling the effects of his second round efforts against Marwan Elshorbagy. Marche responded well in the second game and earned two game balls but back came Lobban to steal the game 13-11.

Marche wasn’t deterred by losing the second game and again started well in the third game. Lobban errors were breathing more life into a physically fading Marche who again moved to 10-8. After a nail-biting tiebreak, the Frenchman finally converted the game 16-14, after squandering six game balls. Marche struggled to recover in the fourth game which allowed the No.7 seed to move through the gears and earn a spot in the last four.

Here’s what Lobban had to say following his win:

“The first two rounds, with Jonah [Bryant] and Greg [Marche], they are terrific squash players and it’s been nice to be playing with not an awful lot of decisions. I remember coming down to the British Open when I was very young, so to be on this stage is a bit surreal, to be honest. It’s just nice to be competing with the best guys in the world and it’s a real thrill. 

“I want to be as close to 100% to be competing with these guys and when I have been 100% this year, I have been pretty close, so it’s nice to be in these positions. 

“We play most of the year away from home and I’m very close to home at the moment. I’ve got a bit of a gang here of players I know in Scotland cheering me on in my corner this week. It’s nice to have these guys here and to be playing in front of such a big crowd. I feel really honoured to be playing here today, so thank you.”

Result:
 [7] Greg Lobban (SCO) bt Gregoire Marche (FRA) 3-1: 11-4, 13-11, 14-16, 11-5 (87m)