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Boys U19
Boys U19 Draw
Quarters:
[5/8] Tom Richards (Eng) bt [1] Yasir Butt (Pak)
9-5, 9-1, 3-9, 9-6 (71m)
[9/16] Tarek Momen (Egy) bt [3/4] Ahmed Swaify (Egy)
9-7, 9-3, 9-3
[3/4] Chris Simpson (Eng) bt [5/8] Chris Gordon (Usa)
9-6, 9-4, 4-9, 5-9, 9-2
[2] Basit Ashfaq (Pak) bt [5/8] Simon Rosner (Ger)
9-3, 9-6, 9-3
Home interest is still alive in the U19 Drysdale Cup, with Chris
Simpson recovering after letting a 2-0 lead against Chris Gordon slip,
while Tom Richards beat top seed Yasir Butt in four. |
 MAGIC
TOM
Framboise at
Abbeydale
He impressed me today, the young Englishman Tom Richards. I saw him
play several times again his pal Chris Simpson, but today, against seed
number one Yasir Butt from Pakistan, he had nothing to lose,
nothing to prove, and went for every shot… And every shot scored full
strike...
 Yasir
was nervous, suddenly, the pressure got to him. Overwhelmed by the event,
he was not following his shots, seemed surprised when Tom would retrieve
his usually lethal shots, again, and again, and again.
It has to be said that Tom played so many points purely on reflex,
throwing his racquet, and getting away with some amazing “lucky”, “on the
spot”, “instant” shots, that it must have been slightly sickening for his
opponent, already struggling with concentration.
The first game was long, very long, 20 minutes, close, very close, the
second so quick, 8 minutes. Both went to Tom, 9/5, 9/1.
 Yasir
only started to play in the third, which coincided with a little drop of
energy from Tom, and won 9/3, quite impressively, and we thought we were
on for a fifth.
But the Englishman had some adrenaline left, and although he was behind
0/2 in the fourth, he soon took a comfortable lead 6/3, and after 25
minutes, took the game 9/6. The whole match lasted 71 minutes.
Tom was beautifully unpredictable today, the kind of “state of grace”
moment. It was magic, for him, for his mum who was suffering in silence,
and like she said “I’ve been doing this for years, now, I’m used to it…”
BASIT STILL STANDING
 So,
in the U19, only Basit Ashfaq is still representing Pakistan, as he
disposed of German Simon Rosner in three games and 41 minutes.
Simon ran and gave it all, picking up lethal shots, running the marathon,
clinging to every rally, but Basit was too tall, too quick, and too strong
today…
But against Chris Simpson? Not sure, you know, not sure at all… |
 "Today,
I didn’t make too many errors. I didn’t have any game plan, and as
usual, I played my game. I did try to slow down the pace, because I
knew that if I let him get to the quick pace he enjoys, I couldn’t
keep it up for long.
"In the third, I got very tired, and that’s why I slowed the game
even more. But I think I played rather well…"
Tom Richards |
 "I
was up two love, and I decided to make the match more interesting,
so I decided to let go of the next two, and go for a fifth!
"I don’t think I’ve played my best in this tournament, there is more
to come, and hopefully with Tom in the final…"
Chris
Simpson |
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Girls U17
Girls U17 Draw
Quarters:
[1] Raneem El Weleily (Egy) v [5/8] Deon Saffery (Eng)
9-6, 9-3, 9-3 (25m)
[5/8] Shahenda Osama (Egy) bt
[3/4] Joey Chan (Hkg) 9-3, 9-7, 9-3 (30m)
[5/8] Annie Au (Hkg) bt
[3/4] Camille Serme (Fra)
10-9, 6-9, 9-2, 9-0 (46m)
[9/16] Neha Kumar (Can) bt
[2] Rachel Willmott (Eng) 9-7, 9-0, 9-2
(27m)
Egypt's top seed Raneem El Weleily remains on course to retain her
U17 title and faces fellow Egyptian Shahenda Osama in the
semi-finals after both won in straight games. Hong Kong's Annie Au,
last year's U15 champion, overcame France's 3/4 seed Camille Serme, and
there was disappointment for the home crowd as Canada's Neha Kumar
defeated England's second seed Rachel Willmott. |
“It was
a match that we didn’t really think we were going to win. It was a
close game, where Camille had to save two game balls in the first
game.
