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Day Two, the last
sixteens
Another hectic day in Sheffield, with the
last sixteen of all draws and plenty of
playoff matches, starting at 9.00 with the
last match on at 21.00 (ish).
The snow descended yesterday evening causing
a few transport problems - Fulwood is
situated on a hill and getting in and out
had been tricky all day, while the last
shuttle to Abbeydale was cancelled, unable
to get past a number of abandoned cars on
the route! All seems well this morning, it's
very pretty but eminently passable.
We'll aim to cover the G13 and 19 first
thing at Abbeydale, then hop over to
Hallamshire to catch some Girls U17 action,
returning to Abbeydale for the Boys 19
starting at 16.00.
After that ... we'll see!
Happy birthday to Mari Taylor - bet
she really appreciates that 9am court - and
James Earles ...
Day THREE Schedules:
Abbeydale ...
Hallamshire ...
Fulwood |
Photo
Galleries
Draws
BU13
BU15
BU17
BU19
GU13
GU15
GU17
GU19 |
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Girls U13 |
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Egyptians dominate
The first set of six matches at Abbeydale
were all over very quickly, with the seeded
players in each case taking a straight-game
win.
That meant no birthday treat for Mari
Taylor, but her opponent Georgina Kennedy
will carry the English flag into the
quarter-finals.
The other remaining home hope is Wales'
Elin Harlow, joined by Egyptians
Mayer Hany, Dina Fared, Amina Moataaz,
Nouran Johar and Nourhan Magdy, the only
player seeded outside the top eight to
progress.
The last player through, completing the full
set of three-nils, was Malaysia's Zoe Yuk
Han Foo.
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Salma
& Farah comebacks
deny English hopes
After yesterday's exploits against Laura
Gemmell you sort of expected another
comeback when Farah Abdel Meguid was
two games and 8-7 down to Julianne
Courtice.
It was hard to see where the comeback was
coming from though, as Julianne was
frustrating the Egyptian with her retrieving
and deft placement. Once Farah had taken the
third though, through determination as much
as anything else, just as yesterday she
started to find her own game and her drops
and dying boasts caught her opponent out
time and again.
As Julianne's frustration grew so did
Farah's confidence, and soon enough she had
completed another comeback.
 As
she came off court eight, compatriot
Salma Hany was in the process of going
two games down to Carrie Ramsey.
Again, the English girl was playing well,
controlling the match, and again the middle
of the third was crucial. And yes, again, it
was the Egyptian who emerged the stronger,
then went on to take the final two games
with more ease.
Salma has a lovely smile when she's winning,
and a good line in fist pumps on court, and
both were seen in good measure during the
match - the smile at the end, of course.
 "I
was so afraid in the beginning, I can't play
on this court, I just can't see the ball,
and it was my first big tournament after
recovering from an operation on my leg.
"I started badly, but when I saw my coach he
told me to be more patient, and that's what
I did.
"It's a great feeling to win a match like
that, and I'm pleased to get through to a
match with Dipika tomorrow."
Second seed
Dipika Pallikal had a relatively
untroubled passage into the quarters.
Although Samantha Cornett improved game by
game, the Indian - clad virtually all in
pink by contrast to the Canadian's
multi-coloured outfit - was always in
charge.
Millie Tomlinson became the only
English representative when she beat 5/8
seed Low Wee Nee in four games, and now
meets Nouran, the younger of the two
El Torky sisters while Heba faces
Anwesha Reddy.
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More Girls ...
A quick trip to Hallamshire for some more
girls' action - don't worry boys, it's the
U19s later today - saw a good mix of
nationalities progressing.
Catching the tail end of the U15s, I managed
to see Lucy Beecroft win, through the
glassback-doored court three, with more
English success as Alicia Mead came
from two games down to beat compatriot
Martha Posseger.
It was some turnaround, with Alicia getting
better while Martha allowed the situation to
get to her as her standard dropped.
 I
also managed to see Salma Hani (yes,
another one, but they're not related) come
through in three games.
Notable matches in the U17s were Tamika
Saxby's 12/10, 14/12, 12/10 win over
Oxane Ah Hu. The French girl was ahead in
all three games but couldn't stop the Aussie
comebacks. Even the ref joined in, calling
"11-9 match ball" when Tamika levelled at
10-all in the third.
 When
asked the secret of winning such tight
games, "just hanging in," was Tamika's
reply.
England's Emily Whitlock took the
first 18 points against Ankita Sharma.
"She's going to get better," dad Phil warned
after the first, and of course she did, but
not enough to stop Emily, who puts the ball
into the most difficult place for her
opponent virtually every shot, from
progressing to the last sixteen.
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Martha can't believe Alicia comeback
Salma Hany, Salma Hani
Go get 'em Em
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In the evening ...
The evening session at Hallamshire saw the
girls down to the quarter-finals. There was
one upset in the U15s as Laila Omar
beat Ho Tze Lok in four games to take the
Egyptian representation up to five. The only
all-England match saw Eleanor Lake squeeze
home against Lucy Pallett 11/8 in the fifth.
It was a similar story in the U17s as
Salma Hatem created an upset for Egypt,
beating Yan Xin Tan in five, again making it
five Egyptians in the quarter-finals!
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Seven Seeds Safely
through
 The
brief story is that seven of the top eight
seeds are through to the quarter-finals
tomorrow. The one not to make it is
England's Ben Coleman, who saw a 2/1 lead
over Egypt's Zahed Sherien disappear
on court one. The balcony was packed,
couldn't get near it ...
Most of the others enjoyed relatively
untroubled passages into the last eight -
Mohamed El Shorbagy, Ali Farag, Charles
Sharpes and Adita Jagtap all winning in
straight games.
Alfredo Avila, the Mexican who burst
onto the scene last year and is seeded 3/4
this time, spoilt James Earles' birthday
with a 13/11, 11/5, 12/10 win, while
Karim Abdel Gawad, the second seed who
came so close to dethroning Shorbagy last
year, also dropped a game to France's
Geoffrey Demont.
 The
solitary match on the glass court was a
humdinger as Robert Downer pushed 3/4 seed
Lucas Serme to the limit for three
games. They traded some very long, very
tough rallies as the Frenchman took the
first two games. Downer came from 10-7 down
in the first only to tin the ball twice in
extra points, and Serme found the backwall
nick at 10-9 in the second.
Undeterred, Downer fought back to take the
third 11/7 but had nothing left in the tank
as Sermed cruised through the fourth 11/3.
 "It
was tough rallies from the start of the
first game. I'm not used to this court, I
was surprised and frustrated by the bounce,
and Robert can hit some amazing winners from
nowhere.
"I wasn't very good at the front of the
court so I just had to keep it hard and to
the back."
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