22-Aug, Final:

[1] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt [2] Engy Kheirallah (Egy)      2/9, 9/3, 9/1, 9/4

"It was a hard match. In the first game I wasn't there and I made a lot of
mistakes, but the second game was very important for me.

"It was a long game with long rallies, but in the third and the fourth she made a lot of mistakes and I think she was tired.

"I am very happy to win this great tournament."

"I did my best today but she played really well, she was very concentrated.

"The second game was too long. I was up and it was very important for me to win that.

"In the third I wasn't there but in the fourth I got back my concentration but she played well.

"Anyway I will be back next year and I hope to win ..."

21-Aug, Semis:

[1] Rachael Grinham bt (Aus) [4] Raneem El Weleily (Egy)       9/6, 2/9, 9/1, 9/5
[2] Engy Kheirallah (Egy) bt [3] Isabelle Stoehr (Fra)              10/9, 6/9, 9/7, 9/2

[1] Rachael Grinham bt (Aus)
[4] Raneem El Weleily (Egy)  9/6, 2/9, 9/1, 9/5

Rachael too tough

In the first match of the day top seed Rachael Grinham took on double world junior champion Raneem El Weleily.

In the first game Raneem started with more errors that helped Rachael to play her game with lobs and drop shots. Rachael took the lead 6/0, but Raneem fought back strongly to level at 6-all. Two more mistakes though, which helped Rachael to take the lead.



The roles were reversed in the second, with Raneem in control and Rachael making the errors.
Raneem reached 7/2 and this time it was two nicks from the Egyptian that closed out the game.

Rachael came out in the third and controlled the ''T'', volleying more and taking points with her 
beautiful lobs and drop shots.

The fourth game was very exciting, it started with  very long rallies and it was really tough until they reached 4/4. At this point Raneem made four mistakes in a row, helping Rachael to win the match and reach the final against Engy.

"It was really a tough match. Raneem is a very good player and she will be
in the top five soon, but I was a bit more mentally tough than her today.

"Anyway I am happy to reach the final and I played well today."

"I should have won the first and third games because I was leading in both, but she  came back strongly.

"In the last game she took a very good start, I tried to push but she was thinking better than me. I wasn't tired but she played well."

"Today it was really a tough match. At the beginning I was hitting too short
and she took it on the volley and was winning with this plan, so I had to change it and hit deeper.

"In the third game I was down 7/4 but I said to myself to concentrate and
to kill myself in this game because it was so important.

"Tomorrow I play Rachael. We played a lot before and it's always close so I hope to win here tomorrow in my club ..."

[2] Engy Kheirallah (Egy) bt
[3] Isabelle Stoehr (Fra)           10/9, 6/9, 9/7, 9/2

Engy on fire

The second final was a tough and exciting match between  second seed Engy and number three seed Isabelle, champions of the last two Alexandria tournaments.

Isabelle started well, controlling the ''T'' and taking a 5/1 lead as Engy made some mistakes. Engy started to play the ball deeper and came back to 6-all. Isaballe then hit two nicks followed by three tins that helped Engy to take the game 10/9.

The second game was really tough, with Isabelle back to controlling the ''T'' and Engy just keeping the ball to the back. At 5/5 Isabelle made two nicks to break free as she took the game to equalise.

The third game was close until they reached 4/4 but three errors from Engy gave Isabelle a 7/4 lead, but Engy recovered well to take this important game.

In the final game Engy was in control as Isabelle made a lot of mistakes as Engy reached the final, where she will meet top seed Rachael.

20-Aug, Quarters:

[1] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt [5] Tricia Chuah (Mas)        9/1, 9/2, 9/1
[4] Raneem El Weleily (Egy) bt [6] Tenille Swartz (Rsa)    10/8, 9/3, 9/6
[3] Isabelle Stoehr (Fra) bt [7] Orla Noom (Ned)              9/0, 9/3, 9/4
[2] Engy Kheirallah (Egy) bt [Q] Maria Toor Pakay (Pak)   9/1, 9/0, 9/0

Top four through to
Alexandria Semis

No upsets in the quarter-finals as the top four seeds all won in straight games to reach the semi-finals.

With the world number three, the champions from 2006 and 2005, and the double world junior champion in the mix the semi-finals are sure to provide great entertainment for the Alexandria squash enthusiasts ...

Marwan El Shorbagy
reports from Alexandria

[1] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt
[5] Tricia Chuah (Mas)        9/1, 9/2, 9/1

Grinham still on course

In the first match of the day top seed Rachael Grinham met fifth seed Tricia Chuah. The match start with long rallies but Tricia started to make the mistakes
that helped Rachael to took the lead as she took the first game.

In the second and third games Rachael controlled the ''T'', took each volley and played her beautiful drop shots to put Tricia under pressure and Tricia, forcing her opponent into mistakes.

