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2011 Day THREE:                                                 Steve Cubbins in Sheffield

Quarter-finals day in Sheffield, but that doesn't bring much relief to the schedule as playoffs down to the final positions continue in all eight events and three venues.

Looking at the schedule it's going to be impossible to cover all the quarters, so once again we'll bring you what we can ...
 

Photo Gallery

Boys 13:

[1] Saad El Din Ihab (Egy) bt Harry Falconer (Eng) 
            11/7, 11/4, 11/8 (21m)
Scott Galloway (Nzl) bt Mostafa Aboul Makarim (Egy
           11/6, 11/4, 11/9 (22m)
Eain Yow Ng (Mas) bt Karim Desouky (Egy)   
           11/7, 11/4, 11/6 (23)
Mohd Mukhtar (Mas) bt [2] Youssef Ibrahim (Egy) 
            11/8, 11/8, 7/11, 11/8 (29m)

Egyptians falter in Boys U13

The first set of quarters at Hallamshire saw four concurrent matches as the youngest boys took to courts 15, 16, 17 and 18.

Egypt had a representative in each of the matches, but only top seed Saad El Din Ihab remained just half an hour later. Ihabas  proved too strong for Harry Falconer, the last European in the draw, who put up a good fight but fell behind early in each game and struggled to recover.

Ihab's semi-final opponent will be New Zealand's Scott Galloway, who used his physical advantage to overcome Mostafa Aboul Makarim. Galloway was impressive, controlling the rallies and the ball well, and he will provide the top seed with a stern test tomorrow.

The other finalist will be Malaysian after Mohd Mukhtar and Eain Yow Ng both turned in impressive performances to oust their Egyptian opponents.

Mukhtar won four close games against second seed Youssef Ibrahim, who was at a big physical disadvantage, but has speed and determination to spare and will be a threat in future years.

Ng looked the most impressive of all, playing a very controlled, unhurried game to beat a somewhat frantic Karim Desouky with something to spare. Ng won the recent Malaysian Junior Open, beating Galloway in the final, and a repeat of that match looks on the cards here.

Girls 17:
[1] Kanzy El Dafrawy (Egy) bt Chloe Pearson (Eng)
                       11/1, 11/6, 11/4 (16m)
Yathreb Adel (Egy) bt Maria Ubina (Usa)
                       11/8, 12/10, 11/3 (26m)
Nada Al Kalaawy (Egy) bt Haidi Lala (Egy)
                       13/11, 11/7, 11/6
[2] Emily Whitlock (Eng) bt Salma Hatem Esmat (Egy)
                       11/7, 11/3, 11/6

Egypt's girls too good ... apart from Emily

If the Boys U13 weren't too good for the Egyptiand their U17 girls soon put that to rights as the claimed the first three semi-final places in that event.

Top seed Kanzy El Dafrawy was in cruise control in the first game against Chloe Pearson, and although the English girl did pull a few points back from 10/3 down in the second, and stayed on terms until 3-all in the third, Kanzy soon re-established her superiority as she pulled clear again.

Yathreb Adel, the reigning U15 champion who, at 14, is still eligible for that event, overcame a really gutsy performance from the USA's Maria Ubina. Adel never looked happy, probably because the bustling style and determined play of her opponent never allowed her to settle.

Ubina 7/5 in the first and 5/0 in the second, but Yathreb found a way to win both before pulling clear and looking more comfortable in the third.

The all-Egyptian third match was won by Nada El Kalaawy, who out-battled Haidi Lala in a high-tempo, hard-hitting, high desire match.

El Kalaawy took the lead in each of the games, and despite some desperate and compelling defence from Lala, especially at the end of the first, she held on to claim a place in the semi-finals.

With Egypt going for a clean sweep, the gallery was full and the atmosphere was electric as Salma Hatem Youseff took on English second seed Emily Whitlock.

It truth Whitlock was in charge for the vast majority of the match, but it was never easy, always tense, and the crowd got fully involved.

In the end Whitlock's trademark accuracy was the key as she was able to finish off the rallies with greater consistency than her opponent.

The scene was set for a dramatic finish as Salma got back as close as 7/6 in the third, but Emily pulled away to 10/6, and when Salma missed the following serve it was a little anti-climactic, but nonetheless satisfying for Emily and the English supporters.

Then it was off to Abbeydale to catch what we can of the U19 quarters ...
 

Under 19 Quarters

Boys 19:
[1] Amr Khaled Khalifa (Egy) bt [9/16] Declan James(Eng)
         11/7, 12/10, 11/1 (34m)
[3/4] Marwan El Shorbagy (Egy) bt [5/8] Nathan Lake (Eng)
         11/4, 11/3, 9/11, 11/9 (45m)
[9/16] Karim Ali Fathy (Egy) bt [5/8] Zarad Sherein (Egy)
         8/11, 9/11, 11/5, 11/7, 12/10 (85m)
[2] Ai Farag (Egy) bt [5/8] Lucas Serme (Fra)
         14/12, 11/7, 11/5 (33m)

Girls 19:
[1] Amanda Sobhy (Usa) bt [5/8] Farah Abdel Meguid (Egy)
              11/8, 11/6, 11/8 (27m)
[9/16] Tamika Saxby (Aus) bt [5/8] Cyrielle Peltier (Fra)
              11/5, 9/11, 12/10, 11/6 (36m)
[3/4] Olivia Blatchford (Usa) bt [5/8] Millie Tomlinson (Eng)
              11/6, 4/11, 15/13, 15/13 (47m)
[2] Nour El Tayeb (Egy) bt [5/8] Tesni Evans (Wal)
              11/8, 11/6, 9/11, 11/8 (46m)

Egypt dominate Boys ...

A sixth successive Egyptian winner of the Drysdale Cup was assured when the country that has dominated the BJO in recent years swept the board in the Boys' U19 quarter-finals.

Top seed Amr Khaled Khalifa and compatriot Marwan El Shorbagy ended English interest as the beat Declan James and Nathan Lake, and will meet in tomorrow's semi-final in a repeat of their World Junior semi-final in the Summer, which Khalifa won before going on to take the World Junior title.

Second seed Ali Farag survived a tight opening game against France's Lucas Serme before completing a straight-games win, while Karim Ali Fathy, who beat fourth seed Charles Sharpes yesterday in an 80+ minute marathon needed all his reserves as he came from two games down to create another marathon upset against compatriot Zarad Sherein.



Two for the USA in the Girls

By contrast the Girls U19 has a single Egyptian in the last four, joined by two Americans, as expected, and an unexpected Australian.

Nour El Tayeb, moving up from the U17 category which she won last year, was pushed hard by plucky Tesni Evans who played really, really well, matching the world number 17 all the way and taking her well out of her comfort zone.

It would have been easy for the Welsh girl to ease up after losing the first two games, but she actually upped her game, pulled one back and led most of the way in the fourth, threatening to take it to a decider. Tayeb is just as determined though, and she emerged a relieved winner after 46 minutes of gripping play.

At the top of the draw Amanda Sobhy looked good for her top seeding as the World Junior Champion held off a typically determined challenge from Farah Abdel Meguid.

A second American made the last four when Olivia Blatchford, U15 champion from 2007, survived what she called a "hackfest" with England's Millie Tomlinson, edging home in extra points in the last two games of four.

The surprise package in the semis is Australia's Tamika Saxby who pulled off a second successive upset as she beat France's Cyrielle Peltier in a tense four games.