“She played a perfect game against Kirsten, by making her move as much
as she could. And she was lucky enough that she placed so many great
winning shots…”
Philippe
Signoret |
|
BIEN
JOUÉ CAMILLE…
Framboise at
Hallamshire
Literally, well played Camille…
Yes, there is still a Serme in the competition, as the lovely Camille
Serme has surprised everybody today by beating American Kirsten
Lange in 3 games.
When those 2 girls started hitting the ball, I was impressed by Kirsten’s
hitting power and precision. But maybe her fitness is not as good as she
would like, and she was slightly out of form at the end of the first game
which was ever so close… 5/5, 6/6. Then the American takes the advantage
very quickly, and gets game ball, 8/6. Camille saves the first one, then
the second one, and will end up winning this determining game, 10/8 in 10
minutes.
The French girl played very well tactically from then on, pushing Kirsten
to the back of the court, placing a few beautiful kills, and making her
opponent always run just a ball too far. And it paid off. She gets the
second in 7 minutes, 9/4, and the last one 9/0 in 3 minutes.
R3: [3/4] Camille Serme (Fra) bt
[9/16] Kirsten Lange(USA) 10-8, 9-4,
9-0 |
Shahenda Osama |
Joey Chan |
PAKISTAN WINS IN PLATE
Framboise at
Hallamshire
Maria Toor Pakay was playing South African Sian Sahd this
afternoon in the plate event. Nothing much to say, the game was very one
sided, 18 minutes, 9/2, 9/2, 9/2. Maria, an ex weight lifter, who once won
a weight lifting competition disguised as a man, has got power and touch.
She could lose a bit of weight, but boy o boy, was she strong again today…
The South African tried her best, but too many tins spoiled her rhythm,
and she could only shake her opponent's hand...
PLATE R1:
Maria Toor Pakay (Pak) bt Sian Sahd (Rsa) 9-2, 9-2, 9-2 |
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Boys U15
Boys U15 Draw
Quarters:
[1] Leo Au (Hkg) bt [5/8] El Shorbagy (Egy)
3-9, 9-6, 10-9, 10-9
[3/4] Ahmed Osama Hawas (Egy) bt [9/16] Adel El Zarka (Egy)
9-6, 9-4, 9-5
[3/4] Shohaib Hassan (Pak) bt [5/8] Karim Mohamed Samy (Egy)
9-5, 9-3, 9-4
[17/32] Ahmed El Mehelmy (Egy) bt [17/32] Lucas Vauzelle (Fra)
9-2, 9-7, 9-0 |
AHMED
MEHELMY:
A STEP FURTHER
Where do all those fantastic Egyptian players come from??
Everywhere you look, you’ve got little Shabanas! You think I’m
exaggerating, don’t you? Well I’m not.
Last night, VERY LATE, 10 pm, the under 15 were playing their
quarter-finals, and I was watching the French boy Lucas Vauzelle
against Ahmed Mehelmy. “It’s going to be very hard” confessed
Philippe Signoret, and boy was he right…
The little Lucas was working very hard, fighting in each rally, especially
in the second, where he reached 6/6, which was in itself an exploit, trust
me, but drop shots from hell, drives glued to the wall, a magic touch,
Ahmed has it all…
I was told that Egypt has got at least 2 players in the semis of each age
group. Need I say more??? |
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Boys U13
Boys U13 Draw
[5/8] Farhan Zaman (Pak) bt [1] Ali Wael Farag (Egy)
9-7, 9-0, 9-5
[3/4] El Sherbeny (Egy) bt [5/8] Nicholas Hopcroft (Eng)
9-5, 9-0, 9-2
[3/4] Fouad Khalifa (Egy) [9/16] M Ali Ayub (Pak)
9-1, 9-4, 9-1
[9/16] Ali Ashraf El Karargy (Egy) bt [9/16] Abou El Ghar (Egy)
3-9, 8-10, 9-5, 9-4, 9-1
Pakistan's Farhan Zaman prevented an all-Egyptian semi-final
line-up, beating top seed Ali Wael Farag in straight games. |
TOO MUCH
ENERGY FOR DOWNER
Framboise at
Hallamshire
I just love this tournament. Kids and parents everywhere, most of them a
bit surprised to see somebody with a camera watching the most remote of
games…
This morning, I found myself on the
court number 8, at the far end of the Hallamshire club, watching a little
English boy, Robert Downer, playing a Pakistani Farhan Zaman.
