El Gouna DAY Two: AS IT HAPPENS – COURTS 1 & 2

The El Gouna International Squash Open continues at the El Gouna Squash Complex today as the likes of top five players Paul Coll and Amanda Sobhy begin their title challenges.

You can follow all the action from courts one and two on this page, while you can keep up to date with the live scores from the event here

Schedule – Court One
(All times are local GMT)
14:00 [7] Joelle King (NZL) v Jana Shiha (EGY)
14:45 [8] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) v Gregoire Marche (FRA)
16:00 Alexandra Fuller (RSA) v [8] Salma Hany (EGY)
16:45 Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) v [5] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)

Watch action from court one below

Schedule – Court Two
(All times are local GMT)
14:00 Lucy Turmel (ENG) v Olivia Clyne (USA)
14:45 Karim El Hammamy (EGY) v Zahed Salem (EGY)
16:00 [4] Amanda Sobhy (USA) v Danielle Letourneau (CAN)
16:45 [3] Paul Coll (NZL) v Youssef Soliman (EGY)

Watch action from court two below

Turmel Shocks Clyne as King Marches On

England’s World No.37 Lucy Turmel claimed her first win over a top 15 player as she axed World No.12 Olivia Clyne to reach the third round of a PSA Platinum event for only the second time.

The 21-year-old came out firing on all cylinders and played some magnificent squash to outclass her opponent, earning an 11-8, 11-5, 11-5 victory in just 29 minutes.

Turmel will now take on either World No.5 Amanda Sobhy or Canada’s Danielle Letourneau for a place in a maiden Platinum third round.

“I’m very happy,” Turmel said.

“I felt very comfortable on the court today. Again, like yesterday, it was very clear what my tactics were going to be. At the beginning of each game, I found my corners pretty earlier on, and that allowed me to stand in the middle of the court more than she did.

“I spoke to my brother just before the match and asked him if he had any advice. His advice was to get in front of her and stay in front of her and that’s the simplicity of what I did. Thanks to my brother for the advice he gave me.

“It relaxed me, I wasn’t seeded, and I had nothing to lose. This tournament I really wanted to prove to myself I could play the level I think I can play at. The aim is to go home happy with the way I performed.”

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Joelle King earned her place in the last 16 after she overcame Egypt’s Jana Shiha by a 3-0 scoreline.

The Kiwi – ranked No.8 in the world – cut a composed figure as she won 11-7, 11-7, 11-5 in 24 minutes to set up a third round fixture with Egypt’s Rowan Elaraby.

“To be honest, I haven’t seen much of Jana especially of late, but I came on expecting something really good,” King said.

“She’s got incredible hands, she believes in her game, and she has very attacking squash. I tried to use my age and use my brain a bit more to make her play the extra shot. Sometimes with the young ones, with the transition from junior to senior, patience can be a factor we can use.

“But her constant attacking, even her drives, they’ve got their bite on them. You really have got to be prepared that you are going to have to move, and it comes back with interest really.

“To be honest, it was a great match for me, she got me moving, I had to keep my balls in the corners otherwise she would put it away with some lovely kills. It was a very clean match, there were hardly any lets really.

“I’m happy with today. There has been a little time between Black Ball and today and I’ve been working on some stuff, so it’s good to test those things when you come to a tournament because it’s a different thing to do it in practice.”

Results
Lucy Turmel (ENG) bt Olivia Clyne (USA) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 11-5 (29m)
[7] Joelle King (NZL) bt Jana Shiha (EGY) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 11-5 (24m)

El Hammamy and Marche Cause Upsets

World No.56 Karim El Hammamy will appear in the third round of a major PSA event for the first time in his career after he caused a big upset against World No.16 Zahed Salem.

El Hammamy hadn’t beaten a top 20 player since his win over Omar Mosaad at the CCI International two years ago, but he outplayed Salem to inflict a surprise victory on his fellow Egyptian.

El Hammamy will take on either two-time runner-up Karim Abdel Gawad or Mohamed ElSherbini in the next round.

“It was not only the second that was crucial, the third was too,” El Hammamy said.

“Zahed is a very solid player and he could come back from 2-0, 10-0 down. He was up 6-5 in the third and I was very focused not to lose it because I felt that if he took a game it would have been very hard as he would convert.

“He is a very attacking player and very experienced. He doesn’t play high percentage squash, his shots are very calculated, so I had to attack, I couldn’t just wait and sit as he was going to put the pressure on me. Today I used not only my squash, but also my physicality too to keep with him at that pace, it’s not easy.

“I had to contain his attacks but at the same time, I had to attack too by counter dropping and volleying when I could. I did a couple of beautiful shots in the middle of the second, a misuki in the nick, and another backhand nick, so that made the difference too I think.