"I played well today but I don't  think Tricia was playing at her best.

"Anyway, I  am happy to win 3/0 and reach the semi finals."

[4] Raneem El Weleily (Egy) bt [6] Tenille Swartz (Rsa)   
        10/8, 9/3, 9/6

The Amazing Raneem

In the toughest and the most exciting match of the day, Raneem started with some errors and Tenille took the lead 4/0, but after that El Weleily started to play her game, took each volley and forced Tenille to run around the court.

At 7/7 Raneem missed an attempted nick that gave Tenille the advantage 8/7, but that Raneem back strongly to won th game 10/8.

In the second game Raneem started well and controlled the game with her beautiful drops shots and nicks, with Tenille looking tired.

In the third Tenille fought and ran after every ball as Raneem made a lot of
mistakes, reaching 6/0. But Raneem fought back to take the game in a single hand, setting up a semi-final meeting with the top seed.

"I played Tenille two years ago and I won 3/2. I played well today,
but I heard that Tenille is sick, she can run better than she did today and tired very quickly.

"As you know I played this tournament for fun, so I
am very happy with this win."

[3] Isabelle Stoehr (Fra) bt
[7] Orla Noom (Ned)            9/0, 9/3, 9/4

Isabelle in control

In the third match of the day Orla started with a lot of mistakes that helped Isabelle to
control the game as she took each volley and played her beautiful drop shots.

Orla started the second game better, but Isabelle was controlling the ''T'' and continued to put Orla under pressure with volleys and drops.

The third game followed the same pattern. Isabelle was too quick today, and better than yesterday. I think tomorrow will be a close match with seeded number two Engy.

"I had played Orla in Royan for the Europeans, so I knew what to expect.

"She's a left hander, so I had to plan my game on my right hand, to open the court and finish in front.

"Everything went according to plan, a few imprecisions still, I'll have to play better tomorrow.

"I'm happy with the way I played tonight. I'm going to have a good rest as I play Engy at home. The atmosphere is going to be hot, but I love it!

"And I've read somewhere that Engy feels the pressure, as everybody is expecting her to win here in her club in Alexandria.

"I'm fine physically, and I'm ready for tomorrow..."


to Sitesquash.com

[2] Engy Kheirallah (Egy) bt [Q] Maria Toor Pakay (Pak)   9/1, 9/0, 9/0

Easy for Engy

A comfortable win for Engy, who won here in 2005. Engy took control from the start, forcing Maria to cover the whole court and the previous hard matches took their toll as Maria tired.

"I am really happy to win and reach the semis finals.

"It was quite an easy match today, but tomorrow I play Isabelle. We played once before and I won 3/2, so I hope to win again tomorrow ..."

9/6, 2/9, 9/1, 9/5

Raneem El Weleily

2/9, 9/3, 9/1, 9/4

Engy Kheirallah

10/9, 6/9, 9/7, 9/2

Qualifiers:

Finals:
Nour Baghat (Egy) bt Milja Dorenbos (Ned)            9/2, 9/4, 4/9, 9/5
Amnah El Trabolsy (Egy) bt Heba El Torky (Egy)     9/5, 9/1, 9/8
Nour El Tayeb (Egy) bt Lucie Fialova (Cze)             7/9, 8/10, 9/1, 9/3, 9/7
Maria Toor Pakay (Pak) bt Adel Weir (Rsa)             9/2, 10/8, 9/3

Round One:
Milja Dorenbos (Ned) bt Line El Sherif (Egy)           9/4, 9/0, 10/8
Nour Baghat (Egy) bt Nihal Bayoumy (Egy)            9/5, 9/0, 9/3
Lucie Fialova (Cze) bt Sara El Noamany (Egy)        10/8, 9/7, 8/10, 9/2
Nour El Tayeb (Egy) bt Farah Abdel Meguid (Egy)   9/0, 9/5, 9/7
Heba El Torky (Egy) bt Salma Hany (Egy)              9/3, 9/0, 9/7
Amnah El Trabolsy (Egy) bt Nouran El Torky (Egy)  9/0, 9/7, 9/3
Maria Toor Pakay (Pak) bt Alia Balbaa (Egy)           9/5, 9/3, 6/9, 9/3
Adel Weir (Rsa) bt Farida El Dahab (Egy)                9/3, 9/0, 9/6

Grinham aims for Alexandria title

The popular Alexandria Open features world number three Rachael Grinham and winners of the 2006 and 2005 events Isabelle Stoehr and Engy Kheirallah as top seeds for the 2007 edition.

The qualifying competition served as a welcome home party for Egypt's triumphant world juniors team, with Nour Baghat, Nour El Tayeb and Amnah El Trabolsy joining Kheirallah and double world champion Raneem El Weleily in the main draw.