 Very
few spectators, apart from the Pakistani coach Ayaz Khan, and Robert’s
father Eric, stunned that I asked if I could take his picture, “that is a
first”, he said!
Zaman was in a different league all together today, and there was not much
that Robert could do. Shame really, as he had a lot of energy, maybe too
much, and although he has a great drop shot, he chose to hit the ball, and
hit again… I don’t know much, but if that boy could correct his backhand
(at the moment, a two hander), and maybe drop a bit of the attitude
(nothing bad, but…), I think he could go places…
Anyway, Farhan played superbly, very precise, sharp squash, varied and
pleasant to watch. His touch is superb, and he hits the ball when needed…
In other words, a very good player indeed…
|
R3:
[5/8] Farhan Zaman (Pak) bt
[9/16] Robert Downer (Eng)
9-2, 9-2, 9-1
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R3:
[3/4] Faoud Khalifa (Egy) bt
[9/16] Lucas Serme (Fra)
9-1, 9-0, 9-0
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KHALIFA TOO STRONG FOR SERME
Framboise at
Hallamshire
 Once
again, I was impressed by the heart of a French player today. The little
Lucas Serme (brother of Camille), lost in straight games against
Fouad Khalifa, from Egypt, 9/1, 9/0, 9/0.
Fouad was so much stronger in every department of the game, boasts to die
for, feather drop shots, crisp drives, not to mention volley drops.
But the French ran, and ran and ran again, picking up every ball in sight.
He ran for 18 minutes solid , the poor boy. He was disappointed, of
course, but I was impressed…
Keep up the good work, Lucas… |
SHARPES RUNS
OUT OF ENERGY
Framboise at
Hallamshire
 Little
Charles Sharpes played beautifully against Pakistani Mohamed Ali
Ayub. His game is extremely varied, he stays with the ball, plays with
his brain, and follows it through. I like his game. He was in slightly
less good physical condition than his very slim opponent.
The game lasted 30 minutes, and apart from the third, where Charles was
out of steam, the game was very close, and each game could have gone
either way. Ali made a few too many mistakes for his own good, and Charles
could have capitalised a bit more, but overall, it was a very pleasant
match, and the English boy can be proud of his performance today… |
R3:
[9/16] Mohamed Ali Ayub (Pak) bt
[5/8] Charles Sharpes (Eng)
9-5, 9-6, 9-2
 |
Girls U19
Girls U19 Draw
Quarters:
[1] Charlie De Rycke (Bel) bt [5/8] Nihal Yayha (Egy)
10-8, 9-1, 9-1
Tenille Swartz (Rsa) bt [5/8] Jenna Gates (Eng)
9-4, 6-9, 9-6, 9-1
[3/4] Sara Badr (Egy) bt [5/8] Lilly Lorentzen (Usa)
8-10, 9-6, 4-9, 9-7, 9-0
[2] Joshna Chinappa (Ind) bt [5/8] Petra Hughes (Aus)
9-4, 9-0, 9-5
Easy victories for top seeds Charlie De Rycke and Joshna
Chinappa, and another fine victory for South Africa's unseeded
Tenille Swartz. |
Boys U17
Boys U17 Draw
Quarters:
[1] Ali Anwar Reda (Egy) bt [5/8] Sandeep Jangra (Ind)
9-4, 9-3, 8-10, 9-3 (53m)
[3/4] Bilal Zaman (Pak) bt [5/8] Chris Tasker-Grindley (Eng)
9-5, 9-5, 9-3 (34m)
[3/4] Omar Abdel Magid (Egy) bt [5/8] Tom Pashley (Eng)
9-6, 9-1, 9-2 (36m)
[2] Omar Abou Zaid (Egy) bt [9/16] Alamzeb (Pak)
9-3, 9-2, 9-2 (31m)
No upsets in the U17, with the top four seeds set to contest Wednesday's
semi-finals. |
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