“I’m playing Karim Abdel Gawad [next]. We don’t know how the Baby-Faced Assassin is going to do. Yes, he’s just come back from a foot injury, but believe me, he can win on one foot, so I have to wait and see and watch.”

Gregoire Marche, meanwhile, made it back-to-back wins over Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez to put himself into the last 16.

Marche ended a four-match losing run against the former British Open champion when he beat him at the CIB Black Ball Open two months ago, and followed that up with a confident 3-0 win in El Gouna today.

World No.15 Marche said: “In the first game I was a bit more comfy at the end of the game and the second is so important.

“It was a long second one but I felt fresher then than I did in Black Ball. I was thinking that it didn’t matter if I lost it, I felt I could play a fourth or even five games. I felt he was maybe not as comfortable on court, he comes from much further away so had jet lag.

“I didn’t know how I was going to react though, the court is slippery, and I was not that confident racket-wise. I had to be patient, find my length, and my marks, and I think I was better at the back of the court than he was today. I was volleying better, despite the lack of confidence on my short game.

“In the third, I felt better. It’s good to have a good result because I’m a bit in a difficult period from a personal point of view. I had to push myself a lot to work hard, so it’s nice that it pays off.

“In the next round, I’m playing Rafi [Kandra]. We know each other’s game by heart, we are from the same generation and he has a very different game from Miguel, so I’m going to have to adapt.”

Results
Karim El Hammamy (EGY) bt Zahed Salem (EGY) 3-0: 11-6, 13-11, 11-7 (64m)
Gregoire Marche (FRA) bt [8] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) 3-0: 11-7, 14-12, 11-4 (60m)

Sobhy and Hany Come Back to Win

USA’s Amanda Sobhy and Egypt’s Salma Hany avoided upsets as they came back from a game down to beat Canada’s Danielle Letourneau and South Africa’s Alexandra Fuller, respectively.

Sobhy, the World No.5, overcame her opponent by a 5-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-9 scoreline to ensure she will play England’s Lucy Turmel in the next round.

“It took me a little while to adapt,” said Sobhy.

“Funnily enough, every time I come to Egypt, Danielle and I have a hit and train together, so this is the first time I arrive in Cairo and I’m like oh no, I cannot practice with Danielle because we are playing each other.

“I know how much she has improved. Honestly, I’m so happy for her and how well she is doing, she is one of my best friends. We were the same year in college, so we played each other and now to see how much she’s improved, with that big jump, not many people can do that.

“She caught me by surprise, with the travelling, arriving in Cairo, next stop Gouna, the isolation, the heat, I want to be in the sun but it kinds of drains me so much. So it takes its toll on you. I could really feel it in the lungs and the legs a bit, and I’m hoping I got it out of my system.

“It’s so nice to play new blood with Lucy Turmel. I never really watch her play, it’s very nice to play someone new, and it’s nice not to have to play an Egyptian all the time.”

Hany also found herself on the wrong end of the scoreline in the opening game as she fell 13-11 behind but she fought back to win the next three games, meaning she will play USA’s Olivia Fiechter in the next round.

“I’m happy to be through,” Hany said.

“Alex is a very dangerous player and I was not surprised at the start of the match, as I know the good player she is. I started a bit flat, she had a big lead in the first game, I started to catch up, I forced a tie-break and had a game ball but didn’t manage to close it out.

“It’s the first match after a long time off and I have been away in Florida working with Wael El Hindi. I am ready for the tournament, but then again, everybody is ready for the tournament.

“There is no easy first round anymore and I had to work very hard to get this win. I am not really happy with my game, but happy with the win. Every day is different and I’m looking forward to the next one.”

Results
[4] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt Danielle Letourneau (CAN) 3-1: 5-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-9 (32m)
[8] Salma Hany (EGY) bt Alexandra Fuller (RSA) 3-1: 11-13, 11-7, 11-8, 11-7 (40m)

Coll and Gawad Close Out Day Two With Wins

The final two men’s matches of the day saw New Zealand’s Paul Coll and two-time runner-up Karim Abdel Gawad secure respective victories over Egyptian duo Youssef Soliman and Mohamed ElSherbini.

Coll achieved a lengthy 3-0 win over the tenacious Soliman, who kept him court for 54 minutes.

The World No.4’s reward is a third round clash with Victor Crouin of France.

Meanwhile, Gawad kickstarted his attempts to finally get his hands on the El Gouna trophy with an 11-9, 12-10, 6-11, 11-7 win over compatriot ElSherbini.

ElSherbini showed some nice touches around the court and made Gawad work hard for his win, but it will be the ‘Baby-Faced Assassin’ who takes on Karim El Hammamy in the third round.

Results
[3] Paul Coll (NZL) bt Youssef Soliman (EGY) 3-0: 11-3, 11-8, 11-8 (54m)
[5] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) 3-0: 11-9, 12-10, 6-11, 11-7 (52m)