The only upset in the first round saw Pakistani qualifier Maria Toor Pakay overcome eighth seed Laura Mylotte in five games to set up a quarter-final with Kheirallah.

2006 Event

2005 Event
 

Marwan El Shorbagy
reports from Alexandria

Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt Amnah El Trabolsy (Egy)
    9/0, 9/4, 9/1

Good start for Rachael

The first match of the day saw top seed Rachael Grinham take on qualifier Amnah El Trabolsy. Amnah made a lot of mistakes in the first game as Rachael took control. The Egyptian started well well in the second game, taking every volley, but Rachael was very quick around the court and by the end Amnah was very tired as Rachael played her game with beautiful lobs and drop shots.

"I made a very good start and was playing well, and she got very tired. I'm happy to have won 3/0 and to reach the second round."

Tricia Chuah (Mas) bt Dagmar Vermuelen (Ned)
     9/1, 9/2, 9/0

Easy for Tricia

Malaysian number three Triciah Chuah was in control from the start as she beat her Dutch opponent in three games to set up a quarter-final meeting with top seed and world number three Rachael Grinham.

"The court was very hot, but I felt I controlled the whole match and  managed the situation."

Raneem El Weleily (Egy) bt Lauren Siddall (Eng) 9/2, 9/3, 9/4

Raneem in control

In the third match the world junior champion faced Lauren Siddall from
England.

Raneem took control from the start,  played her usual game with a lot of drop shots and lobs. The second game went the same way as the first.

Lauren started he third game well, taking advantage of some mistakes from Raneem, but the Egyptian soon regained her concentration, finishing the match with two amazing nicks.

"I played well today, and I played  good lobs and drop shots

"I wasn't sure if I'd play the event as I just got back from Hong Kong, but since I reached the final last year I might have lost a lot of points if I didn't play."

Tenille Swartz (Rsa) bt Dipika Pallikal (Ind)
     9/2, 9/4, 9/0

Tenille in control...

Some early errors from Dipika helped Tenille to take the lead, and she controlled the first game from there.

The second game was tough as they reached 4-all, but more errors from Dipika helped Tenille to take the game 9/4.

The South African took the third game easily and tomorrow she will play the world champion Raneem.

"I played well today but she played better, it was tough match for me."

Orla Noom (Ned) bt
Georgina Stoker (Eng) 
      9/0, 9/0, 9/2

Orla easily ...

An easy win for Orla as she took on an  opponent struggling with a knee injury.

"I thought it was going to be a tough match but Georgina wasn't able to play properly.

"I'm happy to win and reach the second round."

Isabelle Stoehr (Fra) bt Nour El Tayeb (Egy)
    10/9, 4/9, 9/7, 9/4

Unexpected Tussle

The 14 year-old Nour El Tayeb came through qualifying to meet last year's champion Isabelle Stoehr.

Nour is very talented and very quick around the court,
and came back from 2/7 down in the first to level at 7-all. Isabelle had a game ball but Nour reached 9/8 before losing a very close game 10/9.

The second game was very tough at 4/4, after that El Tayeb made two nicks in a row and went on to take the game. The third was really tough for both until they reached 7/7 but Isabelle won the game with her experience. In the last game El Tayeb was very tired and Isabelle was in control.

"She is a very good player and she has a very good future.

"It's not  easy to reach the second round, I felt tired and I didn't play my best squash today, so I hope to play better."

Maria Tour Pakay (Pak) bt Laura Mylotte (Irl)
   4/9, 9/5, 9/0, 3/9, 9/7

Very Hard!!!

In a really tough match the Laura controlled all first the game, taking every volley, but in the second Maria was very tough and fought and Laura seemed nervous and made some errors.

In the third game Laura made a lot of mistakes but the fourth was the opposite with Maria making the mistakes.

The last game was amazing as Laura took the lead 7/5 but two errors from Laura helped Maria to win the match and reach the Quarter Finals.

"It's my first international match for a long time, I haven't played a tournament for 2 or 3 months .

"I was training hard though, and it's very exciting to beat one of the best 40 players in the world."

Engy Kheirallah (Egy) bt
Nour Bahgat (Egy)
     9/4, 8/10, 9/1, 9/0

Engy beats training partner

In the last match of the day number two seed Engy Kheirallah met qualifier Nour
Bahgat.

In the first game Engy was in control and took each volley and played beautiful drop shots. In the second Nour played well and took the lead 8/5. Engy came back strongly to 8/8 but two errors from Engy helped Bahgat to take the game 10/8.

In the third and the fourth Engy was in control as Nour tired.

"I have a lot of pressure on me in this tournament because I'm playing in my own club and everybody expects me to win.

"She was playing very well in the second game, but I played Nour in the training camp before the World Juniors, so I knew how to play her.

"Anyway I am very happy with my win and to reach the quarter finals."