Weekend Round-Up: El Sirty, Shiha and Van Den Herrewegen Take Titles

There were three titles on offer on the PSA Challenger Tour this weekend, with Jan Van Den Herrewegen, Moustafa El Sirty and Jana Shiha all successful this weekend.

The Czech Open was won by Van Den Herrewegen, after he comfortably defeated the tournament’s No.1 seed Kristian Frost in the final in Prague.

The Belgian had to win a tie-break to take the first game 12-10, but from there, he restricted the Dane to just three points, taking his second title of the calendar year in 41 minutes.

To reach the final, the World No.110 overcame England’s James Peach in the second round before getting the better of Czech Republican Jakub Solnicky in the last eight.

Van Den Herrewegen then had to come through a huge battle in the semi finals, as he downed Mohammad Alsarraj in five games, after the Jordanian had come from 2-0 down to level it after four.

Meanwhile, two players won on home soil in Port Said, Egypt, over the weekend, as Jana Shiha and Moustafa El Sirty took home the CIB Port Said – Egyptian Tour 2 crowns.

El Sirty came into the event as the No.3 seed, and after defeating Mexico’s Carlos Vargas in the second round, he then got the better of compatriot Hazem Ahmed Helmy.

The Egyptian’s semi final tie was much trickier, as he had to defeat the tournament’s No.1 seed Omar Elkattan. He did so in straight games to set up a clash with Yahya Elnawsany in the final in Port Said.

Elnawsany won the second game of their match-up to tie the scores at 1-1, but it would be El Sirty that would lift the title as he went on to win both the third and fourth games.

In the women’s draw, Jana Shiha blew the opposition away, as she averaged just 20 minutes per match, going through the entire tournament without losing a game.

The No.1 seed got the better of Nada Ehab in the second round, before then overcoming Habiba El Dafrawy in the quarter finals of the event.

After defeating No.3 seed Sana Ibrahim in the last four in Port Said, Shiha advanced to the final, where she would eventually get the better of Salma Eltayeb to win the title.

Result – Final: Czech Open
[2] Jan Van Den Herrewegen (BEL) bt [1] Kristian Frost (DEN) 3-0: 12-10, 11-0, 11-3 (41m)

Result – Men’s Final: CIB Port Said – Egyptian Tour 2
[3] Moustafa El Sirty (EGY) bt [4] Yahya Elnawsany (EGY) 3-1: 11-5, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9 (45m)

Result – Women’s Final: CIB Port Said – Egyptian Tour 2
[1] Jana Shiha (EGY) bt [7] Salma Eltayeb (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 (21m)